Lakers (36-11) at Celtics (29-15) 1/31

[RAcker]

And how many times does the Pierce iso or Pierce pick and roll have to fail before we go away from it. What is that quote: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results = insanity"?

I'm with you.  No matter how good our offense is looking, we go to an iso offense down the stretch.  It's ridiculous.

This was my reaction too.  Why was the Rondo pick and roll not used late in the 4th?  It killed the Lakers in both the 2nd and 3rd and then we start isolating Paul and it's like we're in quicksand.  We scored 16 points in the 4th when we went to this approach.  Wow.

[celticinorlando]

i love ray allen...but i am all for trading him for an athletic 2 that can get to the rim and finish

[RJ87]

Now people will talk about Kobe being clutch while the guy missed his last 9 shots in the 4th, hogged the ball. Sure he made the last shot (game winning), kudos to him, but when you need 10 attempts to make one shot don't say he is the clutchest player in the league.

That's the worst part of the loss, the Kobe praise that will follow.

But I saw this team have some spark, which was nice to see with all the criticism that has been surrounding them the past few weeks. This one stung, but its a good stepping stone. We're still a solid team.

[CelticSooner]

where was tony allen in the second half?

IDK. Where was Rondo most of the game? I guess Doc loves this stand around take a wild shot as the buzzer goes off offense.

Did you watch this game at all? Rondo was dominant.

Yes I did. I saw Rondo sitting most of the second half.

[hpantazo]

This team is done. Let the snowball continue down the hill.

Really?  The Celts lost on a last-possession shot against a team that many consider the best in the NBA, and we're done?

Roy, "done" is a relative term. We don't really win games anymore, so it makes it hard to think we are anything other than "done" when it comes to winning the title. Sure, we have a chance (think dumb-and-dumber), but that chance has to look remote at this point.

KG is getting his legs back and Ray is struggling on offense, BBD was non-existent, and Daniels is out with an injury.  We played a stretch of 3 games in 4 nights against 3 of the top 5 teams in the NBA.  Yes, we couldn't close those games out, but we were competitive in all of them.

I agree with you Roy, people forget the injuries that this team has been trying to overcome because they still look competetive. If it where any other team, they would be fighting for a playoff berth in the second half of the season.

[MattG12]

This team has no heart.

They need to read Kiorrik's "Overcoming Adversity" thread, and watch the championship video.

[CoachBo]

Rondo wasn't dominant in the last six minutes of the game, when we need him to be.

[drkalloch]

This team is done. Let the snowball continue down the hill.

Really?  The Celts lost on a last-possession shot against a team that many consider the best in the NBA, and we're done?

Roy, "done" is a relative term. We don't really win games anymore, so it makes it hard to think we are anything other than "done" when it comes to winning the title. Sure, we have a chance (think dumb-and-dumber), but that chance has to look remote at this point.

KG is getting his legs back and Ray is struggling on offense, BBD was non-existent, and Daniels is out with an injury.  We played a stretch of 3 games in 4 nights against 3 of the top 5 teams in the NBA.  Yes, we couldn't close those games out, but we were competitive in all of them.

There is a pretty significant chasm between competitive and actually being a threat to the crown. Case in point: the 07-08 Celts were one of the best teams of all time by point differential and other statistical metrics. The Hawks were "competitive" with them in the First Round of the playoffs, but nobody could honestly think they could win the title.

[Donoghus]

The team and coaching staff is going to learn from this.

I hate to say it but this was an encouraging loss.  Celtics played extremely well for a large duration of this game and illustrated that they can still play with the best.  The loss is tough to take but the Celtics still managed to take a step in the right direction.

How will they learn from it? You make it sound like the C's are an upcoming team. They were picked to win the East for god's sake! It's one thing to play inspired ball it's another to continually lose games you have no business losing.

Well, for one, you think they're going to learn from the 7 turnovers in the first quarter they made?  

Two, offensive execution down the stretch?  I think its reached a point now where the coaching staff is going to realize that you can't take the game out of Rondo's hands just because there's 2 minutes left in the game.  I think this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

They just lost a game in January.  This team is getting healthier and played a heckuva game today despite this lose.

The "sky is falling" cry is overplayed.  This team is making small strides.

[fanofgreen]

IF RONDO would stop being so scared of wide open jumpshots and knock those down we would have won.

yes pierce should not have pushed off, but this is what year 4 or 5 for Rondo, and he still cant shoot a WIDE-OPEN jump-shot!?!?!?!

How do you travel 15 feet away from the basket, with absolutely no one around you within 5 or 6 feet??

I'm tired of Rondo passing up wide open shots, and not being able to knock down a 15 footer. I'd rather him shoot a set shot, like his free throws, than see him travel or re-penetrate into traffic.

When Rondo traveled, on that play 15 feet away from the basket with no one around him, thats where we lost the game.

He broke the little offensive rhythm we had going.

Rondo is suppose to be an All-Star, and he cant make and is scared of wide open 15 foot jumpers.

[hpantazo]

where was tony allen in the second half?

IDK. Where was Rondo most of the game? I guess Doc loves this stand around take a wild shot as the buzzer goes off offense.

Did you watch this game at all? Rondo was dominant.

Yes I did. I saw Rondo sitting most of the second half.

where you watching an old game? Rondo was in there, he passed up a bunch of open looks and also traveled in a key play because he was afraid to shoot,

[celticinorlando]

Doc said these 3 games would measure this team.....i guess we still have miles to go...because this one and the orlando choke were redonkulous...and as usual...rondo has to take a back seat to PP and his iso/3 ball chucking/driving the lane looking for a foul instead of letting rondo run by anyone on the court

[RJ87]

where was tony allen in the second half?

IDK. Where was Rondo most of the game? I guess Doc loves this stand around take a wild shot as the buzzer goes off offense.

Did you watch this game at all? Rondo was dominant.

Yes I did. I saw Rondo sitting most of the second half.

I disagree, the Rondo pick and roll was working in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Then they decided to use the Paul iso down the stretch which hurt us a lot. I don't really bash Doc, but this is a time when I would've liked him to trust Rondo a little more down the stretch.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

it was TA being out that changed our game,,HE was the spark..the first to hit the glass, he started rondo going too

[LarBrd33]

It can only go up from here...

We have lost 11 of our last 17 games.

Our last 3 wins have come against the Nets (lol), Clippers (lol) and a broken Blazers team in Overtime.

Yeah... I'd say we are looking like garbage right now.  I say we seriously look into trading Ray.  He's a streaky old man these days and if he's not hitting his shots he's not really providing that much.