Rockets (37-37) at Celtics (47-27) 4/2

[Thruthelookingglass]

It's simple -- refs wanted to go home.

I though they wanted Ray Allen to go home -- to quote the immortal Mikki Moore, they called fouls of him eating his breakfast.

Funny!

[Mike-Dub]

I have no Doc issues tonight, except for the fact that we didn't foul when up 3 and the Rockets scorching from 3 point land. Even liked Finley off of the bench shooting the ft's.

And I won't fault him for the full Rondo game because the second unit sucked with Nate running it and was great with Rondo running it.

I didn't mind Finley on the line at all either.  I thought for sure he was going to knock down both shots.

[twinbree]

1.  Checking the box score (couldn't see game), it looks like Quisy has been officially passed in the rotation, and is now 3rd wing off the bench behind TA and Finley?  Is that true (makes sense to me)?

2. And did Shelden get minutes at the expense of BBD (finally)?

3.  And Ray Allen?  Fountain of Youth?  How was he quick enough to stay close enough to foul someone...anyone...6 times?

1. looks that way
2. not enough of them, but a few and he seemed to fare pretty well
3. though there were a couple cheapies, Ray did pick up some uncharacteristic fouls.  I think one time he just ran into his guy.

I was wondering about that. Very strange to see him in foul trouble let alone fouling out after playing so few minutes.

[Thruthelookingglass]

Hey, I understand everyone is bummed that we lost tonight, and that our Celtics aren't looking like a contender.  But I enjoyed most of the game tonight and I will still root for our guys top to bottom.  For many of us, each game is a new game and a new opportunity to win.  Granted, Cavs on a Sunday doesn't look too good for this unit, but I'm still gonna be fired up and cheering for PP, KG, Rondo, 'Sheed and the rest of the Celtics to take the Cavs down!

GO CELTICS!

I have tickets to that slaughter.

But good for you bringing optimism. Always a nice thing to see.

I hope you have a great time at the game.  For your sake, I hope they bury the Cavs under the parquet on Sunday!

[jdpapa3]

On most nights we would have won this game.  The Rockets hit an unreal amount of 3s/circus shots and C's missed an unreal amount of gimmes and free throws.

It happens.

No, it happens because the starting 5 collectively can't defend.  If you notice, when the 2nd team was in there the first half of the 4th and actually got after them, they weren't hitting so many shots.

Pretty uninformed opinion, imo. Though the starting 5 did not defend well tonight, they are otherwise the top starting defensive unit in the league.

http://basketballvalue.com/topunits.php?year=2009-2010

Don't bother looking at the adjusted numbers: don't completely agree with how they calculate that. But the unadjusted numbers are just the facts.

[kozlodoev]

And where was Nate in the 2nd half? The last thing we need is to get Rondo burned out for the playoffs.

I guess Doc decided that the -13 in 8 minutes in the first half is enough. Can't blame him though. Nate is probably on the bottom of this team where the cumulative plus-minus stat is concerned (read: every time he comes in the other team makes a run)

[celticinorlando]

since sunday is easter..maybe the celtics will too rise from the grave.....then again..i hope they dont get blown out..which is what i am afraid is going to happen

[butterbeanlove]

This has got to be KG's worst game as a celtic. Too many missed open jumpers and lay ups, and worst of all, he couldn't rebound the ball. It's just frustrating to see the talent level drop just like that.

And yeah, how many times do we need to remind this team that no lead is safe, and that opposing teams just don't "die". When the C's got that 5 point lead in OT, they acted as though the Rockets had given up. But guess what, they came back and won the game! Btw, the hawks lost, we could've tied them at #3 had we won this game.

As one of the announcers said a week or two ago, KG never learned how to box out because he could always jump higher than everyone else.

These days? Not so much. He better learn. It's a skill you teach sixth-graders in CYO. Otherwise, we're lucky to get past the first round.

[twinbree]

since sunday is easter..maybe the celtics will too rise from the grave.....

I'll say amen to that

[jdpapa3]

since sunday is easter..maybe the celtics will too rise from the grave.....then again..i hope they dont get blown out..which is what i am afraid is going to happen

Eh, pretty sure people were scared of the same thing when the Lakers came to town.

But I got a good laugh from the first sentence. 

[misha]

Did Bedinger found Reggie Miller shoes before this game?

We lost to an injured and undersized team. This game showed once again the big difference between this team and 08 team - Defense. The defensive intensity just isn't there. We used to be like a military unit out there with KG as a our general. Nowadays, we can lose to any team and the fear factor is gone. Unless some radical change, we'll have to pick between Kobe or Lebron in a month or so 

[P2]

Another chance to tie it up with Atlanta gone. Looks more and more like we'll get Cleveland in the second round.

[Mike-Dub]

Another chance to tie it up with Atlanta gone. Looks more and more like we'll get Cleveland in the second round.

We'd have to go through them anyways if we want to win it, so why not sooner than later.

[Kuberski33]

[Pretty uninformed opinion, imo. Though the starting 5 did not defend well tonight, they are otherwise the top starting defensive unit in the league.

http://basketballvalue.com/topunits.php?year=2009-2010
Don't bother looking at the adjusted numbers: don't completely agree with how they calculate that. But the unadjusted numbers are just the facts.

I go by what I see. And what I'm seeing a team get 110 put up on them by OKC the other night and allowing the opponents to shoot at close to a 60% clip for a good part of that game. I see a team whose cannot defend on the perimeter and a team who's help D inside is very often half a second slow.  I see KG unable to move laterally anywhere near as well as he could a year and a half ago.  I see a team defense that constantly breaks down because Ray can't defend anyone any more and all it takes as one weak link for any sound defensive scheme to fail.

Numbers may say differently but if that's the case I'd say the numbers are flawed. And if you want numbers that matter (and without looking them up) look simply at how many times these guys have given up 100+ points in a game.

My uninformed opinion says this team is going nowhere this season and very likely out in Round 1 of the playoffs because it's broken.  Unfortunately there is no easy fix because the problem is multi-faceted.

[jdpapa3]

Numbers may say differently but if that's the case I'd say the numbers are flawed.

I'd agree with you about any other stat, but saying these stats (after 1000+ minutes of data) are flawed is like saying 2+2 doesn't equal 4. It's just one of the facts. I like going by season long stats because basing it off of the latest week of games or so can skew your opinion.

Starting unit is dominant. The problem is when the bench guys start getting mixed in. Which can kill a team and is the main issue this team is facing right now.