Today's Game: Less Than a Triumph

[Rondo_is_better]

Hey Guys,

I was at the game today... am I the only who's not so happy with this game?

The cavs were barely trying for the first three quarters. Mike Brown recognized that and made the first good coaching move of his career -- getting thrown out. That barrage of technicals got the blood of the cavs (read: Lebron) pumping. They (read: Lebron) really woke up after the team-wide dance routine preceding Lebron's temper tantrum (did anyone else see that? lol at the flipping arms and stomping feet). We were up 20 when the Cavs kicked it in gear. After that, we didn't make a  shot for 9 minutes. It was pathetic. Really horrible. Every possession Lebron would score and we would try to run the shot clock down and score with a Pierce/KG ISO. Atrocious offense and defense until the very end when we barely pulled the game out -- mostly thanks to LeQueen's ineptitude at the free throw line. What a little whiner. He never comes up big. Never. Anyway, blowing a 20 point lead and then barely pulling it out with some clutch play in the last 3 1/2 minutes isn't my ideal way of achieving victory. I'm kind of upset at how badly we played in the 4th quarter. Is anyone else?

[snively]

Hey Guys,

I was at the game today... am I the only who's not so happy with this game?

The cavs were barely trying for the first three quarters. Mike Brown recognized that and made the first good coaching move of his career -- getting thrown out. That barrage of technicals got the blood of the cavs (read: Lebron) pumping. They (read: Lebron) really woke up after the team-wide dance routine preceding Lebron's temper tantrum (did anyone else see that? lol at the flipping arms and stomping feet). We were up 20 when the Cavs kicked it in gear. After that, we didn't make a  shot for 9 minutes. It was pathetic. Really horrible. Every possession Lebron would score and we would try to run the shot clock down and score with a Pierce/KG ISO. Atrocious offense and defense until the very end when we barely pulled the game out -- mostly thanks to LeQueen's ineptitude at the free throw line. What a little whiner. He never comes up big. Never. Anyway, blowing a 20 point lead and then barely pulling it out with some clutch play in the last 3 1/2 minutes isn't my ideal way of achieving victory. I'm kind of upset at how badly we played in the 4th quarter. Is anyone else?

Of course it would have been nicer to stomp them when they were down, but the fact that the C's endured is heartening after the Thunder and Rockets games. 

We definitely have problems with offensive identity when things get tight.  The Paul Pierce centric possessions certainly weren't pretty and KG's touch has been very iffy lately.  But I liked that Rondo managed to stay aggressive when things got tight, that we executed a few solid plays in the crunch and that we finally hit some clutch free throws.

[CoachBo]

Some truth to the OP - another collapse at home, for certain, showing some of the same issues that have hurt us all season - ball movement, rebounding, some absolutely incredibly dumb decisions at key times in the game.

But, this time they managed to figure out a way to win. It should have been over after Ray's three, but between poor foul shooting and yet another brain vapor lock from Tony Allen - and I don't care a whit about the call; he had no business being at the rim and he wasn't there for a rebound, as so many of you claim, unless he's developed unparalleled ability to hang in the air - it wasn't. Plenty of chances to lose the game, but we didn't.

Minor, minor step forward - one that if form holds will be negated soon with another collapse.

[cdif911]

I was there too, and the thought crossed my mind that we could blow this thing (and I mean completely blow it)

imagine how bad it would be here if the C's didn't pull out the victory.  Yes they didn't destroy the Cavs, but they didn't roll over and die either.  While agreeing, they could have played better throughout, I give credit to the Celtics for figuring it out before 48 were up

[Who]

Agreed -- a decent result but a [dang]ing performance

The Celtics look incapable of defeating the Cavaliers in a seven game series. The Celtics only won today because the Cavs' second best player wasn't in the lineup.

[cons]

This game was the definition of a "hollow victory".

[celticinorlando]

through 3 quarters boston looked fantastic on both ends. for some reason the jump shots started in the 4th and they fell back to old bad habits that must be worked out ASAP...but a win is a win

[Celtics17]

 ;)It's funny but if we had played a very tight game throughout and won in the last few minutes the whole discussion on the blog would have been how we beat a top opponent. Since we were killing them and they made a strong comeback though everyone seems to think we are doomed. Just imagine how good we would have looked if we were losing by 22 and ended up winning?

[Evantime34]

While it wasn't great that we let them back into the game, we were able to salvage the win. Had we lost this game after they came back I might have sworn off the Celtics at least until the playoffs. Being brought back from the brink of a soul crushing defeat was uplifting.

[celticinorlando]

;)It's funny but if we had played a very tight game throughout and won in the last few minutes the whole discussion on the blog would have been how we beat a top opponent. Since we were killing them and they made a strong comeback though everyone seems to think we are doomed. Just imagine how good we would have looked if we were losing by 22 and ended up winning?

agree. nobody dogs the cavs for getting down by 22...all they see is a comeback and nothing else...it is like boston didn't win that game...the cavs lost it...really it is the other way around...boston dominated for the most part

[jdpapa3]

We built the lead on a lot of long balls and fast break points. When the Celtics had to settle into a half court set is when the problems started from my vantage point. We were missing/had bad turnovers and Lebron was off to the races.

Thought Pierce, Rondo, and KG got pretty good looks that just didn't go down. And Lebron is just an unstoppable force in the open court. We better hope he doesn't get on D'Antoni's team because he is Magic with more strength/athleticism.

[Rondo_is_better]

;)It's funny but if we had played a very tight game throughout and won in the last few minutes the whole discussion on the blog would have been how we beat a top opponent. Since we were killing them and they made a strong comeback though everyone seems to think we are doomed. Just imagine how good we would have looked if we were losing by 22 and ended up winning?

There is an important difference. The Cavs played like crap for three quarters. If the whole game had been tight, that would mean the Cavs were playing well the whole time. In that scenario, we would be pulling out a win against the Cavs at their best. We barely won against the Cavs at their most mediocre because they got motivated for the last quarter.

[celticinorlando]

;)It's funny but if we had played a very tight game throughout and won in the last few minutes the whole discussion on the blog would have been how we beat a top opponent. Since we were killing them and they made a strong comeback though everyone seems to think we are doomed. Just imagine how good we would have looked if we were losing by 22 and ended up winning?

There is an important difference. The Cavs played like crap for three quarters. If the whole game had been tight, that would mean the Cavs were playing well the whole time. In that scenario, we would be pulling out a win against the Cavs at the best. We barely won against the Cavs at their most mediocre because they got motivated for the last quarter.

i dpn't know about the cavs just showing up until the 4th quarter..i thought they were playing hard esp when guys were getting T'd up. and if they were only going through the motions until the 4th...that is their own fault. did this game mean more to the C's than cavs? yes...absolutely...but i dont think you can say boston only got up big because the cavs weren't trying...boston played really well for 3 quarters.

[cdif911]

Agreed -- a decent result but a [dang]ing performance

The Celtics look incapable of defeating the Cavaliers in a seven game series. The Celtics only won today because the Cavs' second best player wasn't in the lineup.

Sideshow Bob or Shaq?

B/c Sideshow kills us...

[BudweiserCeltic]

Collapses in the 4th quarter are nothing new for the Celtics. This was the same story in our championship year. Overall we played a very good game against the top team of the NBA with the most dominant player in the NBA. Good win.

Anyways, I'm blaming Who for declaring the game over prematurely.