Here comes the regular season doldrums

[snowball]

Last night officially marked the beginning
of the 2010-11 Boston Celtics regular season.
Garnett - head bump looked like a tumor
Pierce - slower
Rondo - leg cramps
Shaq - abused by refs

Here we go guys - look forward to at least 60
games of getting through with as least as possible
Celtics will probably win 70% of their games

nothing counts until April.

Our vets doing the minimum required and
focus on staying healthy.

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If any player wants to hang out until April, they can do it on the bench.

Home court advantage will matter this year.

Miami will get on a roll at some point and win 15 straight.

We're not playing well.  We're 9-3, but 3 wins required OT against teams that are supposedly not contenders.  An odd bounce another way in those games, and we're looking at 6-6 and there would be a frenzy on these boards.

If the veterans want to save it up, fine.  I'll take 24 great minutes from each of them instead of 30-36 that starters should play, but I won't take 12 good minutes and 24 mediocre, half-ass minutes.

[pearljammer10]

Really?..... Really??

We're not playing well?

Rondo averages 15 assists per game.
Pierce shooting 55% from the field averaging 22 points a game.
KG is rebounding again and scoring well.
Big Baby is playing like a 6th man of the year candidate.
Shaq has shown he still has plenty left in the tank.

I dont see the logic here at all.

[GreenEnvy]

Last night officially marked the beginning
of the 2010-11 Boston Celtics regular season.
Garnett - head bump looked like a tumor
Pierce - slower
Rondo - leg cramps
Shaq - abused by refs

Here we go guys - look forward to at least 60
games of getting through with as least as possible
Celtics will probably win 70% of their games

nothing counts until April.

Our vets doing the minimum required and
focus on staying healthy.

I don't know what Garnett's welt has to do with anything. I doubt it had an impact on his game last night. Are you predicting he gets a tumor during the season?

Pierce certainly didn't look slow barreling down the lane (after beating his man) for a one handed stuff over two defenders.

Rondo will be fine, maybe he should worry about not being in foul trouble in crunch time.

And Shaq got abused alright, but by his teammates and coaching staff. OKC couldn't do anything against him, as obvious by his 5-5 effortless start. Then they stopped going to him and played BBD way too much when it was obvious he must've been keeping his hands in a bucket of ice on the bench.



If they win 70% of the rest of their games, they will finish close to 60. I'd take that right now. I kindaaaa don't hate these letdowns (at home I do, but not on the road) as much as getting beat in big games. They may be frustrating, but I rather lose a game like the OKC one and go smack up Atlanta on Monday than vice versa.

[celtics2]

Last night officially marked the beginning
of the 2010-11 Boston Celtics regular season.
Garnett - head bump looked like a tumor
Pierce - slower
Rondo - leg cramps
Shaq - abused by refs

Here we go guys - look forward to at least 60
games of getting through with as least as possible
Celtics will probably win 70% of their games

Oh yeah I agree. First few minutes of the game one could tell the Celts were going to coast at best. Even at coasting I laughed because we lost the game on the foul line and missing our last 7 shots had something to do with it. Garnett never should have played with the head egg anyway. First time in years I haven't subscribed to Time Warner League Pass. I'll catch it for the 2nd half and save $$. I record all games I can now and if results are a loss it's delete and back to the Housewives of NJ.

nothing counts until April.

Our vets doing the minimum required and
focus on staying healthy.

[Celtics4ever]

MIA won't win 15 straight they are a flawed team composed of selfish guys.

[SamuelAdams]

The slowdown will come and it will be good for our old guys. I expected it after 22-24 games though.  These guys know they need to save it for playoffs.

[snowball]

The slowdown will come and it will be good for our old guys. I expected it after 22-24 games though.  These guys know they need to save it for playoffs.

that's what i was thinking, but it appears to be here
already, and in the long run we will be better served.
we learned that.

[j804]

after one game you come to this conclusion? if we had won youd be singing a different tune ****

[footey]

We were awful on Friday nights last year. Hope this does not portend that.

[moiso]

We havn't shown up in a couple games this year.  As long as it's every once in a while and not a long term thing like last year I'm fine with it.  It's funny, but if the Thunder had Durant, the Celts would have competed a lot harder and maybe even won the game.

[Tgro]

I agree, without Durant the Celtics looked like they were going through the motions and felt like they could turn it on at any time. Of course, they couldn't when it mattered. I also think they should have fed Shaq the ball more. He's looking better to me now than I've seen him the last couple of years. That bump on KG's head was disturbing. He seemed bothered for a bit. I would have been freaking hoping no one else hit it again. Other guys didn't play their usual game.

I think it was just a bad game though. They took the competition too lightly and got burned. They came out sleepwalking and never really woke up. I think they come out of this ready to rock. In the long run this might actually end up being a good thing. I don't think they want to relive last year. This team is better than that.

[Bahku]

Every team has a few of these games every year, and I'd rather have one early in the season than closer to the playoffs. I don't think there's any "doldrums" to be had, though, I think this year's Celtics are very aware of their problems with defending home court last year, and plan to go out to win each night.

When someone says that these mid-season games mean nothing, it bothers me a bit, cuz I expect this team to win every night, and what they do through the regular season not only sets the tone for the playoffs, but has a lot to do with seeding and home-court advantage.

Celtic Pride and the culture that Red built here in Boston, is all about winning, every night, and not just in the playoffs. Is there a different mind-set as far as injuries and the leniency during the regular season for giving extra time to recover? Absolutely, and it makes sense to do so.

But Doc and the team fully intend to win each game they play, and do their best to provide the tools needed to do so. Personally, I love the regular season, and expect no "let-down" or doldrums. There are going to be "off" nights, however, and the best we can do is learn from them and put them behind us. 

[crownsy]

The slowdown will come and it will be good for our old guys. I expected it after 22-24 games though.  These guys know they need to save it for playoffs.

that's what i was thinking, but it appears to be here
already, and in the long run we will be better served.
we learned that.

After one game they lost by 5 points, they are going to shut it down till the playoffs eh?

Celticsblog: where complete over reaction happens.

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Except for a couple of showcase games (i.e. Miami), they've had a quarter or more where they played like they did for the first 3 against OKC.  Not being able to completely overcome deficits to win in regulation, they won 3 in OT (when they played as they should have in regulation).  That's the problem:  it's the "flip the switch" issue again.

If the starters/vets need to rest, then by all means blow a team out and take the 4th quarter off, don't half-step through 3 quarters on the court and then try to win it at the end.