Sixers (11-16) at Celtics (22-4) 12/22

[DinTN]

KG's talking about the refs. Wouldn't be surprised if a fine comes his way.

What's he saying?

Nothing too serious. He said they were getting frustrated with the calls Philly was getting. Said the C's were attacking and not getting the same calls.

If the C's had lost he probably would have went off.

Thanks - I'd TP you but I can't for an hour.

Assisted with the TP.

[slamtheking]

it's finally hit me why I'm enjoying this year's team more than I have in the past few years.  This team is showing they know how to close out games and that they're going to make the VETERAN plays necessary to win the close games against inferior teams. 

This has not been the case since KG and Ray got here.  for years when we had the youth movement we were told they were losing because they weren't vets that knew how to win.  even after the big trades, the vets still showed they had problems executing intelligent plays to close out games.  (they'd still win some needless to say)   This is the first year in a very long time that I can watch this team play a close game and feel confident they'll make the right plays down the stretch to pull out a win.

[NoraG1]

KG's talking about the refs. Wouldn't be surprised if a fine comes his way.

Sad part is refs have nothing coming their way. They are allowed to be as bad as they want.

[Spicoli]

This by far, was the worst game i've watched all season. Well, the Charlotte game was pretty close (because of how awful Charlotte is). But man, the officiating was embarrassing. The league should be embarrassed by what happened tonight.

[Witch-King]

The Boston Celtics held on at the end there and won a close one in The Garden.

Lols, no offense to the leading scorer from our team, Ray Allen (22 points), however Shaquille O'Neal's shooting percentage was the highest of anyone on our team, though Ray Allen was better from the foul-line.

Now I'm not saying that Shaq is a better shooter than Ray, or that he has better shot-selection or something, however it is worth noting that Shaquille O'Neal has heavy arms and it takes a lot more force to alter his shot in order to prevent him from finishing at the basket.

'Individuals' have termed the type of fouls necessary to prevent Shaquille O'Neal from scoring as simply hacking him, the method of doing so is actually defined as the 'Hack-a-Shaq', according to http://www.urbandictionary.com/.

Now, I'm not saying that fouling Ray Allen is any less of an offense because Ray is a legitimate threat to score from almost anywhere on the court, however it is worth noting the fact that Shaquille O'Neal has always been a proficient scorer in the paint  and shoots a higher field goal percentage than anyone in the league while Ray Allen is much more reliable in close-game situations. It is also worth pointing out the fact that Ray Allen is often fouled at the very end of close games simply because he usually has the ball in his hands.

^it really makes me wonder how Rajon Rondo can deal with taking so many hard fouls as a point guard. I mean, there's no such thing as a Hack-a-Rondo per say, however it does look like Rondo is sometimes fouled hard enough to where his free-throw shooting could be compromised 

[jdpapa3]

Watching the Philly broadcast, it was kind of funny how impressed the Philly local broadcasters were with the Sixers' effort.  And while they should be applauded for not rolling over for the C's, let's also face the fact that this is a team without Rondo, O'Neal, Perk, and D-West who didn't come into this game all that seriously and missed a ton of wide open shots. 

True, the talent gap between the Celts and Sixers is wide.  However, I will say that particularly late in the first half, the effort from the Sixers was phenomenal.  They were hustling all over the court, especially on D.

Philly stifled us defensively in the first half and for long stretches in the second as well. Jrue and Iggy are good defenders and our 2 offense initiators with Rondo out are Pierce and Nate. Luckily, Ray was up to the task tonight and did almost everything offensively. The offense was very disjointed. That trusty old D rarely takes a night off, though.

[Change]

Steak is alive.

I asked for it rare, not kicking!   

Steaking Steak. Mmmmm steak.

[Q_FBE]

I'll take this win. I knew it would be brutal after the Philly received the butt kicking in Chicago. I've seen too many teams come back after shellackings and win the next game. Philly almost made it happen. The nine point five spread made it an easy cover for Philly yet there was room for the Celtics to win the game too.

The refereeing was suspect in my opinion but I think this was the holiday energy which often indicates a form reversal. The Celtics were horrible in FG% and offensive execution but the defense and rebounding held OK. This could have been a loss given the poor games from Paul Pierce and Glen Davis.

[Bahku]

Watching the game ... horrible officiating! Wow - rarely have i seen such a concerted effort by the refs to help an underdog win! Really terrible calls.

[Bahku]

Power slam by Shaq ... love it!!

[Bahku]

Amazing ... they blow the whistle every time the Sixers have the ball! 28 Sixer Free-Throws to our 7 at the end of the third quarter - four times as many!! That's just WRONG! How did we even WIN this game?!?

[Bahku]

Pierce with the steal and then slam at the other end ... sweet!! Then Battie goes over his back for the RB and Pierce gets his 5th foul ... horrible call!

[Bahku]

Pierce is so good ... KG great defense, and Shaq just huge on the boards!

[Bahku]

Shaq misses both free-throws ... I'm surprised the Sixers didn't use the "Hack-A-Shaq" at the end of this game ... they might have won.

[Bahku]

Well, it was an ugly game and the discrepency in free-throws through the first three quarters was horrendous, (we ended up with 10 fewer) ... everything else was fairly even, and though they shot a better percentage than we did, (43.1% to our 38.8% - both pretty bad), the only reason we won was that we took more shots than the Sixers, (80 FGs to their 65, 20 tres to their 10).

Really one of the sloppiest games I've seen in a while, but we'll take the win. As I've said before, that's the biggest difference to me between this year and last ... this is the kind of game we would have lost last year, but this year, despite the injuries and new faces, we find a way to win. Go Celtics!