Why it was silly to panic

[celtics2]

I'll be sure to bump this thread tomorrow night, when the C's look listless, and get beat by the Hawks.  Thats when these reminders are going to be needed.

Luckily we don't play back to back in the playoffs.

[j804]

I'll be sure to bump this thread tomorrow night, when the C's look listless, and get beat by the Hawks.  Thats when these reminders are going to be needed.

Agreed this yin and yang play is going to have the top of my head looking like Kristics by the time were in the playoffs

[jdz101]

While we on the topic of baldness, how long till lebron shaves his head to halt the embarrassing receding hairline?  He's losing hair every time bibby chucks up a terrible 3 attempt.

I'd say he goes bald by 28

[BballTim]

The Celtics won this game because Rondo, Garnett and Davis went 19-25 their shots out of 10ft. That's an efficiency above 75% in long 2s.

If it wasn't for that, it would have been another lackluster performance, very similar to the past ones. Similar in the boards, similar inability to get high percentage shots, similar shot-selection, similar defense. Even a heavily perimeter oriented team like this season Spurs beat them in points in the paint.

Anyone who expects similar performances in the playoffs is going to be sorely disappointed because there's no way such efficiency in long 2s is sustainable.

OP is seeing things that didn't happen and only wrote this post because of the final score. Had they been normal in those long jumpers and lost another game this thread wouldn't exist.

You're assuming the efficiency on long 2's is unsustainable but the Celtics have proved all season long that when they're healthy and well rested they do have the best shooting percentage in the league. It's not a fluke or a one game thing, it's their trademark and it's due to proper rest and focus, two things which are a big part of the playoffs.

Well, maybe I'm assuming that efficiency is unsustainable because it's never been achieved in the history of league or the playoffs. Do you think it's a good enough reason? What happened today is the definition of fluke. This kind of efficiency in those shots happens a few games per season. You must have no idea about the numbers if you believe this is sustainable.

The Celtics shoot about 41% in their 2pt shots out of 10ft. Rondo makes around 40% of that type (and that's because doesn't shoot contested ones), not 2 out of 3. Garnett hits them at a 44% clip, not 80%.

You are 100% wrong: if they are going to win, it's going to be in a completely different way. By doing what they were doing earlier in the season, dominating their glass, getting high-percentage shots near the rim, getting good looks from beyond the line and defending the paint and the transition. Not by relying on Rondo to hit long 2s at a much better rate than Dirk Nowitzki.

  This is a fairly nonsensical post. They won't hit such a high rate of their outside shots in the playoffs although they will on occasion. However, if they aren't hitting those shots they won't take as many of them. You can probably look at most wins and find at least 1 thing that the winning team did that was above average and claim that they'll never be able to sustain the way they won. They'll just find other ways to win. Just like they did 50 times or so this season when Rondo wasn't hitting all those jumpers.

  It's not like they can only win if they hit all their outside shots...

[Jeff]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit gratified about the timing of my "I believe" post and this game.

That said, I'm not going to pat myself on the back too much just yet.  Still got the rest of the season and the playoffs to go.

[winsomme]

I think the Rondo panic was always pretty ridiculous. The team was just out of balance because we were missing a key leg of the table.

I think the center panic was and is right on the money.

The game last night demonstrated that when we have a defensive center in the mix it changes the whole complexion of what we do.

we're not a one hit wonder team. we need people playing their roles to function at a high level.

The question now is how deep we are going to be at the center position. If Shaq and JO can play it will be very encouraging. and if Nenad is just a sprain, he will make a solid third option.

now Danny is saying Sun or Tues for Shaq. here's hoping.

[EJPLAYA]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

[winsomme]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

well to arbitrarily say there is no need to panic would be silly, yes. but I think the point of what this team looks like with a defensive center is not silly. It's really been the biggest part of the problem over the past couple weeks. That doesn't mean we will play well and/or win every game, but every game that we are able to play with a defensive center has a much higher chance of being a win.

by the way, the other silly criticism was the "they're finally showing their age" angle. To think they have been dominating all season and then all of a sudden got old at once was pretty silly.

[BballTim]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

well to arbitrarily say there is no need to panic would be silly, yes. but I think the point of what this team looks like with a defensive center is not silly. It's really been the biggest part of the problem over the past couple weeks. That doesn't mean we will play well and/or win every game, but every game that we are able to play with a defensive center has a much higher chance of being a win.

by the way, the other silly criticism was the "they're finally showing their age" angle. To think they have been dominating all season and then all of a sudden got old at once was pretty silly.

  The problems have been more on offense than defense lately.

[winsomme]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

well to arbitrarily say there is no need to panic would be silly, yes. but I think the point of what this team looks like with a defensive center is not silly. It's really been the biggest part of the problem over the past couple weeks. That doesn't mean we will play well and/or win every game, but every game that we are able to play with a defensive center has a much higher chance of being a win.

by the way, the other silly criticism was the "they're finally showing their age" angle. To think they have been dominating all season and then all of a sudden got old at once was pretty silly.

  The problems have been more on offense than defense lately.

I actually don't agree because I think our offense functions with a lot more life when the team has their defensive swagger....which was clearly back most of the game last night.

and like Rondo said, they got a lot of easy buckets off of defensive stops.

The game changes when the team is confident they can get stops when they need them.

[BballTim]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

well to arbitrarily say there is no need to panic would be silly, yes. but I think the point of what this team looks like with a defensive center is not silly. It's really been the biggest part of the problem over the past couple weeks. That doesn't mean we will play well and/or win every game, but every game that we are able to play with a defensive center has a much higher chance of being a win.

by the way, the other silly criticism was the "they're finally showing their age" angle. To think they have been dominating all season and then all of a sudden got old at once was pretty silly.

  The problems have been more on offense than defense lately.

I actually don't agree because I think our offense functions with a lot more life when the team has their defensive swagger....which was clearly back most of the game last night.

and like Rondo said, they got a lot of easy buckets off of defensive stops.

The game changes when the team is confident they can get stops when they need them.

  Ok, but we generally *have* been getting defensive stops.

[winsomme]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

well to arbitrarily say there is no need to panic would be silly, yes. but I think the point of what this team looks like with a defensive center is not silly. It's really been the biggest part of the problem over the past couple weeks. That doesn't mean we will play well and/or win every game, but every game that we are able to play with a defensive center has a much higher chance of being a win.

by the way, the other silly criticism was the "they're finally showing their age" angle. To think they have been dominating all season and then all of a sudden got old at once was pretty silly.

  The problems have been more on offense than defense lately.

I actually don't agree because I think our offense functions with a lot more life when the team has their defensive swagger....which was clearly back most of the game last night.

and like Rondo said, they got a lot of easy buckets off of defensive stops.

The game changes when the team is confident they can get stops when they need them.

  Ok, but we generally *have* been getting defensive stops.

true, but we've been playing some pretty bad teams as well.

I just think overall the team has a completely different attitude when we have a defensive center available.

I'm not a stats guru but I just think the body language was so different last night. maybe the team has just decided to turn the switch on, but I have a hard to time not giving some major credit to the return of JO...

the roles just make more sense...

[fairweatherfan]

If it was silly to panic after a few weeks of bad games, it is probably just as silly to say that it was silly to panic after just one game… 

Not really, the reverse of panicking too easily would be irrational exuberance over our title chances.  The OP isn't calling on people to overreact in the opposite direction, just to be more levelheaded and focused on the big picture when assessing the team, instead of assuming that the short-term problems we had were permanent and unfixable.  This is sound advice during good times and bad.

[celticinorlando]

 very satisfied with the spurs game. I just want to see the last games played with that effort and energy before I get that warm and fuzzy feeling back. but last night was a good step in repairing my psyche.

[Prof. Clutch]

TP Drucci.  I've been taking the stay positive/hopeful route and I believe the Celtics will reward me...plus I personally take more joy out of being a fan with a supportive attitude rather than a pessimistic one.