These losses to MIA and CHI could be a ploy

[stylo617617]

i mean i herd doc saying last yeared to face clevland though they had the best record in the nba and seemed inviincible

& i actually think the celtics do not want to see orlando in the 2nd round (since the dwight stopper isnt with us anymore) so we dropped the 1 seed purposly but idk about the rest but who knows tho i just cant wait till the playoffs kets all get mentally ready for the new york knicks

[raynman]

Your hypothesis sounds a little more WWE than NBA, but I give you credit for the thinking.

It is an admittedly farfetched idea aside from being a huge reach, but it's not out of the realm of impossibility. These guys handily defeat the Sixers one day and then don't show for the biggest game of the season?  Rondo lights up for 20 and 14 the next day but can't be bothered to play two days later against another important opponent?

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces you into thinking you can't lose."- Bill Gates

Yeah, then it's probably safe to bet they'd win by an average of 30 points against the Wiz and Knicks in the final two games, right?

[chambers]

Your hypothesis sounds a little more WWE than NBA, but I give you credit for the thinking.

haha.
This might actually be plausible if number 1 seed and number 2 seed wasn't at stake with these games.

unfortunately for us it's because we are playing Charles Barkley turrrible lately.

[Onslaught]

No.

[aporel#18]

Your hypothesis sounds a little more WWE than NBA, but I give you credit for the thinking.

rofl reminds me of this part of the game the captain gave Wade the WWE up and down dog look

post of the week co-winners!! TPs for both 

On topic, they don't loose on purpose, in fact both games went in completely different routes. Against Chicago they stayed in the game for the first half, and then they had a "turrible" second half. Against the Heat they started hot and got disinterested quickly after Doc started messing with rotations.

In my opinion, what happens is Doc is overplaying Baby. I don't know if he wants Baby to get slimmer, or he's just trying to save the other bigs legs (they have gone through an injury festival). This, plus Rondo underperforming, is making the Celtics look like some second-tier team.

It could be that the importance of injuries is been overplayed, but as much as I would like that, we all know those injuries are real.

And while Rose open his big mouth to say they knew they can beat the Celtics since they traded Perkins, the Heatles are saying the right things. Like some had pointed, the mind games make sense only on Da Bulls, and we'll see how it goes in the end.

Go Celtics!!!

[snowball]

It's definitely in their heads that they
don't want to peak too soon,
and in their bodies that they don't want
to go all-out before the playoffs.

[nyceltsfan]

In my opinion, what happens is Doc is overplaying Baby. I don't know if he wants Baby to get slimmer, or he's just trying to save the other bigs legs (they have gone through an injury festival).
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Yes - I agree.  The other problem is that Kristic is the first Center off the bench.  He brings no toughness, no rebounding and frankly, no offense either right now.  So as unfortunate as it sounds, our hopes rely on a 39 year old center that has not played more than 5 minutes in 2 months.

[pearljammer10]

I cant believe people actually buy into this idea...

[get_banners]

this isn't a ploy. they simply aren't playing well. to be fair, it is entirely plausible they are not exerting full effort because they know what 2 months of the postseason do to a team - that, i can buy (even though it is frustrating for fans), and the fact that we can dominate good teams for periods of time in games suggests this might be true. but losing to our rivals certainly isn't a ploy.

[Bankshot]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ohhhh man am I really reading this? With positive responses? Yea the celts purposefully lost huge games, knowing that we'd be givin up home court against the Bulls, Heat, and not to mention the FREAKIN LAKERS

[Assassin70]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ohhhh man am I really reading this? With positive responses? Yea the celts purposefully lost huge games, knowing that we'd be givin up home court against the Bulls, Heat, and not to mention the FREAKIN LAKERS

You know what I was right on board with you 100%.  Then I got to thinking about it hard real hard...and the OP might just be on to something.

I will only agree however if we win the next 2 games.  Otherwise it is just the Celtics playing bad with no answers as most others thought.

[greenpride32]

I'd buy it for the Bulls since we probably gave up hope of catching them.  But I'm sure our team would really prefer HCA over MIA.  And now we have to hope for ATL or TOR to give us a chance for that.

We barely beat a team of d-leaguers at home on FRI; and I knew it was bad news for the C's when they went scoreless the last 4.5 minutes in the 1Q vs MIA.  Then just 2 points in the first 3.5 minutes of the 2nd.

[housecall]

TP for thinking outside the box... i buy some of it...as we already know this team has another gear to go to when its playoff time(proven in the past).Less than 2 weeks ago this team beat the league's leader(Spurs)by double digits,unless you do not respect the Spurs as being a top tier team then you doubt this team winning period.All fans expect/wants their team to play competitive basketball every game,even moreso this time of the season.Just because we expect and want to see their A game always doesn't mean they share that same thought.
Im not inside their minds so i will not go as far to say its mind games they're playing but i do know the Rondo we've seen in the past week is a much better player when focused and playing at the top of his game.

[Kuberski1]

I don't think theses losses were a ploy...we would have been happy to win.  2nd seed is 2nd seed.

Am just now watching the replay of the Miami game (I live in Shanghai, and watch the games at night my time, or your morning after), and have made it to half time.  They look flat, but they have been in the game the entire half, despite not playing great.  The Chicago game was the same: close at half, then broke open by the bad guys in the 2nd half.

My conclusion is that more than anything, these guys are tired.  KG, Ray, and Pierce are all ancient in basketball years, and the 82 game season is a grind.  Ray and Pierce have played in every game I believe.  

Not to minimize our problems, which are real, I believe that just plain old fatigue is one of the big issues.  In my mind, the biggest difference between the beginning of the season, where we played great, even without Perk and Shaq, and now....is that we are at the end of the season.  Any other team have their 3 best guys at 34-35 years old?

The playoff schedule will help a lot.  Yes, we still have a lot of work to do, especially with the 2nd unit.  But after watching this game now, I am encouraged, believe it or not...playing flat, not aggressive, and still in the game...

[Cman]

a ploy?
Doubtful.  Cs would love to have the Ws, and the confidence that it would give going into the playoffs.