Huge Bummer -- Massive Choke

[Chief]

Why the lack of bench play?  Seemed like Stiesma and Pietrus were the only guys to get any minutes.  Our starters could have used a bit more rest and no jjj?  He would pull one big out of rebounding area with his jumper (much like kg)

I don't blame Doc for that today. Bench for the most part wasn't getting it done. They let the Lakers build that big lead in the first half. Dooling should be sent back to Boston.

bradley on lakers pg spells trouble, i didn't even see him in (working & watching)

Bradley has to overcome subbing in with Dooling every game. Bradley has no pg skills but neither does Dooling. Might as well put him in with Daniels.

[GreenNote]

Should've just had Rondo or Pierce charging the lane for free throws in the 2 plays before Bass missed his jumper.

We rely wayyyyyyyy too much on jumpshots, been our weakness for years now.

TP to you! Rondo should try to get to the line if they are down 1, he can definitely split the FTs especially if he's 4/4

[2short]

Why the lack of bench play?  Seemed like Stiesma and Pietrus were the only guys to get any minutes.  Our starters could have used a bit more rest and no jjj?  He would pull one big out of rebounding area with his jumper (much like kg)

I don't blame Doc for that today. Bench for the most part wasn't getting it done. They let the Lakers build that big lead in the first half. Dooling should be sent back to Boston.

bradley on lakers pg spells trouble, i didn't even see him in (working & watching)

Bradley has to overcome subbing in with Dooling every game. Bradley has no pg skills but neither does Dooling. Might as well put him in with Daniels.

Sadly my favorite bench guy of last year, daniels, really hasn't looked good at all this year
but i can see bradley in as long as pp is in to handle things (or rondo for that matter)
bradley has what 20% pg skills, but I feel his defense can help the team in bursts, if paul is on the floor to handle the ball avery can become useful, if he has to run the offense its painful to watch
i still think he deserved some minutes, i am not of the trade rondo cuz bradley is the future camp, i do think 10 minutes of his defense can help us out, if fisher is guarding bradley i'd be fine with his offense as well

[2short]

Should've just had Rondo or Pierce charging the lane for free throws in the 2 plays before Bass missed his jumper.

We rely wayyyyyyyy too much on jumpshots, been our weakness for years now.

when bass missed that open jumper he should have drove, gasol was only guy and he was under rim
tommy i'm sure was yelling for the celtics to take it to the hole!

[guava_wrench]

This team has been a jumpshooting team for 5 years who have you guys been watching? That's how we've always won

As you say, our go to plays at the end are usually freeing up guys for jumpers.

[Galeto]

Doc drew up a great play for Bass out of the timeout that could have given the Celtics the lead but besides that, it was frustrating to see the whole offense in the last two minutes revolve around holding the ball and shooting mid-range jumpers.  How about being the aggressors and attacking the basket?  In game 2 of the 2008 Finals, the Celtics had almost given away a 20 plus point lead and were only up by 1 point late.  Pierce drove to the basket and got fouled and the Celtics ended up winning.  Nowadays it's just all freaking jumpshots.  Yeah that's a recipe for success.  Just like Doc doesn't see that Ray never gets separation on his motion runs anymore, they just keep doing the same thing over and over down the stretch with the same results.

[Galeto]

Sadly my favorite bench guy of last year, daniels, really hasn't looked good at all this year
but i can see bradley in as long as pp is in to handle things (or rondo for that matter)
bradley has what 20% pg skills, but I feel his defense can help the team in bursts, if paul is on the floor to handle the ball avery can become useful, if he has to run the offense its painful to watch
i still think he deserved some minutes, i am not of the trade rondo cuz bradley is the future camp, i do think 10 minutes of his defense can help us out, if fisher is guarding bradley i'd be fine with his offense as well
[/quote]

Bradley's been better on offense lately and that's been good to see but his defense is just overrated to me.  It's flashy and hyper but at end of all his pressure are a lot of fouls and guys blowing past him to the basket.  I don't think he's drawn a single charge out of the perimeter. With his lateral quickness and supposed defensive brilliance, that shouldn't be the case.  I would love it if he backed off just a bit because then it'd be nearly impossible to get by him.  This is the freaking NBA, most points except backups and Jameer Nelson, can handle his ball pressure with no problems.

I mean, Steve freaking Blake blew past Bradley in the open court and went in for a layup.  It wouldn't surprised me if that's the first time in Blake's long career that he ever did that.  If Steven freaking Blake can do that to you, it doesn't speak highly of your defense.

It's a shame.  After seeing Bradley's quick feet in college, I was so excited to see him play defense with the Celtics.  It's been a disappointment thus far.

[LooseCannon]

Statistical analysis tends to show that being able to win big against weak teams in the regular season correlates more to post-season success than being able to win close games against good teams.  A team that routinely beats the Raptors and Wizards by 20 and has some close losses to the Lakers and Celtics would be expected to do better in the post-season than a team that routinely beats the Raptors and Wizards by 5 to 10 points and has some close wins against the Lakers and Celtics.

A game like this makes me sad because it makes me think that Jeff Green and a quasi-healthy Jermaine O'Neal would make this team a legitimate contender, or at least a bench-strengthening trade away from being a legitimate contender.  A good draft and the addition of a big has shooting range, is non-horrible at rebounding, and is capable of playing within the Celtics defensive scheme makes me think that "keeping the band together" for one more year would have the Celtics as a team with realistic championship goals next season.

[Celtics4ever]

quasi-healthy Jermaine O'Neal

Is there such a thing?

[Celtics18]

Man, I can't wait for the trade deadline to come and go.  Then, this team can just focus on going out and playing basketball come what may.  

I like this team and want to see them kept together.  There's only a few more days of angst before we'll know what this team looks like for the remainder of the season.

Hopefully, I'll be sighing a huge sigh of relief.

[CelticG1]

Should've just had Rondo or Pierce charging the lane for free throws in the 2 plays before Bass missed his jumper.

We rely wayyyyyyyy too much on jumpshots, been our weakness for years now.

when bass missed that open jumper he should have drove, gasol was only guy and he was under rim
tommy i'm sure was yelling for the celtics to take it to the hole!

No you take your bread and butter jumper especially if you don't have good handle and are WIDE OPEN. You do that every single time

[2short]

Should've just had Rondo or Pierce charging the lane for free throws in the 2 plays before Bass missed his jumper.

We rely wayyyyyyyy too much on jumpshots, been our weakness for years now.

when bass missed that open jumper he should have drove, gasol was only guy and he was under rim
tommy i'm sure was yelling for the celtics to take it to the hole!

No you take your bread and butter jumper especially if you don't have good handle and are WIDE OPEN. You do that every single time

not if you have a 2 dribble drive for dunk or foul and stop the clock
if bass misses the jumper who is in position for rebound? no one, rondo was only guy close
drive the lane and make something better happen

[BASS_THUMPER]

i hope they dont party 2 much 2 nite in la


we got the clips 2morrow

[theswitch]

Statistical analysis tends to show that being able to win big against weak teams in the regular season correlates more to post-season success than being able to win close games against good teams.  A team that routinely beats the Raptors and Wizards by 20 and has some close losses to the Lakers and Celtics would be expected to do better in the post-season than a team that routinely beats the Raptors and Wizards by 5 to 10 points and has some close wins against the Lakers and Celtics.

A game like this makes me sad because it makes me think that Jeff Green and a quasi-healthy Jermaine O'Neal would make this team a legitimate contender, or at least a bench-strengthening trade away from being a legitimate contender.  A good draft and the addition of a big has shooting range, is non-horrible at rebounding, and is capable of playing within the Celtics defensive scheme makes me think that "keeping the band together" for one more year would have the Celtics as a team with realistic championship goals next season.

Yeah, games like this are hard to swallow but they don't bother me all that much in the long run. Bass makes his shot, Kobe and Bynum don't make ridiculous contested shots, and we pull it out. If they played this one out again, I wouldn't be surprised to see a different result. Maybe Rondo hits a 3 at the end instead of bricking just like at the end of the half. It's a game of inches and shots, and they could go either way.

With a healthy Green and Wilcox, even without JO, this team looks a lot different.

[CelticG1]

Should've just had Rondo or Pierce charging the lane for free throws in the 2 plays before Bass missed his jumper.

We rely wayyyyyyyy too much on jumpshots, been our weakness for years now.

when bass missed that open jumper he should have drove, gasol was only guy and he was under rim
tommy i'm sure was yelling for the celtics to take it to the hole!

No you take your bread and butter jumper especially if you don't have good handle and are WIDE OPEN. You do that every single time

not if you have a 2 dribble drive for dunk or foul and stop the clock
if bass misses the jumper who is in position for rebound? no one, rondo was only guy close
drive the lane and make something better happen

He was 12 feet from the hoop and he is not lighting fast. I think they would have closed him down pretty quick. That's just a risky move IMO. He's not a good dribbler and not a good passer. Huge risk of a turnover there. I think you take that shot every time if you are Bass