Panic stations after one game?

[celticinorlando]

only thing that scares me was the defense. but that is chemistry

[vinnie]

I am not panicking, but I don't buy the "we have so many new players" argument. Dallas has 9 new players and you saw what they did to the Lakers last night in L.A.

[Professor of Rondology]

Watching the Celtics lose to the Heat ain't fun for any of us. But, in retrospect, there are more positives to take out of this game than negatives.

Doc has never been great with substitutions (even going back to the pre-Big 3 era), so obviously he's going to need time to work out the rotation.  We have a more versatile roster than Doc is used to-- he has new toys to play with, he just has to figure out how to use them.  I think the 2013 Celtics will (attempt to) run a "gameplan offense" much like the one Belichick has the Pats running.  With our versatility, we can adjust the rotation to fit the needs of any given game.  The merits of this type of strategy are debatable- it can be frustrating to watch a team play away from its strengths (and without 6 off days between games it might be impossible to implement new gameplans for every game).

What we saw last night was a reflection of how Doc thought we could best attack Miami on opening night.  It does not reflect (a) how Doc thinks the 2013 Celtics should play or (b) how Doc thinks we can best attack Miami down the road.

[celticinorlando]

new players was part of it...but boston didn't take the fight to miami until too late. miami got to their spots at will

[BballTim]

I am not panicking, but I don't buy the "we have so many new players" argument. Dallas has 9 new players and you saw that they did to the Lakers last night in L.A.

  So you're not expecting any improvement to the defense as the players get more used to playing together?

[Professor of Rondology]

I am not panicking, but I don't buy the "we have so many new players" argument. Dallas has 9 new players and you saw that they did to the Lakers last night in L.A.

LA has 2 new starters and is running an entirely new offense.
New players take time to adjust- that is a fact. 

Now, there were other issues with the Cs that can be pointed out, but trying to fit new players into a rotation (esp. when you are playing the best team in the NBA) is going to be a challenge.

[nickagneta]

I don't think its close to the time to start panicking. Simply put, the better team, right now, won last night.

Our pick and roll defense on the high screen was atrocious.

Transition defense was nowhere to be seen.

Defensive rotations by the new players were late or not happening due to confusion.

Some of turnovers were unacceptable.

KG pretty clearly is not in pre-season form and doesn't have his legs under him yet.
 
All stuff that is easily correctable with time and more practice and games. Had we been playing anyone but the Heat we probably win last night's game by a good margin.

[Celtics18]

The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!!

[Prof. Clutch]

Seriously? Oh my, look at yourself in the mirror, give yourself a Home Alone moment to get rid of that opening night tension and calm the heck down.

There are 81 more games people, remember that!

C'mon, you don't come to the Celticsblog forums after a loss and expect people to behave rationally!    There's only one thing to do!

[Snakehead]

only thing that scares me was the defense. but that is chemistry

Agreed.  Defense much more likely to be improved over time than offense is.  Guys can learn to play together of course but your guys don't learn new offensive skills or become good shooters.  Virtually every player has the tools to be a good defender.  We've seen it before, guys take time.

Even some of the older guys take time.  KG sure didn't look like a defensive force (Rashard Lewis scored on him in the post) and I also thought Bass was awful defensively.

Playing some lesser teams will get that going.  The Heat are a tough first matchup.

[vinnie]

I am not panicking, but I don't buy the "we have so many new players" argument. Dallas has 9 new players and you saw that they did to the Lakers last night in L.A.

  So you're not expecting any improvement to the defense as the players get more used to playing together?

I did not see where I said that. I just don't buy the new guys argument as much as other people do. The defense will get better, but guys like Terry and Sullinger are going to be defensive liabilities for much if not all of the season.

[AB_Celtic]

I'm not panicking at all.

Miami is the best team in the league, and their core and play style didn't change in the offseason. Meanwhile, we have only 7 returning players (one of which, Bradley, is injured, and two more, Green and Wilcox, coming off major injuries). There is an adjustment period, and we saw some of that last night.

Rondo will continue to be Rondo. Pierce will continue to be Pierce. KG will continue to be KG. JET, Green, Sully, and CLee will all adjust in time, and when they do, we will be a team that opponents are scared to play.

I'm not worried. The things to remember here are to have patience and trust Doc.

[Neurotic Guy]

My only serious concern was that KG looked like the KG of early last year. He had zero lift and explosiveness.

u seen eventually KG got it together i think he'll whip into shape

I wonder whether he had any "help" last year. It's very unusual to see a player that age become more explosive as the year goes on.

"Help" means steroids? HGH?  Wow, that is some speculation.  I should probably assume you aren't serious, but just in case you are, I'll offer the following observation:  KG seems to be, by all accounts, a fanatic about hard work and staying in shape.  But even an aggressive work regimen can't simulate NBA rigor. NBA game shape is different than being in shape.  It took KG some time last year to be ready and I'm sure it will take some time this year. I think it is more about timing and NBA-ready stamina than anything else. 

[Neurotic Guy]

I don't think I could be any less panicked than I am.  I didn't expect a victory last night against the champions at home with pretty much the same team plus a couple of wily veterans.   It makes complete sense that the C's will need time to get the chemistry going. But boy do the C's have a load of talent on that roster.  Granted that it isn't Grade A talent at the top like Heat or LA, but a boatload of very good NBA players -- and 3 great ones.  Whether it plays out well against the top heaviest teams, it's impossible to know yet, but I like the odds of having a very fun season as Doc and staff sort it out.

To the Doc comments, I guess posters are correct that Doc's strength has never been his rotations and in-game personnel decisions.  That said, I'd rather have all the other skills that Doc brings to the table and hope that he and his assistants can work together on rotations, exploiting match-ups, blending skills and chemistry.  I love Doc and doubt very strongly that this team would be comprised as it is without the attraction of him at the helm.   

[GreenFaith1819]

Not worried about this team at all.

With the new pieces that Doc has to integrate, I'm guessing that we'll either win 50 or roughly 60 games.

50 games won due to the experimenting that Doc will do with the lineups.

60 games IF the team can gel smoothly.

50 or 60 games, I STILL expect at least two wins vs MIA.

Whatever the win outcome, I still expect this team, as presently constructed (and HEALTHY), to play well into June 2013. We may have to do work on the road in a few series, but I'm confident that this bunch can do it.

They've done it before, haven't they?