Panic stations after one game?

[BudweiserCeltic]

My only "panic" is about Doc's rotations... it was awful yesterday, and it embodied by worst fears for this season.

[BballTim]

He made Bass look like an Alstar. Bass played his tail off , one of his most aggressive efforts to date.

  Bass made himself look like and all star. If he plays (and rebounds) that aggressively then I like this team. The defense will come with time (especially when Bradley gets back), so no panic.

[Boris Badenov]

I agree.

To be honest I was more concerned by the coaching then I was about the players.

We have 5 guys who were here last season (Rondo, Pierce, Bass, Garnett, Wilcox) and the rest of the team is pretty much all new.  Of course its going to take more than one game to get everything together, especially on defense.  I don't think we'll be playing championship calibre basketball until probably the All-Star break.

I think we'll start playing solid after about 5-10 games.

Doc however...he really had me scratching my head with the lineups he used.  I would say that if anything the time we need interior defense more than ever is against Miami because Wade and LeBron are so aggressive taking it to the basket.  I really think we needed a shot blocker in there at all times at the center position.

To block what shots, exactly? The Heat had 74 points from outside the paint.

You are right about penetration, but Miami's game is now more than ever to drive and dish for an open jumper. We need guys who can rotate quickly on the perimeter.

[Boris Badenov]

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

[Celts Fan 92]

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

[birdwatcher]

no panic for me, I gotta watch this team until Christmas before I start the critiques. However, I feel with all the versatility we're supposed to have at the 3 and 4, it was odd that pierce played 41 minutes last night, especially when they basically went away from him in the second half.

The frustration foul by Rondo was stupid, but I swear that Wade and Lebron BAIT people all the time and get away with it because they're the new gods of the NBA. It really annoys me.

And yeah, Defense was poor but I know that will get corrected. The Heat will probably be in the top 3 in offense this season, but we still shouldn't be giving up 120!

[BudweiserCeltic]

I agree.

To be honest I was more concerned by the coaching then I was about the players.

We have 5 guys who were here last season (Rondo, Pierce, Bass, Garnett, Wilcox) and the rest of the team is pretty much all new.  Of course its going to take more than one game to get everything together, especially on defense.  I don't think we'll be playing championship calibre basketball until probably the All-Star break.

I think we'll start playing solid after about 5-10 games.

Doc however...he really had me scratching my head with the lineups he used.  I would say that if anything the time we need interior defense more than ever is against Miami because Wade and LeBron are so aggressive taking it to the basket.  I really think we needed a shot blocker in there at all times at the center position.

To block what shots, exactly? The Heat had 74 points from outside the paint.

You are right about penetration, but Miami's game is now more than ever to drive and dish for an open jumper. We need guys who can rotate quickly on the perimeter.

I don't think blocking shots is much of an issue, but that we were constantly over-helping, and that hurt the perimeter vastly. Big defenders will prevent deep penetrations, but also will help our defenders stay home with their people. On the other side of the ball, we should be in better position to pound the ball inside (and for Miami to adjust to us). And of course, the side benefit of even better rebounding.

[Boris Badenov]

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.

[Boris Badenov]

I agree.

To be honest I was more concerned by the coaching then I was about the players.

We have 5 guys who were here last season (Rondo, Pierce, Bass, Garnett, Wilcox) and the rest of the team is pretty much all new.  Of course its going to take more than one game to get everything together, especially on defense.  I don't think we'll be playing championship calibre basketball until probably the All-Star break.

I think we'll start playing solid after about 5-10 games.

Doc however...he really had me scratching my head with the lineups he used.  I would say that if anything the time we need interior defense more than ever is against Miami because Wade and LeBron are so aggressive taking it to the basket.  I really think we needed a shot blocker in there at all times at the center position.

To block what shots, exactly? The Heat had 74 points from outside the paint.

You are right about penetration, but Miami's game is now more than ever to drive and dish for an open jumper. We need guys who can rotate quickly on the perimeter.

I don't think blocking shots is much of an issue, but that we were constantly over-helping, and that hurt the perimeter vastly. Big defenders will prevent deep penetrations, but also will help our defenders stay home with their people. On the other side of the ball, we should be in better position to pound the ball inside (and for Miami to adjust to us). And of course, the side benefit of even better rebounding.

Fair enough. I guess the bottom line is that our D needs to improve.

KG for all that he's getting criticized was only a -4 out there, meaning we were -9 in the 16 minutes he was off the floor.

[BudweiserCeltic]

We need a "Free Darko" thread.

[Fafnir]

KG was great on several rotations, but slow or over helping on others. He deflected several Miami passes that helped us get the margin to within 4.

In the last two minutes of the game he was gassed from fighting Bosh since the 7 minute mark or so and got beat for a layup.

[timpiker]

No panic but I do wonder if the D will be there this year.

[Donoghus]

On a panic scale of 1-10 where 1 is minimal, I'd say I'm at a 2...maybe 3.

Defense concerned me last night and there was some chemistry problems.  Best case scenario would've been them coming together right away like '07-08 but I realize that this squad will take some time growing accustomed playing together.

Love the depth, though.  And the offense is much more pleasing to the eye upon initial review.

[Celts Fan 92]

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.

lol KG is too skinny for HGH or any performance enhancing type drugs dont say nuthin like dat man

[Celts Fan 92]

No panic but I do wonder if the D will be there this year.

we gave up 115 to Miami in da 2nd game of da year last year im confident we'll get it together lol