Horford

[jackpercussion]

I like Al Horford.  I think he is a very good basketball player.  He had a horrific game last night.  I had a bad feeling he would lose the game, which he subsequently admitted to doing.  I think that game is when Stevens has to look at current success and play the correct players.  The move to win the game was to let Greg Monroe finish the game.  I do not believe any Celtics' fan would have second guessed why he did not return Horford to the game bases on his performance.  He looked like a rookie out there.  Careless with the ball, indecisive and confused.  I saw one play where he rebounded the ball under the rim and could have shot the ball. Instead he passes the ball out to the 3 pt line.  Celtics miss a contested three and Rockets make a three.  Made absolutely no sense.  Stevens made a mistake.  Hopefully he learns from it too.

[Celtics4ever]

We were doing fine until Tony Brown became a tech foul factory for our guys over rinky dink stuff.  This hampered Brown's ability to play defense, and its an old trick to get a guy in foul trouble so he can't play D.   The one foul where Brown got called for the foul and ended up on the ground and got the tech was a joke.  I don't think it was the main reason we lost but it was a factor.

I think we gave a good account of ourselves.  Capella is young mobile and active and won't give a guy as many open threes.   Al did not play well but it was a game of spurts and we simply did not get the last spurt.

[Green-18]

No doubt this was tough night for Horford.  At this point we all know his strengths and limitations.  He makes everyone else around him better but shows inconsistency too mucj of the burden is placed on his shoulders.   

I'm optimistic that we will see playoff Horford from last season, excluding the Cavs series because of how over matched we were.  Hopefully the Kyrie and Horford connection can recapture their early season efficiency.  The consistent rest and preparation for the same opponent should help tremendously.

[Roy H.]

It’s hard to put the blame on one guy. Smart made a bunch of bad decisions, Kyrie shot poorly and was a matador on defense, etc.

[Smitty77]

It’s hard to put the blame on one guy. Smart made a bunch of bad decisions, Kyrie shot poorly and was a matador on defense, etc.

Totally agree Roy!!  I was far more upset with Kyrie than Al.  I am MORE concerned that Al has really played below his usual level since the All-Star break which has been mentioned by several others on this board.  Kyrie was on fire in the 4 games post All-Star Game, UNTIL this one.

More concerned about Al.

Smitty77

[jambr380]

I'm not going to pile on Horford and his performance last night - we know he was terrible and he knows he was terrible - but, why when he was on the ground with the ball and didn't get the time-out did he just roll the ball to an area with all Houston players? He is a center, he should have been confident in winning the jump-ball if it came down to that.

I understand why Horford was in the game down the stretch - he was an all-star, after all - but Brad should have also found a place for Monroe. Sometimes the line-up needs to be adjusted based on performance.

[mctyson]

It’s hard to put the blame on one guy. Smart made a bunch of bad decisions, Kyrie shot poorly and was a matador on defense, etc.

I think Kyrie and Horford were the worst players on the Celtics last night.  Glass-half full is that they still should have won the game.

[Green-18]

It’s hard to put the blame on one guy. Smart made a bunch of bad decisions, Kyrie shot poorly and was a matador on defense, etc.

It's going to be awfully nice to have Hayward back next season.  I was thinking back to our big wins this season and couldn't remember a game where we beat an elite team without holding them to under 100 points.  After looking back at the game logs this turned out to be true.  The team is missing a true play making scorer to compliment Kyrie.  Horford can do this in spurts but ideally he needs to be the 3rd option to run offense through in the final minutes.  We are simply too easy to defend and have zero margin for error during crunch time against elite teams. 

   

[celticinorlando]

Horford has been really bad since the All Star Break. Just was bad down the stretch missing several times and losing the ball and not getting a TO

Rozier had a major turnover up 3..get the rebound and dribbles it instead of passing it out...gets stolen and it leads to a 3 to tie it.

Dribble drive defense was not even there...guys were getting to the rim with ease

It was a game that Boston had and gave away with some really bad late possessions and not securing rebounds they had secure at one point

[Roy H.]

It’s hard to put the blame on one guy. Smart made a bunch of bad decisions, Kyrie shot poorly and was a matador on defense, etc.

Totally agree Roy!!  I was far more upset with Kyrie than Al.  I am MORE concerned that Al has really played below his usual level since the All-Star break which has been mentioned by several others on this board.  Kyrie was on fire in the 4 games post All-Star Game, UNTIL this one.

More concerned about Al.

Smitty77

The discussion, and my comment, was aimed at last night. Horford didn’t single-handedly lose that game. I mean, Kyrie’s lazy matador And-1 he gave up to Ariza accounts for the margin of victory. If either Kyrie or Horford play just a bit better, we probably win by 4 to 6 points.

[Snakehead]

It’s hard to put the blame on one guy. Smart made a bunch of bad decisions, Kyrie shot poorly and was a matador on defense, etc.

Totally agree Roy!!  I was far more upset with Kyrie than Al.  I am MORE concerned that Al has really played below his usual level since the All-Star break which has been mentioned by several others on this board.  Kyrie was on fire in the 4 games post All-Star Game, UNTIL this one.

More concerned about Al.

Smitty77

The discussion, and my comment, was aimed at last night. Horford didn’t single-handedly lose that game. I mean, Kyrie’s lazy matador And-1 he gave up to Ariza accounts for the margin of victory. If either Kyrie or Horford play just a bit better, we probably win by 4 to 6 points.

Al and Kyrie both rimmed out shots as well. WIDE open 3 for Al off a set and then Kyrie had a lay up he missed.

I actually didn't like the execution so much as far as they didn't get Kyrie crip sets to do something with the ball but if they just made those shots that were like half down it's a different game.

As far as blaming Smart, that's way off but okay.  I think the loss was clearly on execution for anyone paying attention.

[Snakehead]

Horford has been really bad since the All Star Break. Just was bad down the stretch missing several times and losing the ball and not getting a TO

If you're asleep every time the Celtics are on defense, sure.

If you guys want to criticize Al on offense the last few games I'm here for that but pay attention to defense for once in your life.  You watch the best defensive team in the NBA.

[Ilikesports17]

Some tough plays down the stretch there. Big Al didn't have it but we kept going to him which was a little mystifying. The turnover he had was tough. No idea how we weren't granted a TO there, but is it too much to ask Al not to throw the ball away? just eat it and take the jump ball. I think Al also deserves some props for grabbing that rebound. He completely gave up his body to go get a huge offensive board. It's really too bad all we will remember from the sequence is a forced shot, an inability to call a TO, and a horrible turnover.

Ultimately, Im most dissapointed in Kyrie Irving. Was just picked on defensively and wasnt very effective on offense.

[Sophomore]

Horford has been really bad since the All Star Break. Just was bad down the stretch missing several times and losing the ball and not getting a TO

If you're asleep every time the Celtics are on defense, sure.

If you guys want to criticize Al on offense the last few games I'm here for that but pay attention to defense for once in your life.  You watch the best defensive team in the NBA.

TP. He switched onto Harden or Paul on the perimeter several times and defended very very well. His offense was bad last night, but his defense was all-star.

[iadera]

Our bench gives us huge opportunity to make a long run in playoffs this season.