Update: Down 3-1, Do You Believe?

[nickagneta]

I said Boston in 6. So as far as I'm concerned we have Milwaukee right where we want them 

I didn't overreact to the Game 1 win, I'm not going to overreact to the Game 2 and 3 loss. The Bucks are a good team and they responded. Teams that are still playing at this point, it's because they're good, or they are playing well. There's ups and downs in every series. It's our turn to respond now.

If you deconstruct the two losses, they really came about from an inability to stop 2 runs, both in the 3rd quarter, in Game 2 a 24-2 run that started with 7 min to go, and in Game 3 a 12-2 run that started with 4 min to go. In both cases we took ill-advised long range shots that missed, we didn't get back quickly enough and the Bucks made us pay in transition. Then in the 4th last night it looked like they got frustrated with the refereeing and stopped competing. It's ok for fans to get upset, that's what fans do. But players have to block that **** out, they can't let those things affect the way they play. Moan about the refereeing after the game, but during the game you have to remain focused and I don't think they were. If Giannis shoots 40 free throws so be it, they can't let that get to them. They have to accept that they won't roll this team over, it's going to be a grindy kind of game which to be honest should suit us.

But I still think they can turn it around. They're so anxious to do well, to advance, that they're forgetting to do the things that helped them win game 1 - loading the paint against Giannis, closing out quickly to shooters, not overhelping, and not letting poor offense affect their defense. Run Kyrie/Al pick and roll more. Move the ball more. Be in the right spots for passes. They shot the ball well in Game 1 but because they didn't shoot the ball well in Games 2 and 3 they let it seep into their defense. How else can you explain George Hill scoring 11 points in the 3rd, including 9 in the last 3 minutes that basically put the game out of reach for us? Or Connaughton scoring 14.

In any case I'm excited to see how they respond. Will they become the team we thought they would be, that they've shown glimpses of? Or will they be a bust, necessitating changes in the off season? We'll find out in the next week.

The third quarter run last night was fueled by the plethora of bad and ticky tack fouls to start the third that put the C's in the penalty with like 8 minutes left and just sent Milwaukee to the line at will. It really made a huge difference in that third quarter

The refs evened up the numbers late in the game after the game was decided, but that the officiating really did make a major difference in how that 3rd quarter played out.

[hpantazo]

The refs should be on our side Monday night. We take game 4, Bucks take game 5, we take game 6, then its a toss up for game 7 and the NBA wins with big ratings.

[PhoSita]

The refs are not gonna be on the side of the team that rarely creates contact inside as opposed to the team that does it frequently and consistently.

[Rosco917]

Before the series began a friend asked me, "If your house was on the line, who would you choose in the series?"

Ouch...Based on the year we had. Based on the continual injuries to Baynes and now Smart. And it's not that either of them is an explosive offensive talent either. They're not.

They are this teams physicality and heart.   

[Rosco917]

The refs are not gonna be on the side of the team that rarely creates contact inside as opposed to the team that does it frequently and consistently.

This is SO accurate.

[SparzWizard]

If the Celtics had Tom Brady in basketball body, yeah I can see them upsetting Milwaukee and Toronto/Philadelphia.

[rondofan1255]

The refs should be on our side Monday night. We take game 4, Bucks take game 5, we take game 6, then its a toss up for game 7 and the NBA wins with big ratings.

I’m going with MIL in 6. Agree about refs and NBA wanting to stretch this out to 6 (like GSW-LAC series). So C’s hopefully take Game 4 or 5.

[Ogaju]

No, I do not.

Team is soft.

Coach is soft.

Hayward soft...he spends more time on his haircut...have you noticed how perfect is hair is on game days?

Tatum is soft...spends too much time on his haircut....have you noticed...you get my point.

Your little PG cannot be the scrappiest player on your team.

Please show me one hard foul on GA in the first three games? You cannot let anybody live in your paint. Let him know he has to earn those foul shots. If they are calling fouls on you make them count. Did I mention the coach is soft?

He is soft on the team, soft on the refs, and soft on the league.

He is also cheap. He hoards his timeouts, he hoards his technical fouls, and he is afraid to get fined. Have you noticed how perfect is hair is on game days?

[SparzWizard]

No, I do not.

Team is soft.

Coach is soft.

Hayward soft...he spends more time on his haircut...have you noticed how perfect is hair is on game days?

Tatum is soft...spends too much time on his haircut....have you noticed...you get my point.

Your little PG cannot be the scrappiest player on your team.

Please show me one hard foul on GA in the first three games? You cannot let anybody live in your paint. Let him know he has to earn those foul shots. If they are calling fouls on you make them count. Did I mention the coach is soft?

He is soft on the team, soft on the refs, and soft on the league.

He is also cheap. He hoards his timeouts, he hoards his technical fouls, and he is afraid to get fined. Have you noticed how perfect is hair is on game days?

Hayward must spend a lot of time on that trash game Fortnite than working on his basketball skills.

Also, agreed about your point on coaching. Also cheap in not getting a big man presence but rather wants a big who can shoot 3's. 

[Triplenickle]

lol...that was actually the perfect post and I notice all that and hate that about those guys.

But Kyrie is not the scrappiest player, and playing small ball against a dominant big that can put the ball on the floor while going over all the small ballers is suicide. They deserve this embarrassment.

How is that gonna work?  They can't hold their ground while he blows past them, and they surely can't go up with him.

They started off the year with this philosophical problem, and by God they're gonna die by it.

Hopefully we have another coach next year.

[Neurotic Guy]

All Year this team has looked like a second round exit waiting to happen.  Disappointing start; disappointing throughout. At this point, their performance shouldn’t be disappointing, it should be expected. It isn’t the refs. It may be Stevens, it may be poor chemistry, it may be lack of a dominant big. Whatever the reason, they are a 4-seed in the process of losing to a 1-seed.

I think it’s Milwaukee in 5; if it ends up Bucks in 6 or 7 — kudos to the C’s for pushing the top seed to 6 or 7.

[Androslav]

I am very unhappy about game 3.
But I still believe that we can surpass them, we just have to win the next one.

[Ogaju]

All Year this team has looked like a second round exit waiting to happen.  Disappointing start; disappointing throughout. At this point, their performance shouldn’t be disappointing, it should be expected. It isn’t the refs. It may be Stevens, it may be poor chemistry, it may be lack of a dominant big. Whatever the reason, they are a 4-seed in the process of losing to a 1-seed.

I think it’s Milwaukee in 5; if it ends up Bucks in 6 or 7 — kudos to the C’s for pushing the top seed to 6 or 7.

WOW NG calling for a Gentleman's Sweep?

[PhoSita]

The problem with this series is that the Celts can't get to the line, so they need to take and make a lot of outside shots.


The Bucks get to the line AND take and make a lot of threes.


How can the Celts possibly keep up?  They'd need to take like 50 threes a game and hit 40%+.

[manl_lui]

Heck yea! one game at a time, let's get game 4!