You just knew that the Celtics would come in focused in this game after suffering their worst loss of the season the night before. They came out focused and played that way throughout. The Celtics were without Ray Allen and the Bucks were without Andrew Bogut and Yi Jianlian.
The key stat in this game is 27. Doc was able to keep all of his starters under 27 minutes as they had a big lead going into the 4th and the bench was playing very well. Sam Cassell saw his first extended minutes as a Celtic and looked very good as he scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in 23 minutes. And, we saw the benefit of moving House to the 2 guard as he was shooting better than he has in a long time finishing with 17 points on 7-11 shooting and 3 rebounds and 2 assists. PJ Brown also saw extended minutes and pulled down 9 rebounds, 6 on the offensive end along with 4 points and 4 assists. These two guys are going to really help the Celtics in the playoffs.
We got to see Scal for the first time in awhile as Ray was on the inactive list. Scal had 1 point, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 6 minutes. With PJ playing bigger minutes, Baby stayed on the bench and Powe played only 7 minutes. Tony Allen started in the place of injured Ray Allen and was aggressive taking the ball to the hoop. He finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 fouls. Both the starters and the bench played with focus to get back to their winning ways.
The Celtics shot 52% in this one while holding the Bucks to 34%. The Bucks did out rebound the Celtics 47-42. Watching the game, it seemed like a lot more than that as the Bucks got 2nd and 3rd chances on almost every possession. The Celtics did a great job of taking care of the ball with just 10 turnovers. The only flaw in their game was the fact that they missed 6 free throws again.
All in all, it was a great way to start off the road trip. Next up is San Antonio on Monday. With the Spurs losing again tonight, The Celtics are going to be in for a really tough game there. Like the Celtics, the Spurs have a lot of pride and are going to come out focused and try to avenge the loss in Boston. A sweep of the Spurs sure would be nice.
The Herald is reporting that Ray Allen will sit out tonight against the Bucks.
The Celtics will be without Ray Allen tonight. The starting guard injured his left ankle and heel in a slip and fall during the first quarter of Friday’s loss to Utah and did not play the rest of the night.
Today he came to the arena and did not do his normal pregame shooting routine — a fairly sure sign that he would not be in the lineup against his former team.
He did put on warmup clothes to get treatment from trainer Ed Lacerte.
This is the right move, even if he could have played if it was the playoffs, it is best to give it a couple of days and aim for the Spurs where they will need him much more. Also, Bogut will sit out tonight for the Bucks.
Here are comments found around the Jazz boards during their game with the Celtics. These are a lot more fun to read when the Celtics are on the winning end. Tommy sure seems to get under peoples' skins. I personally love the guy.
Okur and Perkins is no matchup lol. The only real match ups are Boozer vs KG, and AK vs Pierce. If the Jazz can slow down Pierce it'd be huge.
Has anyone forgotten about the movie Celtic Pride? What a bad stereotypical movie.
Ha ha!! That movie was funny. It was really bizarre to think about a Utah player and coach so so so so much different to what the movie portrayed. Specially, very much specially the flashy player Damon Wayans portrayed. I swear it was like watching Kobe Bryant to a point. Perhaps Celtics might want to trade Paul Pierce to our team for CJ Miles. Did you knew CJ Miles will be better than Kobe Bryant?
So if this was "Celtic Pride" which player would you steal from Boston? I say steal Pierce. He is the heart of that team. Without him, we win in a rout.
Pierce? No way. I'd steal KG and give Boozer away.
Pierce? Pierce is the only chance we have of beating these clowns! He forces a ton of shots, usually misses...and tries to take the game into his own hands! Oh, he also throws the ball into the stands at an alarming rate!
I don't know if we'll win or not, I do think it's gonna be a tight game...this much I do know: I'm gonna end up wanting to strangle the Celts screaming homer announcers (especially the Jazz hater Heinsohn) at least 700 times during the course of the game.
We will win this one. Boston has many wins because most of their games are from the east which is very weak than west
Boston is 20-3 against the West. Utah is 26-15 against the West.
If Boston was in the West their record would not be nearly that.
I'm sticking with my assertion that the Jazz will win this one. This is a completely different type of road game. A great team - the Jazz seem to get up for these kind of games. This is completely winnable. Yes, Boston has the big 2.5 (I'm not a big PP fan) - but we are the deeper team.
Okay, I'll be the first one to come right out and say it. I think the Jazz are going to get blown out of the building pretty much from tip-off. The Celts are playing well, the Jazz have been playing like crap, it's on the road, Booz left his nads in Salt Lake....etc...
Its the road... Chicago blew us out in their homecourt. I expect the best team in the NBA do similarly. However, since last game, I have a little beef with Pierce for being such an excellent player and stealing the game with Brewer on the baseline, so I think the Jazz will remember and will show up. This is what makes this game exciting, I don't know what the heck will be happening.
About the game though, we're simply gonna get killed. I love this Jazz team and I try to be optimistic even when we're losing, but there's simply no way in the world that we win tonight. Its not even gonna be close.
Garnett ice cold. That only means he will dominate the second half.
Okay, I just realized that the Jazz are on the road, yet they are playing in their home uni's, excpet for they have on their black shoes
Only if Garnett would of knocked him self out banging himself in the head for the delay of game.
Oh look, the Jazz are showing effort in a road game...
Must be the uni's.
Another streaky scorer aka Jazz killer Eddie House.
Celtic foul trouble is gonna be big I suspect. Pierce, Rondo and.... Perkins I think? All got three already. W/ Allen maybe out, that's gonna make it a lot mreo difficult for the Celts to get a quick rally
I can't stand Paul Pierce. I love Ray and KG but hate Pierce.
So WTF was up with KG grabbing the ball and hitting himself in the face with it after he made a shot? Isn't that a violation if you grab the ball and hold it after you make it?
Wow....did you see that BS by the Boston bench when Korver went to shoot...That guy jumped off the bench got right behind him and started clapping and yelling in his ear....that's BS!
Yeah, that's some BS! I don't care if the bench yells, but to jump off the bench and get right behind the guy is classless.
I hate Violet Palmer....she should not be allowed to ref!
Violet Palmer is horrible...making bad calls against both teams...
So is Perkins the scrub we're going to make look like an all-star tonight? Averages 7.5 ppg this year and is already at 10 for the game.
Perkins is getting away with a lot.
Jazz are playing at almost the same intensity that they have at home. I'm quite impressed. Let's hope they don't let down in the 2nd half. One of the biggest games of the regular season. A win here is huge.
Jazz are pretty much owning the team with the best record while on the road
Those chowder eating dumb **** in the Boston arena are retarded chanting BS on the obvious.
Both things happened which I said should happen for us to win this. Deron was fired up. No kidding about that. And Allen was not just off, he was off the court. Good win overall
Nice win against a (very) good team...hope this gives us just the right amount of confidence (and not too much ).
Korver was schooled by Posey. Korver played well on offense though. But, this was really the first time Ive seen him absolutely schooled.
I dont know if anyone already wrote this, but it was so the home uniforms that got us the win. 19 straight wearing the white.
Boozer's average defensive performance yielded great results. I can't imagine if he could play these type of games more than twice a year.
Heinloson is the most god awful homeriffic announcer I've ever heard. He's the anti-Chick Hearn. I have no idea why he's beloved in Boston. I thought Boston was an educated city. I guess they like their biased crap spoon fed to them though.
Rondo loses the ball out of bounds. The Celtics get the ball back. "Show the replay! I wanna see if there was a foul!"
The Celtics had a bad night as they lost Ray Allen and then lost the game. Several things contributed to this loss. First was the fact that both Pierce and Garnett had off nights. Pierce was 1-7 from the floor for 8 points with 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnovers. KG struggled in the first half and came back somewhat in the second half. He finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks.
Along with Pierce and KG having off games, the Celtics lost Ray Allen after the first quarter. He was off to a good start with 9 points and 1 rebound and was 6-6 from the line as he was being aggressive taking the ball to the basket and then he appeared to slip on the floor and jammed his ankle. He played all 12 minutes in the first quarter but did not return to the game after that.
Add to that the fact that the officiating was terrible and every time the Celtics would make a run and try to get back into the game, the refs would call some phantom fouls on them and take them right back out of it. Pierce, Perk, Rondo and KG were all in foul trouble in the first half.
I have to lay some of this loss on Doc. Perk was clearly the Celtics best player tonight with 13 points (5-5 from the field and 3-3 from the line) to go with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks. Rondo was playing well with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. And yet, Doc kept both Rondo and Perk on the bench for the entire 4th quarter until 3 minutes were left in the game. He should have brought them back in earlier. I think Perk especially could have made a difference when the Celtics got close. Perk did get called for a flagrant foul at the end but in fairness he was going for the ball and had been getting hit and pushed all night with nothing getting called and that leads to a bit of frustration.
Leon Powe made the most of his minutes, as usual with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block in 13 minutes. Big Baby played almost 15 minutes and finished with just 2 points, 3 fouls and 2 turnovers. He did hustle out there but it just wasn't his night. Posey was 3-8 from the field for 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. House finished with 7 points (3-8), 2 rebounds 3 assists. Tony Allen played more minutes with Ray out and was the only Celtics with a + in the +/- column. He finished with 7 points 3 rebounds and 2 assists and was aggressive taking the ball to the hoop. Neither PJ Brown nor Sam Cassell played in this game.
The Celtics were out rebounded in this game 38-29. They were outscored in the paint 50-40. They shot only 49% from the field while allowing the Jazz to shoot 51%. They were out hustled by a Jazz team that wanted it more. This was just the Celtics 2nd double digit loss for the season and they were simply outplayed and out coached in this one. Maybe it was the uniforms as the Celtics were in their green and gold uniforms while the Jazz wore the home whites. The refs sure seemed to think the Jazz were the home team with the way they called the game.
The Celtics now start on the toughest stretch of games this season. They will be facing 4 of the 8 playoff teams in the west on the road and every one of them are going to be playing their best ball as they are all fighting for playoff position. Hopefully tonight's loss will serve as motivation for the Celtics to do the same. It will be tough if Ray has to sit out, but they need to be sure the ankle is healthy and not force it because he will be needed even more in the playoffs. On another note, the Pistons beat the Spurs tonight to pull to within 4.5 games of the Celtics for the top seed in the East.
Tonight's game should be a good one. The Jazz have lost only 3 games at home this season and one of those was to the Celtics. When we played them, they didn't have Kirilenko or Kyle Korver. Rondo struggled somewhat with Williams in that game but Rondo has come back to play PG's he had problems with early very strong later in the season as he did with Billups. I expect that he will be able to handle Williams in this game. But, the Jazz will have payback on their minds and the Celtics need to be ready for yet another team motivated to play their best basketball just because they are playing the Celtics.
I don't think I am the only one who will see humor in Rick Pitino opening Dunkin' Donut shops with Walter McCarty. The Herald has an article on their partnership to open Dunkin Donuts shops in Kentucky and this priceless photo.
The quote of the week had to come from Doc Rivers in yesterday's Globe:
“In a way we are having practices, just not whole team practices,” said Rivers. “Baby (Glen Davis) comes every day because if he doesn’t he would be Bigger Baby.
That just cracked me up. Doc was talking about how when he gives the team days off from practice, they are all in the gym working anyway. I don't see KG taking days off for anything. And Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are noted gym rats as well. We also have some very hard working young guys who just don't take time off in Perk, Powe and Rondo. This team is really something special.
I loved this from today's Boston Sports Media Watch. I have often wondered about some of the callers to WEEI. As I read this I was in awe of the fact that KG actually asked for an extra practice. Now that is a great player. It gave me a warm feeling that things worked out the way they did with KG coming to Boston. It would have been much different if the Allan "what me practice?" Iverson deal had gone down. But, getting back on track, here is the quote:
Yesterday’s Big Show was a perfect example of the sports acumen of the typical WEEI caller. Cedric Maxwell was talking about Larry Bird’s playing days, and how even Bird wouldn’t have asked the coach to have an extra practice, as Kevin Garnett apparently did earlier this week. An irate caller demanded to know how in the world Maxwell could possibly know what Bird was like day-to-day in his playing career. Maxwell simply answered “I was on the team.”
Now time for some YouTube fun. Last week, Big Baby went diving into the crowd to save a loose ball. At the time I thought that would be the scariest sight to have coming at you if you were sitting courtside. But then, a few days ago, Shaq dove for a loose ball and took out the first few rows of fans and I had to rethink my position. Shaq coming at your is definitely scarier than Big Baby coming at you. Although, both are enough to give you nightmares.
Then, a few nights after Shaq's dive into the stands, he raced to try to save another loose ball and almost gave the Phoenix bench a collective coronary. This is really too funny.
Rondo seems to be trying out for the Slam Dunk contest. He has had a couple of impressive dunks lately. But, he was also quite the dunker in college. Here is a photo of him as he dunks over a teammate on a chair back when he was at Kentucky.
Against the Pistons, he had the dunk of the year as he gave Jason Maxiell a facial. Maxiell should have gotten a flagrant on this play but didn't as he flings Rondo to the ground. I just love Rondo's poise as he gets up and shakes it off and just goes right back to work. Give him a year and he will be one of the top PG's in the league and a certain All-Star. If you missed that dunk, here it is.
Then, against the Sonics, Rondo had a fast break and did a 360 dunk to finish it off. You have to love it when your PG is getting highlight dunks.
A win tonight will clinch the division for the Celtics. The past few years, we would have had a celebration for clinching the division. In fact, back in 2002, I bought a tee shirt for the Atlantic division champion Celtics when they won the division. It was a big deal. I don't expect it to cause much of a stir this season because it is just a blip on the radar that is this year's drive for a championship.
The Celtics schedule is about to get very difficult as over the next week and a half they will play 5 of the 8 Western conference playoff teams, most of them on the road. They will be facing a Rockets team that has won 20 in a row and all of the Western playoff teams are playing for their playoff lives and seeding and every one will be playing desperately. Playing Western teams is one thing, but playing them on the road while they are all fighting for position and already in playoff mode is something else. They are going to have to bring it every night. But the team is healthy and playing some very good basketball. KG is playing like KG again. Ray Allen is shooting over 50% from the field and beyond the arc since the All Star game and is hitting his stride. Pierce is playing some inspired ball and the bench has come together so that when the starters come out, we don't give up much. They are definitely in nice shape for the stretch run. It is going to be a very exciting week.
Here are comments found around the Sonics' boards during their game with the Celtics. They aren't a very chatty bunch, but then, who can blame them when their team is getting blown out by 20 at the half. But I can feel for them because that was the Celtics last season. A lot of young talent that will make a lot of young mistakes.
Burning Question of The Day: Will the Cs get up by 20-30 pts by halftime? 40? This is the seventh game in something like 13 days … Magic 8-Ball says “Outlook Not Good.”
They could be on a 49 game losing streak, suit up Doc Rivers and be playing at Shawn Kemp's House and it would still be hard for us.
I see the Sonics winning this game. Boston is going to rest their starters players and play their back ups most of the game.
It's a given the Sonics will lose by a lot this game, so I'm going to be focussing on individual matchups to see how certain players respond to a challenge.
Even though I can't stand Jesus Shuttlesworth I got a feeling he is going to break KD's ankles, lol, the Celtics are beating the Sonics, Pierce is going to steamroll all over Damien.
Are Boston going to give the sonics a head start? Lol I hope you are right but I cant see them getting within 10 points
NBA Finals preview, anyone?
Oh, man, Ray Allen just killed Durant with an eye fake.
I can’t watch this game. I miss Ray Ray too much!!
They are just picking our defense apart like its not even there
Celtics are a poor-mans LA Lakers that had Kobe, Payton, Shaq, and Malone -that fell short.
I don't understand the hype of having Sam Cassels as a guard for any team at his age. It would be like having Gary Payton at age 60, starting. Nostalgia doesn't win rings. The guy was great in his early years. But he offers no advantage that rookies and younger players haven't already given this team. How does he fit in? In my opinion it was a senseless waste of money.
Great game. A real nailbiter we've got going here.
I was hoping we would at least stay within like 20 points or something. This is embarasing. But at least it is the best team in the league. It may have been better if we weren't on the road foerever.
Have to give it to the Celtics. They are good. Pierce kills us every time. Garnett is just too good. Just the better team
I don't see them winning the ring though. Maybe the East but not the whole thing. They are too old and will break down in the finals.
I agree. Their record is fools gold. They are in the east and have weak competition. They may win the east but wont win the championship.
Rockets win 20 straight - wow - that is really amazing - got to give them credit as they have kept winning even without Yao.
seriously something ain’t right with the rims where the Rockets play. TMac even said that recently. I think their opponents ppg is a little misleading. Everyone always shoots like crap when they play there.
This was a good night. The Celtics beat the Sonics 111-82. The Sixers (who the Celtics just beat handily) beat the Pistons by 1. And the Spurs got blown out by the Hornets. Yes, it was a very good night as the Celtics now have their first 10 game win streak since the 1985-86 season.
The Celtics streak of 4 1/2 games of leading in games went by the wayside in this as the Sonics scored first. The Celtics came out a little sloppy but righted the ship and never looked back. They led 34-24 at the end of 1 and 64-44 at the half. The best part about it is that they did it with the bench. The Celtics' starters all played less than 26 minutes while the bench ran up the lead and held it. The Celtics got 50 points from their bench including 10 from Posey, 11 from House and 8 from Powe.
All 12 Celtics played and scored in this game. The scoring was spread out with 5 players in double figures. Ray and KG were the high scorers with 18 each. Ray's shot was right on as he hit 8-10 shots. Pierce had 14 points but also did a little of everything with 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals and a block. I would say that the highlight of the game was a 360 dunk on a fast break by Rondo.
Sam Cassell had a much better outing in this one than he had in his first game. He got a standing ovation from the crowd when he entered the game and hit his first two shots. He ended up with 6 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 block in 14 minutes and showed why he is going to really help this team in the playoffs. PJ Brown played 13 minutes and finished with 3 points and 2 rebounds. Tony Allen seems to be getting back to his pre-injury form as he repeatedly took the ball strong to the hoop and finished with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist. Posey and House both had strong games with Posey going for 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and House having a good all around game with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
The Celtics defense was great in this one as they held the Sonics to 38% while hitting 51% themselves. Seattle is the best rebounding team in the league and they only out rebounded the Celtics by 1. The Celtics took good care of the ball, turning it over only 10 times while forcing the Sonics to turn it over 19 times. The Celtics had 42 points in the paint to 40 for the Sonics. The only flaw in the Celtics game tonight was that they misses 8 free throws. They are going to have to work on that for the playoffs because missing 8 free throws could very well be the difference in a win or a loss in the playoffs.
The Celtics have one more home game against the Jazz before going on that brutal trip through Texas and New Orleans. The Jazz are a tough team and should give the Celtics a fight. But if the Celtics continue to play like they have been with tough defense and unselfish offense, they have a very good chance to beat anyone.
The Celtics have the best record in the league. They are 4 games ahead of the next closest team. They have not trailed in a game for the past 4 1/2 games. They have also won the past 4 games by an average of 20 points. And yet, they are ranked 2nd in Stein's Power Rankings on ESPN and on NBA.com's rankings. The Celtics just can't get any respect. Also, if you watch the top 10 plays on NBA-TV, they hardly ever show Celtics plays. Against the Sixers, Perk had 6 blocks. Perk had a block that was better than the 3 blocks that they featured in the top 10. They also mentioned KG's 20,000 points a couple of times but not once mentioned the fact that Ray Allen reached 18,000 points in the same game.
Leon Powe continues to impress. He had a very impressive play against the Sixers where the got a rebound, missed the put back and then got the rebound again and laid it in. On Sports Tonight, Donny said that he was in a room with just him and Tommy watching the game. When Tommy saw that play, he yelled "That's a Tommy Point and a half." One of the guys on Sports Tonight said that the league is lucky that Leon Powe is a nice guy because if he was a jerk, there would be bodies flying everywhere. I found this quote on SeattlePI, talking about the Pac 10's leading rebounder this season.
Brockman considers former California forward Leon Powe, now with the Boston Celtics, the toughest opposing rebounder he's tangled with, based on leaping quickness. Powe was the last player other than Brockman to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding, pulling down 10.1 per game in 2006.
Leon is such a tough player. With PJ Brown on the roster, Powe may lose some playing time but I hope Doc still uses him because he can help this team.
PJ Brown is going to be invaluable to this team, even if he doesn't play a game. The Post Ups Notebook on Celtics.com said that during one time out, PJ gave Leon Powe a brief tutorial on veteran boxing out techniques, showing him how to dig an elbow into a guy's midsection, and how to do it without being detected by the officials. Also, during one time out, the camera showed Sam Cassell with his arm around Rondo giving him instructions and another time doing the same with Eddie House. It is things like this that will be very important to the Celtics as they play for the championship. There was an article in the Chicago paper that said that PJ is still looking out for Tyrus Thomas, even though they are no longer teammates. This guy has class.
Rondo is such a tough player. Every game, he gets fouled hard and finds himself on the floor several times during the game. But, he always gets right back up and you don't see him arguing or complaining. He just does his job. In the Pistons game, there was a stark contrast. Rip Hamilton took an elbow to the chest and fell to the floor like a bullet had hit him and he was clutching his chest. Ray definitely stuck out his elbow, but it wasn't that hard. Not a single teammate rushed over to him to see if he was ok or to help him up. I had the feeling that they knew he wasn't really hurt because they had seen his act before. On the other hand, Rondo took such a hard foul from Maxiell that he fell to the ground like a rag doll and his head bounced off the floor. Big Baby and KG were there immediately to check on him and help him up. Maxiell should have gotten a flagrant called on that but didn't and Rondo didn't complain. He just quietly stepped to the line for his free throw. This kind of toughness and unflappable attitude is going to make Rondo one of the best point guards in the league. He is one tough kid. In case you missed Rondo's incredible dunk, here is is again.
Perk has been on a tear lately, playing like the beast he is. Some people were saying that the reason he hasn't played like this all along was that he has been lazy. Perk is definitely not lazy. Even KG has been praising Perk for how hard he works and with how hard KG works, that is some pretty good praise. The guy played hurt most of last season when many players would have sat out. He was in Boston all summer working on his game when he easily could have taken time off. I think that it is a combination of Perk being healthy and finally putting it all together. He is learning his role and playing it to perfection. What people forget is that Perk is still very young. If he had gone to college, this would have been just his rookie season. People point to the fact that he has been in the league 5 years, but he hasn't been exactly playing 5 years. His first season he got 30 minutes playing time the whole year. His second season, he didn't play much more. Finally, his third season right around mid season after the trade of Mark Blount, he started to get regular playing time and was playing very well and then he hurt his shoulder. His 4th season, he started out strong and then struggled most of the season with plantar fasciitis. He also was never in games in the 4th quarter and was only playing around 20 mpg and now Doc is finally keeping him in games at the end and giving him more minutes. He is finally healthy and is putting it all together and more importantly, he is gaining confidence in his game from increased minutes and that is making a difference.
I think Richard Jefferson is very frustrated in New Jersey. After their last loss, he had this to say in his press conference, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, cliche 1, cliche 2, sports cliche 4, sports cliche 7. We didn't give 100%." It was just too funny. I have a feeling that New Jersey is going to go into full force rebuilding mode in the offseason. It is pretty evident that their veterans are getting very frustrated.
I am confused as to where tonight's game will be broadcast. The NBA.com schedule doesn't have it listed for anything. Not NBA TV, not national TV, not League Pass. The DTV listings show it on channel 756 and the League Pass website shows it on channel 758. I am just hoping that it is somewhere so we can watch it, but finding it may prove interesting. Very odd that it doesn't have the League Pass logo on the schedule, though.
Finally, here is a look at a somewhat embarrassing moment for former Celtic Al Jefferson as he loses his shorts in a game against Portland. Thank goodness for spandex shorts underneath. And, he wasn't even playing Ron Artest.
Here are comments found around the Sixers' boards during their game with the Celtics.
Sixers are David to the Celtics' Goliath tonight. You know how the story goes lol.
Both teams are hot. Close game Sixers by 2
Sixers by 2? My heart is with you on this one but my brain won't allow me to make that kind of prediction. I hope I'm all kinds of wrong here.
I am tempted to say "Celtics by 5"but my Sixers Pride won't let me. Sixers by 3
Sixers by 10 Only because it's a small-time game for a big time team in the Celticsand we need it bad
Tonights game will tell us just how good they are. They have a lot of wins against terrible teams during this recent runMiamiClipsBucksKnicksand a couple of good onesMavs and Suns. But Boston is the best team in the Eastand we are playing our best basketball right now...I hope its a good game...
This is a little off-topic but the Miami Heat are clearly tanking this season and I really do believe the league should step in for the sake of the integrity of the game. I've NEVER heard of an NBA coach missing NBA games so that he could go scout potential draft picks. How can the league allow this to happen? While the Heat's season might be overthat doesn't mean that they should be allowed to fold and tamper with the playoff races. Also shutting down Dwayne Wade for the rest of the year for a non-surgical procedure also has "tank" written all over it. David Stern needs to be a man and step in here.
I am excited for tonights "measuring stick" gamebut I won't be that dissapointed if we lose. Sixers will pass the Celtics... In about 3 yearsand then hopefully be better for at least the next 5.
Not a good start against the most over-achieving team in NBA history. I just don't think the Celtics are that goodand I don't care about their record. I can't see them getting out of the first or second round.
Rondo keep shooting. Please
Celtics getting the Brother-in-law treatment....disgusting
Sam Cassell is going to be a big addition for the Celtics. He will be the "closer" for this team. He is very similar to Andre Miller ... Very calm in pressure situations.
Cassell with 3 fouls in 4 minutes. Good debut so far....
Perkins owns Sam tonight.
I cant belive the sixers extended this hack Mo Cheeks This guy should be coaching in the NBDL
They were saying the same thing about Doc Rivers until he got two more all stars...Mo is doing a great job this season. They are playing one of the top 5 teams in the league these aren't the Clippers.
Doc rivers is also a terrible coach that didn't change this year.
It's hard to play a team like Boston. With their defense you can't win through penetration you need to be able to hit shots on the outside. The Sixers have driven and kicked out but the guy who catches tries to penetrate as well. The Celtics do a great job of rotating so there's almost always someone there.
Leon Powe is a ****ing beast on the glass.
I'm starting to get annoyed at how the Celtics fist pump after almost every good thing they do
We'll see how much fist pumping they do with Doc Rivers leading them in the playoffs.
Finally Thad vs. KG. Future vs. Past^^
I am watching KG right now and he doesn't look so "past" to me
Is scalabrine the white nerd that keeps jumping off the bench?
The Celtics are doing a simple thing They are crowding the lane and let the sixers shoot open three pointerscounting on the sixers(the worst in the league in that area) to miss The sixers are 2-13
And there's Ray Allen the one player in the NBA whom I have no respect for.
Garnet is impossible to guard when he's hitting those outside shots.
We beat them on the Offensive glasswe made them look like little kids out therebut we couldn't get it done offensively
I just love watching Kevin Garnett scream obscenities with children in the audience. He's the epitomy of class.
The Celtics are convinced of their superiority that will screw them come playoff time
Boston sucks.
. They played hard and lost to a better team ... End of story.
Celtics DEFENSE won this game as well as the 50 games they won so far this year. There defense is one of the best in the NBA.
Philly outrebounded"outstealed" had fewer turnovershad more blocksand took 17 more shots than Boston. But when you shoot 31%wellthat neutralizes all the other category winsunfortunately. And their Big Three put up big numbersand while the Sixers don't have a big threewe needed to at least contain theirs...and we couldn't.
Yeah but don't foget to take into account that the Celtics played their bench all night long.
Getting PJ will be huge for them down the stretch. I forgot how chippy he is...perfect NBA playoff big man. They have a lot of guys on the bench to take their fouls and keep teams that can't shoot foul shots (like the Sixers) off rhythm.
I'm glad it is getting back to where I get really angry when we lose to the C's. I hope they get to match upin the playoffs while the Sixers are on their way up and the C's are still strong. Those two teams being amongst the worst in the league was a sad state of affairs for longtime NBA fans.
It will be tough though...the Celtics have a 2 year window of being this good/great. If the Sixers plan holds true, they will be in the upper tier of teams in 2 years...that year should be fun, but the Celtics will be on the downhill slope when the Sixers are reaching their peak years and they'll (Celtics) have to start rebuilding again.
Boston got a lot better with the addition of Cassell and PJ. At one time, I thought it would be best for the Sixers to face the Celtics in the playoffs because I thought they could be beaten ... But not now. They got tougher with the addition of those 2 guys.
The Celtics faced a tough Philly team that is fighting for a playoff seed and came away with a 100-86 win. The Celtics came out strong and got to a 15-0 lead before Philly chipped away at the lead. The Celtics had a 26-20 lead at the end of 1. Philly tied the game at 44 in the second quarter, but never took the lead. Both teams scored 27 points in the second quarter for a 53-47 lead at the half.
Doc kept the starters minutes down in this game. Rondo played only 27 minutes and finished with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Eddie House backed him up at the point and finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists in 18 minutes. Tony Allen picked up 2 quick fouls in less than 1 1/2 minutes and that paved the way for Sam Cassell's entrance into the game. It was a shame that he couldn't have made his debut in Boston to get an ovation similar to PJ Brown's because he was soundly booed by the Sixers' fans when he entered the game. I guess he has a history with them. Sam had a rough game with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4 fouls, and 2 turnovers in 5 minutes of play. Posey had a solid game with 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Perk was once again a dominant force on defense. He clogged the middle and they didn't get anything easy while he was in the game. He finished with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 6 blocks in 29 minutes. His 6 blocks tied a career high. Perk's +/- of +24 was the highest of any player in the game. At one point, Andre Miller ran into Perk and was clearly dazed afterwards. This kind of tough player will be invaluable in the playoffs. Kevin Garnett was a force with 26 points on 11-14 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists in 31 minutes. Powe once again made the most of his time on the floor with 4 points and 5 rebounds in just 15 minutes of play. He also took a couple of charges and played tough defense. Big Baby had a couple of nice plays under the basket where he stayed with a play and finished strong. He finished with 2 points and 2 rebounds in 6 minutes. PJ Brown played 8 minutes and finised with 2 points and 2 rebounds.
A quick look at the stats and you would think that the Sixers won this game, or at least made it close. The Celtics had twice as many turnovers as the Sixers with 14 to only 7 for them. The Celtics were outscored 42-30 in the paint. Philly had 11 fast break points to 8 for the Celtics. The Sixers out rebounded the Celtics by 1 and had 11 more offensive rebounds. The difference was in the field goal percentage though as the Celtics shot 47% from the field and held the Sixers to only 32%.
The Celtics have now won 9 games in a row including the big win over the Pistons last week. They have won 50 games for the first time since the 1991-1992 season and still have 20 games to play. The Celtics now go home to face a young Sonics team on Wednesday and will host the Jazz on Friday before starting on that brutal road trip that will take them through Texas.
The Globe is reporting that Sam Cassell has been activated for tonight's game against the Sixers and Doc has said that he could see some playing time. As expected, Brian Scalabrine has been placed on the inactive list.
Herald Street clothes don't make C's man FL's Take: I like Scal. From all accounts he is one of the nicest guys in the NBA. He is a great teammate and a good person. He shaves his head for charity, he drives Tony to the hospital, he is just a great guy. But, he isn't a very good baskeball player. He does have a good basketball IQ and would make a great coach and maybe they are keeping him around to be an assistant coach in practices. But, he is the 13th man on a 12 man roster. When Cassell is activated, Scal needs to move to the inactive list. GlobeDeep thoughts on roster It's for you Celtics Blog Daily Babble Sixers style LOY's PlaceSixers secret weapon Celtics 17Sunday night rant ESPN Shaq dives into stands for ball FL's Take: This past week, I thought that the scariest thing that a person could see flying at them from the court was Big Baby. Last night I realized that seeing Shaq coming at you is much scarier. Red's Army There... You happy now? Courier JournalRondo at Kentucky to present jerseys FL's Take: We forget sometimes how young Rondo is. He would just be graduating from college this season if he had stayed at Kentucky. It is great that he went back there to present the jerseys to the seniors. The Celtics have a real gem in this kid. I bet Phoenix has nightmares about trading this kid away. Sports of Boston Celtics dominate en route to 8th straight win NY Sun Knicks a better team with "stars" on the bench FL's Take: I like Renaldo Balkman and David Lee. They play with heart and it is a shame that both are stuck on the circus that is the NY Knicks. They ought to clean house of all the so called "stars" and build around these two kids. They could do a lot worse. Lakers LibraryLakers need to get tougher FL's Take: The Lakers are all the rage since picking up Gasol, but they really aren't a tough team. When a team plays them physically like the Celtics do, they kind of wilt. USA TodayWest may be dominant but don't forget East powerhouses Boston Now The week ahead Houston Chronicle Green still has time to be a solid player FL's Take: I agree that Green still has time to get it together and salvage his career. He has so much potential and just needs to figure out how to turn potential into solid play. He needs to be on a team with veterans where they could bring him along. I really thought that Houston was the ideal spot for him. Lex Nihil Novi KG trade compared to 'Nique signing PJ Brown is really our 11th man for the moment 1986 C's beat Bulls, move to 48-11 FL's Take: I really love these reports from the '86 season. It is spooky how that season parallels this one. Hoopsvibe Crowning an MVP: Kobe, KG, LeBron or CP3? SouthCoast Today Kendrick Perks up Celtics FL's Take: I Love Perk!!! Connecticut Post Scal takes dare, goes bald for charity Off the KuffsNew championship predictions
