Pretty sad that the majority of the talk on most of the Heat boards was talking about how bad the Heat players are and how much they want to get rid of them. In all fairness, these are the same Heat players that made up the hottest team in the league over the last 20 games. Could it be that everyone was just expecting the Celtics to be so old and weak that the Heat would just walk all over them? Maybe it isn't how bad the Heat players are, but how good the Celtics players have been.
It’s about pride now. All confidence we can win the series has been lost…unless we win tonight!
KG's back. But you know how the Celts are, they CANNOT handle prosperity and now they’re too old
We NEEEEEEED to win this game.
All I want to see this game is Wade shooting 25+ fgs from the field. 30 would be the magic number, and someone get Chalmers stoned the day of the game so he can't suit up.
I watched some highlights and yet again, the crowd was a huge reason to Boston. I hope AAA can be rockin like that too.
LETS NOT SUCK AGAIN!
JO shall now be known as Ermaine O'Neal, because he's got no J.
Anyways..here's to a good game Friday night. Hopefully a close one, so that ESPN doesn't switch it like those TNT hoes did..that was some ****...
Wade is making a big deal about how his teammates need to step up. He isn't playing as hard as he can and is purposefully not taking over the game like he is able to. It's true we won't get far with just Wade, but we could have won game 1 if Wade had stepped up. He deliberately kept passing the ball from the end of the 3rd all through the 4th. Kept watching his teammates shoot brick after brick and he kept passing. Wasn't even much pressure as he barely did anything but dribble a few times and pass from the perimeter.
Rasheed Wallace fined 35k for criticizing referees. As if the calls weren't already heavily favoring the Celtics
Heat are shooting jumpers. Celts are going to the hole more. It actually makes sense. Lets not blame the refs when there are plenty of people on the Heat bench and Heat uniforms to point the finger at.
I think we lost this series after Game 1. I know it's crazy to say that since it's a 7 game series, but I thought it was important to put these bitches away in Game 1. They would have stopped caring after Game 1 and gone back to the "lazy, old, don't give a ****" Celtics they have been the past couple months. Instead we're the ones playing that role now.I think we lost this series after Game 1. I know it's crazy to say that since it's a 7 game series, but I thought it was important to put these bitches away in Game 1. They would have stopped caring after Game 1 and gone back to the "lazy, old, don't give a ****" Celtics they have been the past couple months. Instead we're the ones playing that role now.
Chris Bosh will be at the game tonight. They were just talking about it on WQAM, I hope they show him on the video screen in the arena so we can make a little recruiting pitch. For anyone who is going tonight, please try starting a "WE WANT BOSH" chant. Hope he's impressed by what he sees on the court.
Celtics do get a lot of calls it seems
Oh look another foul. Someone tell them not to breathe so **** hard on the Cs
Anyone else really nervous about how well we just played and we only have a small lead?
I hope Paul pierce breaks his leg...
Commish $tern is here to watch his precious C's
Wade is playing this game like the 06 finals
Rondo must be lickin his chops knowing mario chalmers is guarding him
Were playing hard on the defensive end but the Celtics just seem to hit shots anyway
Watching Chalmers and Arroyo this series has been painful, the two on the same court at the same time? Makes my stomach hurt
And the huge drought comes back again. We are screwed against the C's. I hope all you fools out there who wanted the C's rather than the Hawks are happy.
I hate Garnett
The crowd sounds scared, like they're just waiting for the next Boston run. No energy at all in that building for a playoff game.
Nice flop Wade. It's not like the guys on the C's never flop.
Perkins kills us ugh.
Chalmers is out playing arroyo And that's not a compliment
The diff in athleticism between Rondo and Arroyo is enormous. Chalmers not quite as bad but still terrible.
I like how the Boston fans is complaining that the refs should be fined when 1 out of every like, 10 calls doesn't go their way.
JO is useless this series. He needs to get into a fight with Rondo and Pierce and help the team win that way
Someone get a hand on Ray Allen.
Our home crowed is miserable. How can you have empty seats in the playoffs plus when you have a superstar?
I just don't like how we can't control them. I said it before the series, Garnett and Rondo are mismatches for us and that's what it is.
The Heat have resorted to thuggery!
There you go JO, if you can't do anything else right at least try to piss them off.
RayRay is heating up
Garnett going for Best Actress on that flop?
Everybody seems to think Ray Allen will not be a Celtic next year Any chance he could come to Miami and stretch the floor for Wade.
I haven’t heard anything about this but I wouldn’t mind….we need a shooter
That would be amazing. He could maybe be the “all star caliber player” riley was talking about
Ticket Stub is a pretty good actress too
That fat turd pierce can eat a bag of poisonous frogs
Ray Allen is KILLING us, I'm so glad hes on the bench right now
My goodness...Wade is absolutely carrying these no good rejects
This game feels more like delaying the inevitable than it does a big comeback. The way we're playing and the way Boston's playing, even if we won tonight, does anybody truly feel we could win 3 of the next 4?
We don't have anybody who can guard Ray Allen. Arroyo is too slow, Chalmers too dumb and Wade has to do too much on offense to chase Allen through screens all the time.
I feel like everytime the Celtics have shot it with the clock running down tonight they've made it. This is 1-on-5 basketball we just can't win this
Chalmers doing what he does best. Sucking. Badly.
Boston, just too many weapons
Boston is better than us no doubt, but I swear they are getting a whistle every time they have the ball.
That garnett guy can ball. I hate it right now
DENY RAY ALLEN THAT **** BALL AT ALL COSTS
Wow, we suck. How does Rondo come out of 4 white jerseys with the board?
Rondo is so ****ing annoying with those offesnive boards, I hate that little bugger.
I don't get why the Heat are constantly getting outrebounded by the 2nd worst rebounding team in the NBA.
Celtics are chucking from 3 big time.
What's funny is that the Celtics keep on crying and complaining and never get called for a technical foul
Whats funnier is the illegal screens the Celtics are setting right in front of the referees
How the hell does Allen keep getting open.
Wade putting on a nice Paul Pierce impression after that choke
Great, and it looks like he really is hurt. Playoffs are definitely over now even if we somehow win this game.
We didn't take the foul to give with Pierce just milking the clock, why exactly?
Did Dorell not understand the situation? Foul to give. Gave him too much space. He’s Paul Pierce for crying out loud!
We have to win 4 straight? Crap.
This one might feel worse than either of the other two losses
Pierce is fat slow and has an ugly jumpshot. How on earth does he score? This needs to be on sport science. Its a mystery
I would have liked ANYONE else to sink that shot besides pierce. I hate that piece of **** so much
I believe those rebounds by RONDO were horrible. Pierce got two 3's off them
I hope we can win the next game and tire the Celtics out for the cavs.
Blows my mind. Finish off this series, and then pick up Chris Bosh in 2010. Pierce won't be laughing next season when Miami bulldozes its way to 63 wins.
Well at least its going to be fun seeing the Celtics continue to rot as they age while we ascend with wade and amare/bosh post 2010
Tough loss but lets not forget how good the Celtics can be... They're like the 07 heat team that was meant to turn it on in the playoffs only they are....
By the way.. Spo has no idea how to run plays. With Miami you barely see them get open looks, Boston on the other hand is constantly getting open looks, why?? Because they have a real coach.
The Heat Organization needs to recruit some whores on South Beach and then claim rape on Rondo and Pierce.
Well we can look at it on the bright maybe they're just saving us from more misery in round 2
On the heels of David Stern's rant about coaches complaints undermining the consumer's confidence in his product, we find out that Bennett Salvatore is officiating the Celtics game tonight. Now, Salvatore may just be one of the worst refs in the league. Almost always one team or the other gets an advantage when he is officiating and it usually isn't the Celtics.
Salvatore made one of the most controversial calls in NBA finals history in game 5 of the 2006 finals. The call basically gave the Heat their championship. Here is Bill Simmons' take on the call.
Salvatore called the foul on Wade's final drive in overtime (remember, the call where ABC couldn't find a replay to show that anyone touched him?) even though he was standing at midcourt a full 35-40 feet from the play, and even though two other refs were closer to the play. Not only was that NOT his call, he butchered it.
Another of Salvatore's controversial calls was in the 2008 conference finals when he waved off a contested 3-pointer that Pierce had hoisted over Richard Hamilton, inducing him to leave his feet with a ball fake. Pierce, however, was charged with an offensive foul for creating the contact with Hamilton.
Just to prepare you for tonight's game, here's a few videos to check out.
Finally, another game Salvatore officiated that will be of particular interest to Celtics fans. The Celtics overcame his biased calls in that one and can do so again tonight should he choose to have an agenda in this one.
Mr Stern, if you don't want coaches and players complaining and you want the consumers to have faith in your product, tell your "company men" to officiate fairly and then maybe it will happen.
at Boston Celtics (2-0) at Miami Heat (0-2)
Round 1 Game #3 – Road Game #1
Friday, April 23, 2010
7:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN, CSN-NE
AmericanAirlines Arena
Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Eric Lewis, Bill Spooner
The Celtics responded to the taunts of Quentin Richardson and the suspension of KG with one of their best games of the season. Hopefully that incident awoke the sleeping giant and that will carry over into this game. They have won games 1 and 2 with very tough team defense and they need to continue to play that same type of lock down defense on the road.
The Celtics were one of the best road teams in the regular season, just one game behind the Cavs for the best road record. Whatever focus they found on the road in the regular season, they need to call on now as American Airlines Arena is certain to be a very hostile environment after the fight in game 1 and the blow out in game 2.
KG should be rested. Big Baby should have added confidence that will hopefully carry over to a role on the bench. Perk played incredible defense on O'Neal and also was instrumental in the ball movement that was key to the Celtics 44-8 run that blew open the game. Perk tends to be more passive when KG is playing but the Celtics need him to stay aggressive and complement KG rather than take a back seat to him.
The Celtics need to try to win this game because game 4 is an afternoon game and their track record isn't all that great in matinee games. A sweep would be nice, but going back to Boston up 3-1 wouldn't be bad either. The Celtics have the Heat on the run and they need to keep their momentum going and not give them any reason to think they can win.
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs Rajon Rondo 13.7 PPG 9.8 APG 2.3 SPG Carlos Arroyo 6.1 PPG 3.1 APG 0.5 SPG
Shooting Guard vs Ray Allen 16.3 PPG 2.6 APG .363 3P% Dwyane Wade 26.6 PPG 6.5 APG .300 3P%
Small Forward vs Paul Pierce 18.3 PPG 4.4 RPG 3.1 APG Quintin Richardson 8.9 PPG 4.9 RPG 1.2 APG
Power Forward vs Kevin Garnett 14.3 PPG 7.3 RPG 0.8 BPG Michael Beasley 14.8 PPG 6.4 RPG 0.6 BPG
Center at Kendrick Perkins 10.1 PPG 7.6 RPG 1.7 BPG Jermaine O'Neal 13.6 PPG 6.9 RPG 1.4 BPG
Key Matchups vs Kevin Garnett vs Michael Beasley Kevin Garnett should be back and raring to go for this game after missing the last game and having a nice long rest. Michael Beasley has struggled so far against both KG and Big Baby and they need to continue to keep him off balance while taking it to him on offense.
vs Rajon Rondo vs Carlos Arroyo The Celtics have their biggest advantage at the PG spot. Rondo has shown that he can out play Arroyo and has been able to hit big shots and get into the paint at will. Rondo needs to continue his aggressive play in game 3 and exploit this matchup.
Honorable Mention Ray Allen/Tony Allen vs Dwyane Wade After doing very little in the first game, Ray Allen got hot in game 2 and scored 25 points. The Celtics need Ray to stay hot and to keep Wade chasing him through multiple screens, which takes away from his own offensive game. If Wade starts to get hot, expect Doc to call on Tony to once again try to slow him down.
Players to Watch Big Baby was the Ticket Stub in game 2 and was key to the win in that game. The question in this game will be can he produce like that in a role off the bench. If he can, the Celtics will have a very good chance of winning this game.
Doc called Perk the best player on the Celtics in game 2 and the +/- numbers for the game bear that out as Perk had a team best +41. Hopefully Perk will continue to be as aggressive in this game and not try to defer to KG too much. An aggressive Perk next to an aggressive KG is a very scary frontcourt.
Dwyane Wade hasn't been able to take over in either game 1 or 2. Back in his house, he will be looking to be more aggressive and will try to get to the basket and draw fouls and the Celtics need to be ready for his extra aggressiveness.
Michael Beasley Even if Wade steps up his game, the Heat can't win unless his supporting cast steps up as well. The player with the most potential to do so is Michael Beasley. He has been frustrated by the Celtics bigs in spite of assuring Heat fans that he would be a more aggressive player in game 2. He will look to get on track early and KG and Perk need to defend him well to keep him from getting any confidence.
Keys to the Game Defense The Celtics won the first two games with tough lock down defense. Now that they have found their defensive focus they need to continue to lock down the other team and not give them any breathing room. If they try to outscore the Heat, they won't win. Defense wins games and wins championships and the Celtics must continue to play the tough team defense that we saw down the stretch in game 1 and throughout game 2.
Rebound The Celtics were out rebounded 40-37 in game 1. They came back in game two and out rebounded the heat by 17. The whole team must make rebounding a priority as winning the rebounding battle is crucial to winning the game and the series.
Play 48 Minutes The Celtics have to come out strong and keep the pressure on throughout the game. They can't allow the Heat to see light at the end of the tunnel and think that they can get a win. They need to hustle from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
Ball Movement The Celtics have to keep the ball moving and make the extra pass to find the open man. When the ball sticks and the movement slows, that is when the Celtics struggle with their offense. When they make that extra pass, Miami has a hard time stopping them and the offense runs like a well oiled machine. Don't Get Over Confident The Celtics have just won their home games and there is a long way to go in this series. If they get over confident and feel like they have this series won already, they could be in for a surprise. They have to come out focused and play like they are behind in the series. Don't give the Heat any reason to think they can win this series.
X-Factors Over Confidence and South Beach The Celtics have the Heat reeling after the blowout in game 2. But the Heat is still a dangerous team that won 18 of their last 20 games. The Celtics can't afford to take them for granted or get over confident. They need to come out as if they haven't won a thing and focus in spite of the hostile crowd that is sure to greet them in Miami. And speaking of Miami, if the Celtics really want to win it all, they would do well to avoid the distraction of South Beach and keep their focus on the game and on winning.
I just finished reading the article about David Stern going all Dirty Harry on the NBA. He has told the coaches and players to stop complaining about the refs or it will make his day to punish them for it or something to that effect. Stern said such comments were “corrosive” to the product that the league is putting on the floor. He said he understands why coaches try to work the officials through the media, but that the result is such comments undermine consumer confidence in the league’s product.
I hate to tell you Mr Stern, but it's your referees themselves who undermine the consumer confidence in the league's product. When LeBron James can play 43 minutes in a game and handle the ball much of that time and drive to the hoop like he does and grab and shove and push for rebounds like he does and end up with zero or 1 foul, there is something very wrong with the product you are putting on the floor. When fans can see with their own eyes an agenda being carried out, whether it it the league's agenda or a referee's agenda, then you can shut up the players and coaches all you want and the fans still will have no confidence in your "product." When I can watch LeBron grab a ref and spin him around to complain about a call but he isn't called for a technical foul like any other player would have been, then I have no confidence in your product. When refs let obvious calls go right in front of them, that undermines consumer confidence in your product.
There are just too many things that fans see themselves that undermine confidence in your product. The coaches and players complaints have absolutely nothing to do with consumer confidence in your product. If you want to improve consumer confidence in your product, Mr Stern, just put quality refs on the court who will call every game fairly and not ignore obvious fouls in front of them and not call touch fouls on one end while allowing players on the other end to be mugged. Don't give star calls to LeBron or Kobe or Durant and expect consumers to have confidence in your product.
With that being said, the refs for the first two Celtics games called them fairly well. But the one referee who saw Pierce pushed out of bounds by Richardson and then did nothing to protect him while he was lying among the Heat players was the real cause of the fight. And last night, as protected as LeBron has been in the past, the refs completely ignored Noah putting him in a virtual headlock to keep him from getting a crucial rebound at the end of the game. When you see things like that, you have to question the officiating. There were several questionable calls and no calls against the Cavs last night. Now, I was rooting against the Cavs and I had to wonder whether the refs were as well. It has nothing to do with a coach or player complaining. Mr Stern, put quality refs on the court with no agendas and who call ever game fairly and you'll get no complaints and the confidence you want in your product.
It was kind of fun watching the Cavs and the Lakers both get beat last night. But watching both teams get beat and seeing some questionable calls on both sides makes me hope that the Celtics are ready for referees along with the hostile Heat crowd and an energized Heat team. If they play like they did in game 2, they can overcome any referee interference and whatever the Heat can toss at them. Hopefully they are serious about another title and will come out strong and not let up.
I just read an article about LeBron and company partying down at a club after their loss to the Bulls last night. Makes me wonder about the Celtics and South Beach. If they are really serious about making a run to a title, they won't partake of the night life until they can celebrate with another trophy. I remember that the '86 team gave up drinking beer and alcohol for that season until they won the title. You would think that after losing a playoff game and with others looming, LeBron would want to stay in and concentrate on staying in shape and keeping his mind on the game instead of partying.
No team is 3-0 yet. Atlanta and Orlando have yet to play game 3 and will do so on Saturday. The Celtics have a chance tonight to be the first team to have a 3-0 lead in their series. They need to play like it is game 7 and not take anything for granted. Defense is what won the first two games and defense will win this one if they come out and play it as they have in the first two games.
Here is a BONUS edition of Comments from the Other Side from the Laker's boards during their loss to the Thunder. These guys are brutal. Kobe sure does take a beating.
This is a chance to put round one to rest.
This will probably be the toughest game of the season for us. Energized and hostile crowd and a young team with its back against the wall fighting for their playoff lives.
I have the Thunder winning this game. But if L.A wins this, it will show a lot of heart and determination.
Well don't you think its hard for other players to get a rhythm when Kobe has the ball in his hands 15 seconds out of the 24 seconds shot clock and taking 28 shots?
Teams make adjustments from game 1 to game 2 and in game 2 the Thunder were bent on not letting the Lakers beat them down low. They changed their game plan and it was effective. Now let's see what the Lakers do to counter their strategy in Game 3
This will definitely be a very tough game for us but we will come out winners....
I still say its a sweep bro
Time to really step up and show that we can dominate. We gotta get off to a good start here and try and take the crowd out of it.
Does putting money on Westbrook scoring over 17.5 points make me a bad fan?
What a start... 10-0
Great start but I know better than to get excited now... Lakers always end up allowing the other team to catch up.
M HOPING that the thunder come in with less focus because they are playing at home. Probably won't happen but hey maybe.
I hope the lakers don't think its okay to lose just cause cavs lost
Lol durant already looks defeated 6 minutes in
Odom needs to stop sucking. Other than that, solid start
Bryant needs a hand transplant proceeding the game. I'm growing tired of seeing his shot not fall. He's killing us.
FT's are keeping them in the game, they are 12-14 and we havent shot a FT
Luke Walton needs to go to a massage therapist every day in the off-season and get his back worked out. He looks like he's 45 years old trying to put up a shot. Like, for a young guy like Luke, that's not good
We have full composure of this game, and responding to every play.
This is by far the best of the 3 performances we put up against OKC. Also, these young guys..durant, harden, westbrook....they really don't know what they're playing for...its kinda like a lack for respect of the game. No passion for the playoffs whatsoever..
Fisher.
DISGUSTS.
Me.
Can someone please tell Lamar Odom we are in a playoff series which means we are trying to win another Championship. Also stop getting posterized by guards!!
Not only is Fisher killing us on offense, taking, and missing, too many shots, but he's making Westbrook look like a superstar.
Anybody seen LO this series.... Invisible and getting paid.
Kobe single-handedly losing this game for us.
As bad as Kobe has been on offense, he's even worse on d...dude just tries to steal everything.
Holy ****. How athletic is westbrook?
Kobe took a bad bad shot at the end of that half...c'mon why cant we play like we are champs and not the rookies who line up idiotic shots.
And how are WE getting out rebounded by OKC?!?
Odom is making his infamous Houdini dissapearing act again
I'm sick of these phantom calls by the refs.
We have two 7 footers and they are dunking on us...and we cant even do that ourselves...just beautiful.
Westbrook is going to be unstoppable if he develops a jumper.
Kobe sucks right now.
That was an open 3 but his legs are dying out on him IMO.
If I was his teammate right now...I would hate hate Kobe
WTF is Kobe doing? He's going to cost us this game. He keeps taking stupid shots and he don't play defense.
Kobe is the only man in the world who doesn't know that shooting over a much bigger guy is not considered a good shot.
What wins championships? A stop or 2 would be nice right about now.
Something's not right with this f'in team.
Kobe needs to watch less tape on himself and more tape on his teammates
Take your pick. Kobe making brick houses. No defense. Ticky tack fouls called on us. No timeouts when they made their run. it's not looking good guys.
If Derek Fisher is laker's best option at pg, Lakers are going to have a difficult series and would be lucky to escape in less than 6 games.
Durant bothered Kobe, but it still doesn't justify Kobe setting for jumper every chance he gets. The man has 0, I repeat, ZERO, freethrow attempts in the game! He is not even trying to attack, just shoot fadeaways. Kobe is quite simply lazy right now. I don't know why, but he is just lazy.
It also doesn't help that we have no bench whatsoever.
I don't understand why we are the only team in the league that refuses to to to the pick and roll when we have the perfect players for it
cuz we have kobe who needs to make sure that he shows us that he is better than durant.
I have not been this mad at Kobe since the Boston series a few yrs. Back. Pathetic perfomance in this 4th quarter. The game is close and he's forcing bad shots.
What a surprise bench with only 11 pts!
Man I hate to say it but it's been a while since I've seen Kobe have a good shooting night. Finger or too much mileage?
Westbrook isnt as good as fisher makes him look.
The refs have been garbage in this game.
Refs have def. Been in favor for the Thunder in this game.
The refs are giving them the game.
That 30 million guy cost us this game
Coincidence that both number 1 seeds go down? I think not gj, Mr. Stern
We play so bad, I'm starting to doubt
I honestly am not sure I even want to watch anymore. I have no faith in this team anymore.
Is it just the finger that's bothering Kobe or does he have any other injuries? Cause he really looks slow
it's the finger,ankle and knee. He is to beat up right now. It doesn't help that ref's let him get pushed pulled and hacked a lot,but those are the breaks. I was hoping we could sweep this series so he and pau could get some rest,but oh well.
No way we're beating Denver even without Karl with this kind of performance.
Just like I said - this team is not there and won't be there because it's already too late.
We had this game, until Kobe decided to show off, the worst part is we gave the thunders hope instead of burying them
Durant sucked in beginning but he grabbed the rebounds for them....Kobe sucked and guess what...he still shot the ball.
This is going 7 games. Celtics /hawks all over again
The thunders did shot a lot of free throws but keep in mind that the lakers keep taking jumpshots after jumpshots. Taking jumpshots is not the way to get to the line
I hate Kobe so much right now, more then I ever have. He was forcing the issue way to much and trying to be Mr. Hero. He is now mortal.
We should have won this game. No excuse for losing this game. Phil should take a "fine" for all of the bad calls tonight by the refs.
It wasn't the refs. Kobe kept shooting bricks. Too many miles on the guy. LO was a no show AGAIN. Phil got out coached. Our bench sux We suck.
With both the Lakers and Cavs losing, I couldn't resist putting up a couple of bonus editions of Comments from the Other Side in honor of the occasion. Here are some of the best comments from around the Cavs boards during their loss to the Bulls.
I expect Lebron to put on a show for Chicago
I don't think Noah is going to have to worry about going back to Cleveland until the next season starts.
Looking forward to seeing them play with more hustle on this one. I hope they get out and stomp this Bulls team, we gotta set the tone and winning a big one on the road is magnificent. Stern test, the team will be in a hostile territory but I hope Shaq backs his play-off talk up and put Noah on the ground first chance he gets.
Put in JJ to throw some some Garnett-esque elbows at Noah.
I would say watch out for Kirk Heinrich....been pretty quiet the past few games, look for a big game from him tonight
I think the Bulls-- specifically Hinrich- come out guns a blazin and go up about 10-12 by the half. Cavs either recover, stay close and lose on a last second shot or recover, stay close and win on a last second shot.
I think Shaq goes off for 20+ and we win by 12+ with leading by double digits most of the way.
I won't be surprised if the Bulls take a game in either Game 3 or Game 4. It won't hurt to have an extra game to get some chemistry going before facing Celtics/Heat.
All I know is if the cavs lose I wouldn't want to play them again on Sunday............. Though I expect a cavs win in game 3.
Noah gets his wish and won't be coming back to Cleveland. All I won't to see is for LBJ to dunk so hard on Noah that his teeth straighten. Maybe then he won't be so angry....
Oh look, Tony Brothers has no idea what the rules of the NBA are. Great ref.
The Bulls are playing way way over their heads. They aren't close to this good
The Bulls are not a good offensive team and they are looking like the Suns. How are we allowing them to shoot 57%?
LOL! This is happening against the freakin' Bulls.
Okay, offensive fouls on LeBron while Chicago gets away with the blatant moving pick. I guess it's called home cooking
My god. They are hitting every jumpshot. It's irritating.
Okay, Kurt friggin Hinrich is unstoppable
Down 11.. Need to show them the real Cavs defense.
I fully expect the Cavs to be in winning position at the end of this game. They've played like this all season especially on the road
Cavs need to stay close until the Bulls cool off. Chicago is not nearly this good offensively.
Wow, the Bulls sure get the benefit of some touch fouls
They really are allowing some manhandling of Cavs players
Is it just me or are these refs waiting until the HAVE to make a call before blowing the whistle. Which to me inspires ZERO confidence in an already shaky reffing crew.
The calls will always benefit the more aggressive team.
LeBron can't make open shots only the contested ones.
If the Cavs don't win it all this year, I guarantee jump shooting will be there downfall. I really don't understand why the Coaches turn everyone into a spot up shooter. Stupid.
In all seriousness, could we blame LeBron if he were to leave? This team is very average, nothing special about this team at all minus LeBron.
Bron still can't make ft's.
My fear was Mike Brown allowing starters to keep playing NO MATTER what. He's very set in his mind about minutes and not hurting feelings. We are now getting blown out. It's very embarrassing stuff.
Coming out f a timeout and no adjustment. WTF!!!???. This kind of coaching will cause us the championship.
Exactly. Mike Brown won't win a championship until he has head and shoulders more talent than the opposition or the league says we are to win.
LeBron just chucking now. LeChuck
Lebron is embarrassing himself. This is pathetic.
If we don't win the 'ship this year, the main cause will be our horrible free throw shooting.
Foul on LeBron even though Deng still moving. Just a continuation of the terrible calls against the Cavs
Lebron cut out the acting and play the damn game
Mike Brown does not know how to coach under pressure
Mike Brown got outcoached by Vinnie Del Negro...sad.
Seriously, is it a coincidence that Chicago has gotten so many fortuitous bad calls?
We suck.
Knew that poor free throw shooting would cost us a game. 20-31 in a game we lost by 2. Oh and that missed dunk by Shaq would have helped as well as would that Jamison layup on the BS traveling call against Delonte
Forget the refs... The Cavs as a team have no business losing to this team..None.. They have no interior play, limited post up options and only really one 3 point shooter...
Vs 106, Bulls 102+Refs 6
Refs made some terrible calls but come on we all know that we didn't lose because of them.
The officials haven't been close to the reason we lost tonight, but they've performed about as well as the Cavs tonight tbh.
No team that has swept the 1st round has ever went all the way. I'm kinda glad we lost, it's a wakeup call.
We look a lot like we did last year
Cleveland still making regular season coast mode mistakes, and still trying to win the game in the last 12:00 instead of playing the right way all game.
Lots of bad calls against us tonight. Refs will review, give us more a benefit next game and we'll put the Bulls on their heels up 3-1.
Cavs really have not exhibited much of a confidence, or any type of swagger that they are #1 in the east. You watch the Lakers and Thunder and you get the sense that the Lakers are a high school varsity football team playing against a middle school football team.
I was happy to see Doc give Perk credit for his contributions after game 2. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Perk fan. He does so much that doesn't show up in the box score and so often doesn't get the credit he deserves so it was nice to see Doc give him credit on a night when Big Baby and Ray Allen were the stars.
Perk knew that without KG in there his defense would be more important and that is what he concentrated on. He held Jermaine O'Neal to just 1-10 shooting and his help defense was great as well. But, his passing in this game is what brought Doc to praise him. He had 4 assists and would have had more if Big Baby could have finished at the rim a bit better. But his willingness to make that extra pass got the whole offense moving better and everyone started making the extra pass.
Perk always plays better when KG is out and I think the reason for that is that when KG is in the lineup, Perk defers to him. Let's hope that he stays aggressive with KG back in the lineup as an aggressive Perk/KG front line would be intimidating to any team. Stopping Beasley and O'Neal in game 3 is going to be very important. Wade called them out, especially Beasley for their lack of production and so I can see them both wanting to come out and play well. Both Perk and KG have to both be aggressive on defense and keep that from happening.
The Celtics were quite impressive in games 1 and 2 and they seem to have found their defensive identity once again. But, there is an uneasiness among the Celtics faithful because two years ago, they were in this same position, up 2-0 at home in round one and then they proceeded to choke away every road game in the series. This season, the Celtics have been a lot more focused on the road though, with a better road record than home record in the regular season.
It's safe to say that the Cavs will win their series in 4 games and at most 5. It would be nice for the Celtics to finish off the Heat in 4 games so as not to give the Cavs a long break to rest up before they play them. The Celtics need to keep their killer instinct and go into game 3 with the mindset that it's win or go home and play like it's a game 7. It probably won't be quite as easy as game 2 because the Heat are playing for their playoff lives right now and can be expected to come out with fire. The Celtics will have to match that and can't afford to be complacent coming into this game.
We still haven't seen much from Rasheed Wallace yet in this series. Big Baby has clearly out played him. Even Shelden Williams has out played him. It seems that when Sheed tried to flip the playoff switch, it wasn't connected. It's now or never for him to prove that he is worth the contract that he signed. I still think he can help this team but it's going to have to take a lot more effort from him to do it. On the other hand, Michael Finley is worth every cent of his contract if for nothing else than the fact that the defense must pay attention to him as he is very capable of hitting big shots from outside (something Sheed has not been able to do).
I am still fuming over TNT's move to cut away from the 4th quarter of game 2 of the Celtics game to cover the first quarter of a Suns game that was being broadcast on NBA-TV. If I wanted to watch the Suns game I would have turned to NBA-TV. Unfortunately, there was nowhere else for me to turn to in order to watch the Celtics game. CSN was blacked out and no other network was carrying the Celtics game. They contracted to carry that Celtics game and they should have shown the whole game. I tape every game and and re-watch and savor every minute of every Celtics win. Now, because of the callous and inexcusable actions of TNT, I am missing the 4th quarter of what was one of the Celtics best games this season. I can imagine that if it was the other way around and the Celtics were losing by 30 points, they would have stayed there and showed every last minute of it.
Whoever made that decision owes every Celtics fan an apology. It was inexcusable and wrong. I have called TNT and written to them. I did get a person at TNT one time and they said that it was the NBA's decision. I don't know if I buy that because Charles was saying how bored he was with the Celtics game. I have also written to the NBA league office and got a very generic reply that just said my opinion was important to them but I doubt they even read it. Maybe if every Celtics fan who was robbed of watching the end of that game writes to both venues, the volume of the emails would get their attention. I also sent tweets to @TurnerSportsEJ, @TheJetOnTNT, and @NBAonTNT all day yesterday ripping them for robbing me of one quarter of the Celtics game. I don't think I'll get over this very soon. I'd love to get a torrent of the game from the CSN broadcast but all I've been able to find so far is the TNT version missing the 4th quarter. I guess Yogi Berra was wrong when he said "It's not over till it's over." It's not over unless TNT gets board and then cuts to another game before it's over. Or to quote KG.....
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