<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">25-3</span> <span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%">@</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">19-10</span> Sunday, December 30, 2007 - 10:00 pm ET Staples Center (Los Angeles, CA) Game aired on CSN</div> Last night, the Celtics delivered a grind-out victory at Energy Solutions Arena in Utah, after a ridiculously hot start by the Jazz. Tonight, the C’s will have an even tougher task, as they’ll be hosted by the red hot Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have won 10 of their last 12 games, and are one of the hottest teams in the NBA along with Portland, Detroit, and of course - Boston. At 19-10, the Lakers are one of the biggest surprise of the young 2007-2008 regular season, and currently sit at fifth in the western conference. Kobe Bryant is playing within the team rather than himself, the defense has been excellent, and the Laker bench has come up huge all season long. They may not have too many notable names behind the starting five, but they surely have some serviceable role players that get the job done. One of the biggest components to LA’s success this year has been the emergence of third-year center Andrew Bynum. The 20-year-old prospect has raised many eyebrows by improving every aspect of his game. He is currently putting up career highs in scoring (12.4 PPG), rebounding (10.0 RPG), blocked shots (2.0 BPG), assists (1.6 APG), steals (0.4 SPG), field goal percentage (61.7%), and minutes per game (28.9 MPG). His work ethic has gone from questionable in the LA area to praised on a daily basis. The kid is finally growing up, and he is not afraid to credit Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who he has worked out with extensively, for a lot of his success. He is finally showing why the Lakers selected him with the tenth overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft out of high school. Kendrick Perkins will have his hands full tonight. A Laker win tonight would not only give Los Angeles fans an extra shot of kool-aid, but it would also put him over the great Red Auerbach for the most career coaching victories. As FLCeltsFan of CelticsBlog.com stated, we all know it’s going to happen, but it should absolutely not happen against the Celtics. She calls this game a must-win, and she’s absolutely right. That would be just wrong. Let’s hope Paul Pierce, who is as aware about Red than anybody, can put on another show for his family and friends at the Staples Center to make sure Phil doesn’t break Red’s record against his own franchise. Lakers fans aren’t necessarily getting cocky yet, but confidence is growing. At the end of Friday night’s blowout victory over the Utah Jazz, fans at the Staples Center began chanting “We want Boston!” Well, tonight is the night, Laker fans. You better bring your “A Game.” Beat LA! Projected Starters C Kendrick Perkins / Andrew Bynum PF Kevin Garnett / Lamar Odom SF Paul Pierce / Trevor Ariza SG Ray Allen / Kobe Bryant PG Rajon Rondo / Derek Fisher Key Matchup: Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant The Ray Allen/Kobe Bryant matchup has always been a good one, as the two stars have always had something going with either other. They respect one another, but they clearly don’t like each other. Allen did a respectable defensive job on Bryant on November 23, where the Celtics routed the Lakers at the Garden with a 107-93 butt-kicking. Bryant will surely come through with a better effort at home tonight, but the C’s need that kind of defense from Ray once again. Celtics X-Factor: Tony Allen Two words: Kobe Bryant. Ray Allen did a solid job on Bryant last month, as mentioned above, but asking him to produce offensively on the road as well as contain the best player in the world defensively on his home floor? That’s a little too much. Tony Allen did an outstanding job defensively in the fourth quarter last night in Utah by denying Deron Williams the ball and coming up with multiple deflections. The Celtics need the same thing from “TA” tonight, except this time it will be against Kobe Bryant. He’ll have his hands full. Injury Report None Celtics Keys to the Game • Contain Kobe • Attack, Don’t Settle • Defensive Rotations • Close Out Quarters • Ball Movement (where was it in Utah?)
Tony Allen is playing rather well right now. Decent defense and he's actually hitting jumpers on offense. He's still trying to do too much rather than deferring to superior players, but it's working for him right now, apparently.
Holy crap it's Premier!!! Tony Allen sucks, I've never seen someone miss more layups, that includes Antoine! Also, why did Tony Allen start?
How many times does Phil Jackson have to watch Luke Walton fail to play any defense against premiere wing players? Paul Pierce lit his ass up and the Celtics went into cruise control with an 18-0 run. The Lakers were within 4 points coming out of a timeout. Very first Celtic possession Luke Walton gambles for a steal, hooks Pierce in the process and gets called for a foul putting the Lakers in the penalty and killing the momentum they just built up.
Premier! Great to see you back, bro. Stick around. You guys can check out my game recap by clicking this link.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Dec 31 2007, 12:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Premier! Great to see you back, bro. Stick around. You guys can check out my game recap by clicking this link.</div> Actually CB, your links never work. Just thought someone should point that out. lol. Anyone see Odom's tackle? Tommy's post game comments: "I don't get this double technical. What was Ray Allen supposed to do? Not fall on the floor?" 4/4 on the West coast, pretty darn well!
His link should work now. Note to CB -- you need to hit Publish on your blogs for them to show to the rest of the members and guests. On the bottom hit Entry Options > Publish
Didn't know that, thanks for the tip shape. But what the hell happened? Now all of my recent entries are gone from my blog. I can't even see them anymore...
I figured it all out on my own, and also changed it so each entry I add is automatically published. Since it's all fixed, here is the link to my recap.
I dont feel so strongly about TA being that bad. I realize he missed a couple easy layups, but I am real impressed by his D and the 6 or 7 times he was able to basically get to the hole at will. The old TA is emerging slowly. He is still getting used to the fact he has to trust his leg. When he thinks about it, he falters. When he doesn't, you see the ability he can bring like he did last year before the blown out knee. Anyway, I was laughing a lot at the Fakers trying to be tough! I literally dreamed we'd going 4-0, but I realistically thought we'd lose either the Utah or Lakers game. I'm more impressed now than before. Some other thoughts from this trip: KG is of course a beast. Opposing players took their shots at him and he was able to hit back harder. P2 can still take over games and I love the fact that in the last few contests he's started out slowly, allowing his teammates to put some points up first and then after the half he's put on a clinic. He is leading and when it counts. Ray is the most clutch player we may have ever had this side of Larry himself. And he's got the shooting ethic to match. Rondo, even without playing in LA, has done only what we need him to do. While this may seem like he needs to do more, I would disagree. He will do more when we need him and I dont want anything more or less. Except maybe going up with those layups when he drives that he keeps passing up, but otherwise his rebounding is perfect, his assists are perfect, he has sorta been hitting more of his FT's. His jumper is sharper. He has more confidence. And if that were not enough, he barely turns the ball over while forcing his opponent to cough it up regularly. Of course, I think he has room for improvement on all these facets, but for now, its enough. House gotta give it up for his fearless determination to get open and/or hit the shot in the D's face! Posey has proven to be a scrapper. He hits 3's and D's up his man very well. He is doing what he is asked although I might like to see more attempts at taking it to the hole. He looks to me like he can do it every now and then at least. Perk is a big dude! What he does to disrupt the opposition shows and doesnt show on the stats. On this west swing he has shown a ton of confidence and a mean streak that I have not seen until KG joined. He is so mean, he can draw a technical just for looking at someone (I think I saw pee running down Bynums short shorts). I already talked about TA. Doc is someone we are aware is not the best coach, but not the worst. One thing I think Doc has been able to do successfully is bring in the subs at the right times. They have been able to maintain the lead at least long enough to rest one or two of the big three at once while leaving one on the floor as insurance. Its funny to see the C's continue to dominate with just Pierce on the floor and then watch the other teams faces as they start to make a run and KG, Ray or both enter back into the game. Its such a demoralizing dagger, its a defensive strategy in and of it self. Doc gets the credit for working this rotation successfully and the bench gets the credit for executing the plan. Its pretty extraordinary actually. Some of my fellow Greeniacs over at my board have commented on the idea of having Ray Allen come off the bench ala the Spurs. It sounds crazy and I am even skeptical, but I just can see it being quite a coup if it works. Who replaces Ray you say? The other Allen! Hear me out...Tony seems to be most successful when he starts the game. It was that way last year before the injury and this year when Ray and now Rondo out. He's one of those players that may need to be in it from the start to get the most out of him. And we all know Ray can come in anytime he wants and just be Ray. It's an idea, but not one I am truly ready to try since we are so successful, but it could be a strategy if we see teams making adjustments against us. Alright, thats all I got! GO CELTICS!!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Loyalist @ Dec 31 2007, 07:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>KG is of course a beast. Opposing players took their shots at him and he was able to hit back harder.</div> Yeah, that was great to see. Teams have reverted to playing more physical against us than any other team they play, but we're not folding because of it. In fact, getting too physical with KG in the first half did nothing more or less than piss him off. Some players suck when they are mad, but KG elevates his game. After that elbow to the face that produced blood around his eye, he turned it up a couple notches. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>House gotta give it up for his fearless determination to get open and/or hit the shot in the D's face!</div> Offensively, Eddie House has been fantastic all season long. In all seriousness, he has hit a momentum-changing 3 in every game this season except for maybe 3-4. He's a dynamite shooter, but the consistency came as a surprise to me. On top of that, the energy he brings off the bench has been great, and he always has a positive effect on the second unit with his change of pace. I don't like the fact that he can't defend or bring the ball up against pressure, but I think Danny will address that need before we hit the postseason. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Posey has proven to be a scrapper. He hits 3's and D's up his man very well. He is doing what he is asked although I might like to see more attempts at taking it to the hole. He looks to me like he can do it every now and then at least.</div> I really don't have anything negative to say about James Posey. I mean honestly, what has he done wrong for us this year? He has played great defense as always, he has shot the ball extremely well and very consistently, he makes clutch plays on both ends on a regular basis, he's a scrapper as you mentioned and comes up with all the little plays, he is extremely enthusiastic and is always up off his seat looking to pump up the team, and he brings leadership. Also, those 30-second motivational hugs he gives everybody before tipoff is great. Pose is the consummate role player, and I'll be very disappointed if he declines his option after this season. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Perk is a big dude! What he does to disrupt the opposition shows and doesnt show on the stats. On this west swing he has shown a ton of confidence and a mean streak that I have not seen until KG joined. He is so mean, he can draw a technical just for looking at someone (I think I saw pee running down Bynums short shorts).</div> Haha. I love Perk's face. It's priceless, and Gorman even said something about it last night. But in all honesty, as much as I like Perk, he has given me a lot of headaches this year. In year 5, he still feels the need to dribble at least once when he catches the ball under the basket wide open. Just go up with it Perk! He also has a hard time finishing and is undoubtedly the clumsiest starter in the entire league. I love Perk, but man, he bugs me a lot as well. The defense has been fantastic, for the most part, though. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Doc is someone we are aware is not the best coach, but not the worst. One thing I think Doc has been able to do successfully is bring in the subs at the right times. They have been able to maintain the lead at least long enough to rest one or two of the big three at once while leaving one on the floor as insurance. Its funny to see the C's continue to dominate with just Pierce on the floor and then watch the other teams faces as they start to make a run and KG, Ray or both enter back into the game. Its such a demoralizing dagger, its a defensive strategy in and of it self. Doc gets the credit for working this rotation successfully and the bench gets the credit for executing the plan. Its pretty extraordinary actually.</div> Doc has done a better job this season for the simple fact that we have a veteran rotation. We know our guys are Garnett, Pierce, both Allen's, Rondo, Perk, Pose, E-House, Big Baby, and Pollard. The rest are garbage time wonders. Last year, we had about 8 players that would be garbage time wonders on most teams in the league. He's coaching players now, not students. That's the difference. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Some of my fellow Greeniacs over at my board have commented on the idea of having Ray Allen come off the bench ala the Spurs. It sounds crazy and I am even skeptical, but I just can see it being quite a coup if it works. Who replaces Ray you say? The other Allen! Hear me out...Tony seems to be most successful when he starts the game. It was that way last year before the injury and this year when Ray and now Rondo out. He's one of those players that may need to be in it from the start to get the most out of him. And we all know Ray can come in anytime he wants and just be Ray. It's an idea, but not one I am truly ready to try since we are so successful, but it could be a strategy if we see teams making adjustments against us.</div> I don't think this is necessary. While Ray is the kind of guy that probably wouldn't complain about a role like that, he probably wouldn't be the same mentally. He will and should be starting. I like TA, but his play is far too erratic to insert in the starting lineup. Eddie can't defend and is too small to start at the 2. Posey is much more valuable coming off the bench, because of his energy and leadership - Pierce plays better at the 3 as it is. If if ain't broke, don't fix it. Ray has played better defense this season than anybody thought he would/could, also.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Dec 31 2007, 11:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Loyalist @ Dec 31 2007, 07:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>KG is of course a beast. Opposing players took their shots at him and he was able to hit back harder.</div> Yeah, that was great to see. Teams have reverted to playing more physical against us than any other team they play, but we're not folding because of it. In fact, getting too physical with KG in the first half did nothing more or less than piss him off. Some players suck when they are mad, but KG elevates his game. After that elbow to the face that produced blood around his eye, he turned it up a couple notches. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>House gotta give it up for his fearless determination to get open and/or hit the shot in the D's face!</div> Offensively, Eddie House has been fantastic all season long. In all seriousness, he has hit a momentum-changing 3 in every game this season except for maybe 3-4. He's a dynamite shooter, but the consistency came as a surprise to me. On top of that, the energy he brings off the bench has been great, and he always has a positive effect on the second unit with his change of pace. I don't like the fact that he can't defend or bring the ball up against pressure, but I think Danny will address that need before we hit the postseason. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Posey has proven to be a scrapper. He hits 3's and D's up his man very well. He is doing what he is asked although I might like to see more attempts at taking it to the hole. He looks to me like he can do it every now and then at least.</div> I really don't have anything negative to say about James Posey. I mean honestly, what has he done wrong for us this year? He has played great defense as always, he has shot the ball extremely well and very consistently, he makes clutch plays on both ends on a regular basis, he's a scrapper as you mentioned and comes up with all the little plays, he is extremely enthusiastic and is always up off his seat looking to pump up the team, and he brings leadership. Also, those 30-second motivational hugs he gives everybody before tipoff is great. Pose is the consummate role player, and I'll be very disappointed if he declines his option after this season. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Perk is a big dude! What he does to disrupt the opposition shows and doesnt show on the stats. On this west swing he has shown a ton of confidence and a mean streak that I have not seen until KG joined. He is so mean, he can draw a technical just for looking at someone (I think I saw pee running down Bynums short shorts).</div> Haha. I love Perk's face. It's priceless, and Gorman even said something about it last night. But in all honesty, as much as I like Perk, he has given me a lot of headaches this year. In year 5, he still feels the need to dribble at least once when he catches the ball under the basket wide open. Just go up with it Perk! He also has a hard time finishing and is undoubtedly the clumsiest starter in the entire league. I love Perk, but man, he bugs me a lot as well. The defense has been fantastic, for the most part, though. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Doc is someone we are aware is not the best coach, but not the worst. One thing I think Doc has been able to do successfully is bring in the subs at the right times. They have been able to maintain the lead at least long enough to rest one or two of the big three at once while leaving one on the floor as insurance. Its funny to see the C's continue to dominate with just Pierce on the floor and then watch the other teams faces as they start to make a run and KG, Ray or both enter back into the game. Its such a demoralizing dagger, its a defensive strategy in and of it self. Doc gets the credit for working this rotation successfully and the bench gets the credit for executing the plan. Its pretty extraordinary actually.</div> Doc has done a better job this season for the simple fact that we have a veteran rotation. We know our guys are Garnett, Pierce, both Allen's, Rondo, Perk, Pose, E-House, Big Baby, and Pollard. The rest are garbage time wonders. Last year, we had about 8 players that would be garbage time wonders on most teams in the league. He's coaching players now, not students. That's the difference. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Some of my fellow Greeniacs over at my board have commented on the idea of having Ray Allen come off the bench ala the Spurs. It sounds crazy and I am even skeptical, but I just can see it being quite a coup if it works. Who replaces Ray you say? The other Allen! Hear me out...Tony seems to be most successful when he starts the game. It was that way last year before the injury and this year when Ray and now Rondo out. He's one of those players that may need to be in it from the start to get the most out of him. And we all know Ray can come in anytime he wants and just be Ray. It's an idea, but not one I am truly ready to try since we are so successful, but it could be a strategy if we see teams making adjustments against us.</div> I don't think this is necessary. While Ray is the kind of guy that probably wouldn't complain about a role like that, he probably wouldn't be the same mentally. He will and should be starting. I like TA, but his play is far too erratic to insert in the starting lineup. Eddie can't defend and is too small to start at the 2. Posey is much more valuable coming off the bench, because of his energy and leadership - Pierce plays better at the 3 as it is. If if ain't broke, don't fix it. Ray has played better defense this season than anybody thought he would/could, also. </div> Two things. As soon as Doc gets a rotation, I'll give him some credit. I do agree about the Allen/Allen part. If we were 3-26, then yeah, I'd say change the starting lineup, being at 26-3, not much is necessary.
Last night was a reminder of how soft the Laker team is. Check out the Gameflow from last night's matchup. GAMEFLOW The Celtics took control of the game in the 3rd quarter when they went with a power lineup of: TA-RayRay-Pierce-KG-Perkins The Lakers tried to counter it with a small lineup with Luke replacing Ariza and Paul Pierce went on a run all his own. He had 3 steals during that stretch coming from the weakside to knock the ball out of the post player's hands. He didn't even bother defending Walton and played free safety on defense.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (aquaitious @ Dec 31 2007, 01:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>As soon as Doc gets a rotation, I'll give him some credit.</div> What do you mean? We have a pretty set rotation. We have our solidified 8-man rotation in Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Allen, Rondo, Posey, Perkins, and House. Then we have Big Baby or Pollard playing spot minutes, depending on the matchups. What's you're beef?
<span style="color:#808000"><span style="font-size:36pt;line-height:100%">W</span></span> [by the way - I will soon have more time to actually write in here. Until then I feel the need to continu'e with my "W's"!]
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Dec 31 2007, 01:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (aquaitious @ Dec 31 2007, 01:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>As soon as Doc gets a rotation, I'll give him some credit.</div> What do you mean? We have a pretty set rotation. We have our solidified 8-man rotation in Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Allen, Rondo, Posey, Perkins, and House. Then we have Big Baby or Pollard playing spot minutes, depending on the matchups. What's you're beef? </div> His "spot" minutes are inconsistant. Baby plays 20+ minutes one game, then doesn't play for two games. Same with Pollard. Tony Allen has been making stupid mistakes and he sticks with TA. The Detroit game he put Allen on Billups, knowing Billups will upfake, knowing Tony Allen loves to bite on those, and he still had him at the end of the game. Scalabrine will also come in and have a few games here and there. Then you won't see the guy leave the sideline. Random substitutions, and my favorite of playing "small ball," where he continually get killed, are not helping.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (aquaitious @ Dec 31 2007, 04:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Dec 31 2007, 01:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (aquaitious @ Dec 31 2007, 01:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>As soon as Doc gets a rotation, I'll give him some credit.</div> What do you mean? We have a pretty set rotation. We have our solidified 8-man rotation in Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Allen, Rondo, Posey, Perkins, and House. Then we have Big Baby or Pollard playing spot minutes, depending on the matchups. What's you're beef? </div> His "spot" minutes are inconsistant. Baby plays 20+ minutes one game, then doesn't play for two games. Same with Pollard. Tony Allen has been making stupid mistakes and he sticks with TA. The Detroit game he put Allen on Billups, knowing Billups will upfake, knowing Tony Allen loves to bite on those, and he still had him at the end of the game. Scalabrine will also come in and have a few games here and there. Then you won't see the guy leave the sideline. Random substitutions, and my favorite of playing "small ball," where he continually get killed, are not helping. </div> I agree that Big Baby needs to be getting more consistent minutes, but I still don't think it was a bad decision to put TA on Chauncey. TA made a mistake, but I think that was a good call by Doc. Posey is not laterally quick enough to stick with Billups, especially through screens. Eddie House would've done nothing, it'd be like giving Chauncey an open jumper because he'd either get crushed on a screen or they'd shoot right over the top of him without any pressure. I don't think it was the wrong decision, Tony just happened to make an unfortunate and costly mistake. He'll learn from it and be better off down the line. Scalabrine is not good enough to be given consistent minutes, but when we play a team with perimeter bigs, he'd a much better option than Big Baby. Notice that he plays 10+ minutes against teams with those type of players - Toronto, Sacramento, Golden State, LA, Indiana, etc. I don't think Doc is mishandling Brian Scalabrine. Small ball, no arguments. I'm not a huge fan of it for extended periods of time. At times, Doc will sit Perk for a good 10-12 straight minutes more than once in a game and it irks the hell out of me. However, we can get away with it more than ever with James Posey's presence rather than say... hmm... Gerald Green or Allan Ray from last year. I never said Doc has been great, I never said he was perfect. But he has been a little bit better.
