Tonight, the Boston Celtics (8-11) roll into Los Angeles to take on the Clippers (11-8). The Clippers are coming off a tough loss to their Staples Center roommates, the Los Angeles Lakers, 89-87. Elton Brand returns for tonight's game after missing the game against the Lakers while serving a 1 game suspension. The Celtics arrive in Los Angeles after an unexpect win in Seattle, 98-84. This is the last game of a 5 game, 9 day roadtrip for the Celtics. So far they are 1-3 on the trip. The knock on the Clippers is that they play to the level of their opponents: battling Minnesota to overtime before finally losing, but needing 2 overtimes to defeat the expansion Bobcats. The Celtics have been up and down all year, trying to fully grasp the new running-style offense that Coach Doc Rivers is trying to implement. They have struggled to run for 48 minutes and do the "little things" down the stretch to secure wins. I expect Los Angeles native Paul Pierce to have a good game in front of his hometown crowd and the Celtics to pull out a narrow victory over a steadily-improving Clippers team, Celtics 102 - Clippers 99.
First: Thank you Celtsman(and others in the past) for creating game threads like these. As far as the game goes: I know enough, to know, that I don't know what to expect. (If you can follow that convoluted logic) I haven't seen much of the Clips so far this season, but have heard the dame knock that Celtsman made: They often play down to the level of thier opponents. That sort of puts us in limbo, since we generally win games we're not supposed to and lose those that we are. I guess, since the Clips have a better record than us, that we should play well and win, but who knows. I'd like to take this win on the way home, to somewhat salvage the road trip and hopefully build some momentum. <u>My keys to the game:</u> 1. We need to show better on the boards. With guys like Brand(who's coming off a suspension and should be pissed) and the young guys from Maryland who's name I can't remember right now cleaning the boards, if we're not diligent on the glass, we're in deep trouble. 2. Run, Run, Run. The Clips have a young team that I have to assume will have no problem running either, execution and finishing strong will be important. Let's hope some of our outside shots fall, so that it opens up the lanes for slasha nd burn pentration from guys like PP, RD, TA, and GP.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post">1. We need to show better on the boards. With guys like Brand(who's coming off a suspension and should be pissed) and the young guys from Maryland who's name I can't remember right now cleaning the boards, if we're not diligent on the glass, we're in deep trouble.</div> You're thinking of Chris Wilcox, who while undersized physically, has a good sized nasty streak and won't back down from anyone. I think Raef's outside shooting could also be huge for the C's, because if he's hitting them that should pull Brand away from the basket. Also, I know Kaman played the other day after an emergency apendectomy, but I don't think he's back to full speed, so I say we go in to Blount early and try to establish a presence in the paint.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You're thinking of Chris Wilcox</div> Yes, I was, thank you. At the time, all I could think of was his running mate with the Terps, Lonny Baxter and knew that was wrong. Going to Blount in the post early is an intersting idea. It would set a tone that we're ready to battle, as long as he actually catches the ball and is effective on at least 50% of his tries. That would open up the outside and make space for penetrations and pull ups.
Double OT now....!! It Payton made a 3 pointer to take the lead by 1 and boston made another 2 then Maggette made a 3 to tie the game to go to 2OT
boston takes it....I dunno but I thought the officials were terrible in this game with dumb calls on both sides....nice comeback without paul though.... Clips lost and I thought they kinda deserved it for being lazy towards the end leading to this 2OT...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Clippers up 96-85 with 7:30 left in the 4th, should be able to cruise home to victory </div> Little premature there, weren't ya? Great, great, great game. Entertaining as all hell. Ricky was huge in the fourth and in the overtimes. This was one of those games where the whole team comes together and could really be a rally point for the C's. Great win, nice way to end the trip after the Portland and GS games.
What a heartbreaker for the Clippers and a great win for the Celtics. In my opinion, the Clippers really gave the game away by being lazy and not helping out on defense when GP penetrated. Ricky hit some clutch FTs too. Oh well, good game from both sides! (Except Clippers in the last minute of 2nd OT...)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting skape:</div><div class="quote_post">I dunno but I thought the officials were terrible in this game with dumb calls on both sides....</div> agreed, calling an awful lot of ticky-tack stuff both ways, IMO. But, at least the were bad for both teams. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">nice comeback without paul though....</div> yeah, I have to say that Paul was the one thing that irked me about the game. I don't want to go all 'EEI, the-sky-is-falling on you, but Pierce's body language during the 4th quarter and the first overtimes was horrible. He seemed to sulk at the end of the bench, at one point not even joining a huddle when Doc was trying to draw up a crucial play. I know he was frustrated with fouling out in his hometown, but it just seemed like he was disjointed from the team. Hell, even Perkins got into the huddle and he never plays. He got into it by the second overtime, but I didn't like the way he was sulking at the end of the bench during the 4th and 1st overtime. I know after a great win like this is a bad time to bring it up, but I just thought it had to be mentioned. Games like this are suppossed to bring a team together, but Pierce seemed to remove himself further.
Great victory for Boston, with Pierce on the bench for both overtimes, the young Celtics really stepped up and performed when it was needed most. Tony Allen is showing great hands and awareness around the basket, along with the ability to finish at the hoop. Ricky Davis showed leadership, believe it or not. Besides his scoring he made several key passes down the stretch. For instance the lay off to Tony Allen for the slam, or the drive and dish to Gary Payton for three. I honestly don't believe Ricky Davis's stock has ever been higher than it currently is at this point in his career...
