Sorry for the lack of preview. I had to work this morning. First off, this game is huge for so many reasons. Of course there's the obvious playoff implications, the divisional race, but most importantly, we need to win this one for bigger reasons. Winning would give us the confidence needed to attack the rest of the schedule. (Yes, the whole confidence thing is getting old, but it's so important for this team. With the correct amount of confidence, we are capable of great things. Too much will result in games like the NYK one. Too little will result to the next three after that one. So maybe the losing streak was good for the team because it proved to them that they still have to play hard to win games. It also knocked their confidence levels down, which at that point was at the level of "cocky".) -We need to control Iverson because he's the only guy that'll kill us. Maybe Banks can control him like he has in the past. But to start off the game, I'd like to see Tony Allen on him. I do not want to see GP guarding AI at any time. That would be a disaster. -Perimeter Defense needs to be our key focus on the defense. Korver is downright nasty from downtown. He needs a hand in his face or he will destroy us. -Running proved to be huge for us last game. Let's see those running lanes again. Keep this Philly D on their heels. -GO RICKY! Our bench needs to take advantage of Philly's weaker subs. Ricky should be able to lead them well. I'l predicting a big game for Blount. How ironic is it that both Walker and Webber are out the first time these two teams play?
Eh, a loss for the Celtics today. You mentioned bench play needed to be big today for the Celtics. The bench did have 40 total points compared to the Sixers weak 14 points off of the bench, but it wasn't enough to win. Al Jefferson came off of the bench, and fouled out in only 13 minutes, though, he did score 10 points. Ricky Davis had a big game with 27 points off of the bench. Banks also had a freethrow and Perkins had 2 points. The Celtics found themselves in a huge whole, being down by as much as 26, but made a big comeback, and found themselves as close as being down by only 3 points, but the lead just extended and the Celtics lost. Tough loss for the Celtics. Walker didn't play today, as mentioned.
That game was totally disgusting. Not only did we play ridiculously horrible, but the signal from my Satelitte dish kept going in and out. Oh man, it was like trying to shave while somebody repeatedly punches you in the face. On top of that, have I ever mentioned how much I hate national announcers? They're alright if you know nothing about a team, but when you've seen every single game that a team has played all season, they are just annoying. It's so obvious that they have no idea what the hell they are talking about, yet they still manage to somehow make blind commentaries on the team. I didn't bother learning their names, but some of the things they were saying were amazingly stupid. One of them even gave an opinion on Ricky Davis that seemed to be based on things that happened years ago. Ugh. One thing I really didn't understand about this game was why the bench wasn't given more of an opportunity. The starters obviously had their minds elsewhere today and they were outplayed. As Doc put it, "They're (Philly) playing to win, all we've done is show up." Well, the bench came in and changed the momentum in the 2nd quarter. They were just playing much harder than the starters were. There's no reason that Doc can't adjust his rotation when a group of guys are playing well. If it were up to me, I would have sent out Banks, Ricky, Jefferson, Blount, and Perkins to start the second half. A lesson should have come out of this game. That message should be: If you play like utter crap, you will be benched. GO RED SOX!?
Explain why Ricky Davis insisted on picking up that technical late in the game? Why the hell would someone go out of their way to make sure the game was put out of reach?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting briang8818:</div><div class="quote_post">Explain why Ricky Davis insisted on picking up that technical late in the game? Why the hell would someone go out of their way to make sure the game was put out of reach?</div>He probably forgot that his name was Ricky Davis at the moment. He forgot that people will criticize him no matter what he does, and that they'll try to tie in anything from his past that they can. Maybe one day he'll shake his reputation, but it won't be anytime soon.
What does reputation have to do with it? He was up in the refs ear for a good 2 minutes. It doesn't matter who you are, if you bitch at a ref for that long you're getting a T
Not my point. If that was Paul Pierce who picked up the tech, the announcers wouldn't have attacked him they way they attacked Ricky.
celtics were PATHETIC today! they could have easily won that game against a very inferior philly team but they played like total crap! TURNOVERS! <font size="1"><font color="Blue">There's no need to type the same word seven times in a row. - 44</font></font>
Man, this is like the 4th-5th thread I've seen with members complaining about turnovers whenever they so happen to lose to the 76ers. Yes, twenty something turnovers is a lot, but like I once said you can't entirely blame it on your team, the 76ers also have a lot to do with it as well. You guys do realize that they rank #1 in forcing turnovers and #2 at SPG right? So I think it wouldn?t hurt giving them some credit.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Avery:</div><div class="quote_post">Man, this is like the 4th-5th thread I've seen with members complaining about turnovers whenever they so happen to lose to the 76ers. Yes, twenty something turnovers is a lot, but like I once said you can't entirely blame it on your team, the 76ers also have a lot to do with it as well. You guys do realize that they rank #1 in forcing turnovers and #2 at SPG right? So I think it wouldn?t hurt giving them some credit.</div>Nah, I didn't even mention the TOs. AI is the best in the league at getting in the passing lane. The problem is that people are too stupid to realize that and they think they can sneak one by him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Nah, I didn't even mention the TOs. AI is the best in the league at getting in the passing lane. The problem is that people are too stupid to realize that and they think they can sneak one by him.</div> True, but Iverson aside, the team still managed to steal the ball on thirteen different occasions which is well above they're season average. So I believe it was a case of the Celtics underestimating the team and not just Iverson.
What do you mean by "underestimating"? It's not like Doc Rivers said, "Listen, this is Philly, so feel free to be careless with the ball today." We just didn't do a good job taking care of the ball. Sometimes that won't hurt us, but it did against the Sixers because they are young, active, and can take advantage of it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What do you mean by "underestimating"? It's not like Doc Rivers said, "Listen, this is Philly, so feel free to be careless with the ball today." We just didn't do a good job taking care of the ball. Sometimes that won't hurt us, but it did against the Sixers because they are young, active, and can take advantage of it.</div> Maybe "underestimating" was the wrong use of words, but like you said "We just didn't do a good job taking care of the ball", and all I'm trying to say is that the 76ers were the ones that forced that to occur. In the past 4 games, the Celtics averaged exactly eleven turnovers, and in this game they committed an extra eight turnovers, so it must be the other team doings.
Upsetting loss? YES! I had the opportunity to attend this thriller and I feel for the Celtics bench deeply.. I think they did just about everything possible to get back into it. They had a good amount of energy and a swagger about them. I mean come on they had to come back from a what-26 point deficit?? And they did just that, at the end of the third it was a game again..Banks played well, Jefferson had a good game but unfortunately had a few-phantom calls and fouled out, but I was really impressed with Perk, I know Antoine has only been here for a while and this was his first game out.. But it showed on Sunday how important he is with his offensive rebounding abilities and I think Kendrick did a GREAT job of filling that role! Ricky of course had a stellar performance (can you tell hes my favorite player?), yes he continued to argue with the ref and picked up a technical.. But I think this is a concern for the C's-refs continue to favor the Celtics opponents probably because they are tired of the whining and arguing of the Celtics, not ONLY Ricky Davis.. Toine does a pretty good job at it and Payton and Pierce have their fair share as well... I have said it before Ill say it again, its no one other than Paul Pierce who needs to step it up! He is the Captain and is supposed to be the leader of the team, and honestly I dont think he is showing good leadership qualities, missing two crucial free throws and then being extremely selfish and driving to the hoop himself only to get it knocked away by AI...uuuuuuuugh! Pierce needs a reality check if you ask me!
I'm declaring no more nationally televised games, cause the C's are 0-2. Queen is right, if the bench didn't come to play they would have lost by 40.
