First of all, the refs.... (moving on) Anyways, Indiana did a great job of adjusting their D so that our bench couldn't kill them again. The Celtics did manage to overcome that and seemed to have control of it. Late in the 4th, the Celtics offense DIED and we let them back in. Doc going small late in the 4th had me wondering what he was trying to do. I think he gave up on the bench guys way too early, as well. We weren't able to maintain our pace throughout all 48 minutes. Pierce, however, had a monster game. Ricky was COLD. I'm sorry, but was he the right guy to go to down 3 with 30 seconds left? Also, Pierce's shot for the tie was rushed. I can't blame either of them, or even Doc, because we looked PATHETIC down the stretch. Just a really frustrating loss...
Celtics should've taken this one easily imo....was Reggie clutch? Now they've gotten themselves in trouble...playing Indy at Conseco could be a nightmare.
The Celtics had the lead in the 4th but just couldn't land a basket in the last minutes. A big part of it was due to them playing an isolation game rather than getting ball movement. I agree that the Celtic's bench, a key to their success, was not a factor in this game. Ricky Davis' shot 1-8 FG. He's the guy they need to be consistant and he didn't produce tonight. Walker was also supposed to make those layups, I bet he's kicking himself in the as right now because of it. Good luck to the Celtics but they gotta step up.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree that the Celtic's bench, a key to their success, was not a factor in this game</div> I missed the first half and tuned in about :45 sec into the 3rd, so I got almost all of the second half. One of the stats that I recall them putting up, as I ravenously searched for answers why Indy was up on us by 2pts, was the the Celtics bench was a collective 7-31 from the field. Even if you divide it equally across 4 bench players, thats basically 2-8 (1.75 - 7.75, if you need precision) 2 for 8 across, say RD, Banks, West, and Blount? I'm thinking.....ughhhhhhhh(sorry to Ugh) We're certainly not having a repeat of game one and that's gotta be the reason for the score. We must be going PP and 'Toine show. It wasn't quite at that point, IMO. I saw most of the 2nd half as basically 5 guys taking turns going 1 on 1, working through PP and AW, not the PG. I saw tremendously decreased offensive transistion and a lack of movement in the half court set. Paul, Ricky and 'Toine all had several sweet moves to burn thier guys like chumps last night, but that's a hard way to win games and is easier to defend against, because of it's overall predictability. <font color="DarkRed">(The more you take out of the playbook, the easier it is for the defense to predict and sag against AND you're compacting the area they have to defend to be mostly concentrated on 1/4 of the court, closest to the basket. In football terms, it's like packing the red zone. The defense is mostly at an advantage. It takes big plays just to score, it's hard to keep that intensity every play)</font> It's the hardest way possible to win: beating the other team, while playing the game thier way. Bad Idea. I didn't find out why Al Jefferson didn't get more burn in the 2nd half though. I haven't checked the box score, but was he in foul trouble?
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I didn't find out why Al Jefferson didn't get more burn in the 2nd half though. I haven't checked the box score, but was he in foul trouble?</div>I don't think so. They doubled him in the post, so I guess Doc thought that made Blount a better option. I, on the other hand, think he should've got at least 20 more minutes. When a team doubles you, their whole defensive scheme is disrupted, and I think we could have gotten much better looks if the D was focusing on Al that much.
Doc's handling of both Banks and AL cost us this game. Yes, Al is a defensive liablity at times, I know that, but play him in the third and it saves Toine's legs for the 4th, when both he and Pierce were out of gas. Also, I know its the playoffs and each possesion takes on more meaning, but Doc yanked Banks out after about a minute when he messed up a screen and roll (as Hagrid would say, he pulled an Obie) and then we never saw Banks again, even as Gary ran out of steam. Just some very curious stuff from Doc... (and by curious I mean stupid).
