Post Game Thread - Celtics put to sleep by Cavs 124-95 Friday 5/7/2010

[dboss]

Now we know how Cleveland fans felt after the Celtics took them apart in game 2,

Hopefully before this series is over we will see a game where both teams play well.


From the start it became clear that Cleveland especially Lebron James brought maximum energy into the contest and Boston simply could not turn the motor over. Early fouls by Perk and kevin limited any cohesiveness of the starting unit and Paul Pierce continues in a deep shooting slump that threatens to derail any chance that Boston can move deeper in the playoffs.

Paul shot 4-15 and 1-5 behind the arc, was 2-5 from the line and was outplayed by Lebron in ever manner conceivable. He needs help and I'll suggest some options later in this post.

The strategy as expected was to force Rondo to make shots thus limiting scoring options from his teamates. KG only got 11 shots but made 8 of them. Ray Allen was 2-9 and Perkins was a non factor scoring only 5 pts with 2 rebounds.

Despite these offensive probems Boston scored 95 points and in a playoff game 95 points is really not that bad but they only shot 42% so there were a lot of missed shots.

Before the game we talked about defense as being the key to voctory. Not a lot of that was played last niight as Boston allowed the cavs to shoot almost 60 % from the field and they were hamered on the glass 45-30 I know Boston is not a good rebounding team but to collect only 30 rebounds is perhaps the worse stat that I have seen in some time. Boston also lost the 50/50 battles as every lose ball seemed to find itself in the hands of a Cavs player.

Rasheed missed the game due to the fact that he forgot he needed to show up. Off the bench TA brought some energy and Rajoin Rondo led the Celtics in had 18 points on 9-17 shooting and he also had 8 assists and 5 rebound. In other words he led the team in all major statistical categories except scoring where KG put up 19.

The questions everyone wnats to know is where do the Celtics go from here. Game 4 has to be looked upon as an elimination game. And since it comes up toimorrow there is not a lot of time to get ready.

What may help

Paul Pierce cannot guard Lebron James. At times it seemed as though Paul was afraid to really get up on him. The Celtics need to find a way to either contain lebron or contain the other players. The only way to contain Lebron is to double team him whenever he gets the ball That will take a determined effort and also PP needs to do a better job denying Lebron the ball. Paul just lets him get the ball and then he tries to play defense. In other words PP needs to play him tighter before he gets the ball.

If the Celtics do not show up tomorrow and rebound the basketball this series is over plan and simple. The Celtics had zero energy out there and it is difficult to understand given the importance of the game.

KG continues to score well and he must get more shot attempts so Boston needs to devise some plays that are intended to get KG the ball in the post.

I realize that Perkins is guarding a real big person but he has to rebound the basketball better. Of course if the Celtics let the Cavs shoot 60% they will not be a need to rebound the ball until after it drops through the net.

This is the biggest game of the year for Boston. We have seen them bounce back after playing poorly but the Cavs will be just as determined to go up 3-1 with one more to go to end this thing.

dboss

[steve3344]

The most shocking development for me regarding this year's Celtic playoff run is that our esteemed captain, Paul Pierce, who said a few weeks ago he was the healthiest he's been all year, has had two good games out of the eight played so far.

Two good games out of eight! Geez. Game three against Miami when he scored 32 and Boston effectively ended that series, and the clinching game when he had 21 on 8 for 13 shooting. Other than those two games he's turned in six decidedly sub-par efforts. And Pierce had no fouls last night, meaning he was avoiding guarding Lebron James at all costs. Hard to imagine anyone could guard Lebron for 35 minutes and not be called for a foul if you were actually playing any defense. There's still time to turn this around but our backs are against the wall. We lose next game and our backs will be in the wall.

For a quick look, here are his lines:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3253/gamelog;_ylt=Am1sGBY.mcFpfGUKW9OcE8o9PKB4

[steve3344]

One startling stat from this game that's never happened in a Celtic/Cav game before: Lebron outscored the entire Big Three 38-37. Yeah, I know Rondo is now the Big One and and Pierce, KG and Ray are the Old Three but when Lebron alone outscores our three future Hall Of Fame starters, that's something you notice. The phrase "passing the torch" might come to mind.

We've got less than 48 hours to grab that torch back.

[dboss]

Steve3344

Not so concerend about Ray or KG. Both have played well during the playoffs but as you pointed out PP has not, given his status as our go to guy. We need for him to play better.

His numbers for the playoffs are shockingly poor.

45 of 112 FG's or .402 %. it gets worse as his .310 % for the cavs series reveals.

The Celtics simply need to go to KG in the post and Ray Allen on the perimeter. PP needs to sacrafice some offense for better defense.

dboss

[sdceltfan]

The poor play of Pierce should come as no shock. He has had many subpar games this season. Add to that the responsibility of guarding James, and you can see where Pierce is not the "go to guy" this series in particular.

I would start Tony Allen on James, and bring Ray off the bench. If Pierce continues his poor shooting go with the 2 Allens and Rondo.

Keep Wallace on the bench. I hate his "game" or lack of it. His defense is horrible.

I have said since December that this team lacks in "heart". I should have said "balls".

[bobheckler]

It pisses me off like no tomorrow when the Celts don't bring the same energy to a home game that they do to a road game. Aren't we worth it too? Cleveland came to play and to make a statement, after the blow out in Cleveland in game 2. They did.

1. I said let LeBron shoot from outside and shut everybody else down. Well, LBJ shot from outside. He shot from inside, since our defense was as porous as a colander. Jamison was rebounding in traffic. Parker was hitting threes and West did whatever the hell he wanted. The Cavs shot 59.5% from the floor. Take LBJ's shooting out and they still shot 57.7%. That is either unbelievably poor defense or absolutely unconscious offense. I don't think they were unconscious. Nobody committed on defense last night. Nobody.

2. I said force Delonte to his right. Well, he went right. Didn't go all the way to the hoop, but he went far enough right to drain every shot he wanted.

3. Did I mention our defense sucked? Baby stepped up for a charge but other than that it was matador defense all night by everybody. Players would take a half step towards the ball, wave at the player (Hi! Nice to see you here in the paint! Enjoy your stay!) but not move their feet as if they wanted to prevent him from going any further. Nobody rotated quickly on defense. There was no talking to let other players know who's got their backs or not. Weakside defenders wouldn't stay with one player but they wouldn't commit to help double team another player either. They constantly were getting caught in "no-man's land", where they're not really close enough say they're guarding anybody. They're just in the same zip code. It's like the past 3 years with Thib just flew out of their heads. No wonder Thib's interviewing for other jobs. No wonder Doc wants to spend more time in FL with his family.

4. Pierce said that his offense has been off, because the team hasn't needed it, but when they do "he'll be there". What the !@##$ is he waiting for? Time to put up or shut up. Next year is your last contract year, a player option for $21.5M. Start delivering, or it might be your last big payday in Boston. $21.5M will buy us a lot of talent in 2011/2012.

5. We scored 95 points on 43% fg shooting. We took more fga than the Cavs. We only had 12 turnovers all game. Our offense could have been better, but I've seen it worse. It was our defense, that gave up 124 points, that is the culprit and when you're a defensively oriented team that's really embarrassing. My question is: will the Celtic team that takes the floor for the next game act like they felt embarrassed? A little Pride and Fury would come in handy right now and a lot more ganas.

People in the bar I was in gave me credit for watching it to the bitter end. They didn't notice that I stopped drinking because my stomach was spinning like a clothes dryer.

[dbrown4]

That was quite possibly the worst game and effort I have seen by a Celtic's team. I simply can't remember no one playing defense for 48 minutes. They had 3 days off, for cryin' in the night!! Do you think they could come up with a better game plan? I'm going to blame Thibido on this one. Sorry for the sp but that performance should pretty much take him out of the running for any head coaching job in the NBA. We're stuck with him.

[jeb]

The failure to compete or answer any of their ganas and pride was hard to watch. It is hard to know this team. They are difficult to read. They laid a big ugly egg last night. It was awful to behold. Cleve is up 2-1. We win game 4 and all this looks a lot different. The Cavs are a very good team but not the 86 celtics we made them look like last night. Doc will come up with something and the team will come back. Lot of pride and heart in there and I expect them to show it next game. After a turd like last night the only option for them is to put it in the past and get ready for game 4. Thats what I plan to do.

[bigpygme]

ugh.
it was so ugly, and you all have already outlined all the reasons ii can see. wow - wasn't the lack of defense miserable !! i agre that 95 points isn't bad, though we struggled with FG% and our notorious lack of rebounds. but it was that awful defense (what defense?) that finally told the tale.

really we never recovered from our 1st quarter spin-out. i'm thinking our catch-up game isn't so great. we need to play wire-to-wire, from the first buzzer. we're certainly better if they're trying to catch us than if we're trying to catch them ... which seems obvious, but i thought i'd mention it.

i'm with Jeb, i hope the team is too - move on, play a different game in game 4. i'm also with bobh and others - PP needs to have his time (and game) managed so he's either playing the D that needs to happen, or he's resting.

Michael

[beat]

I did not watch a second of the game and although my devoted wife DVD'd it, I'll chose to do other things and let that one go.

As to 95 points being OK for offense I just gotta wonder, Once the game was in hand for Cleveland seems they might have been in the trading hoop mode to keep the lead about where it was.

Again did not see a bit of it and wonder about our shot selection too.

Making the cavs work a little on the defense end EACH and every non fast break possession is just as important as playing lock down D too.

beat

[mrkleen09]

The refs in this series have been disgraceful. The first quarter set the tone - and with Lebron being on fire and the Celtics showing no heart - this one was over early.

I will be there tomorrow....hopefully Doc will get in their faces today and get them back on the right track.

There is no way you mess with the starting line up this late in the season...NONE. You ride the horse that got you here, for better or worse.

They need to feed KG more.
They need to get on the boards.
They need to start using fouls on Shaq - let the big brick thrower earn his points from the line.
They need to get physical with Lebron as well.
They need to play with the kind of urgency they played with in Game 2

I still think the Celtics are a better team...and they will win in the end. But they just made the road a lot harder by mailing it in last night.

[bigpygme]

beat -
"Once the game was in hand for Cleveland seems they might have been in the trading hoop mode to keep the lead about where it was."

we got like virtually no defensive stops most of the game, so you're right, it was trading buckets most of the game after the early Cavs flurry - or LeBron's juggernaut, if you prefer. Did you know that he out-scored the Big Three in game 3 ?

Michael

[beat]

Oh yeah Mike

I did look at the stat sheet
but the game will remain in the unlooked at mode and be deleted

beat

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