Chasing them down

Please do not place any bets based on my prognostications!

But know this.  The Celtics are not just a good team they are contenders.

We got some help last night by the Hawks who took out the Bulls.

Both the Bulls and the Cavs are slip sliding away.

The Celtics are officially in 5th place.  Not long ago in a galaxy far away we were in 10th place.

We got some help last night as the Heat Beat Brooklyn and the Raptors also lost.  

Our next target is to move into 4th place where the Bucks are holding on for dear life.

Bucks at Bulls and Cavs at Sixers.  We will pick a 1/2 game over 2 of those 4 teams. I see wins by the Bucks and the Sixers.  If the Bucks lose we will be just one game back of them.  If the Sixers lose we will be 3 games back from 2nd place.  (all loss column considerations)

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Key teams are going to lose tonight and we will not be one of them.

Before any games start, 3/4/22

Rank.........Team..................# Losses
1..............Miami ................22
2..............Chicago..............23
3..............Philadelphia.........24
4..............Milwaukee...........25
5..............Boston..............27
6..............Cleveland............26
7..............Toronto...............27
8..............Brooklyn.............31
9..............Charlotte.............32
10............Atlanta................31


Bob


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dboss wrote:Tonight

Boston over Memphis

Heat over Nets.  After the last minute road loss by the Heat, they have got to be ready to face a Nets team with KD back.  Irving will be out.  Ben Simmons is still in limbo.  According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Simmons' agent Rich Paul said Simmons (back) is considered "week-to-week" and is frankly not even close making his Nets debut. Windhorst went on to add, "I don't even know if he's going to be back in March."

How is it that a guy who has not played a game since June 20, 2021 has a bad back?

Bulls over Hawks because Trae has a bad ankle thanks to him coming down on Marcus's foot on a 3 point attempt the other night and John Collins is still out.  

On Simmons, he is a pussy, he’s gonna make that offense worse, his passing is overrated, he’s bad for the game.

Cow the Nets are in a precarious situation.

This is already year 3 of the KD/KI marriage.  I believe KD has already sign an extension.  Kyrie has a player option this summer.  He could opt in for a year or opt out and resign or go the free agent route.  If you are a Nets' fans would you overlook the high maintenance associated with Kyrie?  Even before the vaccination issue, you still never knew when he would go AWOL.

That MF'er has been stealing money from the Nets for 3 straight years because he does not shown up enough even when he can.

That's why it's ridiculously important we beat the ever loving crap out of both KD and Kryrie Sunday.

How's the forecast looking, dboss?!

db

As expected Bucks beat Bulls (4 straight losses) and moves into 3rd place and the Cavs loss to the Sixers so now a little more wiggle room for us.  That is the 3rd straight loss for the Csvs

It really is a circular firing squad.  

They all can run but they cannot hide.

Only game of interest for me tonight will be Sixers @ Heat. They both won last night so of course they get to play each other. I'm going with Heat at home to beat the Sixers.

It's nice to see the Celtics at 2 spots above the demarcation line between 6th and 7th place.

Well after last night's round o' games while we sat idle, another mountain pass was created in the East Standings.  Or maybe it was always there and I just never noticed it.  

Now there are two more mountain passes in the loss column to overcome.  We cleared the first one that got us out of the play-in games.  After than, in reverse order, there are the Heat and PHI with 22 & 23 losses, the Bucks and Bulls with 25 losses and Boston & CLE with 27 losses.

So far, it looks like CLE and the Bulls are/have been our best friends heading south here recently.  The marriage in Philly is still in its honeymoon phase, so please let them continue to win as many games as possible.  It will make the far sooner than expected Harden divorce/ensuing train wreck all the sweeter.  The PHI vs. Heat game tonight will be billed as a possible ECF match up with a playoff feel.  Should be a fun watch but really is a comme si comme sa game for us.  No immediate impact on our situation.  We're not there yet.  We have our own fish to fry right in front of us with tomorrow's game.

If my math is right, and it is, it took us about 4-5 weeks to move from 8/9th to 5th, winning 15-3 or 15-2 depending upon where you start counting.  These next two mountain passes will prove the most difficult.  No room for us to show up and lay an egg in any games coming up.  That option is getting less and less as the defense is turned up more and more to the deafening level it is now.  

Provided Kryrie will be present (but you never know!) in the Garden tomorrow, this will be a very good two-man scoring tandem on which for us to test our new-fangled suffocating defense.  Marcus will have his hands full.  AH, Theis and GW will have their respective hands full.  We will need a lot of pounding on KD.  It will be interesting to see how Ime plays it with MS and where he spends the majority of his time.  I would guess mostly on Kryrie but an occasional switch to KD if needed.  

I would think Ime's going to let the rest of Brooklyn try to beat us.  You can only contain KD and Kryrie.  You can't stop them.
They can only stop themselves.  Probably a safe bet, but I'm not making $5 mil to coach!  Although Ime may say this team is no different than any other team we've played so far in this run.  They've got guys that can score.  BFD.  Everybody's on deck, cover your own man and double-team at the same time!  I know, sounds impossible but if you watch our games carefully,  it's how we keep winning going away.

Nothing would please me or any of us more than to see BKN walk away Sunday with their tails between their legs and go below .500 having both Kryrie and KD scratching their respective heads.

Well, on a side note, the Lakers are now teetering on the edge of extinction.  A loss tonight to GS will put them on one leg firmly planted on the play-in precipice.  One more loss beyond that and they will have 37 losses like Portland and be on the outside looking in.  They do have a brief respite playing HOU and SAS on the road, but no one in LA is counting any chickens.  More like the opposite of the balloon game.  Planning for a funeral.  

Well, as always, lots of moving pieces every night!

Lock it down, Celtics!!

db

P.S. dboss, have no fear, I'm just running my mouth. Gambling is a losing man's game unless your the bookie or the house. But you have to admit, your predictions are amazingly accurate despite an extreme bias for one team in particular! haha

DB

We are going to pick up yet another 1/2 game tonight while being idle.

Our target is the 4th spot and home court in round 1. One of the teams above us will get booted in the playoffs. The Bulls play (gulp) 10 out of their next 12 games on the road.

Think about that for a minute. I think we should be able to pick up at least 2 games on them.

Yeah, that's a lot to overcome especially when you've skidded 4 games in a row already.

How optimistic are you about tomorrow?

db

Before any games start, 3/5/22

Rank.........Team..................# Losses
1..............Miami ................22
2..............Chicago..............23
3..............Philadelphia.........25
4..............Milwaukee...........25
5..............Boston..............27
6..............Cleveland............27
7..............Toronto...............29
8..............Brooklyn.............32
9..............Atlanta...............32
10............Charlotte.............33

We are as close to the #3 spot, and closer to the #4 home court series spot, as we are to the #7 play-in.


Bob

Here's the rest of our schedule, before any games 3/5/22:

2/27  @ Indiana - LOSS
3/1   vs Atlanta - WIN
3/3   vs Memphis - WIN
3/6   vs Brooklyn
3/9   @ Charlotte
3/11  vs Detroit
3/13  vs Dallas
3/16  @ Golden State
3/18  @ Sacramento
3/20  @ Denver
3/21  @ Oklahoma City
3/23  vs Utah
3/27  vs Minnesota
3/28  @ Toronto
3/30  vs Miami
4/1   vs Indiana
4/3   vs Washington
4/6   @ Chicago
4/7   @ Milwaukee
4/10 @ Memphis

3 more b2bs.  Two Away/Away, one Home/Away.  That's a tough schedule.  The Minny/Toronto and Chicago/Milwaukee b2bs will be brutal.  UNCHANGED.

8 Home, 9 Away and, as I said above, 3 of those 10 Away games are part of b2bs.

5 of those 17 games are vs teams that aren't playing for playoff seeding, not even the play-in (Indiana 2X, Detroit, Sacto, OKC, Washington).  The rest all have something to prove and/or gain.  Of those 5 games 3 are at Home and 2 are Away.

This means that 13 out of our remaining 17 games are against good teams.  

Our last 3 games of the season are all on the road against very good teams.

Chicago has 10 of their last 12 on the road but we have a tough schedule ahead of us too and we need to pick up TWO losses on them.


Bob


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As in Finding Nemo..."Just keep winning...Just keep winning!!"

db

Bobh

Tough schedules are made and dealt with when a team plays defense.

In the end it has been our defense that triggered our resurgence.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:Tonight

Boston over Memphis

Heat over Nets.  After the last minute road loss by the Heat, they have got to be ready to face a Nets team with KD back.  Irving will be out.  Ben Simmons is still in limbo.  According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Simmons' agent Rich Paul said Simmons (back) is considered "week-to-week" and is frankly not even close making his Nets debut. Windhorst went on to add, "I don't even know if he's going to be back in March."

How is it that a guy who has not played a game since June 20, 2021 has a bad back?

Bulls over Hawks because Trae has a bad ankle thanks to him coming down on Marcus's foot on a 3 point attempt the other night and John Collins is still out.  

On Simmons, he is a pussy, he’s gonna make that offense worse, his passing is overrated, he’s bad for the game.

Thank you - has there ever been a more over-rated player??

Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
Brutal back to back home losses for Toronto (Detroit, Orlando). The Celtics now have a 3-game cushion to avoid the play-in with 17 to play. (C's at Toronto March 28)

Cleveland has now lost 6 of 7, they're a game behind the Celtics (Boston has clinched that tie-breaker)



Bob


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bobheckler wrote:Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
Brutal back to back home losses for Toronto (Detroit, Orlando). The Celtics now have a 3-game cushion to avoid the play-in with 17 to play. (C's at Toronto March 28)

Cleveland has now lost 6 of 7, they're a game behind the Celtics (Boston has clinched that tie-breaker)



Bob


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As I said the Cavs and the Bulls are backsliding  like a Michael Jackson moonwalk routine....hee, hee, hee

Oh gee.  Sixers crap out in Miami as I predicted AND the bearded wonder did not play because of his chronic hammy issue.

The idle Celtics pick up 1/2 game and are now only 3 games back in the loss column.

LIKE

^ = 800 px width

This one is 640 px width:

It's funny that the betting line for winning the championship has the Nyets tied for second with Phily. Are they as confused as Chuck was the other night when he was trying to explain how the collection of misfit toys would win it all?

It is not all about scoring in the playoffs. There is that pesky other end of the court to account for, which we seem to have covered. The zebras (3 blind mice?) are already letting them play with more physicality during the regular season and I expect that to ratchet up even more in the playoffs.

gyso wrote:It's funny that the betting line for winning the championship has the Nyets tied for second with Phily.  Are they as confused as Chuck was the other night when he was trying to explain how the collection of misfit toys would win it all?

It is not all about scoring in the playoffs.  There is that pesky other end of the court to account for, which we seem to have covered.  The zebras (3 blind mice?) are already letting them play with more physicality during the regular season and I expect that to ratchet up even more in the playoffs.

gyso

Both Chuck and Shaq are so locked into their preferred team that they cannot seem to comprehend the changing and fast moving landscape of this NBA season. One thing is certain. They have a perverse dislike for the Celtics and are still on the Jayson and Jaylen can not play together bandwagon. TNT can best be described as annoying, mindless commentary although Kenny Smith seems to have a more pragmatic approach. Chuck and Shaq are in competition with one other to see who can be the biggest jackass.

Games of consequence today:

Nets @ Celtics.  I am going with Boston in this one.  Our defense is not going to change.

Suns @ Bucks.  After the Suns won on a last second shot the other night they are about due for a loss on the first game of their road trip.  Going with the Bucks.

Raptors @ Cavs would be closer if VanVleet and OG were playing.  The Cavs have no good reason not to win this game unless Garland has a bad game.

Here's the rest of our schedule, before any games 3/7/22:

2/27 @ Indiana - LOSS
3/1 vs Atlanta - WIN
3/3 vs Memphis - WIN
3/6 vs Brooklyn - WIN
3/9 @ Charlotte
3/11 vs Detroit
3/13 vs Dallas
3/16 @ Golden State
3/18 @ Sacramento
3/20 @ Denver
3/21 @ Oklahoma City
3/23 vs Utah
3/27 vs Minnesota
3/28 @ Toronto
3/30 vs Miami
4/1 vs Indiana
4/3 vs Washington
4/6 @ Chicago
4/7 @ Milwaukee
4/10 @ Memphis

3 more b2bs. Two Away/Away, one Home/Away. That's a tough schedule. The Minny/Toronto and Chicago/Milwaukee b2bs will be brutal. UNCHANGED.

7 Home, 9 Away and, as I said above, 3 of those 10 Away games are part of b2bs.

5 of those 16 games are vs teams that aren't playing for playoff seeding, not even the play-in (Indiana 2X, Detroit, Sacto, OKC, Washington). The rest all have something to prove and/or gain. Of those 5 games 3 are at Home and 2 are Away.

This means that 13 out of our remaining 16 games are against good teams.

Our last 3 games of the season are all on the road against very good teams.

Chicago has 10 of their last 12 on the road but we have a tough schedule ahead of us too and we need to pick up TWO losses on them.


Bob


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Before any games start, 3/5/22

Rank.........Team..................# Losses
1..............Miami ................22
2..............Philadelphia.........24
3..............Milwaukee...........25
4..............Chicago..............25
5..............Boston..............27
6..............Cleveland............27
7..............Toronto...............30
8............Charlotte..............33
9..............Brooklyn.............33
10..............Atlanta.............32

We are as close to the #2 spot, and closer to the #4 home court series spot, as we are to the #7 play-in.

We now own the tiebreakers with Miami, Cleveland and Brooklyn.




Bob


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