Chasing them down

The Celtics accomplish a couple of things by beating the Nets.

First, they are now 6 games back in the loss column.  Also with both Chicago and Philly idle, we have matched their respective 39 wins for the season.

Tonight's game of interest will be Bulls at Sixers.  We will pick up a 1/2 game on one of those teams and be only 1 game back in the loss column.  

I am going with the Sixers at home for the following reason:

Harden should be playing
Sixers are 2-0 vs Bulls this year
Bulls have no answer for Joel Embid as he has dominated Vuc in both wins this year

In either case we move a step closer to the #4 seed.

+1 dboss. I like PHI in this game.

db

And Philly won while the Bulls are now only 1 game ahead of us in the loss column.  We did pick up a 1/2 game on them.

4th place is right there for the taking.  A win by us and a loss by them will flip things in our favor.  The Bulls loss was their 5th in a row.

dboss wrote:And Philly won while the Bulls are now only 1 game ahead of us in the loss column.  We did pick up a 1/2 game on them.

4th place is right there for the taking.  A win by us and a loss by them will flip things in our favor.  The Bulls loss was their 5th in a row.

Bulls are down Vucevic, Ball and Caruso, those injuries are taking a toll and Levine is wearing down a bit it seems. Glad we got over our injury bug early, a lot of teams are dealing with the injury bug now….knock on wood.

I have my sights on 3 games tonight.

The Nets are at Hornets.  Both teams are probably headed to the play in round.  How about a did you notice question?  Did you notice that both teams have identical 32-33 win loss records?  Although my mind tells me the Nets should win this game after their disappointing loss in Boston, I am reminded that this has been a mindless season so I am taking the Hornets.   There is however a more practical reason at work here.  The Hornets play with great pace and are #3 in FGA and #2 in fast break points.  Aldridge is out so expect to see more Claxton and/or Drummond huff and puff his way to extended playing time.

The Cavs play at Pacers.  The Cavs just lost Allen for an undetermined length of time and since he anchors their defense, I can easily see a Pacers win tonight.

The Buck play at OKC.  Even on a bad night, I do not see the Bucks dropping a trap game against that crew.  Grayson "the tripper" Allen is out for the Bucks.

Before any games start, 3/8/22

Rank.........Team..................# Losses
1..............Miami ................22
2..............Philadelphia.........24
3..............Milwaukee...........25
4..............Chicago..............26
5..............Boston..............27
6..............Cleveland............27
7..............Toronto...............30
8............Charlotte..............33
9..............Brooklyn.............33
10..............Atlanta.............33

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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In December, I was thinking we would be fighting to get the 7 or 8 seed.

This has been a pleasant turnaround.

Also, since we seem to have so much trouble with DET, CHI @ DET on Wednesday looks like a very fascinating game provided we take care of business ourselves vs. CHA on the same night.  Then play DET on Friday  Pretty sure can/will be blown back to the Stone Age by tripping up and losing either of these two games this week. Winning literally solves all problems.

db

Well, last night's games were a bust for us improving our position while sitting idle.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  CLE won vs. Pacers where they probably should have lost.  Kryrie raised his ugly head.  CHA doesn't have any defense, though.  Bucks won.  

Lots on the line tonight, though.  Hope my initial gut is wrong.  We need to come in tonight and take care of CHA early and often.  But this is the NBA.  Anything can happen.  Don't want to go into a situation where we have to play DET next after a loss.  Since no ground was made up for us last night, winning both against CHA and DET this week is yet another must just to tread water.  

Other pivotal games tonight to record and fast forward through later after the commercials catch up are:

CHI @ DET
PHX @ MIA
ATL @ MIL
LAL @ HOU

The big one obviously is CHI @ DET.  A must lose for CHI accompanied by a must win for us regardless.  The media is waiting for us to fall on our faces so they can get back to their standard MO for covering Celtic basketball.  We're like a pesky fly to them right now.  They are just waving their hands at us right now tolerating us as we buzz around their respective heads but not annoying enough for them to get up out of their chairs to get a rolled up newspaper or magazine, waiting for us to land on something solid.  They want CHA to put us in our place.  Take us out.  Watch the narrative if BOS comes up short tonight..."Well, the Celtics gave it all they had but it's over.  OK, what's Ben Simmons doing right now?!!  Oh, look.  He's picking his nose!  Keep the camera on him!!"

Can't give the media or CHA the pleasure.  Lock 'em up, Boston.  Do what you do best.  Make CHA realize they are still in the G-league.  Push 'em back to the Great Wall of China.  CHA has moved up ever so slightly in the eyes of the rest of the league.  Once the NBA's proverbial door mat/easy guaranteed "W", now not so much.  We know.  

Should be a very interesting night.  MIL and MIA both up against respectable competition.  Both home games for them.   Might be another bust for us but it will really be bad if we come up short tonight regardless of what CHI, MIL and MIA do above us.  

Need to see the real Celtics we know they are.  All up to us.  Pretty much all healthy ready to play except for Nesmith. Night in.  Night out.

Go Celtics!!

db

P.S. Added the Lakers game as it's always good to see them caught up in lots of drama and on the edge of extinction!!

db

I flipped back and forth between the 3 games of interest last night.  Brooklyn blasted the Hornets right out of the gate.  The Hornets were down by something like 30 points but the Hornets fought back and lost by 11.  Kyrie Irving put up a very impressive 50 burger (15-19)  FG,  9-12 from deep and 11-13 from the line.  We never doubted his talent, just his motives.

The Bucks won as expected but the Pacers had a great shot at taking down the Cavs.   The score was knotted at 124-124 with 33 seconds remaining.  Malcolm Brogdon with a absolutely mindless turnover that earned them the L.

Tonight Charlotte will be on the second game of their B2B.  Terry had a tremendous game last night dropping 30 on 10 of 19 shooting and 8 rebounds plus 4 assists.  Don't get me started.

Boston should be well rested.  Aaron will be out.

The Celtics are 2-1 vs them this year.  In our 111-102 loss we were missing both Marcus and Rob.  We should get the win.

The big pivotal game is, as you mentioned, Chicago @ Detroit.  Vuc has a bad hammy and is questionable for tonight's game.  Stewart is not expected to play for Detroit.  The Bulls have dropped a season high 5 games in a row while the Pistons have won a season high 3 in a row.  I am taking the Pistons in this one.

While other games will not make the difference between 4th or 5th place, the Suns at Heat may be a hotly contested game.

The Hawks are at the Bucks and they are still probably reeling from their OT loss to Detroit.  They beat the Bucks in both November and in January so there may be something about them being a tough matchup for the Bucks.  What the hell, I'm taking the Hawks in this one.

db, I see no reason to put LAL vs Rockets on the pivotal game list.  

ktron is in town and he may come over to my house and watch the game.

Very cool about Ktron!! No, you know me and the Lakers with Lebron. Any chance I have to watch them lose another game and get closer to the precipice, I'm on it!! You get to see the Lakers squirm some more!!

Like and agree with your picks for tonight. If Heat lose, and we win, that a full game up, right? Don't know if PHX can do it sans CP3 but that's why they play the game. Also would bring the losses between 1st and us down to 4 provided we hold up our end of the bargain.

Aren't we also getting a little of a breather between games over these next few? 5 games in 13 days or something. Don't want to get too soft and start reading our own headlines!

Anyway, have a good time if Ktron stops by!

db

db

We are definitely getting a breather between games.

For the most part, I think the Celtics have maintained their focus and when they wane, Ime is right there.

Hope to see Nik get some minutes.  With AN out he should get some minutes.

Bad teams are bad because they lose close games.  Pistons/Bulls tied with 5 minutes remaining and then Pistons resemble a kid who refused to go to the bathroom before he headed to the beach with Mom and Dad.  As expected, he holds on as long as he can and then craps his pants.

The Bulls stay of execution will end really soon.

Other notable outcomes, The Suns beat the Heat down and the Bucks clipped the Hawks.  We pick up a game on the Heat while the Bucks hedge up to 2nd in the conference.

Tonight BS returns to the 'City of Brotherly Love'.  Contingency plans should be put in place to have the men in the white coats on standby in the event that Simmons has an episode.

I expect for the Sixers to win in what I think will be a high scoring affair. I despise both teams and I only wish that a big red L could be given to both teams.

dboss wrote:Bad teams are bad because they lose close games.  Pistons/Bulls tied with 5 minutes remaining and then Pistons resemble a kid who refused to go to the bathroom before he headed to the beach with Mom and Dad.  As expected, he holds on as long as he can and then craps his pants.

The Bulls stay of execution will end really soon.

Other notable outcomes, The Suns beat the Heat down and the Bucks clipped the Hawks.  We pick up a game on the Heat while the Bucks hedge up to 2nd in the conference.

Tonight BS returns to the 'City of Brotherly Love'.  Contingency plans should be put in place to have the men in the white coats on standby in the event that Simmons has an episode.

I expect for the Sixers to win in what I think will be a high scoring affair.  I despise both teams and I only wish that a big red L could be given to both teams.

Rooting for Sixers, I actually like Embid, obviously can’t stand the Nets and Kyrie and Benny the Wimp.

I expect the Sixers to win but I will never root for them to win.  Too much bad blood between them and the Celtics.

We have a better chance of catching the Sixers if they lose than we have of being caught by the Nets if they win.  It is a strange dynamic to prefer one of those team over the other but in the end, it is all about the win/loss column and how it impacts my team.

The common element between both of them is the horrendous fleecing they suffers at the hands of Mr. Danny Ainge.

Should be a very interesting game.  Everyone's going to be watching it.  I've got to count how many times they reference these two teams as the odds-on ECF favorites...and the number of Ben Simmon's pans!  

db

dbrown4 wrote:Should be a very interesting game.  Everyone's going to be watching it.  I've got to count how many times they reference these two teams as the odds-on ECF favorites...and the number of Ben Simmon's pans!  

db

I guess it makes for good theater.

With only 4 games in the loss column separating 1st place Miami and 6th place Cleveland, even a minor misstep will alter the standings.

The Celtics will keep their focus on the next game. That is what they must do. We are 6-1 now over a 7 games stretch after posting the 9-1 record. Fans are looking ahead but the team cannot afford to do that. Detroit at home on Friday and Dallas comes in for the KG number retirement game Sunday on (ABC).

Then we are off on a 4 game road trip. More to discuss on that after Sunday.

Yeah, dboss, no room for us to get cute. In your humble but accurate opinion, where do you think we will finish up in the East? I think I remember you saying somewhere we would be good for 4th, but that was a couple of weeks ago. Also don't want to put words in your mouth if you didn't say that!

db

db

I think Boston is a lock for no lower than a 4th place finish but they also have a real shot at the 3rd or 2nd seed.  I do not see a 1st place finish because it would be real hard to make up 4 games over the Heat.

The Sixers got killed last night at home where upper level seats were peddled for $200 plus.

The results of that loss means Boston is now 2 games back in the loss column behind the Sixers for 3rd place.

The big picture :

-1 games Bulls
-2 games Bucks
-2 games Sixers
-4 games Heat

The Sixers game revealed the issue they are going to have scoring from the outside.  The BS trade to get Harden did not make them a better team overall.  Curry off the bench balances the scale in favor of the Nets.  I do not want to overreact but this has been an ongoing issue for the Sixers.  The Nets knocked them upside the head early by just being more physical and the Sixers never recovered.

A fully manned Nets team will be formidable but we have not seen how BS fits into the mix.  Simmons can be a much needed multi-positional defender.  On offense however his effectiveness comes from having the ball in his hands and pushing the pace.  Can KD and KI actually play off of Simmons?  that is a big question because both KD and KI are at their best when THEY have the ball in their hands.  Basically neither is an off the ball guy.

Back to the Celtics.  

I'm taking them at home vs the Pistons

I'm also going with the Heat at home over the Cavs and the Suns on the road over the Raptors.

The Cavs loss another one last night in Miami.  (3-7) last 10 games.  

The Hawks surprised the Clippers on the road and the Raptors upset the Suns in Phoenix. Go figure.  Charlotte knocked off NOLA.  All of these teams are part of the top 10 in the East.

The Bulls remain on suicide watch just 3 hundreds of a percentage point ahead of Boston.  The Cavs play at the Bulls tonight so let's root for the Cavs.  Levine is questionable for the Bulls due to a sore knee and Vuc is day to day.  Allen is out for the Cavs.

Other games that directly impact the standing in the East include:

The Bucks at the Warriors and the Raptors at the Nuggets.. I am going with the home teams in both contests.

With the Celtics win last night they are now on a 7-1 and 16-2.  We had our 5th straight win last night.

Ime is sure to keep this team well grounded for our game Sunday vs. Dallas.  The KG number retirement, National TV coverage, former Celtics players, fan fair, hoopla and all that Jazz is secondary to beating the Mavericks.  We lost a 3 point winnable game to them back in November (107-104)

Let's get a pregame thread going.

Before any games start, 3/12/22

Rank.........Team..................# Losses
1..............Miami ................23
2..............Milwaukee...........25
3..............Philadelphia.........25
4..............Chicago..............26
5..............Boston..............27
6..............Cleveland............28
7..............Toronto...............30
8..............Brooklyn.............33
9............Charlotte..............35
10..............Atlanta.............34

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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Here's the rest of our schedule, before any games 3/12/22:

2/27 @ Indiana - LOSS
3/1 vs Atlanta - WIN
3/3 vs Memphis - WIN
3/6 vs Brooklyn - WIN
3/9 @ Charlotte - WIN
3/11 vs Detroit - WIN
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.

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

4 of those 14 games are vs teams that aren't playing for playoff seeding, not even the play-in (Indiana, 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 10 out of our remaining 14 games are against competitive teams.

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


Bob


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Bobh

Clearly a tough schedule ahead.

I expect that our defense will make the difference.

This has turned into a really fun team to watch.