Re: Celtics Post-Game Thread (Collection of past threads)

[RosalieTCeltics]

I wasn't impressed with this win at all. Too many 3's being jacked up, too many turnovers, not enough fire, I know it is hard to maintain the level of enthusiasm that they have had in the other three games, but the season is just starting. Thank God this business with Rondo is over. I am glad they signed him. No drama over the season. He is now a Celtic for a long time.
By the time his next contract is up, there probably will be no big three, no Sheed, and a whole new cast of characters on the team. Hard to believe you would be thinking that far down the road!

[jeb]

Rosalie,

I hear you. It was pretty ugly. Still a win is good?

It's nice to have PP.

Jeb

[RosalieTCeltics]

There is no doubt about that. Paul Pierce is the most underrated superstar in the league. He has so many different shots that opposing players just can't seem to stop him when he is on. I appreciate what he does for this team. He is a strong competitor.

Granted, a win is a win. I am waiting to see how they play against Phillie tomorrow night. They are scoring alot of points, and this will be a good test for our defense.

I guess I just like to see perfection from a team that I believe is going to win alot of games this year. It is really to early to judge them. When they are all hitting on all cylinders it is going to be so hard for anyone to beat them. I have really been impressed with Perk's improvement over the summer. I know he lost alot of weight, but he is really so smart on defense that he is one of the most important players on the team.

Oh well, I guess I will have to sit back and just enjoy the fun!!!

Rosalie

[beat]

Rosalie

You've been a celtic fan a long time. Yeah it wasn't a "good" game but just think back to three years ago......................and

tonight was a masterpiece.

We are still feeling our oats. No we did not "mail" it in but our collective heads were not there, HOWEVER, we again took it out and for the forth straight dribbled out the clock.

Really all of our games have been taken care of with a minute or more left. No need for hero ball at the end.

And I'd take another 78 of these no matter how ugly!

Will be interesting with a good Philly squad for sure.

beat

[jeb]

Rosalie,

I concur on Perk. He just looks real comfortable in his skin an with his role. He is moving so good.

I have also really been surprised by Sheldon. He seems to me like a dirty work guy with a nose for the ball. Sweet rebounder. I think BbD was movin way better as well.

Daniels does a lot of nice things on the floor. Seems like a gym rat.

I hope Sheed will go inside more and not just camp out at three line. He is very capable inside. He had a few turnovers the other night but seems like he has been here forever. All the guys seem to love him.

And Beat you are right. How quickly we forget.

Jeb

[RosalieTCeltics]

But....this is a different team, with so much basketball smarts. I just want the season to be perfect!
Sheldon Williams has been a huge surprise. He doesn't mind getting under the basket and doing the dirty work, yet he has a soft touch from about 15 feet and I do agree, I would love for Sheed to go down on the block more often. He is so long that he can overpower so many players there. He has
truly fit right it. It is hard to forget how good Leon was in that position, but this may have been the right thing for all concerned. He would never be happy not getting the minutes he should get. What he will get when he is finally healthy in Cleveland I don't know. We may not find out until next year.
I said during the preseason that Daniels could fast become one of my favorite players (next to Ray). He is all over the floor, and is so active.

Beat....I remember three years ago, but I am also old enough to remember living through the Hank Finkel era of the Boston Celtics too. UGH!!!!

[jeb]

Rosalie,

Leon is a tough kid. I bet he lands on his feet. We all lived through some rough years and never gave up.

With the age of our core it is going to be bittersweet. It's all about right now. Right now is looking pretty damn good.

I think this team is more gifted than 86. They are bigger and can do more.

There I said it. We will lose a few stinkers but I think we will be in every game due to our d.

Phillie is next.
Jeb

[RosalieTCeltics]

I agree, I think that this team can become better than the l986 team, and that was one of my favorite teams. I loved watching the chemistry of Bird, Walton, McHale And Parish. It reminds me so much of this team.

I hope you are right about Leon, he was a favorite of mine from the time he first started playing for the Celtics. I truly believe the Celtics did him a favor letting him go. I do think they underestimated how popular he was with the fans. There is no way he would have been happy with Sheldon Williams minutes. Remember, he was here before Baby. I think that had he not gotten hurt, he would have taken alot of those minutes that Baby got during the playoffs and proved how valuable he was to this team.

Oh well, he's gone, not much you can do about it. I wish him nothing but
good luck. Maybe someday he will come back here.

rosalie

[jeb]

Rosalie,

I know it's been a while but I dont remember 86 having this much team size or this many drop dead shooters.

In Leon's case what that kid went through to get where he is indicates a level of character that makes him very special indeed. Many people say "pull up your bootstraps" or whatever but not too many have had to stretch a jar of peanut butter for two weeks. He was one of my fav Celts.

I love to read your post.

Jeb

[Matty]

... The Perfect Storm

We're 5-0, unless i am mistaken of the 20 quarters of basketball we've played only in 3 quarters have we actauly been behind, tonight we won by 31, its not a matter of The Big Three getting this all done, this seasons version of the Boston's Celtics has bought once again into Doc Rivers team concept..

Tonights game though was all about the bench who came up with 11 assists compared to the starters 15..

thats not all they did, they also scored nearly 1/2 the points [52] laregly on the back of rasheed wallace, but also big help from daniels and once more mr. williams who is an absolute shock... btw, what do we do with Glen once he's ready to play?

the team is getting the job done, that job not only means putting the check mark in the win colums, but also providing rest for the starters, allowing them to be ready for the real season [april-may-june] when guys like rasheed has a +/- of + 31, daniels + 30, williams + 28 and house +24 our bench is going to be able to play big minutes- down the road this means we're going to have a lot less road weary starting lineup in june.

How can one not love this team? Tonight reminded us that beyond rondo and the big three we have other scoring options who can give us big games offensively- [ the other night it was house adding 22] Wallace just shicks me, i expected him to be good, better than last season, not needing to play as many minutes and on a team that was going to accomplish something special would rejuvenate him, and we'd see a rasheed wallace more like the wallace of old once he got our system.

wallace though has picked up our system easily and is the wallace of old already- in fact, he might be playing more effectively then he has in several seasons.. his 6-8 from 3 point range tonight helped keep the starters on the bench as we put distance between us and philly.

i was surprised at a couple figgures from tonights game, our lack of ability to get to the line much tonight wasn't much of a factor, but how often can u expect to get to the line 14 times in a game and still win by 30+??

the other stat that shocked me was a stat Rasheed had a big impact on, that was our 3 point shots, tonight we were 14 of 20 for 70%- guys we shot better from beyond the arch than at the line even- 9 of 14 for .643% as someone pointed out, the 3 point shot has become a huge weapon in our arsenal- whats great is, its not a weapon we need to rely on, its just another at our disposel.

when we think about all the weapons we have, and really, as Doc and others have said, we're still not where we want to be, there will be more weapons we'll realize we have as time goes on- and we have big baby we can rely on as well, very few teams will be able to figgure out how to disrupt us, whenever something or someone isnt working for us, such as kg tonight, another weapon will present itself, such as Sheeds game tonight...

one last thing.. williams... wow, more and more impressed with this guy every game... wow..

[bobc33]

Hoot,

What to do with Big Baby when he comes back is a nice problem to have. Sherwin certainly is looking good, and our depth and firepower off the bench should be a difference maker this year. I'm sure at some point we'll have the usual twisted ankles and other (hopefully) minor injuries causing players to miss some games. My guess is we won't lose a step.

It's going to be fun!

[jeb]

Matty

Well done olde top. I just saw that sick shot Rondo made in the highlights. It still (god help the rest of the association) feels like to me that we have another gear. KG and Ray barely scored and we just poleaxed a pretty good team.

Kobe played 46 min tonite in an overtime win against the Thunder. The Lakes starters are all playing heavy heavy minutes. They got no bench.

Jeb

[jeb]

Rosalie T

What did you think of that one?

Jeb

[Matty]

bob.

the what to do with baby issue popped into my head just the other day and a slew of possibilities came up, one intrigued me.

golden state has a mr. jackson who doesnt want to be there. several other teams want him [san antony & cleveland] neither of who i'd like to see him. I dont feel like we NEED him...

HOWEVER... Scal+ Tony Allen + Bill Walker = jackson according to nba realgm..

of course i dont see it happening, i dont think those expirings would be enough for golden state to agree, so it would also prolly cost several draft picks.

but with sheldon williams playing as he is, once baby is back i dont see any time going to scal or at least not much, ditto for walker and tony allen.

for us the move would be to free up room at the 4 position and give PP a superb backup and another quality player beyond 2009-2010 and it would keep him out of the hands of the cAv's!

doesnt really answer what we'd do with baby.. but once baby is back it'd open a bit more space for him.

[jeb]

I mean Jaysus. You look at the box score and outside of pp and sheed it's that whole death by paper cuts deal.

Shelden must be feeling awful happy to be where he is doin what he is doin.

Jeb

[Matty]

Matty

Well done olde top. I just saw that sick shot Rondo made in the highlights. It still (god help the rest of the association) feels like to me that we have another gear. KG and Ray barely scored and we just poleaxed a pretty good team.

Kobe played 46 min tonite in an overtime win against the Thunder. The Lakes starters are all playing heavy heavy minutes. They got no bench.

Jeb

i missed the rondo shot completely the links i used were continuely freezing up and then racing to catch up, somewhere in these i missed rondo's shot, part of the reason for more detailed post game thoughts on individual plays, i could see the whole game but it was often in fast forward catchign up.

having the ability to have your entire starting lineup play less than 31 minutes and blow out another team though is awesome, the rest the old guys are gettiing now will pay divedends later on.

on the other hand, i think its important to not get caught up in the thoughts of later on.. we gotta keep on reminding ourselves to enjoy the right now, cuz the right now is pretty damned good..

[jeb]

Matty

The right now is all there is. I think out d will keep us in every game. When we score we will kill people.

A grand time to be a celt!

[RosalieTCeltics]

With great defense it doesn't matter who is shooting the ball well, we will always win. I thought tonight was a good example of how balanced this team is. KG and Ray were not shooting well at all, PP was fine. But when that second unit came in, it was like a whole new ballgame. Sheed had 20 points tonight, 6 of 8 from the three point line. Talk about spreading the floor!!
I am so impressed with Daniels. He is such a great pickup for the Celts. He is everywhere on the floor, his defense is excellent and tonight he had his shot going there for a while. With him bring the ball up, Eddie had plenty of time to get his way clear to shoot. I think he had 12 points. Even Hudson looked good for the short time he was in there. So, the first unit
got to rest again. This is awesome. And look at Sheldon Williams, who would have ever thought they would be getting this from him. He is a terrific rebounder and keeps his nose under the basket for those garbage layups. His 12-15 foot jumper seems to be consistent too. His wife must be proud of him!!!
All in all, it wasn't a masterpiece, but I was delighted to see them hold that team down to 74 points. I will look forward to the win tomorrow night against the Timberwolves. They are a struggling franchise right now.
Red always said that "good defense brings good offense". Tonight was
a display of that.

[Sam]

Outstanding job, Matty. Absolutely outstanding. Thanks loads for doing this. You've given Jeb a tough act to follow after tonight's game, although—with terms like "death by paper cuts" (LMAO)—I'm not worried about him.

I obviously didn't see the game (although I can now recite the drink list at a certain bar from memory), but I read a lot of the "game-on" thread during the second half. It really is like a home away from home.

I've said a lot about similarities between this team and the great Russell teams (that's redundant—there were no "ungreat" Russell teams). But, in the long run, it could be that the most outstanding similarity will wind up being a bench that can come in and TURN UP the pressure. I'm sure the Celtics are winning a lot of these games by whopping margins not simply because of their skill but also because other teams are just plain becoming demoralized. That's exactly what happened so often during the Tyranny.

Thanks again, Matty. And good luck Jeb.

Sam

[cowens/oldschool]

Sam
Thanks again for creating this forum,what impressed me about last nights game was how we didn't play great at all and won by what 31?Our defense is a clinic every night,Perk looks so much more mobile,an even better defender and overall player,LOVE the Beast.Sheed and SW are two more howitzers that just take away everything in their path.Rondo is so just into just creating for others and causing defensive havoc from the point.We are a completely different team than the playoff team,KG,Sheed and SW bring so much,duh.Last year during playoffs teams could load up on Pierce and Ray making them make hero plays,with all the new additions and KG back theres so much ball movement and open lanes for our scorers and so many wide open looks from perimeter.Its so great that KG doesn't have to play alot of minutes and hes not even at full strength and look how were doing.We didn't even play great last night,it was just a ho hum 31 point beatdown keyed by the defense,gotta love it!!!!
I remember 2 years ago I used to argue with dudder about Perk and I'd say whatever his faults his defense with KG give us the best 4-5 defensive combo in the league and thats all we need from him.I dared anyone on the board to name a better 4-5 combo on the defensive end,well now we got Sheed and SW,are you kidding me.Sheed was a cornerstone of those great Piston defenses and that D was great,SW's game is growing by leaps and bounds,now hes hitting turnarounds?are you serious,hows Baby gonna get any minutes?These 4 are the best 4-5 foursome combo in the game right now,lets see our wings aren't bad,only 2 HoFers,point we got covered......please bring on the Lakers,please,were gonna be amped up and its gonna be a 30 point beatdown!!!
cow

[beat]

So we are on the road agains a potential lower level playoff team.
KG scores 3, Perk 3, and RA 5 each
And the score os 105-74. Now just looking at these things alone one could conclude the Celtics were BLOWN OUT in Philly. NOT!!

Oh baby do we have a team or what?

By the way in looking at the laker box score from last evening. Their bench got 4 points TOTAL!!

beat

[dbrown4]

Matty,

Sheed has been freed of all the Detroit bs that was holding him back. DA says, "Rasheed, you've made your career out of launching accurate threes and moving inside about 80/20. Last year in Detroit you sucked because of management trying to get you to improve your weaknesses instead of focusing on your strengths. Go back to doing what you do best. We will shore up all your weaknesses with help so all you have to do is launch and go inside occasionally, more or less depending on the opponent."

At that point Rasheed says, "You've got to be effing @#$%^ing me!! That's all I wanted to do in Detroit. Tell the team that so they will know my role and I will shoot 50%+ from the arc and make an occasional move down low, Gauran-sheed!!

Shocker!!

[dbrown4]

Matty,

Great points. I just don't think you are going to see many free throws. Derived stats are showing Paint stat is below the index while all the rest are above significantly. KG isn't a low post guy. He's mid-range deadly. Perk is only going to give you 10 points a night. The floor is going to be spread to the max when you launch 50%+ behind the arc. This leaves the lane wide open for Rondo to drop those lay-ups and runners. SW is coming off the bench, can and does bang around in the paint, and does shoot well from the stripe. No one is going to foul us. PP will drive into the crowd with And 1's. But that is only done when he is told to briefly take over the game, scoring 10 points in a 3 minute stretch.

Add that all up and 14 attempts is about all you're going to get. Celtics are working outside-in, which is backwards from the way the league operates/trains their defense. It all depends on how strong the 3's are. We have 4 guys who can light up on any given night behind the arc. Three really sharp shooters. The odds all four of them having a bad night...zero and none. Expect 2 guys a night, at worst, to be shooting threes close to 50%. That's real bad news for the competition.

Leauge clearly does not know how to defend that scheme, because it's counter to what they have been taught. Once again, absolute genius. The rest of the league will not figure this out and how to defend it until July. Very Warren Buffet-esque. "Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." i.e. do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

We're not horrendous in the paint, just slightly below average.

[dboss]

This was a very good game for the Celtics considering how slowly they started.

The Celtics never let them run. In other words they took away the one thing that the Sixers do well or should I say did well because they certainly did not get off last night.

The Celtics won the rebounding battle although the Sixers hot the offensive glass real hard.

My player of the games was Sheden Williams who continues to surprise me with his rebounding positional defense and ability to turn and face the basket and take a jumper.

On a night when 2/3 of the so-called big 3 shot 3 for 15, Boston still managed to blow the game wide open. We ghave an outstanding bench

dboss

[KellyGreen17]

You know the team is great when you aren't sitting on the couch saying, "I hope the Celtics can pull this win off" but instead "I hope the Celtics can hold this team under 80!" Generally people get excited about highlight offensive plays, but I just cannot take my eyes off the team when they play D. It is a site to behold. I think it was Mike or Tommy who was saying that all 15 guys have 100% bought into the defensive mind-set. Does anybody know what the lowest fg% and PPG total allowed for a season is? I tried to Google it but had no luck.

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