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

[Sam]

Dboss,

If I had to guess (and it would be only a guess), when Doc calls a play, the team generally tries to run it. However, each play has options; and presumably the options are numbered in order of their potential for success. I'm betting the problems leading to low-percentage shots are (1) how poorly the execute in attempting the first option, (2) how knowledgeable opponents are about that first option and how adept they are in stopping it, and (3) how quick the Celtics are to abandon the first option.

When we hear that their execution has been poor, that's exactly what we're hearing about and it usually leads to taking inadvisable shots. Last night, Doc was clearly unhappy about their execution, unhappy about their being slow to their spots, probably unhappy (although I don't recall his mentioning it) with their floor balance.

Now it could be that they don't have sufficient options on some of their plays so they have too few fallback positions (other than street ball) when the first option breaks down. I think that was the genius of Red's system: only 7 plays but multiple options on each play. Totally unpredictable.

So I don't believe it's as basic as whether or not they're following Doc's instructions; I think it's much more complex than that.

As for Kaman, I have no answer as to why no switches. Toward the latter stages of the game, I noticed KG on Kaman on several possessions. Whether it was by design or through switches I'm not certain. Again, if I had to guess, I'd bet that Kevin seized every excuse to switch to Kaman because he was so disgusted with Perk's defense on Chris. Of course, that brought KG away from the basket and may have led to Ray's sagging off Butler on that crucial three.

Sam

[Sam]

Okay, I think I have my philosophical hat on, and I'm ready now.

The Celtics were three-quarters of the way through their latest safari. They had no legitimate SFs. Their main "go to" guy was injured. Golden state was lying in wait at home. They were getting guys back from injury. They definitely had their "go to" guy. And Nellie (despite the way in which he's often castigated these days) knows how to coach. In this case, he was very much aware that the energy of the Celtics, uneven at best lately, would be likely to flag in the second of back-to-backs; and energy is the hallmark of his team.

So Don told his guys to overplay the passing lanes, swarm on defense, look for deflections, and otherwise make pests of themselves.

On offense, Nellie had a diversified group of the right players taking shots. Five guys (Ellis, Watson, Morrow, Randolph, Maggette) accounted for three-quarters of the Warriors' FG attempts, and they shot a collective 54%. The rest of the team shot a collective 23%. So, although the Celtics shot 50% as a team, the real "core" of the
Warriors shot higher.

And all five of those GSW players scored in double figures, acting like Minutemen out there as they shot from every conceivable angle. The Celtics' scoring was concentrated primarily on Rondo, Ray and KG. A
less diversified scoring cadre is easier to defend. And the Celtics' bench was outscored by the Warriors' bench 35-21; and that doesn't include the numerous points Ellis poured in while playing with the
bench, as he was in there for all 48 minutes.

Surprising, in light of the track meets that followed a number of GS steals (Watson was insane), the Celts actually more than matched the fast break points of the Warriors, 21-20. But the unusually high number of fast break points for the Celtics ironically underscores the fact that they played at the Warriors' pace all night long, which
accounts for the facts that (1) the Celts' 18-quarter first quarter lead slipped away amazingly quickly and (2) the Cs had nothing left but jumpers toward the end. And the Warriors were the superior team on the offensive boards (14-10) but even more so in the paint (44-36).

With 30 points and 15 assists, Rondo deserves a lot of credit for playing more than 46 minutes with a "tweaked hamstring." However, his restricted mobility was most apparent on defense when he had great
difficulty trying to stay with Ellis.

Additional bad news was the fall of Glen Davis, who now have ankle woes to add to his recuperating thumb. His inability to put weight on the ankle does not bode well for the next few games at least.

All that's missing from the invasion of Phoenix are a few bandages, a fife and a drum. But maybe another track meet will bring satisfaction to those who want to see more of Walker and Giddens.

Sam

[beat]

Here you go Sam.

[jeb]

Sam

In I think a similar situation to the Lakers and Phil albeit for different reasons. Play lightly injured starters heavy minutes to try to win or spread the minutes evenly and risk the loss but benefit from experience up and down the bench in a hostile environment.

I dont get one but my vote is play the bench. Play them if the Suns beat us by 30. If we lose the best record to hell with it. Rondo shoud be sat for a couple of games if his hammy is tweaked not played the entire game. imho.

Should be a tough but interesting week or two.

Watson really put the hammer down on Ray in the second half. High marks.

[sinus007]

Sam,
I believe the score was 103-99.

AK

[Sam]

Thanks Sinus. I've corrected it. I had collected all the stats except that one, and I was just too "out-of-sorts" to go back and check it. Fact is, I really didn't care at the moment. But the board deserves to have it corrected. Thanks again.

Sam

[cowens/oldschool]

The last two games could have been different if Pierce was playing,having said that,we were a little unsure,a little fatigued last night,but still could have won these two games.With more minutes for TA we might be more athletic some stretches,doesn't mean we're better,but like the speed aspect Tony can bring.With Pierce and TA we can be great,TA by himself,too many minutes,can see why theres plenty of athletic teams that can't win.

I thought last night Doc should have went small earlier,we are great against the BIG teams,the power teams,we have the Beast and two mobile skilled PF's with length,so the BIG teams we can battle with,unfortunately last nite for the most part we were outquicked in open spaces,overplayed on defense.Its like we do great against George Foreman and Joe Frazier,but can we catch the young Ali or keep up with Suger Ray?That was definitely the Warriors pace last night,I noticed the Al Harrington,Josh Smith type of PF can give KG trouble now as Magette did at times last night.KG is still not near the 08 version,he struggles with the ball on the post now,be nice to see a few 25 point games and 15-16 rebound games,hopefully its still coming.With KG's better perimeter D and mobility,he should have been on Kamen,letting Perk stay closer to the basket,leaning on DeAndre Jordan.

Both games were so close,we really gave away the Clippers game.The one stretch where Rondo threw the ball away to Watson twice in a row,then later Perk did the same thing.....bye 8 point lead,if we just had 5 less turnovers,aoh vey!!!! At this point I'd love to see some of Walker,just so sick of seeing the very limited smart heady Scal,lets see some more speed and dunking.We know what Scal brings,lets see what Walker can bring.

Hey another slugger won,Cavs beat Hawks.

[jeb]

cow

cavs are tops right now in my book and they are playing really hard. Hope we can whup the suns

[steve3344]

Caught the last half of the Cavs/Hawks game and couldn't believe Atlanta went the first 8:48 of the fourth quarter without scoring a single point! That's the longest I've ever seen a team go in the fourth quarter without scoring. It even included a missed technical foul shot by Joe Johnson and two missed free throws Jamal Crawford, both excellent foul shooters. Actually, even Cleveland didn't score at all for the first 3:47 of the period.

Suns game worries me with how beat up (PP, Marquis, Big Baby) we are. They're going to turn it into a track meet. Against Golden State, Phoenix scored 127 points and still lost. Track meets we're not good at.

[cowens/oldschool]

jeb
Cavs winning tonite with Lebron only scoring 14 is a great siqn for them,old friend Delonte West is bringing it,Moon adds alot of size at wing,Cavs definitely on right path.Shaq providing that big punch against the elite teams that was missing last year.Gonna be some fierce battles on East coast this year come playoff time.
cow

[Sam]

The Celtics were dramatically shorthanded (missing KG, Pierce, Glen Davis and Daniels), and the Suns took advantage of ragtag Celtics combinations to defeat the Celts easily. Both Sheed and Tony were inserted into the starting lineup, and they're simply not familiar with the plays and rhythms of the starters. And the bench was frequently playing in equally unfamiliar circumstances. A lot of the Celtics offense was on a typically unproductive freelance basis, as suggested by only a 51% percentage of assists to made field goals.

If one looked only at the stats in this one (other than the final score), few differences would stand out to support the dominance by the Suns:

Did the Suns race away from the Celtics? No. In fact, the Celts had 20 fast break points to 11 for the Suns.

How about points in the paint? 46-40 in favor of the Celtics.

Number of FG attempts? 83-79 Celtics.

The Suns held modest leads in terms of rebounds (30-25), assists (21-18), and their interior defense was better (9 blocks to 2 as just one indication).

But what really made the difference was shooting percentage:

FG: 51%-42% Suns
FT: 84%-73% Suns
3s: 36%-29% Suns

I almost had the feeling that the Suns could have turned on the jets and won via tempo but they found it more expedient and more fun to keep shooting 3s. And it wasn't so much that they outshot the Celtics from
the arc (the Suns had only three more 3-point scores). It was the backbreaking timing of their three-pointers. It seemed that, each time the Celtics had a glimmer of hope, Channing Frye was draining a three without hardly touching the net. On the Celtics side, Eddie went a very fine 5-7 from three-point land, but it was too little too late; and the other Celts combined for 1-14 three-point shooting. Ray and Sheed were terrible from outside when a win was still at least a remote possibility. And the Celtics simply failed to guard the perimeter with a decent level of energy.

Tony Allen had another good outing, with 12 points, 7 rebounds (3 offensive), 6 assists, and 3 steals in 31.5 minutes. He did have 4 turnovers, including a couple of what Doc refers to as "Tony plays." And, after a sluggish first half, Perk recovered to wind up with a pretty decent outing (13/7). Rondo struggled at about 2/3 speed—not enough to stay in front of Nash, but sufficient to score 13 with 8 assists (and a 3-fof-3 performance at the free throw line). Sherman Williams scored 14 (some in extended garbage time) with 5 boards. And Giddens, Hudson and Walker at least got in at the end. J.R. looked pretty good in 7 minutes, with 4 points (including a nice jumper) and 3 rebounds.

That's as much as I could eke out of this one, as it wasn't supposed to be pretty for the Celtics...and it wasn't.

Sam

[dboss]

Thanks Sam

A couple of observations. TA can play as long as he does not try to handle the ball and be a play maker

Rondo should not pass the ball to Sheed unless he is parked inside the lane. Sheed is out best low post scorer yet this persistent desire to stay behind the arc is maddening. 28% and not getting any better.

JR can play. But he plays a position that is crowded. If either TA or Daniels are gone next year he may have a chance to contribute.

What's wrong with Ray Allen? He is driving to the hoop more this year but his shooting is down around 454% from the field and 349% from the arc. These numbers are below last years numbers .480 and .409

Someone must have told Rondo that if he wants to make the Allstar team he needs to score more. He is averaging 19 over the past 5 games and his season scoring average id steadily climbing (13.2 ppg)

dboss

[cowens/oldschool]

Channing Frye has hit more 3's this year than Ray and at a higher %,who woulda thought?

[Sam]

Let’s hear it for stepping up to the plate. Sheed was inside when he should have been and scored 18. Ray was not only the Celts’ high scorer with 23, but he was also THE steadying influence and made key baskets to blunt Raptors comebacks. Eddie knocked down a couple of key three-pointers to help the Celtics establish and maintain a double-digit lead much of the game. And each of those three chipped in with four assists as well.

Perk was a steady contributor, with 14 and 7. But perhaps his most amazing achievement was that, after accumulating two quick fouls, he ended the game with…just those two fouls…despite going up against Bosh and Bargnani for 30 minutes. And Glen Davis played full-out in scoring 16 points.

But my own hero for this game was the guy who could probably play 40 successive great games and would not
convince many people that he’s for real. Tony Allen played 36 minutes—the most of any Celtic. He scored 14, with two offensive boards and five in total. As usual, he was like flypaper on defense. Three turnovers were a small price to pay for the energy he exerted throughout his time on the floor, and his presence was a major part of the reason why the Celtics outscored the Raptors in transition, 13-2.

Yes, I know Tony’s not a point guard. But dropping seven dimes when pressed into PG action wasn’t exactly chopped liver, , as the Celts assisted on 72% of their made field goals—no dropoff whatsoever from the higher levels of Rondo-directed attacks. And was it a coincidence that the Raptors’ combinations including Tony’s opposite member, Jared Jack, had the poorest collective +/- rating on the Raptors’ team?

J.R. Giddens played okay, although he did seem lost and hesitant at times—especially when it came to shooting open shots. But he did seem to settle down a bit and offset a couple of passes to nobody with a nice inside handoff for a score. Lester Hudson had a couple of assists in subbing for Tony, and he made his only three-point attempt. But I was
most impressed by his drive down the middle for a score during one of Toronto’s comeback attempts.

What I saw in this game that I feel has been missing lately was wire-to-wire effort. And how refreshing it was. Energy can compensate for a lot. If this game (and possibly others like it) were to accomplish one thing in my eyes, it would establish Tony and Glen as potentially ongoing antidotes for letdowns by the core of the team.

Sam

[dboss]

Sam

This was a real nice win for Boston.

I think that it proves that this team is deep. I thought baby also did a real nice job out there as did Eddie House. It was a team effort.

Giddens passed up several scoring opportunities and opted to pass the ball. He is just trying to fit in and is perhaps unselfish to a fault. He is still learning but you got to love his energy.

I like Hudson's on the ball defense

If Sheed can park himself down there in the low post he is virtually unstoppable. It will be nice to see what this team can do when everyone is healthy.

TA has established himself as a viable contributor

Baby looks like he needs to get his wind back but he looks ready to score in the post and don't ya just love those building size picks that he sets?

Doc has an interesting problem. (with House Allen and Daniels ) Doc has multiple options at multiple positions. I think Baby will solidify the front court rotation with Rasheed.

dboss

[Sam]

Dboss,

From the day this team was first put together, I've been saying that one of its strongest assets was its versatility. And that was without really knowing what to expect from Tony. IF they can have the entire team intact for the playoffs, that would now be more true than ever.

I think you're right about J.R.'s reluctance to shoot. But I've seen enough from both him and Daniels to convince me that they are worthy of continued development attempts. I have no idea about Walker, although I'm less optimistic. IF they happen to sign a free agent in a month or so, Walker would seem the obvious choice to be cut to make room.

Sam

[jeb]

One of the Celtic broadcasters said that when you played Boston you played a system and outlook that was the same no matter who was on the floor. That is what I saw. A bunch of well coached/practiced guys that knew the plays and executed them on both sides of the ball with maximum effort.

It was a joy.

[Sam]

Years from now, many people's reations to the box score of last night's game will be, "Ho hum. The Celtics beat the Heat in overtime, 112-106." Those who were fortunate enough to see the game may recall it as a night on which the Celtics made a silk purse out of a sow's ear. IF the Celtics are fortunate enough to prevail in this year's playoffs, I will pinpoint this game as the turning point in waking the Celtics up and forging a team identity. And, at the supreme moment of truth in this pivotal game, they persevered as they usually have throughout the years—as a TEAM.

It was a game of logistical and statistical oddities:

• The Celtics were missing KG, Marquis Daniels and Eddie House. Perk's insides had been greener (with food poisoning) than his uniform a day earlier, but he played 41 minutes. Paul Pierce (43 minutes) and Rajon Rondo (50 minutes) were on the "Doc watch" for possible relapses as they both returned from injuries.

• The Heat took 31 more shots from the field than the Celtics. But the Celts were far more accurate (54% to 41%), displaying the increasingly usual benefits of winning the pace battle (15-10 fast break points) and most especially outscoring the opponent in the paint (54-36).

• The Heat grabbed 12 more offensive boards than the Celtics, and the Cs turned the ball over a whopping 24 times (to 11 for Miami), as the Bostonians almost seemed to be trying to pass to their opponents at certain junctures.

• Dwayne Wade's drives and jumpers were good for 44 points, but only two of his teammates joined him in double figures. In contrast, all five Celtics starters scored in double digits, led by Rondo's 25 (with 8 assists and 7 of 8 from the free throw line), Ray's 22, and Perk's 20 (plus 10 boards).

As a result, the game was pretty ragged throughout. But, despite a slim three-point Celtics lead at halftime, one had the constant feeling that Wade's individual heroics were inevitably going to win out at the end. And this was never more than case than when, after the Celts had come back from 11 down (with 7.5 minutes to go in regulation) to be tied and in possession of the ball with 6 seconds left, Wade stole the ball from Ray and drove the length of the floor for a jam—the ostensible game-winner. Doc had to regroup his charges, who thought that time had expired. But it turned out there 0.6 seconds left.

I'm not exaggerating one iota when I say it's entirely possible that the Celtics's season-long search for an identity culminated during this 0.6 second time span and the timeout that preceded it. Perk was the Celts' only legitimate "big" left, as Sheed had fouled out. Ray had been hot throughout much of the game, and especially the fourth quarter. Pierce was obviously fatigued. It made total sense for the Celtics to take a chance on a Hail Mary pass-and shoot involving Ray. Heh heh heh.

Pierce was poised to pass the ball in, which confirmed that he wouldn't be the shooter. Ray went toward the ball, and the Heat converged on him. But Paul threw a perfect chest pass to the edge of the rim, and Rajon ("Hammy") Rondo, spurted, lept, snagged it, and laid it in off the backboard as time expired. Chalmers was left in the dust by Rondo's dash to the hoop. No free-lance hero shot here. They did it as a TEAM with a play brilliantly conceived by the coach so many people love to doubt.

The eyes of Wade and his teammates said it all before the start of overtime. The difference between the teams was that one could take a potentially demoralizing hit and refuse to break. The other could not. To Wade's individual credit, he dunked one and hit a
three-pointer in overtime. But, with Perk grabbing three boards, Ray and Rondo played scoring ping pong, and the Celts actually won pulling away.

It was an ugly survival of the fittest. Perhaps not the physically fittest, but definitely the professionally fittest. And, above all, it signaled an emerging identity as a traditional Celtics TEAM with a young TEAM-oriented dynamo as the leader of the future. At the end of this one, I could envision legends of the past nodding knowingly, while a plume of cigar smoke swirled above their heads.

GO CELTICS!

Sam

[sinus007]

Sam,
Thanks for the summary, as always.
Just a few notes on the side.
RR has to practice w/Sheed and Perk so they can catch his low passes going to the hoop.
PP is still weak and rusty (I hope the 43min last night won't affect the rest of the season). But his presence on the floor is a huge factor.
BBD was very good doing little things on both ends.
Sheed and Perk are getting better and better at "team needs your skills not your T's"
Poor Sheed, I thought he was about to cry after bouncing ball into his own basket.
Who said RR can't shoot FT? Now whoever considers "hack Rondo" will think twice.
I wonder if PP'd been more effective against Wade (if he's 100%)?

Thank you very much,
AK

[bigpygme]

loved the summary, Sam, and the belief that here was forged the C's Team identity. and how important will part of that identity be that Rondo is improved at hitting his free throws with the new stroke that's been mentioned? he actually looked GOOD at the line to me. what a God-send that will be, as his confidence grows along with his FT Percentage ...

the following is from today's Globe, in which Doc emphasizes the recent defensive mindset of our Celtics, and Pierce correctly comments, "People have no idea who we are when with all our full complement of players.’’. isn't THAT the truth ! as Sam has pointed out, we haven't been at full strength for a single game this season, which was shocking for me to realize.

so though most of you have probably seen it, i'll capsulize it for those who may not have ...

"After a win over the Raptors Saturday night, the Celtics last night got two cogs back - Pierce and Rondo - while another one is healing. The run toward banner No. 18 now will begin.

“What we do [is] need to get back, and one of things we did right [Saturday] is we came out as a defensive team,’’ coach Doc Rivers said before last night’s game. “When you’re injured, when you have guys down, you have to be who you are more so than ever. And you can’t come up with some new identity, and I thought in that game we came out with the right mind-set. That if we were going to lose, we were going to lose by defending.’’


So it was up to Rondo and Pierce to return with their defensive mentalities to compensate for Garnett’s absence, and if they continue to do so this team still has enough talent to beat most NBA teams with ease. But it’s been nearly two weeks since that Orlando game, and nearly three since the Celtics were close to their full strength. Garnett’s absence leaves a gaping hole, but not one that can’t be filled by Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, and Shelden Williams, at least temporarily.


“I think we still have that edge,’’ Pierce said before the game. “We haven’t been playing well and we’re still at the top of the conference, one of the top two or three records in the NBA and we haven’t been playing well. We know that we when get healthy and have everybody out there, we’re going to be a dominant team again, so regardless of who we put out there, we’re supposed to win, night in and night out.


“It will be scary to see what happens when we are full strength. People have no idea who we are when with all our full complement of players.’’


But the Celtics can’t just wait for Garnett and Daniels to return. The groundwork for the push has to begin now, because the older core can’t be expected to turn on the swagger and execution on demand. That confidence and precision is built."

and built, apparently, by practicing ands playing with more of the roster increasingly available.

regards all,
Michael in Denver

[Sam]

Michael,

I was remiss in not emphasizing more extensively the importance of the Celtics' defense in that defining fourth quarter. One would have expected their "walking wounded" to become increasingly lax on defense. Instead, they because more stingy.

The last two games have been really refreshing! Not easy but definitely refreshing!

Sam

[dboss]

Sam

This is one of best Post Game threads that I have seen.

If the Celtics would have lost this game it would not have shaken their confidence but it probably would have generated a lot of doubt from the fans.

The game was magical in many ways. Championship level teams find a way to win even in the midst of losing the statistical battle on the floor.

It will be great to how this team performs once KG and Daniels returns. This is an incredibly deep team.

dboss

[LACELTFAN]

Good analysis Sam,
The only area I might question is whether this team has found it's identity yet. I think that finding it is going to be a long process this year with people moving in and out of the lineup. It may be somewhat schizophrenic and not so pretty at times. I'm hoping that we get all hands on deck sometime early Feb. and that it jells and they approach the playoffs on fire.

[cowens/oldschool]

Years from now, many people's reations to the box score of last night's game will be, "Ho hum. The Celtics beat the Heat in overtime, 112-106." Those who were fortunate enough to see the game may recall it as a night on which the Celtics made a silk purse out of a sow's ear. IF the Celtics are fortunate enough to prevail in this year's playoffs, I will pinpoint this game as the turning point in waking the Celtics up and forging a team identity. And, at the supreme moment of truth in this pivotal game, they persevered as they usually have throughout the years—as a TEAM.

It was a game of logistical and statistical oddities:

• The Celtics were missing KG, Marquis Daniels and Eddie House. Perk's insides had been greener (with food poisoning) than his uniform a day earlier, but he played 41 minutes. Paul Pierce (43 minutes) and Rajon Rondo (50 minutes) were on the "Doc watch" for possible relapses as they both returned from injuries.

• The Heat took 31 more shots from the field than the Celtics. But the Celts were far more accurate (54% to 41%), displaying the increasingly usual benefits of winning the pace battle (15-10 fast break points) and most especially outscoring the opponent in the paint (54-36).

• The Heat grabbed 12 more offensive boards than the Celtics, and the Cs turned the ball over a whopping 24 times (to 11 for Miami), as the Bostonians almost seemed to be trying to pass to their opponents at certain junctures.

• Dwayne Wade's drives and jumpers were good for 44 points, but only two of his teammates joined him in double figures. In contrast, all five Celtics starters scored in double digits, led by Rondo's 25 (with 8 assists and 7 of 8 from the free throw line), Ray's 22, and Perk's 20 (plus 10 boards).

As a result, the game was pretty ragged throughout. But, despite a slim three-point Celtics lead at halftime, one had the constant feeling that Wade's individual heroics were inevitably going to win out at the end. And this was never more than case than when, after the Celts had come back from 11 down (with 7.5 minutes to go in regulation) to be tied and in possession of the ball with 6 seconds left, Wade stole the ball from Ray and drove the length of the floor for a jam—the ostensible game-winner. Doc had to regroup his charges, who thought that time had expired. But it turned out there 0.6 seconds left.

I'm not exaggerating one iota when I say it's entirely possible that the Celtics's season-long search for an identity culminated during this 0.6 second time span and the timeout that preceded it. Perk was the Celts' only legitimate "big" left, as Sheed had fouled out. Ray had been hot throughout much of the game, and especially the fourth quarter. Pierce was obviously fatigued. It made total sense for the Celtics to take a chance on a Hail Mary pass-and shoot involving Ray. Heh heh heh.

Pierce was poised to pass the ball in, which confirmed that he wouldn't be the shooter. Ray went toward the ball, and the Heat converged on him. But Paul threw a perfect chest pass to the edge of the rim, and Rajon ("Hammy") Rondo, spurted, lept, snagged it, and laid it in off the backboard as time expired. Chalmers was left in the dust by Rondo's dash to the hoop. No free-lance hero shot here. They did it as a TEAM with a play brilliantly conceived by the coach so many people love to doubt.

The eyes of Wade and his teammates said it all before the start of overtime. The difference between the teams was that one could take a potentially demoralizing hit and refuse to break. The other could not. To Wade's individual credit, he dunked one and hit a
three-pointer in overtime. But, with Perk grabbing three boards, Ray and Rondo played scoring ping pong, and the Celts actually won pulling away.

It was an ugly survival of the fittest. Perhaps not the physically fittest, but definitely the professionally fittest. And, above all, it signaled an emerging identity as a traditional Celtics TEAM with a young TEAM-oriented dynamo as the leader of the future. At the end of this one, I could envision legends of the past nodding knowingly, while a plume of cigar smoke swirled above their heads.

GO CELTICS!

Sam

Great writing Sam,so looks like you were into the game,missed it had to work,Steve was also excited describing the game,sounds like the game of the year so far.

[jeb]

cow

it was incred. Made even sweeter by the win. Potential turning point for the whole damn season. Ray was also fierce.

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