Raptors Outlast Celtics In Double OT 125-122

LOL...I'm old enough to remember when they didn't allow zones in the NBA, because NBA players would be able to beat zones way too easy.

guess the players today are not near as good as those from past years after all.

worcester wrote:This is the 2nd loss I lay squarely on Brad's shoulders. He called the 100% wrong defense at the end of game 3, and he made several key mistakes in Game 6, not the least of which was keeping Wanny on the bench when Kemba was stinking up the place. Face it, Kemba and Brad both share one fault. They are simply not mentally tough. Marcus is, Jaylen is, Daniel and Wanny are, but not Brad and Kemba. What a shame. Jayson - he's talented but too prone to mental errors to be called a superstar, and a really good coach would chew him out in a way so he never again has six turnovers in a crucial game. If I haven't said this enough, one more time. Brad lost this otherwise magnificent game for us, and he owes us all, and especially Kemba an apology. No way would a really good coach let a PG embarrass himself like that for 51 minutes with a steady eddie replacement on the bench. I'm pissed.

                                                                                                                         He still insists that a zone was the right call at the end of  game 3 and says they will continue to play it that way

dboss wrote:Just watched Brad Steven's post game interview.

What a bunch of horseshit.  I made a big stink about him not getting at least one COY vote.  My expectations for a game 7 victory have been greatly diminished.  How about stepping up and taking some responsibility instead of glossing over another huge loss as if you had nothing to do with it.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8eOeB32I8

softball questions and pablum answers. What was he saving his challenge for, the next game. somebody needs to tell him they don't carry over like cellphone data. with respect to the Walker drive at the end of regulation, is a no-call challengeable?

jrleftfoot wrote:

dboss wrote:Just watched Brad Steven's post game interview.

What a bunch of horseshit.  I made a big stink about him not getting at least one COY vote.  My expectations for a game 7 victory have been greatly diminished.  How about stepping up and taking some responsibility instead of glossing over another huge loss as if you had nothing to do with it.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8eOeB32I8

                                                                                               softball questions and pablum answers. What was he saving his challenge for, the next game. somebody needs to tell him they  don't carry over like cellphone data. with respect to the Walker drive at the end of regulation, is a no-call challengeable?

foot

This had to be the weakest post game I have ever heard from Brad.  A bunch of soft ball questions, no doubt.  If I recall the ball did not go out of bounds  as a result of the foul. It was rebounded by OG. If the foul was a non-call he probably could not challenge.  I think the challenge rule is flawed in that they do not look at the proximate cause for missing a shot.  

The Celtics just need to play well tomorrow and give themselves a chance..  Brad needs to turn in a splendid coaching effort.  What more can we hope for.

That says it all. I thought there was a play stoppage but my memory is crap and I'm sure not going back to look at it again.

jrleftfoot wrote:That  says it all. I thought there was a play stoppage but my memory is crap and I'm sure not going back to look at it again.

foot

There were so many plays that they are all starting to run together in my mind. Unfortunately when you add everything up, you end up with an L

yep

I will not put much blame on JB, he is the one, along with Smart, who kept us in the game in the first quarter and part of the second. His whole demeanor changes when he gets in foul trouble. This is where he should lean a little from Smart. \

I watched both of the J’s last night, Tatum is really showing how young he is. Any miss and he hangs his head. Has to learn that they aren’t all going to go in, get back on defense, and stop your crying about fouls. I will say, he rebounded the ball well.

I hate to bring it up, but, the absence of Hayward is really being felt during this series. His presence on the floor is so vital to their success. I know it is a moot point, but it is a fact.

I could not stand watching the post game interviews but today on the local news they remarked how low key and quiet Kemba was. This has got to be killing him, he is a proud player. He knows, this is the reason they brought him here. I do feel he will find a way to come up big tomorrow night.

I know I am in the minority here, but, keep the faith, I have to believe they will pull this off

NBA admitted Kemba was fouled. Swell. You were right, dboss. There was no play stoppage

Tonight's game is about three people, all of which have to show up and perform out of their brains for us to move on to the ECF.  

Brad, JT and Kemba.  All three performances have to be memorable and Celtic-lore worthy.  Anything less and it's over.  One game for all the marbles.  That's a lot of pressure for a young inexperienced team and coach but that's what they signed up for.  TOR really doesn't have anything to prove.  There's always the hype of the defending champ repeating but most go down in flames the following season.  TOR is not winning the championship this year.  Lots of heart.  Short on talent.    

The Celtics have been mired in mediocrity since the late 80's with few flashes of brilliance although some will argue it began with the death of Len Bias.  Add the death of Reggie Lewis and some will say with all the prior Celtic winnings and titles they had this coming.  Some still think that.  The Paul Pierce, Big 3 teams and seasons briefly gave us some hope and we have two showdowns with the Lakers, both of which we should have won barring the Kendrick Perkins untimely injury late in the 2010 series.  But for me that was fleeting at best after I was spoiled by the 80's of having a contending team every year.   

This team of late and Danny's stockpiling of assets and building the team around Brad has again given us a considerable rise in hope that this team could actually win multiple titles and restore Celtic Pride back to the 60's.    

With this series, we've learned we don't quite know how to administer the knockout punch.  We have fanned on it twice with one more chance left.  We'll banter for a while on whose fault that is.  

Shaq said it best last night on TNT.  He's interested in what Brad says pre-game to the players.  Should go something like this.  

"We built a 2-0 lead and had G3 in our hands.  We've screwed around and now it's 3-3.  I've got no game plan.  It's Game 7.  What are you going to do?!  

I'm gathering from Shaq bringing this up from similar situations in his career, his team went on to win those two G7's he was referring to.  It's all about the players and we need Kemba and JT to play like they are capable.  Kemba especially.  We brought him here for this very reason.  JT not going anywhere.  Brad's got to show us something.  Show us why Danny re-upped his contract.  I'm still debating whether this game tonight is a turning point or an inflection point.  I'll go on record as an inflection point.  In other words, we don't need to pull up the carpet, win or lose.    

We know Kemba hasn't been in these situations before.  But for one game he needs to wipe the beautiful smile off his face and realize what he has gotten himself into.  Charlotte is no Boston.  Kind of like what Rondo did in 2008.  He was green and untested.  He figured it out.  (Now he can shoot, too. But those early years formulated his career in the NBA) Kemba needs to play like Rondo did.  Get these guys going and once TOR is scrabbling trying to cover those gaping holes of MS, JT, JB and DT, Kemba will be so wide open you and I could throw it in the ocean from 3 and kill the TOR beast.

Those are the three I'm looking at plus the mystery guy, maybe one of the Williams boys, to shine for just a few minutes that make the difference.  Someone from Benchville will play a huge role in our winning G7 tonight.    

Amen.

db

Don't forget Wanny.

I absolutely hate these stupid reports that the league issues after a game pointing out errors in the last two minutes. What the hell good do they do????? The fact remains that not only did the Celtics blow this game, the ref's did too. I wonder if they look at the whole game and look at the antics of Nurse all game long. I do not care how good a coach he is supposed to be, he was totally out of control that last game.

But, it makes no difference, that is my point. Why do they issue these statements???To rub salt in the wound. On to the next game, period. Do they ever fine ref's the way they fine players

The NBA should give the Celtics a top draft pick to apologize.

Rosalie, that does raise several very interesting questions.

Are the refs fined for jacking up the game or just swept under the rug?

You can't challenge the refs or berate them after the game. I understand the keeping the distance and objectivity of it all.

It is a very secret society. It is nice having Jaffe come in and explain what's happening at times for technical morons like myself. We all know the importance of the zebras. Otherwise memories form our pasts creep in of street ball games that degenerate into fights and severed friendships because there was no one there to objectively make the right call.

Does anyone have any experience in the reffing world and can shed some further light on this mysterious world?

worcester, yep. My bad. Unintentionally on my part, that's the guy we're looking for. Someone lost and forgotten that comes out of nowhere in specific Celtic games like these for maybe 3-4 minutes or just 1-2 plays. TOR ain't got nothing. Going down.

db

Look at how Butler got the call, with a very gentle touch on his ribcage after the shot, then look at Kemba get run over from behind on the shot and hit in the head....this flip* series should be over...!!!!!

Brad has the biggest monkey on his back due to his unproven resume.  Yes he's done a great job getting us this far.  Quite remarkable.  But remember his best stint in the NCAA.  Made it to the finals twice with a nobody team but came up just short.  

Now he's in the dog fight of his life with the current COY.  Brad has proven himself to this point IMHBAO.  But as far as the inflection point goes, it's time to cross over into the Promised Land for Brad.  I'm not saying if he doesn't pull this off it's a bad sign, but we all know how rare, limited and fleeting these opportunities are and this could be the last one.  We will never know until after we have the privilege of hindsight.  

He's gone head-to-head with N-squared and we are at 3-3 against a team that had a better regular season record than we did.  Not by much but success and failure are defined by micro-inches.  

I'm not saying if we go down it blows us back to the Stone Age either.  But Danny is watching VERY carefully tonight.  On paper, we're supposed to lose this series, with experience being the tipping point and maybe the better seeding but bubble has nixed that advantage.  But just like in any professional league, to move up, you have to beat the better players and teams to get to the top.  Enter Rick Flair.  "To be the man, you've got to beat the man."  

Tonight is one of those nights.

db

This series should be over, we Brad gave them game 3 with his boneheaded zone, then refs stole last game and the L even admitted it....

Very hard to overcome giving away 2 games in a 7 game series.

It only takes one tonight, cowens/oldschool. As long as we don't give away this game or allow the refs to give it away. The more I think about it, tonight has become a huge deal all around. Things have a way of balancing themselves out. We're on deck.

db

Winning without Gordon Hayward is no small task but it is clear that his presence is the missing piece.

If we can get past the Raptors and GH can return we really have a very good chance to make it into the final round.

Right now our single biggest issue is the lack of having enough offense 1-8.

The NBA needs to change the challenge rule to include any call or non-call including and especially a foul that was missed.  If they made the right call Kemba goes to the line and we probably win the game in regulation. Give a team 2 challenges (1 each half with no carry over) use it or lose it.

We really should not be playing in a game 7.

As my dad used to say in similar tough learning situations, man-to-man, "It grows hair on your chest!"

db

A big missed call imho was the Rators having 6 men on the court when Nurse distracted Jayson. Seriously. That should have been a FLAGRANT 2 foul. Nurse should never be allowed to get away with that. Nor should the refs.

he did it all night, I kept saying it throughout the game to get him the hell off the court. it was driving me crazy. Every call he was in the referee conference, listening and talking to them . He should have been off that floor, do not tell me he did not know what he was doing.

Again, we should never have been in that position to start with, they could have played much smarter, stopped those turnovers and just get the job done, but it is still an issue as far as I am concerned

Nurses flip* up hyper antics worked, he distracted and bitched so much, the refs gave him that key call, this series should be over....