POST GAME PHILLY

If we ever stole a game that was the one. Great draw by Doc to get everyone crowding Pierce and Allen and the easy flip to KG. I could not believe the play.

With Shaq, we win this by 15 pts tonight, so it's going to be real important to get JON back asap as well as Perk....'cause we will have nights like this when we are going to be shot at the 5 position.

Off to Memphis on Saturday.........will enjoy Friday a lot better now.

112288

Wow! What a box score! To win this game with our 4th and 5th string centers was amazing!

Mark my words right now......come April when we have the best record in the NBA or in the East......we'll look back at this game as the deciding game that gave us HOME COURT....I feel it in my bones!!!!!!

112288

Had to watch on tape delay but what a game and what a finish. Gotta love the fight in this team to win on the road with no Shaq, Jermaine or Perk to man the middle. I thought foul trouble of our thin front line would do us in tonight but they were all careful not to let it become a major problem.

Inspiring win.

boys they are havin fun out there

LOOK at their body language...lotsa smiles even under great pressure.

they are havin fun and just ballin

one other obvious statement, they LOST these games last year.

They just did.

They are finding ways this year that they didn't last year and KG seems like he's all the way back... and that no look pass last night by Rondo...geez...
I have a really good feeling about this team, win or lose, it's just so much fun to watch them. Luckiest fans in the world, Celtic fans!

There is no panic in this team (actually, there never has been) and no panic in me (or us all hopefully) now as a fan with games like these anymore. RA simply has ice water in his veins. The look on Doug Collins face after his 3 went in was worth the present value of League Pass for the next 10 years.

I had to replay the last shot several times, but the angle and the height of Rondo's pass had to be absolutely perfect for KG to make that shot. Yes he had a clear mismatch on height but if KG had to turn his head another degree toward the entry pass, his torso would have been torqued the worng way and he never would have made that shot all in one motion. It would have required him to make an extra movement to compensate. He probably would have had to bring it down ala Perk and then shoot but time would have run out. If the pass came in lower, he would have shorty's hand on it, any higher and KG would have had to let it bound off the backboard.

KG really made that look a lot easier than I'm sure it was to execute.

BTW, I'm taking my two oldest to Charlotte tomorrow vs. Bobcats. The boys can't wait! Neither can I! Last time I took them two years ago, they C's lost in OT. Not going to happen this time. Charlotte will give them a tough game, though.

Win or lose, we have something special on our hands this season. Looks alot like B18 to me. (I know, I know. Keep my shirt on! Don't flip out yet!)

Semih looks good but it shows his rookieness in that he picks up needless fouls when he has to learn to pick his spots. he needs to be a little more aggressive on the boards both offensive and defensive by being more physical and positioning his body better..........but it is coming. He also needs some better post-up moves to the basket...but he has shown flashes of brilliance!

All in all he is more than a diamond in the ruff. He could become a top 10 center in the league.

112288

Hi,
Tough game. Only one true C and very rookie at that. PP is sick: a few flashes here and there. RR is far away from being 100%. But they managed to steal it.
Brilliant combination and execution of the last play
Celtics could put the game away 3-4 min before the end when they had 4-5 points lead, but missed on 2 consecutive shots.
Iggy is a great player but can't always put the team on his shoulders and carry.
Agree with 112288 about SE. Also, I think, he needs additional bulk and/or muscles.
I hope they'll be able to recover somewhat for Sat. game.

AK

Rather had a 20 pt win but games like this are good for one once in a while as long as the end result is the same.

Missed much of the game and ran thru it quickly.

Philly deserved to win. They fought scraped and hung on and lead most of the way to boot. BUT we never had any bad stretches either and with diminished ranks we played our fingernails off. RR 47 minutes? good grief. And he's hurtin..........i wish I was hurtin that good.

Some mentioned on another thread the old Davis - Powe debate. I don't even remember what side I was on, if any. Guess the braintrust knew what they were doing. Leon served his purpose for us and got a ring but he hasn't yet played meaningful since the injury, I think we all wish him well cept when he plays us.

PP KG RA..........99 years old combined, have any three peices of talent fit so well together? Or play so well without the BALL?

Almost feel a little like the heyday of the Bird era. You knew each game was going to be special and to enjoy it as it will not last. With the pending lockout and the age of these three .........................? Don't want to got there.

IF is a big word with 2 letters. But IF we could ever get all the pieces of this puzzell together and reasonably healthy, 18 should be heading up to it's rightfull position next fall.

As 112288 mentioned we might look back on this game as one of the more important games this season. Not gonna argue that.

I'm sure Perk JO and West are just frothing at the mouth to be a part of this and all are working double time on their respective rehabs.

beat

For most of the game I felt like I was watching Game 7 of the Finals all over again. Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. We played the now 7-15 Sixers, probably the youngest team in the league, but this was still an impressive victory playing, as it was, with our 4th and 5th string centers. That speaks to our increased depth in the frontcourt. Last year Davis was our #3 center. The second game in two nights, our ranks even thinner than the first night, and we still prevailed. This was a brawl in a phone booth all night. The largest lead of the night was 8, held by Philly for only 13 seconds.

1. I like Semih. He plays hard, he plays with heart and he plays hurt. Being an NBA rookie, he's foul-prone, but that is fixable. I thought he did a very good job last night considering the size 23 shoes he had to fill.

2. Rondo sat for 46 seconds. Either he's not as hurt as is being depicted or Doc is mismanaging his minutes. Considering KG only played 32 minutes despite our needing every big man we could lay our hands on, my gut is telling me it's the former. Helluva game by him, on both ends. Scoring, passing, defending.

3. Speaking of KG, one of the great joys I've experienced this season has been watching the rejuvenated Kevin Garnett. He was healthy, technically, last year but he couldn't do what he wanted to do and that weighed upon him mentally. He's back. He's playing with fire and abandon. He's not thinking as much but just reacting instinctively like great players do. The game-winning shot by him was a thing of beauty. His in-air body control to gather that pass, twist to face the basket and lay it in without coming down was a play we could have and did see by him 10 years ago. Then, after scoring that very athletic, clutch bucket, he raced back to midcourt and intercepted the inbounds pass to seal the deal. He's back.

4. Von Wafer. After a dumb reach in foul upon entry into the game, he settled down and played well. He hit his open 3 (which is his primary job) and he played some very sticky defense. He gave us 5 very good minutes for an 11th man who has been pressed into action due to the injury to West.

5. Davis has turned into quite a player. PF, C he doesn't care. Big guys he has to block out or smaller guys he can bulldoze, whatever it takes. A very, very flexible player at that position, he's playing them both well. 7 rebounds on a night when we needed them, 2 assists (including a BIG one to Ray for the 3).

6. Iggy is a closer. Every team has them and, right now, he's it for the Sixers. Jodie Meeks is clutch too. What a ridiculously young team Doug Collins has this year. Iggy's going to be 27 in January and he's the old man of that team. He had 11 assists last night. That says something when their point guard, Jrue Holiday, only had 6. What it says to me is "experience counts".

7. We shot 56%. Wow. I keep saying the same thing because I don't want to take for granted just how amazing it is to shoot over 50% game after game. This game was close only because of the 10 offensive rebounds Philly got more than us. Some of them were just crazy caroms but a lot of them were the Celtics not crashing the boards as a team in the absence of our rebounding centers. I'm glad their starting center is Spencer Hawes. I'd trade NBA rookie Semih for him, but that's about it, and Semih is our #4 center. I'm not sure we could have played a better opponent last night, given our thinness at that position. Luck of the schedule.

8. 22-year old Thaddeus Young is very left-handed. Very. I'm hoarse today from screaming that last night. With the exception of his dunks he went left exclusively. This is what happens with playing a young team without a day off. No time with videotape to watch players you're not familiar with. He played well last night. I'm interested to see him a few years from now, when he's not only been thoroughly scouted but players have gone up against him more.

9. What's with Nocioni? Why did he hardly play? Given our thinness up front and vulnerability on the boards, I would have thought a banger like him would have been very effective against us.

10. During a time out, the mike picked up Doug Collins telling his guys that "Championship teams finish quarters strong". He was probably talking about us, but was trying to instill championship thinking into his kids. He was right. We finished the last 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter (and a mediocre first half) with a 6-5 run, the last 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter with a 9-2 run and the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter with a 9-4 run. Experience counts, and we have it in spades.

As has been stated by Jeb and others, our guys are playing with joy. They are loving this. Why wouldn't they? They're right on the heels of the surprising San Antonio Spurs, another team deemed "too old", for the best record in the league. Last night, though, they also showed they are playing with ganas. They wanted this win and played like it meant something to them when they did. Did you see the reactions by KG and the rest of the players when the game ended? You'd have thought they just won the championship and not just a road game against an inferior team. KG was practically beside himself. I mean, he was actually smiling. He's back.

bob


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Bob,

I'm going to have to put that shot by KG in the same category as his '08 Finals shot in Game 3 or 4 maybe where he was falling backward and one-handed it/banked it for the And 1. That one wasn't a game decider like last night's but in the same ballpark for hardcore KG at his best.

The enhanced shooting percentage has to be helped from all the lay-ups they have been getting over the last few weeks. There was one 3rd quarter recently where they scored 11 lay-up/dunks and two mid-rangers for the quarter. That's what you get when you pass it around/pick/cut ala Princeton offense...somebody falls asleep...Every Time!

Can't wait to see them live in Charlotte tomorrow.

gyso wrote:Bobh,

The 76ers are 11th from the youngest team and adjusted by playing time, 8th youngest. See the "Word Cloud" post, there is a little chart in the 3rd post.

gyso,

Quite correct. They are 11th from the youngest and 9th from the youngest when weighted by playing time.

Battie, at 34, brings the average up as does Brand (who actually plays) at 31 and Kapono (who's injured) at 29 and Darius Songaila (recently injured) at 31.

With the exception of Brand and I guess Iggy, the players left standing are babies: Holiday, Young, Meeks, Hawes, Speights and Turner.

Still, you're right, I thought they were even younger as a team. 11 from the bottom (or 9, depending on what you pick) is still pretty freaking young. It has been a long, long time since the Celtics were that young. Not even the days of Pierce/Walker, I think.

bob

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I did not get a chance to post after the Philly win. But I wanted to share some thoughts with you about the game.

The Celtics look more and more like a team that can meet any challenge and are willing to make any sacrafice individually and collectively for the good of the team.

I saw some outstanding plays in this game.

Obviously the game winner on 'the perfect pass' from Rondo to the new and improved KG was the highlight of the game. But down the stretch there were other bigs plays made by big baby davis. Rondo drove the lane hit baby with a nice pass. The baby did not hesitate, took one step to the right and forward and drained a perfect mid range jumper. baby also made the next pass out to a wide open ray Allen for a 3 pointer. baby also took I think 2 or 3 charges to pick up offensive fouls. Is there another player in the game that does this? It is an amazing skill and a gutty physical sacrafice. He leads the lead in that category and I think it is the best defensive play in basketball. First it results in a turnover and it also gives the opposing a player a foul. This is the only play in basketball that guarantees a possession and penalizes the opposition with a foul.

Rajon Rondo played a great game and you could tell that he was not 100% yet he managed to knock down 3 sweet jumpers, score on layups, make 3 steals, grab 5 rebounds and diss out 14 assists (none bigger than the game winner) Fellow Celtics fans, we are blessed to have a PG with this much talent.

Interesting stat: both teams scored 25 and 21 points respectively in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Von Wafer is starting to fit into the team. His body language and that of his teammates towards him is positive.

Semi played good. He needs to spend some time in the weight room but i'm afraid that his sore shoulder may present him from doing too much work. I think he has a bright future with the Celtics but once we get all of our bigs back, he will be in 6th place for playing time behind KG, baby, Perk, Shaq and JON.

Speaking of Shaq and JON. The Celtics missed having the big guy in the middle. Philly got too many offensive rebounds.

Once Shaq and JON are both able to play, i think we may see a game to game rotation especially on back to back games where one plays and the other sits. This will help spread out the wear and tear on these players and allow them to play with a higher level of efficiency.

I also think that JON's return will really benefit KG.

dboss

In 2 years after Shaq and JON retire, Semih will be 2nd or 3rd in our center rotation and hopefully 20 lbs. bigger and stronger. He'll become a near great Celtic of the future.

W

I agree. Semi has a lot of upside and he will have a chance over the next few years to be tutored by some pretty good big men.

By 2012 the Celtics will be in an excellent postion to jump into the free agency market although it does not appear there are a lot of top of the line players who will be free agents. Rondo, Baby and Semi hopefully will still be on the team.

dboss

Here are two names that may surprise you.

Unrestricted free agents 2012

Dwight Howard
Landry Fields

dboss

I have watched Fields a lot this year. He won rookie of the month this year and he is really good on both sides of the ball. He can hit the 3 and he can run. He is a perfect guy to go after.

112288

Hi,
Kind of PS to my prev. post.
I wanted to mentioned that the last play of the game was/should be considered a classical example of a team work and what it can acomplish vs a hero/lone star play. I had to replay it several times to see all details. Paraphrasing the MC ad: KG - $18M, RR - $9M, ....... all playing together - priceless!

AK

wishing i'd DVR'd that game - it was classic, the ending perfectly scripted by Doc and executed by the TEAM !! the TEAM, with RR and KG doing a beautiful job, and everyone else doing exactly what they were supposed to do.
we have so many threats in that situation, and Philly (or any team) has, had to respect them all !! and that's what allowed the perfect lob and lay-up follow.

so GREAT to see KG is all the way back, far exceeding what nearly everyone expected from him this year. HE's BAAAAACK !!

Michael