Pre-Games Home vs. PHI, DAL & GSW

Well it's Showtime to the Brooklyn People as Eddie Murphy once said.  Glad all 3 of these next games are at home.  We're going to need them.  What follows is @CLE, @ DEN, @Suns, @Por & @Jazz!  This has to be the toughest stretch of our remaining games.

From the big picture view, the playoffs cannot get here any faster.  There are going to be some great matchups one right after another, first round and every round.  Must see TV.  Get your DVR/NVR's ready.  I'm trying to remember a time with more anticipation than this upcoming playoff run all around.  Of course what I always love is all these teams honestly believe they have a chance at the title.  LAC, DEN, MIN, OKC, PHX, GSW, LAL, & DAL.  Then you have the mangled East with us, CLE, NYK, PHI, MIL, & MIA.  My favorite thing to watch is the dashing of hope for all but one of those teams comes to fruition, game by game, series by series.    

I noticed in this weekend's ESPN article that Al is talking like JT regarding what BOS is trying to accomplish.  Getting to that next level during the season in preparation for the playoffs.  Keep improving intra-game and inter-game.  Singleness of purpose.  Blocking out all the other noise.  All coming from the coach.  Now's about as good as any to get to accomplishing those things.  The current schedule over the next 8 games lends itself very well to having the fire and hot coals put to us.  

The press has finally shifted its narrative into high gear and it will be the same until our last game of the season and playoffs.  "Yeah, yeah, so you won another regular season game, completely dominated the competition.  So what?!!  BFD.  But here comes the playoffs, Boston...that last hump you can never seem to get over.  We all know what's going to happen.  JT wilting under the pressure when it really counts.  Can't seem to bring home the hardware.  Close but no cigar.  What's changed?  Nothing.  Boston you can't win it all.  You've won enough. Time for someone else to get a trophy. Bad luck. Etc., etc., etc." Something exactly like that.    

Not sure where PHI is at.  Their management is acting like they have some really bad news that will come out regarding Embiid and they are just biding their time with what I like to call Doc Speak.  Lots of hemming and hawing, never really saying anything until its too late and you're fired.  Subsequently, the team is playing like their management is acting.  But we'll see. We know whenever Embiid comes back, he will not be the same.  Every surgery like that changes the player.  Can't be as explosive, always recovering, never completely healing, blah, blah, blah.  But they did recently raise their head against CLE so you can't rule them out completely tomorrow.  Every team coming in would like nothing more than to take a bite out of Boston since we have firmly displayed the target upon our backs from here until the last game of the year.  But BOS needs to continue with its merciless "nice-guy, beat them with kindness" execution of the competition along with and hopes and dreams of getting in the way even for just one game.  It's all business, nothing personal.   

Two teams appearing to go the other way are DAL and GSW.  To repeat, glad these two games are here!  We'll get to those games later in the week.  I'd love nothing more than to have Draymond end his career in Boston Sunday but the Celtics don't have a beef with Draymond so that final swing from him won't happen here.  We could have a beef with Draymond and GSW for spoiling our last Finals run, but that's ancient history now.  Our guys don't carry grudges just yet.

We are currently missing from the Injury Chart heading into tomorrow's game.  Let's hope MIL's brow-beating of hapless PHI on Sunday doesn't spill over and whipsaw into us for tomorrow's game.  Tread lightly.  Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.  

db

Tomorrow night the Celtics will remind Philly that  a valiant effort will not be enough to beat Boston.  I think Philly will play more small ball so the Celtics will need to adjust accordingly and take full advantage of the Kristaps matchup against them.  The Celtics will not be making any charitable donations to the Sixers.  This will be an opportunity to send the Sixers out of orbit where they will spin endlessly in space.

Dallas is not a real contender.  Getting rid of G Will in the middle of the season does not address the real problem with this team that I have talked about many times.  Their guards can't defend.  They can score and that presents a defensive matchup for the Celtics.  I would not be the least surprised if Kyrie comes up with a tummy ache right before game time.  The wrath of the Boston fans will not forget or forgive his treachery, nor his mash potatoes dance on the face of our beloved Lucky logo.  The Celtics will have 2 days off before they play Dallas and that translate into a butt whoppin.

Sunday's game vs GSW will be a must see ABC event.  I am quite certain that the Celtics will find sufficient motivation to get after it and can point to their 132-126 OT loss in Frisco.  The GSW will be on the road Tuesday vs the Wizards and then they play the Knicks on Thursday, the Raptors on Friday (2nd game of B2B) and then Boston for their 3rd game in 4 days  on the road.  All things consider, I see a win.

Before they hit the road the Celtics will be on an 11 game win streak.

Oz has spoken, lady and gentlemen. Place your bets accordingly!!

db

dbrown4 wrote:Oz has spoken, lady and gentlemen.  Place your bets accordingly!!

db

These are just numbers but consider their record against .500 or better teams

Sixers:  12-17  .413
Mavs:    15-19  .441
GSW:    12-24  .333

The Celtics are 23-11 against .500 or better team.  That's a .676 winning percentage.

These numbers do not guarantee wins for Boston but I am not betting against them either considering their 26-3 Home Record (.896)

Very telling. Dang! GSW really suck there!

db

I watched some of the Mavs/Cavs game but had to watch the remarkable Strus 3 pointer from well behind the halfcourt line. That was the dagger supreme!

Luka and Kyrie were tremendous on offense combining for 75 points. However, how do other players on that team get any shots? Luka and Kyrie combined for 53 FGA out of 91.

Nothing changes for our game on Thursday. Their starting lineup of newly acquired PJ Washington, Rookie center Lively, Josh Green and Kyrie and Luka is not as good as our starting 5.

There is no good reason for the Celtics to let up off of the gas. Widen the lead (Secretariat) all the way to the finish line.

CLE got theirs last night vs. CHI, widening our lead temporarily to 8 games ahead even. They should be 0-2, not 1-1, but that's the breaks. Thank you, CHI. We owe you one!

The weekend is upon us. We're at home against DAL tomorrow and at home against GSW come Sunday, all before a daunting 5-game road trip looming out West.

Let's look at DAL. Should we smoke Kryrie and Luka on paper? Probably. Allas, there is no "D" in Dallas. Or simply Dallas, where the "D" is silent. Again, all that is required is taming one of the two. Easier said than done but nonetheless a good test for Jrue & DW tomorrow. They'll be up for the task. This should look a whole lot like Take 2 of the PHI game sans Embiid except 4 quarters of like the last 6 minutes of the 4th vs. PHI instead of us half-assing it for 2 quarters and waking up in the 3rd.

So that begs an NBA ASG shootout. We could cut Kryrie and Luka loose, let their 3 other players stand around on the court and watch being no help at all and have us try to outscore them. That's doable, but it's safer to lock one of them up BKN KD-style and just beat the ever lovin' crap out of them. Our defense is a pain in the ass to the competition and our guys take pride in that. Don't expect any let up there. Don't forget the miserable home 3-point shooting display we just put on last game. Look out. We should be coming in hot from 3-ville.

All that to say I still need dboss's seal of approval for victory. Every time I call for a Celtic victory, they lose! So to keep my streak alive, I defer to dboss for the call!

db

Fun game tonight db! Hopefully I will be able to watch it live.

Go Celtics!

It is important that Celtics fans do not lose sight of the big picture.

They have one more game at home during this short homestand with the GSW coming to town for a game on Sunday.

There seems to be a perception that the Celtics  cannot beat the Warriors because they lost to them in the finals.  No one mentions recent or long term history.  

Since the 2015-16 season the Celtics regular season record vs the Warrior is 10-7 (includes our OT loss to them this season)  Our All-Time record against them is 209-140.  

GSW have won 8 in a row on the road and have won 7 of 10 games overall.  Their record is 32-27 and they are in 9th place.  They beat us in OT 132-126 on December 19th.  JT had a subpar game (15 points) and KP did not play.  

Do you think the Celtics have a bone to pick with them?  I do.  

I expect to see our guys finish off this mini 3 game home stand with a win.

OK.  Now to my biggest fear of the 3-game home set.  The GSW guised as a play-in team.  I was just thinking.  If the playoffs were to start today, GSW would play LOL in the 9-10 Play-In game.  After 48 minutes, one of those two team's season is over.  Then the winner would have to play again just for the honor of playing the #1 seed.  I'd pass.  As much as the pro sports world in baseball or hockey loves to see any team in the playoffs playing for the World Series or Stanley Cup, the rarity in which it happens of a 7th or 8th place team making the Finals, much less winning it is ridiculous and really hurts the game.  It is paramount that the best of the best make it.  So, much to disagree with Mr. Silver on the long shots, nobody watched your Finals last year and with good reason.        

But I digress.  You never know what you are going to get with this GSW.  Someone's streak is coming to an end today.  Either our 10-game win streak or GSW 7- or 8-game road win streak.  Somehow, Vegas has BOS (-11.5) with a "questionable" Curry on the IR (knee bursitis.  I've had that and it's a bitch! But I wasn't being paid $50M/year at the time)  Yeah, dry that out and you can fertilize your lawn with it.  He'll be in the starting line up.  For us, as we have shown in the past, it's better to have Curry in than out.  Insert 2024 LOL @BOS recently.  But we'll see.  It'd be nice to have this one over by the 2nd quarter.  

dboss's comments, stats, and observations all look great and on point, but of all three home games, I'm most skeptical of this one, especially with Curry now playing hide and seek.  

Let the games begin!

db

Souichi Terada @SouichiTerada
about 31 minutes ago
No Kristaps Porzingis for the Celtics vs. the Warriors as he’s been ruled out with his quad contusion.


Bob
MY NOTE: A great opportunity for Tillman.


.

Continued to be concerned that Kristaps injury prone profile is a reality.

Celts are 12-3 without him.

Maybe Tillman gets a chance to bang with Looney Tunes!

That's .800, just a breath under our current .797 Season to date. Flip you for it. Granted we don't want too many of these but that's about as 50/50 as you can get!!

db

db

It highlights just how good this team is.

.800 ball without kp is sugar.

dboss,

Good deal. Definitely interested in your always on-target prognostications for the Mother of All Road Trips coming up!

db