Post Game - Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers - Tuesday, March 05 (L)

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401585514

This was a disappointing game for one main reason, they reverted back to playing cocky, stupid basketball. Just because they had a lead, they just started chucking up balls, one and done. Not rebounding their misses, and letting Cleveland run rough shod over them in a game they should have won by at least 10 points. Give Cleveland credit, they pushed Tatum around and he did not respond well in the second half at all. That beautiful display he put on in the first half was for nothing. Am I agitated, yup!! Thought we had moved on from this display of basketball.

On to Denver, let’s see how they react

Win as a team, lose as a team

We missed so many bunnies in first half, Tatum blew a dunk, Jaylen missed a bunch of bunnies that he normally buries. D White only had 1 FG all game. We should have had a 20 point lead at halftime, Holiday a very uncharacteristic 4 turnovers. Tatum did put on a clinic in 1st half, then it disappeared. Should have had a much bigger cushion, then it came back to bite us in the a$$. Shocking to see the J’s so powerless to do anything last 6 minutes of ball game, after being so great since the all star break.

We really weren’t sharp the whole game. Too many careless turnovers and just didn’t shoot the ball well.

I hate to cry sour grapes, but the challenge process has to be revisited . The reversal of the foul call didn’t allow us to rebound the missed shot. The Zinger had an easy put back. I agree it wasn’t a foul, but the Celtics should have been awarded the ball or at the very least the jump ball should have been at the Celtics basket.

That being said JT took too long to shoot.

It’s frustrating to lose a game that should have been won, but on to Denver.

Have to agree with Rosalie, here.  Thought we had moved on from the barrage 3-bombing when not working.  Instead we've always immediately shifted to pounding the bejesus belt out of the defense and going inside, down the lane for dunks, AND 1's and layups.  Just got stuck in first gear toward the end.  First time I recall this season this happening but I may be wrong.  Hopefully an anomaly.  Better learn something from it and not flush it like Steve Kerr does when they lose oddly.  Can't rut ourselves in the playoffs for more than one game of that bs.  

That's how you beat us, though.  Well done, CLE.  But your victory and accomplishment are displaced and of little value to you, regardless of who showed up for you all last night.  We gave you a load of dashed hope.  We're not facing you in the 2nd round.  MIL will be waiting for you there and if you think you can even win 1 of those games in that series, I'd like some of whatever it is you're smoking.  In that 7-game series, you'll be done in 3.    

I'm sure Eric Spoelstra has downloaded the crapola out of this game and studied it all night, overnight.  He lives for this crap.  He never knows when he may need it and can us it against us to stop a brakeless train going downhill.  

db

P.S. DEN lost last night as well. Nobody's freaking out there. Neither should we.

It seems obvious to me, as it has to others who have already posted here. No need to make a bigger deal out of this than just one loss.

The thing that seems so clear is late game mentality and strategy. Falling back into lazy habits with a lead needs to stop. The strategy of going to Tatum, and letting him take too much time off the clock (19 dribbles!) only to put up a questionable shot? We have Brown and other reliable weapons. If Mazzulla can diversify away from the late game Tatum festival, that would help.

Learn the lesson, make the adjustments. This is how good teams grow into dominant teams. Next.

What a joke of a game. Somehow the Celtics let Ward Cleaver rain on our parade while Lead Ref, Eddie Haskell was blind in one eye and couldn't see out the other.

I really thought that Tatum had been on his best behavior as far as the ref's were concerned. That is, until last night when they refused to make the calls that were so obvious. I honestly cannot blame Tatum, he was getting the crap beat out of him and for the most part, those ref's would not give him any respect at all. I know alot here do not like calling out the ref's, but watching last night made me so angry. Does not make up for the loss, and the blown lead. But really????????

P.S.S.  Also, the on-again, off-again LOL's somehow beat OKC as well in this stretch and yet ESPN stops the presses to broadcast and over-analyze our loss to CLE until the second coming that the sky has fallen in Boston.  I'm going to need dboss's back up before I type it but just watch out in DEN, that's all I'm gonna say...

db

NYCelt wrote:It seems obvious to me, as it has to others who have already posted here. No need to make a bigger deal out of this than just one loss.

The thing that seems so clear is late game mentality and strategy. Falling back into lazy habits with a lead needs to stop. The strategy of going to Tatum, and letting him take too much time off the clock (19 dribbles!) only to put up a questionable shot? We have Brown and other reliable weapons. If Mazzulla can diversify away from the late game Tatum festival, that would help.

Learn the lesson, make the adjustments. This is how good teams grow into dominant teams. Next.

Totally agree we have a great team, but our best player is not near the closer yet of some other no 1 options in our storied past. Having said that on last second deciding possessions, if it has to a Tatum iso; I would really like to see Tatum going forward initiating the contact if there has to be contact, drive go forward. These shots with him falling/leaning backwards is not working, try something else, move fast and aggressively towards the basket. Just my 2 cents

Well, one loss and they are all jumping off the bandwagon, the sky is falling. I have never seen so much pressure on a team as the press have put on the Celtics. Or, did the Celtics do this to themselves? Shaq who has been anti Celtic all year is now picking anybody but them to win. The articles in news stories have them falling apart,what the heck is going on??the just beat the crap out of GSW, beat Philly, beat Dallas, but the stink??????? I am tired of all of this, Front running writers, forget espn, TNT, They have to win this game tonight, just to shut up these big mouths

Rosalie,

My wife, who due to our 10-year marriage has been willingly forced into becoming a rabid Celtic fan (she's even on a local Celtics FaceBook thread here in the Raleigh area, cannot believe the on-going assaults either. (Go pick on the Lakers. They make better copy.) She even has a Celtics app on her phone! To a degree, just being the Celtics brings all this on, like it or not. You've been around and seen and heard this longer than most of us. But you are right. Beating the crapola out of the Nuggets at 29,031 feet (OK, that's a little higher than Mile High) tonight should sew up a few mouths temporarily. Anything less, even a close win by us, it will be more of the same. They will go back to the "well, where's the hardware" argument all the way until we either lose our last game or win the last game of the year. There is nothing else to pick on or bitch about rightfully so.

db