PREGAME SACK

Of course there will be a let down Tuesday night. The question is- will the C's
be able to handle it, rise up and focus and play like they want to win or will they
show up and not show up and find themselves down early and all night. Can they show up
and take care of business? If they lose to SACK will that take any of the shine off of Sunday's performance?

LACELTFAN wrote:Of course there will be a let down Tuesday night. The question is- will the C's
be able to handle it, rise up and focus and play like they want to win or will they
show up and not show up and find themselves down early and all night. Can they show up
and take care of business? If they lose to SACK will that take any of the shine off of Sunday's performance?

If they lose to SACK will that take any of the shine off of Sunday's performance?


Of course it will.

The LA game was a great yardstick of where the Celtics currently stand, revealing many competitive advantages as well as room for improvement. As I often suggested in last year's "Glimmer Thread," once something good is revealed, it remains a fact no matter what happens later.

Perhaps a loss to Sacramento would take some of the shine off the Lakers game for fans. But the team now has irrefutable evidence in abundance that, regardless of injuries and the vicissitudes of the NBA wars, they're in darned good shape, with plenty of work yet to do. They move their focus from game to game, generally gaining a lot more from the wins than they lose from the defeats.

Sam

steve3344 wrote:
If they lose to SACK will that take any of the shine off of Sunday's performance?


Of course it will.

Absolutely not.

A game against Sacramento is one game against a team that wont even smell the playoffs. It makes absolutely no difference how the Kings come out against the Celtics - other than that fact that it counts in the W-L column.

On the other hand, games against teams that they might actually meet in the playoffs do matter - in terms of wining the mental war and gaining a psychologically and emotional edge. You are kidding yourself if you dont think the Lakers, Magic and Heat are all sitting at home worried a bit about whether they really have what it takes to beat the Celtics. They way the green have come out against those teams has put doubt in their heads....and THAT is the difference between a win against the Lakers and a win against some sad sack team like the Kings.

mrkleen09 wrote:

steve3344 wrote:
If they lose to SACK will that take any of the shine off of Sunday's performance?


Of course it will.

Absolutely not.

A game against Sacramento is one game against a team that wont even smell the playoffs. It makes absolutely no difference how the Kings come out against the Celtics - other than that fact that it counts in the W-L column.

On the other hand, games against teams that they might actually meet in the playoffs do matter - in terms of wining the mental war and gaining a psychologically and emotional edge. You are kidding yourself if you dont think the Lakers, Magic and Heat are all sitting at home worried a bit about whether they really have what it takes to beat the Celtics. They way the green have come out against those teams has put doubt in their heads....and THAT is the difference between a win against the Lakers and a win against some sad sack team like the Kings.

Got to agree with Mrkleen on this. It puts a little tarnish on the road trip but not one bit on the win Sunday. Hopefully it will be a non issue and we win easily.

beat

I'm with MrKleen too.

If the shoe was on the other foot, and Sacto had the competitive team and the Lakers were the shits, then I'd say tonight's game is bigger.

It's all about #18 and #18 boils down to one best-of-5 and three best-of-7s. If I'm not likely to see Sacto anywhere in those brackets, then I'm not going to fret a loss to them unless we were hot on the Spurs (we're back 4 in the loss column) or hearing Miami's or Chicago's footsteps right behind us (both of them are 3 back in the loss column from us) and this loss would make our playoff seeding situation less clear. It won't.

bob

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Come on Bob, you know the first round is Best of 7! Have they changed that again? Am I out of the loop?!

Bob

how else could Mo say fo fo fo fo? It isn't tre fo fo fo.

beat

I would love to see C Celtics beat the queens, but a loss does not change what they did to La.
dboss

The main thing to me is that they should make sure they win tonight, and be on a high when they come home. These next few weeks are going to be big.
They come home to play the Mav's, then Orlando, Miami and then LA again.
Time to send a message and let them all know they are the team to beat.
After beating Miami in the early season, now is the time to let them see that as
good as they think they are, they aren't good enough to beat the Celtics.

So, losing to Sacramento is not in the picture.

dbrown and beat,

oops.

Stuck in the past, as usual.

bob

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beat wrote:Bob

how else could Mo say fo fo fo fo? It isn't tre fo fo fo.

beat

beat,

Maybe he was just a Mo Fo...

bob

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Having raised the questions, I guess I should weigh in alittle...
I'm inclined to agree that a loss tonite would not take the shine off of Sunday's victory and in the overall scheme of things doesn't mean too much except- The mark of a good team is that they generally win the games that they are expected to win and although home court advantage isn't a huge deal for this team, they proved that last year, it would be nice...it does help.
For me, it does show how well the team can control their focus. Everyone on that team understands the possible letdown and lack of focus for this game, the media has been playing it up. It would be hard to believe that Doc hasn't at least brought it up in passing during the practice. To me, it will be interesting to see how the team responds. Winning when not in the spotlight can make the difference between home court and not home court... and when all else is equal that can make the difference between moving on and not moving on in the playoffs. Go C's!

Or we just could win tonight...

Still plenty of shine on the old battle gear that way.

Just a thought.

It would be great if Boston can go 3-1 on this trip.

The Key is for Rondo to be a factor early in the game.

dboss

This from Paul Pierce and it was my point exactly. A loss to the Kings would have just given up the game we worked so hard to gain on L.A. Sunday. Whether you call it the "shine" or anything else:

“It means that that game in L.A. meant something,” said Pierce. “If you lose a game today in Sacramento after beating L.A., it’s like it erases that game.”

.....apparently it meant something to KG and Ray who ripped into the team during halftime

It was a good win to follow LA. The Celts enjoy Sacramento so much that they decided to stay there one more night. Well that, and the bad weather in Boston, forced them to rethink their travel plans. Doc was thinking about where they could fly to...another city closer to the Eastern time zone and stay the night after the game in Sacramento. Someone suggested Las Vegas...Doc smiled and said that this wasn't an option. In the end, they stayed put and hopefully everyone slept soundly after last nights win.

LACELTFAN wrote:It was a good win to follow LA. The Celts enjoy Sacramento so much that they decided to stay there one more night. Well that, and the bad weather in Boston, forced them to rethink their travel plans. Doc was thinking about where they could fly to...another city closer to the Eastern time zone and stay the night after the game in Sacramento. Someone suggested Las Vegas...Doc smiled and said that this wasn't an option. In the end, they stayed put and hopefully everyone slept soundly after last nights win.

I would find it fascinating to see a special on the travel secretary of a team like the Celtics. For example, when they are unsure of things like when they are leaving - do they just reserve 25 rooms anyway, just in case? When they are on trips - is everyone off on their own, or do they eat meals and hang out together? How does the whole getting seats for their friends and family in opposing arenas work? How much stuff do they travel with (i.e. how many uniforms for each player - how often do they wear a new pair of sneakers?) etc.

I would love a special on the logistics of running a professional team like the Celtics.

cowens/oldschool wrote:.....apparently it meant something to KG and Ray who ripped into the team during halftime

cow,

That's one of the great things about this team. They have several leaders. Some, like KG, are loud and aggressive and constant. Others, like Ray, are quieter and lead by example but when one of the quieter ones lights the lockerroom up it has a big impact. You're not used to this guy coming straight at you like that and when he does it will get your attention.

bob


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Interesting idea, Mrkleen. That could be fascinating.

I believe it's still true that each person with the team gets four tickets provided by the other team. I believe that, if a player needs more (e.g. when he'll be playing in his home town), he can make a deal for teammates' overflow and/or can request additional tickets through the traveling secretary—for which he'll have to pay if those extra tickets are available.

Sam

Sinus,

After the game, Doc raved about Nate's DEFENSE in the last quarter. That would seem to be one reason why he kept Nate in there for several minutes. And, when it got down to the last two minutes, I'd have to assume Doc's reasoning was, "Hey, he's playing good defense anyway...we're up by eight...I don't want to risk them playing Hack-a-Rondo...and it will do a load of good for Nate's confidence if it all works out...and I can always reinsert Rondo near the end if it comes down to one or two plays necessitating his talents."

Sam

I am sure it is a taxing job, not like the old days where they shared rooms, ate together and had a stipend for the food they ate. You are right, it would be very interesting, especially with the athletes the way they are today.

Mrkleen,
I am such a Celtic junkie that I would love to travel with the team sometime on a road trip...can you imagine some kind of prize for the "best Celtic fan" offered by the C's, to travel on a road trip with them...I'm sure it could never happen, for a million reasons, some of them legal, but I can fantasize...