The Boston Celtics @ the Washington Wizards - April 9, 2008

[mls737]

The Boston Cel-pronounced kel-tics @ Our Washington Wizards!

Games of the Day:
DET @ PHI on 4/9
MIL @ TOR on 4/9
NJN @ CLE on 4/9

Det will likely cream Philly, and the Bucks could pull off an upset against Toronto since the Raptors have been playing so poorly, but I can't see the Nets winning in Cleveland. We can still pray for the 4th seed, right?
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I see us pulling this one out. You never vote against yourself though . I say us by a small margin, because the Celtics will have played the Bucks the night before, and might be winded. Hell, they could even rest some of their players against us, which would be nice!

I'm surprised no one else has brought up this last point. How much is Doc going to play the big three on the second night of a back to back on the road? I guess it depends on tonights game with the Bucks goes, but I'd be surprised to see Garnett, Allen, or Pierce logging heavy minutes tomorrow night.

I'm going to disagree with you on the other three games. I would be very surprised if Philly gets creamed tomorrow night. They are playing extremely well right now, are at home, and need this game much more than Detroit does. We saw Detroit sort of mail it in against us a few weeks ago. How focused is this Detroit team going to be on the second night of a back to back on the road, likely on a six game winning streak? Unfortunately I think we're going to get a much more focused Pistons team on Friday than Philly is going to get on Wednesday.

Lebron's back sounds pretty screwed up at the moment. It may or may not be, but this Cavs team seems capable of losing to anyone right now. The Nets have been playing pretty well recently, and will still probably be mathematically alive for a playoff berth. I would not be at all surprised to see the Nets beat the Cavs tomorrow night (I also would not be surprised if Lebron goes for 37, 8 and 8 and the Cavs win by 22).

Who knows what will happen in the Toronto/Milwaukee game. Thats a bad team playing a team that is really struggling right now. Advantage home team (Toronto) I guess.

[MJG]

Bah, these guys again? Easy W.

[miller31time]

Sure it is entertainment. But based on what?

In the short run, what we have gotten is fine. Some more wins and an entertaining personality.

But in the long run, the entertainment is based on success, wins and taking a team to the top bracket.

That is the cross roads of where we sit.

There in lies the debate. What does it take to get there. Can you have a player who is high priced, erratic, quirky, playing no D and who likes to show boat more then give the team what it needs on any given night such as CB does.

I'm still on Gils side. I think he will make the transition and mature. I disagree with those who don't think he needs to change at all though. I also disagree with those who don't think he can't be an amazing passing PG who scores. He showed a glimpse of what he can do against Miami. I expect to see more of that down the stretch.

I have been saying this for a long time now. It's about his mind set. He has to be the PG first and score as needed. Some nights that means you will see him with 10-12 assists and 15 pts other night 8-10 assists and 25-30 pts. But every night, he needs to get his teammates in involved first.

We can be an amazingly good passing team. It's contagious once the tone is set. With GA return, CBs shooting % should start to rise again.

I really like that we can run both games now. We have a walk it up slower pounding style with AD at the lead and a run you out of the park wit GA. You will need both come playoff time.

I still think we can make a lot of noise this year.

I'm not sure how you can take a discussion about Gilbert's blog and turn it into a discussion of his maturity and growth of a player. That's reaching, in my opinion. When you have such a unique personality such as Gil's, you don't try and hide it. You don't try to suppress it and you certainly don't try to take it away from him. You let Gilbert be Gilbert.

I think you have this idea that a mature person can't be quirky and different. Arenas will mature, basketball-wise. He's most likely going to become more passive as the years go by, and he'll probably get better defensively too. But there's no reason why he should have to change his personality to do so. That's one of the best things he and the Washington Wizards franchise have going for them. He's fan-friendly, entertaining and puts on a show every night. He made the Portland Trailblazers' fans actually care about a meaningless game last season, for god sakes.

What it really comes down to is this -- you either like Gilbert or you don't. You either accept him for the great personality that he is, or you dislike him for it (just rubs some the wrong way). His persona shouldn't have much to do with the Arenas we see on-court, which is (I think) what you're trying to get at with your posting on Arenas.

[Spence]

I'm a director of video marketing/secret agent/porn star! My life is awesome. Much better than yours. You guys should definitely pay attention to everything I write!

[doclinkin]

-= original quote snipped =-

I'm surprised no one else has brought up this last point. How much is Doc going to play the big three on the second night of a back to back on the road? I guess it depends on tonights game with the Bucks goes, but I'd be surprised to see Garnett, Allen, or Pierce logging heavy minutes tomorrow night.

Disagree. The Celts will probably rest their starters tonight as much as possible, then test 'em out and tune up against the playoff team the next night, especially since there's revenge on the line for the back to back beatdowns. We'll get a firey C's team I'm pretty sure. They'll look to see if their healthy Rondo trumps our 'healthy' Gil.

[Soup's Uncle]

Yeah, I could see them resting against the Bucks, and playing a little against us to try to get a feel for us just in case we face them in the first round.

[fifthstop]

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Disagree. The Celts will probably rest their starters tonight as much as possible, then test 'em out and tune up against the playoff team the next night, especially since there's revenge on the line for the back to back beatdowns. We'll get a firey C's team I'm pretty sure. They'll look to see if their healthy Rondo trumps our 'healthy' Gil.

Not sure how the PT will shake out but the Celts will come to play. Doc is not going to let his team get owned by a squad they are likely to face in the playoffs. We're going to see a very proud Celtics team on Wed and these are (3) vets who are extra-dangerous when their pride is on the line. Watch for some early flying elbows from KG and attempted beat-down action. The good guys won't back down either. It's gonna be a dogfight in the phone booth.

[Wizards2Lottery]

Haywood needs to pimp slap KG and shut his trap before it opens up. KG acts as if hes fighting the war in Iraq when hes out there.

[Soup's Uncle]

Agreed. Don't get me wrong, I love his game, but KG does take himself a little too seriously sometimes.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Yeah Kg is a nutcase

[Bex]

The fact that the game will be on national television (ESPN), along with our stunning double upset some months ago make me believe that the Celts will play at full strength, unfortunately. This might, however, be a very good test particularly for our defense. Go Bullets!

[jholmbe1]

Butler, Songaila updates

Caron Butler and Darius Songaila collided during practice today and sustained what the team hopes are minor injuries. Butler is day-to-day with a bruised right knee and Songaila is day-to-day with a mild left ankle sprain. X-rays on Butler's knee were negative (meaning no serious damage) but he was said to be walking with quite a limp after practice.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsi ... l#comments

Hopefully this is not an issue for tomorrow or for the playoffs. We just refuse to get 100% healthy - the curse lives on.

[JWizmentality]

Butler, Songaila updates

Caron Butler and Darius Songaila collided during practice today and sustained what the team hopes are minor injuries. Butler is day-to-day with a bruised right knee and Songaila is day-to-day with a mild left ankle sprain. X-rays on Butler's knee were negative (meaning no serious damage) but he was said to be walking with quite a limp after practice.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsi ... l#comments

Hopefully this is not an issue for tomorrow or for the playoffs. We just refuse to get 100% healthy - the curse lives on.

Son of a B***H!!! You've got to be kidding me

Holy Hell, this team is frikkin cursed!!

[Wizards2Lottery]

Butler, Songaila updates

Caron Butler and Darius Songaila collided during practice today and sustained what the team hopes are minor injuries. Butler is day-to-day with a bruised right knee and Songaila is day-to-day with a mild left ankle sprain. X-rays on Butler's knee were negative (meaning no serious damage) but he was said to be walking with quite a limp after practice.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsi ... l#comments

Hopefully this is not an issue for tomorrow or for the playoffs. We just refuse to get 100% healthy - the curse lives on.

only us. SHXT HAPPENS TO US.

[Soup's Uncle]

That's BS man...I can't believe our luck.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

relax, we'll be fiine.

[Tough*Juice]

I just got accepted to med school!
The obvious conclusion we can make is that we're winning this one. Surefire.

[hands11]

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Disagree. The Celts will probably rest their starters tonight as much as possible, then test 'em out and tune up against the playoff team the next night, especially since there's revenge on the line for the back to back beatdowns. We'll get a firey C's team I'm pretty sure. They'll look to see if their healthy Rondo trumps our 'healthy' Gil.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280408015

Looks like they should be ready to see how they stack up against us as you said. That was what I was guessing they would do also.

It's much more important that they prove a point going into the playoffs but they also risk having something concerning happen to them. If we beat them again at full strength leading into the playoffs, that will be a huge boost for us giving us even more confidence and a bad memory for them if we face them again.

[JWizmentality]

I just got accepted to med school!
The obvious conclusion we can make is that we're winning this one. Surefire.

Prepare to be enslaved like you've never been enslaved before.
I start my residency in a couple months. What institution?

[queridiculo]

Boston rested KG, RA and PP tonight. Makes you wonder whether those guys are going to play heavy minutes tomorrow trying to get some payback.