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Since the win in Detroit the C's havent been themselves lately..

They're losing focus..

They're not hungry anymore..

This is not a good sign..

60 wins and I'm fine.

homecourt advantage throughout and I AM FINE! (no matter how many wins)

They realize there's about 35 more games to go till the games really count and it's the dog days of the NBA season. These guys are human, they are getting bored. I'm not worried unless it carries over into the playoffs, and unless we lose home court. But I get the feeling that if hom court became in serious contention this team would kick it up a notch.

Theory#1 - Noticeable reduction in minutes for the big three. If you look at the box scores, it's clear Pierce, Allen and KG's minutes have all been declining since Nov-Dec. I think the team realizes they need to pace themselves a little bit better, and thus they're games haven't been as fluid.

Theory #2 - The league has essentially figured out how to play the C's and the coaching staff has made the proper adjustments. The word on Doc is that he's never been a great game planner or scouting man of other teams. His motto has typically been, "this is the game we're going to play and we're sticking to it!". Very Un-Belicheck btw....

Theory #3 - Rondo's shot attempts, assists and just overall offensive production have noticeably declined since Nov-Dec. He's the straw that stirs the drink and his decline in production is directly related to Boston's ugly offensive execution over the past 10 games.

Theory #4 - Bigger player rotation; Earlier in the season, the C's were only playing 9 guys max in games. Now it's at least 10-11 almost every game. More related to #1. Like last season, it's hard to develop effective defensive and offensive chemistry when you have that many guys being interchanged each game. You lose a lot of rhythm and the C's clearly haven't had much rhythm as of late.

Hopefully it's not #2.. I'd like them to break the Bulls record just to shut down criticisms and bulldoze their way to the championship..

Been a Celts fan for as long as I can remember and I'm high right now about this team.. I really want them to win #17..

I'd care less about the regular season total solong as we get the #1 seed.

Phoenix is losing, the spurs are losing, detroit is losing.. its just before the all star game and it is the grind time of the season.

I also think Rondo is playing hurt.

pierced wrote:Hopefully it's not #2.. I'd like them to break the Bulls record just to shut down criticisms and bulldoze their way to the championship..

Been a Celts fan for as long as I can remember and I'm high right now about this team.. I really want them to win #17..

we are not breaking the bulls record, get that thought out of your head

A couple of things are going on with the team. Rondo's injury has exposed the back court situation for what it is. We have been hit by injuries throughout the line up and frankly we are not a very deep team.

Right now teams know to take away Pierce's penetration and force Ray, KG and company beat them with the jumper and right now they just aren't falling.

Another issue is they are putting an effort into developing other parts of the arsenal as opposed to just riding the 3 stars. They have to decide what moves to make, if any before the deadline. That also means a lot of mins for Tony, Scal, and Powe because they are this team's trade assets.

Beyond that sometimes your hot sometimes your not. Your not supposed to win games like today. KG out on the road against one of the top teams in the conference and Ray struggling with his shot, and you get beat on heave at the buzzer. Conversely we probably didn't play well enough to beat CHA and MINN and snuck out with the W.

I agree with sully. This team does look tired out there..and Rondo seems to be the second most important player. As he goes, this team goes, more often than not. I still wish Doc plays Perk more..small ball hurts us more often than not.

I don't think that anything is wrong.

It all makes sense.

Sully aptly mentions seeing what the rest of the roster has, to know what they have.

The Celts are a team who depend on 10 players being available (healthy) to play their best.

The Celtics don't have a John Havlicek who can play 3 positions, a Magic Johnson, a Scottie Pippen to cover absences.

They have gone 42 NBA games with their one and only backup center missing 22 games due to an ankle injury. Somehow, due to Perk and KG, they have covered the center position despite Perkins only averaging 25 mpg.

The Celtics pretty much are dependent on:

PG: Rajon Rondo 31-32 / Eddie House or Tony Allen 16-17

SG: Ray Allen 38 / Tony Allen 10

SF: Paul Pierce 38 / James Posey 10

PF: Kevin Garnett 24 / James Posey 12 / Davis, Scal or Powe 12

C: Kendrick Perkins 25 / KG 12 / Pollard or Davis or Powe 11

Except for the ability to sub at power forward, that's 9 men required counting Pollard, and 10 when you pick your backup power forward of the day.

They have not had those 10 available and healthy since the Detroit game.

The only trade chips the Celts have are Pruitt and
one or two of Scal, Powe, Davis.

Tony Allen is not a chip unless a full sized SG who can defend and score comes back in any deal, which is not available, so it's obvious that Tony will be re-signed, even if by a match of an offer sheet.

If the Celts have all 10-11 of their key players (excludes Pruitt and odd man out PF), they will be fine going into the playoffs.

The one thing they can do to help themselves most is add someone who can protect the ball in the face of extreme defensive pressure. That's a big wish, but perhaps achievable, since it could salvage a season rather than waiting for free agency.

Keep in mind that Doc Rivers said that with Rondo on the floor,

the Celtics typically have 17 seconds to run a play.

When Rondo is off the floor, and Eddie House or Tony Turnover are in;

the Celtics typically only have 10-12 seconds to run a play.

With the Celtics having one of the higher shooting percentages in the league, those reduced opportunities from not having Rondo pushing the ball up the floor means shots come harder, against set defenses.

Hedo hit an off-balance game-winner in a game where the best player in the NBA was missing, the Raptors set 3-pt shooting records, and somehow they lost to the Wizards and Bobcats. Wowie. Let's go crazy.

The Wizards are 23-19, FWIW. Not a horrible team to lose to.

Hunger? LOL, did you see Kevin Garnett at the end of the Minny game?

double

I do think teams have figured us out a little bit. Doc and TT need to adapt a little bit. Waaaay too many open 3's. That's from allowing too much dribble penetration. Calderon got past Rondo about 20 times the other day, and I blame the coaches more than I blame RR.

Ray needs to get it going, too. A spark here and there isn't good enough. He needs to do what he's capable of on a continuous basis. Hopefully it's just a phase or maybe lingering injury problems associated with the neck.