Don't press the panic button!

LarryBrdismyDad · Post #1 » by **LarryBrdismyDad** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:18 pm

Everyone should stop getting so down on our team after every loss. Nobody said the playoffs were going to be easy. I have to admit I was disappointed with the way we played on the road in the first round and some of road games in the second round as well but we have definitely shown improvement this series in effort, intensity, and focus. We have really only played one bad game in this entire series so far while Detroit has already played two bad games. Game 2 we should have won but Detroit simply couldn't miss a shot.

My point is that every team has a bad game eventually durign a series. San Antonio looked like **** the other night during game 2 getting blown out in Los Angeles. The Lakers then got killed in game 3 and looked like **** as well. Don't let the media fool you the Celtics have a great chance to win this series as long as they can take game 5. Imagine how far we have come in one year considering last season at this time we were all talking about how we just got screwed by the lottery. If you would have told me before the season we would be tied with Detroit 2-2 in the ECF with game 5 in Boston I would have been thrilled. It is all going to come down to this game but our boys can do it as we throughly outplayed them in games 1 and 3 and we can do it again. Here is how we will win:

1. Bring the intensity and focus on both sides of the court.
2. Feed off the energy from the home crowd.
3. On offense we need to run more pick and roll plays with Pierce and KG our two best players. This puts Detroit in a tough position if their big guy can't hedge out on Pierce and recover quickly back to KG. This gives Pierce the options to drive to the hoop for a layup, drive to the hoop and pass off if help comes, pull up for a jumper, or kick it back to KG on his bread and butter pick and pop.
4. We must be more aggressive on offense by pushing the ball everytime we get a rebound and trying to get easy fast break layups. The more we take the ball to the hoop, the more calls we are going to get and the team that has been the most aggressive every game in this series has won.
5. Ray Allen has got to play like he did in game 2. He must be looking to score off of screens by either shooting pullups or taking the ball to the hoop. I would like Doc to run more plays for Allen early as well by having him come off multipe screens on the baseline giving Allen the option to curl towards the middle or to flair towards the corner.
6. Rondo needs to have a consistent game. He needs to push the ball a lot and not necesraily look to score more but look to make plays. Rondo should be blowing by Billups with his bad wheel and using that floater in the lane or looking to pass to the bigs or wings. If they give him the midrange jumper he must take it and make it. Perkins needs to stay out of foul trouble in this game. Brown is the only big we can trust off the bench as Big Baby and Powe are way too inconsistent. Perkins is also the best defender and rebounder out of all these guys and must bring in like he did in Game 3.
7. We must dominate the boards like we did in game 3. Give them one shot and done.
8. We must have quicker rotations on defense and get out to shooters like Mcdyess and Richard Hamilton coming off screens. These two have killed is this series ansd have been their most consistent performers. Force Billups and Stuckey to beat you from the outside as neither of them are shooting well. Keep playing Wallace and Prince the way we have been as neither of them are really killing us. Don't give anyone layups or dunks, foul at the rim hard at all costs.
9. Hey Doc, Stop playing **** Big Baby! Leon Powe is so much better and is a better matchup versus Maxiell because he can actually jump unlike Davis and he is a better scorer and defender. We also need big performances from Posey and Pj Brown. Posey stepped up big time in games 3 and 4 and I hope that will continue. Cassell and House's minutes are kind of like playing with poison in my opinion. I would like to see them play as little as possible and our best hope is that Rondo just goes off and we can play him 40 mins only leaving 8 mins left for these two. I think Doc has been unfairly cruticized for the backup point guard situation. Lets face it both of them SUCK! There really is no solution except better play from Rondo.
10. Execute our offensive sets and our defensive principles and rotations. The Celtics need to remember that we have been there before in the last two series and that we can beat this team as well if our stars come to play like stars and the role players step up a little. In my opinion, Pierce and KG are the two best players in this series and if they play like it Detroit should not beat us.

Matt34520 · Post #2 » by **Matt34520** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:23 pm

We won a road game against Detroit. That was huge. I'm still happy about that.

tombattor · Post #3 » by **tombattor** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:26 pm

People are pissed at the **** showing last night, but I don't think anyone is pressing the panic button. The series is still 2-2 with 2 games at home remaining and we just won one on the road.

BigHands · Post #4 » by **BigHands** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:21 pm

You can always tell when this board is stressed out because invariably someone wants to bring back Antoine "Empty Trip" Walker.

Tricky Ricky · Post #5 » by **Tricky Ricky** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:31 am

Whos pressing a panic button? I think if we lose game 5 the panic button will be pressed but nobody is panicing now

LarryBrdismyDad · Post #6 » by **LarryBrdismyDad** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:49 am

Tricky Ricky wrote:Whos pressing a panic button? I think if we lose game 5 the panic button will be pressed but nobody is panicing now

I think a 4 page thread about how Fatoine is a must for next yrs bench is pushing the panic button and also a thread about how Ray Allen is having one of the biggest choke jobs in the history of the playoffs. People should reserve judgment until after the playoffs. Some could look like idiots if Ray starts to go off like he did in Game 2 and he also played a good game 3 I don't care what the shooting numbers say he played well.

Tricky Ricky · Post #7 » by **Tricky Ricky** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:11 pm

LarryBrdismyDad wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I think a 4 page thread about how Fatoine is a must for next yrs bench is pushing the panic button and also a thread about how Ray Allen is having one of the biggest choke jobs in the history of the playoffs. People should reserve judgment until after the playoffs. Some could look like idiots if Ray starts to go off like he did in Game 2 and he also played a good game 3 I don't care what the shooting numbers say he played well.

Weve had trade threads while we were winning a series and dont call him Fatoine, hes one of the best Celtics players to play here the past 20 years. Plus Ray Allen is one of the biggest current choke jobs, hes been screwing us over the past two series but still Im not panicing and I dont think anyone else is either.