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1: Now that the Lakers have won, they might NOT be "forced" to trade Odom for somebody better.
2: Danny might see that he HAS to get another bench player (which he knew anyway-this just helps him and the ownership get crackin' to make it happen).
3: This game reminds me of the first loss to Detroit last year....Time to make some adjustments.
4: Motivation....The C's play a whole lot better when everyone is on the OTHER team's Bandwagon.

So, all in all.....I'm not too worried----more worried about Cleveland.

Maxwell smart I couldn't agree with you more. Just a small bump in the road.

I probably cared the least of anyone (i took my heart out of sports a long time ago). But I was getting concerned when the Lakers went on that losing streak, thinking they would trade Odom and get better. Always look on the bright side, especially on things you have NO control of. The 19 game winning streak was as meaningless as CP3s steal streak, it doesn't get you the title, all streaks do is make people upset when they end. Think about it...

LucerneStDoggz wrote:I probably cared the least of anyone (i took my heart out of sports a long time ago). But I was getting concerned when the Lakers went on that losing streak, thinking they would trade Odom and get better. Always look on the bright side, especially on things you have NO control of. The 19 game winning streak was as meaningless as CP3s steal streak, it doesn't get you the title, all streaks do is make people upset when they end. Think about it...

Yeah, you're correct....But, the thing is--Odom should have HAD to be included in that trade for Gasol in the first place...But, he's still there and can be traded for something good now....Thanks again to Chris Wallace.

I don't know about the rest but as a Lakers fan, I've been concerned about #1 for over 2 months. I was really scared that the Lakers might not make a trade to improve the roster if we beat you guys and I still am.

I actually like the loss. We were bound to lose after winning 19straight games. and we lost to a good team, so it says something about us being an elite team. Our bench really sucked and it was evident that we need to make moves in time for the playoffs. Nevertheless, this game didn't make the lakers better than us. Tonight they were the better team but we have a better record so if we keep it up, we have homecourt advantage. It was nice also for doc to treat it as a regular season game. Nothing more, nothing less. 27-3 is still #1 and we're defending champs so no worries.

I just don't get how you can say "I Like the loss" .... sure there are lessons with all losses, but I don't like it one bit. I would prefer to win.

Al-Haqq wrote:I just don't get how you can say "I Like the loss" .... sure there are lessons with all losses, but I don't like it one bit. I would prefer to win.

First let me say that there is nothing good that comes out of a loss. I want my team to win every game. I hate to lose and I'm stick today because the team loss the game. That being said I hate our bench play this season. It's clear that the Celtics have the better starting 5 over the Lakers. I mention this the other day that the Celtics/Laker game was going to come down to our bench vs their bench. The Lakers bench out played our bench. We need to upgrade the bench. Last night was the first night I really miss James Posey. Why? Like some of have mention the Celtics need to keep 2 of the big 3 on the court at all times. Last season you didn't have to do that because Posey was a started even though he came off the bench. So you could rest 2 of the 3 big because Posey would take the place of KG, Paul or Ray. We don't have that "starter" coming off the bench this season. So I think Doc need to change up his rotations.

The thing about this loss is that the game was tied very late in the game, despite the game being much more important to the Lakers. What's bad is that other teams picked up ground in the home court advantage (HCA) race. But that's the thing: we're ahead in the HCA race, and if we go into a seven game series against the Lakers with HCA again, then it's nice to know that the Lakers can barely squeak out a win against us on their own home court. I think the Lakers already realized the importance of HCA going into the season, yet ended up tripping up over the last few weeks. I don't think they can catch us in the standings, but the Cavaliers can. So once again: it's the Cavaliers I'm worried about, they only have one more loss than us, and we need HCA against them. What I'm hoping is that the benefit of this loss is that there'll be a kind of punch in the arm, to wake them up to certain bad habits they've had this season which haven't really affected them until they played a great team.

Although I hate losses, and especially to the evil empire. GS, I agree with everything you listed.

Given the HCA, the poor foul calls, etc, the Lakers should have blown us out yesterday. They didn't, so I am not any more worried about the Lakers as they are constructed today, then I was before the game. If we maintan HCA and meet the Lakers in the finals, I am confident we will win again.

Beyond the HCA, the wild card in all this is what personnel changes will be made before the trade deadline. Both Cleveland and LA have large expiring contracts (Wally and Odom) and could upgrade before the deadline. If yesterday's loss to LA gives either GM reason to pause and not pull the trigger on a big trade, then maybe the loss was a good thing. We have the best starting 5 in the league and I'd like it to stay that way.

Speaking of upgrading, as we all know our bench has been inconsistent all year. I am not so sure scoring is the problem that needs to be addressed however, because come playoff time, we will shorten the rotation and probably leave two starters on the floor at all times. I would like to see us add some length to our bench so we can match up better with LA and Cleveland's bench. Both teams benches are bigger than us, so in order to match up better, we could really use some length. If we don't get Mt Mutombo or someone else before the deadline, Doc has PJ's number on speed dial.

Remember guys, this is a process. We are the best team in the league right now, and through normal improvement and tweaking the bench, we should be dialed in when the playoffs come.

I dunno who the Lakers can get that's an upgrade over Odom.. They could possibly get Marion, but not sure Marion would work as well in the triangle...

Havlicek17 wrote:Although I hate losses, and especially to the evil empire. GS, I agree with everything you listed.

Given the HCA, the poor foul calls, etc, the Lakers should have blown us out yesterday. They didn't, so I am not any more worried about the Lakers as they are constructed today, then I was before the game. If we maintan HCA and meet the Lakers in the finals, I am confident we will win again.

Beyond the HCA, the wild card in all this is what personnel changes will be made before the trade deadline. Both Cleveland and LA have large expiring contracts (Wally and Odom) and could upgrade before the deadline. If yesterday's loss to LA gives either GM reason to pause and not pull the trigger on a big trade, then maybe the loss was a good thing. We have the best starting 5 in the league and I'd like it to stay that way.

Speaking of upgrading, as we all know our bench has been inconsistent all year. I am not so sure scoring is the problem that needs to be addressed however, because come playoff time, we will shorten the rotation and probably leave two starters on the floor at all times. I would like to see us add some length to our bench so we can match up better with LA and Cleveland's bench. Both teams benches are bigger than us, so in order to match up better, we could really use some length. If we don't get Mt Mutombo or someone else before the deadline, Doc has PJ's number on speed dial.

Remember guys, this is a process. We are the best team in the league right now, and through normal improvement and tweaking the bench, we should be dialed in when the playoffs come.

Boston should be more concerned with Cleveland getting HCA than LA.. LA doesn't bring it every night...

I think the Celtics needed a slap in the face. Maybe Danny will finally address the bench problems that have existed since PJ and Posey left.

cfan79 wrote:I think the Celtics needed a slap in the face. Maybe Danny will finally address the bench problems that have existed since PJ and Posey left.

Am guessing they're waiting for PJ and Mutombo's decision and for Marbury... They could always pick up a Joe Smith, Tim Thomas or Nick Collison. Baby & Pruitt should have some value and Cassell has an expiring contract..

CelticFaninLBC wrote:
Am guessing they're waiting for PJ and Mutombo's decision and for Marbury... They could always pick up a Joe Smith, Tim Thomas or Nick Collison. Baby & Pruitt should have some value and Cassell has an expiring contract..

That would be something if we could get Tim Thomas and Marbury. I haven't heard anything about Thomas though and Marbury seems like he might sign with LA.

cfan79 wrote:

CelticFaninLBC wrote:
Am guessing they're waiting for PJ and Mutombo's decision and for Marbury... They could always pick up a Joe Smith, Tim Thomas or Nick Collison. Baby & Pruitt should have some value and Cassell has an expiring contract..

That would be something if we could get Tim Thomas and Marbury. I haven't heard anything about Thomas though and Marbury seems like he might sign with LA.

Marbury to the Lakers or Clippers? I'm skeptical of Marbury mixing well with the Lakers... That's an emotionally fragile team...

Thomas is due $6.4 million next year. Can see NYK wanting to trim some payroll, and they may have some interest in Baby, Giddens or Pruitt...

There's a much better chance of Cleveland improving. They have Wally, Snow and Varejo's expiring contracts. I can see NYK cutting payroll for next year and sending Harrington and some other contracts to Cleveland...