Celtics @ Hornets Gamethread - Saturday, March 22nd

daveisceltics · Post #2 » by **daveisceltics** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 4:39 am

Tough game but I think we will come out with the 5 game sweep on the road trip.

Falstaff · Post #3 » by **Falstaff** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:00 am

Before this trip started, this is the one I felt was the most likely loss. Maybe that's just because the C's had already played all the others once already.

Now having seen the rest of the games, I have no idea who to pick.

GoGoCeltics · Post #4 » by **GoGoCeltics** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:07 am

Hopefully Rondo can slow down Chris Paul even just a tiny bit. That guy is incredible and can really take over a game.

Truthiracy · Post #5 » by **Truthiracy** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:49 am

Not sure how we'll match up against New Orleans, since we haven't played them this year, but I really hope Rondos back is alright, he's going up against Chris Paul, not Jason Terry so he can't be going o-fer.

Hornets have David West back, that helps them obviously.

Wouldn't be surprised by a 5 game sweep though.

sarah42 · Post #6 » by **sarah42** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:14 am

hornets tend to crumble against good defensive teams that take their three point shooters out - like the pistons twice and houston a couple of times this year.

so it leaves chris to do everything. a lot of times it works.

you'll see tons of alley opps passes to chandler and maybe a few to julian wright.

you'll also see a lot of frustration by david west cuz he tends to force the issue with his size.

i see a lot of technicals in this game. i see a 15-1 run by the c's or something like that and our coach of the year candidate not call a timeout! lol.

good luck!

P2 · Post #7 » by P2 » Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:43 am

GoGoCeltics wrote:Hopefully Rondo can slow down Chris Paul even just a tiny bit. That guy is incredible and can really take over a game.

Well, LeBron takes over, Paul is just very good. He is not able yet to take over a game, especially against the #1 defensive team.

The Hornets had 3 days to get ready for us, and we could be really tired on the road after winning those 4 games. So either we show the same effort as in the last couple of games, or this will be a letdown game.

cfan79 · Post #8 » by **cfan79** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:56 am

Rondo needs to step up tonight. If he can't because of his injury then he should take the game off.

BillessuR6 · Post #9 » by **BillessuR6** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:50 am

P2 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Well, LeBron takes over, Paul is just very good. He is not able yet to take over a game, especially against the #1 defensive team.

How many hornets games have you seen this year?

CP can take over games and he does take them over! My favorite non-celtic player to watch! He is the best PG in the league and MVP candidate.

sarah42 · Post #10 » by **sarah42** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:57 am

P2 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Well, LeBron takes over, Paul is just very good. He is not able yet to take over a game, especially against the #1 defensive team.

The Hornets had 3 days to get ready for us, and we could be really tired on the road after winning those 4 games. So either we show the same effort as in the last couple of games, or this will be a letdown game.

yes he can take over. even more, he is a great passer. so not only can he make the craziest layups, floaters, but he'll make defenses scramble for wide open shots. he also is a really good shooter, yet ppl keep harping that he can't shoot. i say the hornets are hardly seen on tv, so thats why they don't know that.

lebron may overpower ppl to the rim, but chris paul carries his team to a much better record and makes his teammates better.

look at tyson chandler - once called a bust, is now a 12-12 guy.

paul has a better chance at mvp than lebron does.

sarah42 · Post #11 » by **sarah42** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 12:00 pm

i just hope we don't get blown out.

the biggest weakness on this team is our sometimes fragile ego. players on this team are so easy to get frustrated, yell at their teammates and get technicals.

so rondo and chris have at least one common bond.

both hate rafer alston! lol.

Post #12 » by **Bleeding Green** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:12 pm

This is gonna be a fun game for Rondo. Chris Paul is having one of the all time great seasons for a point guard. I'm eager to see how they matchup.

P2 · Post #13 » by P2 » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:22 pm

sarah42 wrote:i just hope we don't get blown out.

Hold it right there. With the way we have been playing the last couple of games, there is a possibility of 1% that we get blown out.

Post #14 » by **Bleeding Green** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:47 pm

They got blown out against the Jazz and were down 22 against the Spurs at one point.

cfan79 · Post #15 » by **cfan79** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:37 pm

If Rondo doesn't play I think Tony will start at point guard. Doc loves to have a set rotation off the bench. He used this strategy effectively against Dallas when he started Scala in the first game against them.

rsceltic34 · Post #16 » by **rsceltic34** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:38 pm

if they shoot 35% like they did against Dallas they will lose this game......the c's also need to stop the pick and roll alley-oop paul to chandler they have like 100 of them or something on the year

cisco · Post #17 » by **cisco** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:41 pm

cfan79 wrote:If Rondo doesn't play I think Tony will start at point guard. Doc loves to have a set rotation off the bench. He used this strategy effectively against Dallas when he started Scala in the first game against them.

It makes no sense at all for Tony to start. There is a reason they brought Cassell here. Cassell would obviously start if Rondo were hurt.

cfan79 · Post #18 » by **cfan79** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:46 pm

cisco wrote:
It makes no sense at all for Tony to start. There is a reason they brought Cassell here. Cassell would obviously start if Rondo were hurt.

I know it sounds crazy, but I think it would be best to have Tony start. He could fill in for Rondo for the night defensively and really bother Chris Paul.

Parasite · Post #19 » by **Parasite** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:55 pm

P2 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Hold it right there. With the way we have been playing the last couple of games, there is a possibility of 1% that we get blown out.

First of all, she's a Hornets fan. That's who she was talking about. Secondly, no way the Hornets get blown out at home by us. It's our last game of the road trip and New Orleans is a very good team. I hope we win, but it will be a tough game.

Boston 104
New Orleans 98

celtxman · Post #20 » by **celtxman** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 4:59 pm

Bleeding Green wrote:They got blown out against the Jazz and were down 22 against the Spurs at one point.

Basketball is a game of momentum. There are games that you win by 8 points that are blowouts and games you lose by 20 that are not. The Jazz didn't blow Boston out. Honestly IMO had Posey knocked down that open 3 against Utah to cut it to one point I believe Boston wins. Instead Utah scores at the other end goes on a run and gets a bunch of meaningless points at the end. This takes nothing away from Utah , who deserved to win and executed at the end, but the score didn't tell the story. Another game Boston leads the whole game, sits the starters the whole 4th quarter and the 2nd unit is always enough ahead so the victory isn't in doubt but someone hits some meaningless 3's in the last 3 minutes to make the score close.
The point is that Boston has really not been blown out all year. Actually the San Antonio game might have been such a game had they maintained a double digit lead in the game and won by 10-12 points. So whether they are due to get blown out against an excellent team on the last day of a long road trip or whatever, there really isn't any history of this particular team getting whipped.