Celtics vs Pistons - Sunday, March 1st - 1:00

[BillTheGOAT]

lakers lost too,which makes tonight loss even worse.

[return2glory]

Doc made some big mistakes in this game. Here is what Doc messed up on:

1. Doc played BBD the entire 2nd half. Are you serious. BBD played great again, but couldn't we find about 4-5 minutes rest for him. He isn't used to those minutes and he looked tired.
2. Doc played Pierce the entire game. He took Pierce out with 18 seconds to go in game. That's the only time he came out. Doc talks about giving Pierce and Ray some rest but then can't find a time to give Pierce a short rest.
3. Doc kept Rondo out to long. Rondo didn't come back in the 4th quarter until around the 3 minute mark. House was playing PG again in the 4th. That wasn't a good sign.

[triplet1984]

apparently rip hamilton is a bitch, he wears a face mask for like five years he doesnt even need and has the nerve to complain about getting hit in the face?

Don't be an idiot. He has had multiple surgeries on his nose, without it, it just takes one strong hit to it and it can end his career or at the very least knock him out for a season. So he doesn't "need" it in the sense that he cant play without it, but absolutely should be waering in.

See: Amare Stoudamire.

He injured that eye like twice, and ignored doctor's advice to wear the Goggles. What happened? He got hit in the eye - out for a season.

[chakdaddy]

apparently rip hamilton is a bitch, he wears a face mask for like five years he doesnt even need and has the nerve to complain about getting hit in the face?

Don't be an idiot. He has had multiple surgeries on his nose, without it, it just takes one strong hit to it and it can end his career or at the very least knock him out for a season. So he doesn't "need" it in the sense that he cant play without it, but absolutely should be waering in.

See: Amare Stoudamire.

He injured that eye like twice, and ignored doctor's advice to wear the Goggles. What happened? He got hit in the eye - out for a season.

A broken nose can't end a career or cause blindness. If he breaks his nose again, it heals again. He wears the mask because he feels more comfortable with it. There's no medical reason for it. A broken nose isn't like a detached retina or multiple concussions or something. That's absurd to think a broken nose could end a season or career.

[SuigintouEV]

Our "best player all year" only going 2-10 from the field? Playing atrocious defense on RIP Hamilton? Who would of thought? Thanks Ray.

Yeah you're totally right, Ray Allen can't be key if this team wants to go anywhere. Against a guy like RIP he got exposed, this is just sign of things to come in the playoffs and he will hold the Celtics back.


http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 20BOS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 80BOS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 00DET.html

[TMU]

Not one complaint about Big Baby's defense? The only reason he's in the line-up is because he can stretch the floor a bit better than Powe. Either way, Doc has no business of giving him 30+ minutes. Sure, he's developing a nice midrange game but he's still a porous defender and this weakness outweighs his strengths. For a team like the Celtics, I can't stress enough about the importance of having a big man off the bench, who can stretch the floor and not become a liability on the defensive end. This team needs Garnett more than ever.

[Avalanche]

Baby's D is actually pretty solid against the bigger, strong centres who play in the post... hes one of our best options against guys like shaq, howard, even duncan

agaisnt guys who spread the floor like sheed, dyess etc though hes just average

[Spud34]

Our "best player all year" only going 2-10 from the field? Playing atrocious defense on RIP Hamilton? Who would of thought? Thanks Ray.

Yeah you're totally right, Ray Allen can't be key if this team wants to go anywhere. Against a guy like RIP he got exposed, this is just sign of things to come in the playoffs and he will hold the Celtics back.


http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 20BOS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 80BOS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 00DET.html

You were probably being sarcastic, but I still agree.

[DieselCeltic]

Like I was saying few days ago and some people were flaming me, we will not repeat this year. You have a fine blue print of what I'm talking about yesterday...so that's that...

I'm not trying to be like Joethebiscuit and other negative force here but Cleveland is about to get Joe Smith, and they are playing just out of their mind.

We just don't have that I WANT IT type of mentality that we had last year.

[Joebiscuit]

I agree diesel. Cavs keep winning and winning. Yes they will lose a game once and while but they will not go though a stretch where they go 2-7 or lose to a couple of sub 500 teams in a 5 day period. Getting Smith puts them over the top. Celtics will easily lose by 15 on Friday. This game will not be pretty.

[floyd]

Our "best player all year" only going 2-10 from the field? Playing atrocious defense on RIP Hamilton? Who would of thought? Thanks Ray.

Yeah you're totally right, Ray Allen can't be key if this team wants to go anywhere. Against a guy like RIP he got exposed, this is just sign of things to come in the playoffs and he will hold the Celtics back.


http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 20BOS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 80BOS.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 00DET.html

You were probably being sarcastic, but I still agree.

Pierce kept us in the game early in the fourth, but we could've pulled it out without a few atrocious turnovers by him down the stretch. I love Pierce and i love Ray, but I don't love them handling the ball 5 feet beyond the 3 point line. Too many times it turns into easy buckets for the other team off some poor dribbling.

The fact that Ray had a poor game and we lost should tell you how important he is to this club, not that he's less important than Pierce. The margin for error shrinks when we're missing one of the big 3, especially when he's the guy who likes to chew up Rasheed Wallace.

The sky is not falling. KG will be back. The first round will be a tune up. We've got time to get it together. And the top seed is well within reach.

[MyInsatiableOne]

^^Good to see our resident "superfans" diesel and JoeBiscuit chiming in...way to pump up the team and the fans, guys!

[Pogue Mahone]

The fact that Ray had a poor game and we lost should tell you how important he is to this club

Sorry for bringing up an older post but I just got around to reading the game thread from the other night.

I understand your point Floyd but consider it from a different angle. What constitutes a poor game? Porous defense? Poor shooting? Lots of turnovers?

What I think you are saying is that Ray Allen had a poor game scoring the ball from an efficiency standpoint. It happens, though. Every player will have an off night, at one point or another, regardless of how skilled they are. Part of that is the defense, of course, but injuries, fatigue, lack of synergy with teammates and just the grind of the season all play into to it, too.

Rondo, on the other hand, had a very good game on the defensive glass, did a fairly decent job getting teammates involved via the pass and did a good job of getting to the line and converting, per his attempts. As to his shooting, hey, shots don't always fall. What matters is that you contribute to the overall efficiency of your team, at both ends of the court. It doesn't matter how you do it.

The issue, one I have attempted to present in the past, is what does Ray Allen do if he is having an off night scoring? Does he re-focus his energy into getting quality shots for teammates, playing improved defense and/or hitting the glass?

We lost not because of an off-shooting night by Ray Allen but because are defense had its worst performance of the year (.08 points per possession worse than our previous worst performance.) Simply put, that is 23.89 points more than we should have given up. A couple of points about that:

1. The game was played at a very slow pace (~83.0 possessions.)
2. If we had played at our normal pace (~90.7 possessions), we would have likely given up ~118 points.

Offensively, despite Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo having off shooting nights, we still managed our 17th best offensive performance of the year. We were .035 points per possession better than our season average. Under our normal pace, we would have put up ~105 points.

This game was not as close as it appeared.

Someone pointed it out earlier but I think it bears repeating: Glen Davis, thanks for the offensive contribution but your defense, despite generally being in position, stinks. Now, that being said, our offense looked and performed at much better levels than if Glen Davis doesn't hit a lot of those shots. That doesn't exonerate him from poor defense, though. He wasn't communicating, he was slow on rotations and, when he was in position, they simply shot over the top of him.

Ray Allen exacerbated the situation by getting lit up by Rip Hamilton. It wasn't so much the shots as he came off picks as it was how easy he allowed Hamilton to get penetration and to break down our defense. And this follows a string of games in which he has been beaten by the dribble penetration of Fred Jones, Leandro Barbosa and JR Smith, amongst others. Which is fine because you can cover up for teammate with help defense. You can't cover up for two, however, especially when one of them is part of the back-line of defense. Doc needs to pick his poison in regards to playing Ray Allen extended minutes or sitting Ray when he plays Glen Davis, imo.

not that he's less important than Pierce.

I would say that not only is Ray less important than Pierce he is far less important than Pierce. Pierce is able to contribute via defense, playmaking and scoring, amongst other subtle things. Ray really only brings the skill of shooting (which he is fantastic at) but the rest of his game is very empty. There are added benefits to Ray (ie> high possession/low turnover, some floor spacing, at times) but they are not strong enough to make up for his poor shooting nights, imo. He really needs to buckle down defensively and start to be more of a factor on the defensive glass when his shot isn't falling. Glen Davis falls into the same group, actually, especially considering his offense is far less reliable.

Rondo, Pierce and Perkins were really the only players on the defensive glass for the Celtics against the Pistons. Glen Davis and Ray Allen each chipped in two defensive rebounds in almost 72 minutes of play. A rebound every 18 minutes. Now, sure, the pace of the game and the offensive efficiency of Detroit played into that but, by DReb%, Ray was at his season average, Davis was far below (and a tick below his OReb%), Pierce was just about as his, Rondo was way up and Perkins was down. Perkins was also covering the more difficult of the Detroit bigs and was often taken away from the basket. Leon Powe was a non-factor on the defensive glass, as well.

The margin for error shrinks when we're missing one of the big 3, especially when he's the guy who likes to chew up Rasheed Wallace.

I thought Perkins was doing a pretty good job in the post, at both ends, and I think it would bode well for the future if they continue to give him consistent touches. He is neither a superstar nor a total non-entity on the offensive end but he is a non-entity when not given touches. I would also like to see him take a few more jumpers (more like a set shot) from time to time, just to keep the defense honest.

Additionally, by making Perkins a regular offensive contributor, referees are less likely to call ticky-tack fouls on him.

The sky is not falling. KG will be back. The first round will be a tune up. We've got time to get it together. And the top seed is well within reach.

I agree. I actually think we miss Brian Scalabrine more than most are willing to admit, as well. I also think that Ray Allen needs to start setting picks on offense. Not as part of the pick-and-roll but off the ball. I honestly think that he would get just as easy of looks as he does when he runs off picks and he would be able to conserve energy to play better defense. It would actually help the entire team because it would mitigate the chance of moving screen on our bigs. I never understood why you risk so many offensive fouls on backbone of your defense.