Victory Cigar: Win over Blazers

[darrendaye]

This one was marinating for too long in the humidor.

[BRUNiNHO91]

I loved what Tony, Eddie and Sheed did today from the bench...Pierce had an great game, and if we win this in 48 minutes he would have won by a mile. But damn..got to give this one to Sugar Ray...there is no word to describe how huge his shot was for this team..we needed this one badly...

[SilverQuick]

the captain did some mistakes at the end. Rondo was our leader today,he made some crucial shots,and grabe an off. rebound when it matters. my vote goes to Rajon

[Celts17Pride]

I'm giving it to Ray for sticking with it and not quitting when obviously his shooting stunk tonight. He did hit the biggest shot of the game.

[Joselo16]

Perk had that block on Aldridge and the end of regulation and the strip of Howard in OT!

[Scalamental]

Damn, I'm first for KG? We go on a three game slide and win in OT with KG. Yeah Ray hits the shot, but the dude is 3-15 1-5 fifty percent on the line.

[SichtingLives]

IF KG missed this game, we most likely would've collapsed in the 2nd half again.

[Jammer]

Rajon Rondo.

Pierce had a better game,
because he's the smoother scorer,
but Rajon made all the effort, hustle, IQ intuition moves that make him special,
including his play of the game breakaway.

[Captain_Caveman]

Voting for Ray? He was terrible until that last shot.

I took Pierce by a nose over Rondo.

[ValuedCeltic]

I'm voting for pierce.

[MaxwellSmart]

TA for his defense...or Doc for his sub pattern tonight---it was tough with all the fouls.

[BillessuR6]

We are playing by far the worst basketball since the KG trade...even if we are all healthy I don`t think we have the quality to win another ring. Ray Allen has regressed too much...

[Jammer]

We are playing by far the worst basketball since the KG trade...even if we are all healthy I don`t think we have the quality to win another ring. Ray Allen has regressed too much...

I think people took for granted the overachievement by some of the players.
Ray was extremely efficient in 2008 and 2009,
which considering that he will be 35 in July,
should not have been expected to continue.
When you factor in the last 5 games, his season is not where it had been,
which is as should have been expected.

Davis and Powe were classic overachievers, the Celtics decided not to bet,
and use a roster spot, on Powe's rehab,
instead opting for Sheldon Williams, Rasheed and Davis off the bench.

The thing is, Davis' thumb injury clouds whether
last year playoff surge was a hot shooting streak
or a level that should be expected on offense.
Davis' defense is just as bad as it always was,
and he still gets blocked/can't finish/comes up short around the rim
way too often for a PF.

The thing that has baffled me is that Danny has not made a meaningful trade
for over 2 1/2 years (KG), only body dumps of
Patrick O'Bryant and Sam Cassell where the Celtics send cash to
cover their remaining salary for the season.

The Celtics have 4 backup wings, but none that can come in
and knock down shots. Walker is the only one that might be able to do that,
but Walker is behind Tony Allen and Marquis Daniels in the wing rotation.

And not having someone who can handle the ball besides
Rajon Rondo is unforgivable. Auerbach always had 3 great ball handlers.
This team has had 1 for far too long. It's simply complacency in the front office.

[Kids Are Alright]

We are playing by far the worst basketball since the KG trade...even if we are all healthy I don`t think we have the quality to win another ring. Ray Allen has regressed too much...

The thing s, Davis' thumb injury clouds whether
last year playoff surge was a hot shooting streak
or a level that should be expected on offense.
Davis' defense is just as bad as it always was,
and he still gets blocked/can't finish/comes up short around the rim
way too often for a PF.

Baby can shoot, he's not much of an NBA PF, but he can shoot, that shot was developed over a couple of years, it wasn't a lark, it'll come back.....although most PF's can shoot when wide open from 18' or less, which was how Baby made his shots off P and Rolls, no big deal....

BTW, Rondo owned that cigar IMO, think of all of the big plays that he created...

[ryaningf]

Tony Allen gets my vote. Been saying it a long time, I'll say it again. On a team predicated on defense, you gotta play your best defenders, especially when the rotation of perimeter defenders includes no-defense Eddie House and soon-to-be simply mediocre Ray Allen. TA did shut down work in the first half, on Fernandez or Webster, and was a beast in the post (which is where he should be given his scoring opportunities because he's closer to the basket and won't have to dribble as much) for the entire game. And then he helped slow Andre Miller in the 4th and overtime, pressuring him full court and making him work for the buckets he did get.

Don't listen to me, listen to the sage, Rasheed Wallace:

“Honestly, in my opinion, I think the star of the night was Tony Allen,” he declared. “He did good defense on ‘Dre Miller, especially for a few possessions in that overtime and going down the end of the clock in regulation. Me, personally, I would give that game ball to TA. It was his defense on Andre to step up (like he did) that made everyone else step up.”

Ray Allen had similar praise.

“Tony came in and played well for us,” he said. “Just that extra effort he put in toward getting that ball, to help get that ball tapped back to me, and then I saw him again. That was big – the effort.”

from http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/celtics/20 ... the-night/

Doc said it after the game--we need to win games with our defense. KG's return, TA's ascension, and Daniels' eventual return, I think, will make this dream a possibility.

Also: Ray hit a BIG BIG shot, but this was probably his worst game as a Celtic. Just terrible in every aspect of the game, ESPECIALLY defensively. The Blazers were picking on him all night.

[irie]

went with Rondo.

Ray's in second - hopefully this is a sign that we can finally stop posting the ridiculous trade threads he keeps being mentioned in.

[Slartibartfast]

went with Rondo.

Ray's in second - hopefully this is a sign that we can finally stop posting the ridiculous trade threads he keeps being mentioned in.

One shot does not a game make. Ray's been pretty bad lately.

[Cyclical]

Hard to vote for anyone honestly. Rondo had a fine game offensively but really, we're not playing well. We should kill a team like the Blazers without Roy, Oden, and no Bayless in the 2nd half.

Good to see KG back. PLEASE let's go back to the days of initiating the attack through KG. Flows so much better than some of the willy-nilly stuff that we sometimes run. If there's no fast break, start it off with KG - he'll more often than not make the right decision.

[exculpatory]

Yup. Hard to vote for 24 points on 9-13 shooting, 4R, 4A, 1 block and 1 steal. Hard to vote for the Truth because he fouled out on a bad call on the last play of regulation taking it to the hoop? Not for me. Rondo had a very nice game also but 8A vs. 6 TOs - meh. Ray was simply awful on both sides of the ball except for his obviously clutch 3 in OT.

Teamwise, we sure as hell better pick it up and get it together as we roll into the All Star game. Too many TOs and too few offensive rebounds. Come on guys, please!!!!

[irie]

Yup. Hard to vote for 24 points on 9-13 shooting, 4R, 4A, 1 block and 1 steal. Hard to vote for the Truth because he fouled out on a bad call on the last play of regulation taking it to the hoop? Not for me. Rondo had a very nice game also but 8A vs. 6 TOs - meh. Ray was simply awful on both sides of the ball except for his obviously clutch 3 in OT.

Teamwise, we sure as hell better pick it up and get it together as we roll into the All Star game. Too many TOs and too few offensive rebounds. Come on guys, please!!!!

How was that a bad call? That was clearly a charge. Unless you've been sipping that Heinsohnade.