Indiana at Boston

chube · Post #21 » by **chube** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:18 am

What's with the AJ Price sighting? Is it to make sure our quickest guard, Collison, is at full speed during crunch time to keep up with Rondo?

Val Holliday · Post #22 » by **Val Holliday** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:19 am

Would probably be Lance if he wasn't hurt.

chube · Post #23 » by **chube** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:24 am

George Hill seems to be finding his shot. Love it!

chube · Post #24 » by **chube** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:28 am

Val Holliday wrote:Would probably be Lance if he wasn't hurt.

Ah, didn't know Lance was hurt.

Val Holliday · Post #25 » by **Val Holliday** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:41 am

No Paul! No!

Reginald Wayne · Post #26 » by **Reginald Wayne** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:46 am

Listening to these Boston broadcasters, you'd think the refs were out there blocking shots and tripping the Celtic players. Jesus these dudes are massive homers. West stinking it up.

chube · Post #27 » by **chube** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:48 am

^^^ It's mainly the color commentator, Tommy Heinsohn. At least the other guy, the play-by-play guy, will actually give opposing players credit when they deserve it.

chube · Post #28 » by **chube** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:51 am

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Post #29 » by **Miller4ever** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:52 am

Collison led the team in points tonight, pretty efficiently, too. Obviously he still has a ways to go, but Granger didn't heave up a bunch of shots tonight, and was open on one play and opted to pass to Collison. The Celtics helped out by stinking it up tonight, but there are quite a few things to like about this game.

Hibby with another double-double.

We found the offense in the 2nd half.

Great respect for Heinsohn as a player, but so egregiously biased.

Pacersike · Post #30 » by **Pacersike** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:53 am

Can't complain about the refs tonight.

Tommy :lol:

Indy2thaWindy · Post #31 » by **Indy2thaWindy** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:53 am

Ray Allen can eat a...

Val Holliday · Post #32 » by **Val Holliday** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:55 am

great team win. Big game from Danny without shots falling.

Post #33 » by **Miller4ever** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 2:56 am

6 people in double figures. That shouldn't be an uncommon occurrence, given our balance. that's how we should be beating other people, when all 5 guys have to be guarded. That plus faster setups will make our offense hard to stop.

CircleCitysportsfan · Post #34 » by **CircleCitysportsfan** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 3:05 am

Big win. Now do you understand Ray ray???

:lol:

chube · Post #35 » by **chube** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 3:37 am

Man, I love the balance of this team. 6 players in double-figures, and two of them were bench players! Not that I'm saying we're championship caliber yet, obviously, but this reminds me a little of the 2004-2005 Pistons' title team. A ton of balance, not one superstar, works well together, and we don't live and die by a player or two. And we have a better bench than that team.

If we can keep this group together, plus effectively use our cap space next summer, this crew could be VERY special.

dennis_mora91 · Post #36 » by **dennis_mora91** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 1:01 pm

Bad game but big win. Someone should say to Granger that he's shooting horrible

Wizop · Post #37 » by **Wizop** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 3:12 pm

I'm sure Danny is telling Danny that his shooting needs work. Everyone's does. That'll come as games make up for the lack of training camp and practice time. In the meantime, if we pass the ball and defend, we'll continue to be winners.

Shooting percentage is always a function of shoot selection. When we move the ball and find the open man, shooting will take care of itself.

Anyway, isn't it fun for us to be 3rd and Boston to be 8th?

Post #38 » by **Miller4ever** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 9:06 pm

Even though he didn't make shots still, at least his misses weren't as terrible as they were in Miami. I counted 3 that were halfway down before they popped back out. He was doing what he was supposed to by going 7-7 from the free throw line. That's what we need from Granger.

daschysta · Post #39 » by **daschysta** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 10:53 pm

Thought i'd share a really good article by a Celtics beat reporter that is very complimentary to the Pacers, and it has some really nice quotes about Vogel's coaching style and how our team is really starting to earn respect around the league.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/7434635/stolen-identity-pacers-mirror-celtics-win

BOSTON -- Doc Rivers said it before the game. He repeated it after the game. The Celtics' coach looks at the Indiana Pacers and sees a younger version of the team he took to the NBA's promised land.

"They've done a great job of adding pieces and adding them quickly," Rivers said. "It's amazing to me. It's like watching a young version of us. I know. I hate to say it. But they're young. They're scary. And they're good."

Could you blame Doc Rivers if he'd rather have been patrolling the Pacers' bench Friday?

That was before the Pacers went out and overwhelmed the Celtics 87-74, crushing them on the glass and pulling away down the stretch. You know, sort of what the Celtics have done every now and then to other teams over the past few years.

"They were us," Rivers repeated afterward. "They knocked us off the block. They were the instigator the whole night, and all we did was whine and not retaliate."

Rivers might be more prescient than he knows. Back in 2007-08, when Rivers was leading the Celtics to their 17th NBA championship, the Washington Wizards had a young scout by the name of Frank Vogel. From afar, Vogel watched how Rivers led the championship team, a team that used the word "ubuntu" to signify unity and sacrifice.

Fast forward to Friday night at the Garden: Vogel is in his first full season as the coach of the Pacers. And after being told of Rivers' comments, he cracked a smile and said, "Well, we're trying to be them."

He wasn't just blowing smoke. Before every practice and film session, Vogel said, he writes the word "togetherness" on the board. It's his version of ubuntu. And it's all because of Rivers.

"One-hundred percent because of Doc," he said. "I don't know him very well, but the year they won the championship, I heard him use the word 'togetherness' about a million times. And what he did with that team was an inspiration to me, and I am trying my best to recreate that here [in Indiana]."

Rivers loved what he saw Friday night -- from Indiana. His own group? Not so much. Paul Pierce made one shot from beyond 2 feet all night (he was 3-of-17.) The bench was brutal. The Pacers dominated the glass and had a 19-5 advantage in second-chance points.

But what stuck out more than the individual stats was Indiana's resolve, determination and focus. The Pacers looked like an experienced, savvy, impervious-to-pressure group that wasn't afraid to throw its collective weight around.

"They were in our air space," Rivers said, using a favorite term to describe inside advantage. "We always talk about owning the air space. That's who we are. And they were us -- for the entire game. I just thought they did it better than us."

He's right. They did it much better. Indiana's penetration resulted in a lot of the second-chance opportunities, frustrating Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal. Even rookie Greg Stiemsma was, well, steamed.
"It's tough when you play defense, and then something breaks down at the end and they get another shot," Stiemsma said. "But you gotta play through it. We just came up on the short end."

What bothered Rivers as much or even more than his team's inability to rebound was his team's inability to generate anything more than a CYO-scale offense. The Celtics scored 14 points in the first quarter. They scored 25 in the first half, tying the franchise record for fewest points in a first or second half. They shot 39.4 percent for the game and had only 16 assists.

"That is not us," Rivers said.

Ideally, no. Of course it isn't. What Rivers yearns to see again might be a quixotic quest, but it is exactly what Vogel is trying to see on a regular basis from his Pacers who, by the way, are 5-2. Vogel is 38 but looks young enough to be carded at any bar. But if you listen to him, you hear Larry Brown or Red Holzman or, dare we say it, Doc Rivers, circa 2007?

"Both last year [after replacing the fired Jim O'Brien] and this year, I have shown our guys what Boston Celtics selflessness is all about on tape, time and again," Vogel said. "They won a championship because of togetherness and teamwork. You play with physicality and toughness, and you win with defense and rebounding and sharing the ball."

He paused and added, "That is what I want our identity to be."

Friday night, the Pacers made the Celtics look old, slow and scattered. For one night anyway, it was exactly the role reversal Frank Vogel envisions -- and the one Doc Rivers hopes he doesn't see anymore.

Longtime Celtics reporter Peter May is a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com.

PS I would do just about anything to get Ray Allen to come off of our bench next year if he'd accept 5 or 6 million to add to our depth. There is no doubt in my mind that he'll be playing at a high level until he's 40, just like Reggie, and imo he's always been a stand up guy that plays the game the right way.

Although it would be kind of bittersweet to have the guy that broke Reggie's record hitting 3's dressed in the blue and gold.

Post #40 » by **Miller4ever** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 11:24 pm

I was thinking the same thing watching the game. We'd give up a bit on D, but he's smart and such a great shooter that he'll have the longevity. He's in my top-5 all-NBA last-shot takers list.