CelticsBlog

Going to keep rocking them with this winning streak!

Blackberry33 - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

+1

PP and Bradley

Always fantastic to beat the Knicks. PP had a tremendous game, and I must say, I think Bradley’s defense keyed the comeback when he came in for Rondo in the 4th. His energy lifted the whole team. How I do love to watch that kid play D.

+1

I also think Bradleys defense helped play a role in the win tonight.

He really puts it all out on the court on the defensive end of the court and deserves praise for his work ethic.

Yeah, as defense goes...

He’s about as fun to watch as there is.

Celtics Fan From NJ - February 3, 2012 reply

+1

I thought so too. It was a good move by doc. shows how much he trusts him. I think he took the breath out of knicks offense.

Agree

with your comment:

’It was a good move by doc. shows how much he trusts him"

I hope Doc does indeed trust Bradley now after his strong showing with Rondo out injured and will not be shy to utilize the kid the rest of the season during pressure game time situations.

Now if Doc can also work on getting that trust with Moore, Steamer and JJ it would be dynamite…lol

bradley is learning from the best

lohaus#54 - February 4, 2012 reply

Agreed.

Bradley, as usual, posted very modest conventional stats, but that +9 on the +/- column tells the tale. He definitely had a big impact.

was it just me

or did the offense flow better without Rondo?

i just see it as a positive really

we know it can flow well with rondo, we have seen it…so the whole “bradley pass through pierce” is just another addition that could help….hope rondo gets going soon (im sure time off with injury got him a bit sloppy)

Yeah, it can flow better with Rondo

But I think they got accustomed to playing a different style these last 8 games, and at least for this one game, I think the offense flowed better without Rondo in there, but for sure, long term it’s good to have Rondo back.

+1

It totally did flow better without Rondo

Dribble, dribble , dribble down goes the shot clock when rondos in the game!

mdowell04 - February 3, 2012 reply

yep

Celtics Fan From NJ - February 3, 2012 reply

Okay

Let’s trade Rondo guys. Forget trading the Big 3.

SparzWizard - February 3, 2012 reply

i was thinking so too

but Cs made a lot of adjustments without him. learned a lot about themselves. so it is going to take a while to get in the mode. now they have multiple options. with one strategy when rondo is in and another when bradley or moore is in.

It did, but a lot of that was clearly rust on Rondo's part.

Things got a lot better for him in the second half.

That wrist clearly was still bothering him. ’Didn’t help that he was playing with just one eye, also.

i agree

without any consistent outside shot and he has no way to slash inside he is just an extra man nothing to do.

elvyn - February 4, 2012 reply

Gotta agree with that tonight

When Rondo was in it seemed like they walked the ball up and he would call plays with about 14-16 seconds on the clock. There is more movement earlier in the shot clock when he is out and the captain or bradley is running it. To be fair though Rondo is going to be rusty and his rhythm won’t be the same for atleast a couple games. For someone who has been out awhile Rondo looked decent.

kg2128 - February 4, 2012 reply

I couldn't agree more with you

Maybe it was the eye?

redbridge13 - February 4, 2012 via mobile reply

beat me to it

spinetingler - February 4, 2012 reply

i could see that too

but do you guys think its just a matter of teams getting used to and figuring out our sets with bradley in the lineup? every one has gotten used to the offensive sets with rondo and that makes them defend better with rondo in?

keychey - February 4, 2012 reply

The refs tried!

They tried to screw us over on that shot clock beating 3 from Pierce but it didnt work, Celtics prevail again!

StarzNBarz - February 3, 2012 reply

lol

i thought the refs were actually on our side for once tonight

Have to agree. We got some good calls tonight.

Whaaaaa???

No they werent. Countless calls went the knicks way, especially with Melo leaning into defenders and drawing a foul

StarzNBarz - February 3, 2012 reply

I agree that

there were a few bad calls against us, but thats every team every night….im usually screaming at the refs….I didnt do that tonight…lol

Weird. I was screaming at them.

Some lousy calls on Pietrus, when he was guarding Melo, and one lousy call on Bradley, that stand out.

True, there'll always be a few bad calls both ways

But on the whole, I don’t think we can complain tonight.

JR99 nailed it imo.

The whole first half the refs were calling everything wrong, against us

Got better in 2nd half.

Crap calls first half, "decent" reffing in the second?

I can find myself in that.

The inconsistency of NBA officiating - it's madness - don't find yourself in there! Stay safe!

Haha :D

All I meant was: I agree :)

But good point. Yugh. Officiating. It’s not just the NBA either.

I agree!

Awful calls for both teams! It’s bad enough with the tiring schedules they have… At the rate these refs are calling games, they should ease up a bit on T’s.

japsuki - February 3, 2012 reply

Actually

Last year I watched several college games, gave me new appreciation for how much less bad NBA officials are.

Kungfuguy - February 3, 2012 reply

Yeah - but that's not really making it okay, there son.

There are a zillion NCAA games each week with a zillion college players and a zillion refs to man them. Just like the players are understandably of lower tier than the NBA, so, too are the refs.

The NBA has the top 450ish basketball players in the world. Elites. One should expect that the referees at that level should be elite as well. Or at least competent.

With a maximum of 45 referees needed in any given night, you’d think the NBA would be able to find that many fair, competent officials on a planet of several billion people.

Don’t misunderstand me. The lack of consistency drives me crazy. If the refs called every element of the game the same way for every player during the entire game, I would love that, and that’s within the ref’s control.

But the lack of replay available to them. And the limitation of how and when they can use it. There is nearly instantaneous replay available to everyone watching the game, in the arena or at home on tv. And the only people that don’t get access to it to make sure they are making good calls are the ones that need to make good calls. It seems like it’d be an easy fix and a no-brainer. Even if they just had an additional official or two officials per game who watched replay to let officials know when they have something wrong/backwards. More refs being used at a game should make the union happy.

And the college games I was watching were all NCAA tourney games. And you know that ti was terrible when I had to keep turning to my friends who are college basketball people and asking “Is there no rule in college?”

Kungfuguy - February 4, 2012 reply

Yeah, I hear ya.

I attended a game between Oregon and Towson a couple of months back. Oregon is a top program, but the difference in quality of product between that and the NBA is like the difference between a BMW and an old beat up Chevy Chevette.

They sure weren't on our side in the first half.

But things flipped dramatically in that 4th quarter.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Tonights game was one exciting and enjoyable game to watch indeed...

It felt like a playoff game also.

Game ball I think should be shared by the big 3 who I think all played well tonight and played a nice role in the win.

Glad the C’s got the win as this would of been a heartbreaking loss.

Nice to see Rondo back, though it was to bad he got that puffy eye injury as he now looks alot like Bradley and its hard to tell them apart…lol

David Henderson - February 3, 2012 reply

Could feel the heart pounding in the last minute

Jay-D21 - February 3, 2012 reply

+1

Therefore this shot, the refs were totally with us all the time..

ThunWest - February 3, 2012 reply

Very hard to watch the NBA

The officiating is so (rigged) bad…..

actually I think the refs helped us tonight more than normal...the Knicks had some bad calls against them

but the refs do suck..no doubt

Truth. But they did give the Knicks 2 tries to win that game.

The green mamba - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

agree

Only on a couple of judgment calls

First half fouls went ridiculously against us.

first half was awful, second half was so so

forever_green - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

I felt like they started trying to dish out make-ups when things went bad

but those extra whistles turned into a situation where they were calling everything and that sucked.

… so then they stopped calling anything, and that sucked too.

Celtics = Contenders

What did I tell you guys? Think POsitive.

The green mamba - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

conclusive?? that was conclusive evidence on the Pierce 3?

duqe2 - February 3, 2012 reply

No

He appeared to release it just as the 0-point was reached. The frame rate of the recording (typically ~30 frames per second) was literally not high enough to determine the exact truth of the matter. Therefore, the ruling on the court should have held.

The only excuse was that maybe the refs saw something not shown to us.

Very Exciting Game.....

Now time for the other new york vs new england (boston) game on Sunday.

Go Pats!!!!

Hamoozeh - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

+1

*10000 defensive rebounds

He almost has 14000 total. A few more points and assists, he’ll also have 24000 points 14000 rebounds 5000 assists and will join only karlalone and kareem as the only players to do it.

staticcc - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

*karl malone

staticcc - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

good catch... thanks... I was excited when I wrote it

KG is one of my favorite players ever. Glad to see this happen.

Maybe it was duirng the

commercial break and we missed it but did the Garden announcer, announce KG’s milestone to the fans to allow him to get a ovation from the home crowd?

They never officially announced it, which is not right

They have some foolish feature at half time, where some good looking young women talks about the first half highlights, and she mentioned it. But, no on was listening and there was no applause. The Celts blew it. Should have announced it during a timeout.

Agree...

it should of been announced as that was not a small accomplishment by KG but is one that is rarely accomplished my most NBA players.

I remember back in the 80’s at least during the Bird era they would stop a game during a break in play, a time out when a player accomplished or reached a personal milestone in his career (big of small) , too give the player the game ball and to let the team mates plus the home crowd acknowledge the player for a minute.

I know they did stop the game to allow Ray to get some acknowledged for his achievement, because it was more of a sexy accomplishment, but the same should of been done with KG’s accomplishment also even though it was not as sexy.

fordescort - February 4, 2012 reply

Meant to say above...

when Rays became the all time 3 point shot leader last year.

fordescort - February 4, 2012 reply

wat happend to rondo eye or he when like that?

EXER123 - February 3, 2012 reply

Got slammed in the first quarter

No call.

oh dam yea i gss i was tough playing with that

EXER123 - February 3, 2012 reply

did he hurt his eye

on the chandler play? (they did call a foul on that particular play)

No, it was somebody's hand that hit his eye on a scramble

Didn’t seem that hard, but sure looked it. He’ll be fine.

it was in the 1st Qtr...no foul called

It was on the play with shumpert

No foul called by the way.

Absolutely CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE in the 4th

Unreal. Pietrus’ D on that last inbound play… just perfect, awesome. As was the whole team in Q4. Even if they had lost, I’d still be thrilled with that performance.

First half – ugly, ugly…. all around.

Rondo – Ugly, ugly, ugly. Shake the rust off Rajon. Right now, Bradley’s outplaying you… and it’s not close, pal.

Bass – hold on to your temper, big guy. THINK before you act.

Paul – Awesome. ’Nuf said.

Refs – wanted BADLY to control this game. First half they were dead set against us. Second half they calmed down and it was roughly even.

bass was sloppy

but he changed the game. The Celtics were outmuscled until he started banging and intimidating. I actually liked the technical foul- remember that that was on the heels of two borderline calls that had Chandler and D’Antoni completely out of control. If Chandler had gotten back in Bass’s face, he would have been ejected for the double T and the game would be in the bag. Instead, he took Bass’s shit on the chin and his mojo never came back.

sofutomygaha - February 3, 2012 reply

Interesting take...

Can’t say it’s not possible. Do you think Bass is that calculating?? I thought he bumped Stat (it was Stat, right?) to get back for the hard foul.

you're right

there goes a perfectly good theory =)

rocknrollforyoursoul - February 4, 2012 reply

GO Giants on Sunday!!!

duqe2 - February 3, 2012 reply

GO PATRIOTS ON SUNDAY!!!

SparzWizard - February 3, 2012 reply

Get lost, troll

This is CelticsBlog, not PatriotsBlog

There was nothing trollish about the comment in question. It was simply a statement of support for the individuals favorite football team.

Not every Celtics fan is a Patriots fan. Celtics fans are all over the world. Get used to it.

Now, with that said, Go Giants!

But hey, good luck to the Pats too.

KG's Knee - February 4, 2012 via mobile reply

The Celtics are in Boston.

To chastise a Celtic fan for pulling for the Pats is like…redundant and stupid.

Novation - February 4, 2012 reply

Trolololol

True true! Just for that, GO LAKERS!!!

ChickieBoomBoom - February 4, 2012 reply

+1

I love the Celtics, but…..love the Giants too. ~;-)

go back under your bridge

PP was superb tonight and so was KG’s defense. They were both playing like it was 10 yrs ago or something lol

CaliforniaGreen - February 4, 2012 reply

Long live the Big 3

The true and only leaders of this team

CaliforniaGreen - February 4, 2012 reply

Amen to that!

mdowell04 - February 3, 2012 reply

ESPN..

your pundits wilbon, johnson and barry declared PP to old and done earlier this year. Why do they not mention this and own up to their comments?

mdowell04 - February 3, 2012 reply

They arent alone. I know a couple of people who gave up on the season 5 games in now act like they werent hitting the “blow it up” button. Fuunny how that works.

The green mamba - February 3, 2012 via mobile reply

those idiots all counted this team out as contenders in the East. sometimes i wonder how these people get their jobs. stupid anal-yst

Totally off topic, but I learned how to fajin tonight (a big deal)

Only means something if you do Chinese Martial Arts, lol.

good... I guess?

Congratulations...

on your achievement, even though I have no idea what I am congratulating you on and what Fajin means…lol.

Thanks guys. It's really quite cool.

Not really sure why I brought it up here, lol, but it took a few years to get to this point.

Back to the C’s.

This Celtics team is really turning out to be likable. Love the energy they put out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FzU8dlY85g&feature=channel#t=07m45s

Which style of tai chi do you study?

Kungfuguy - February 3, 2012 reply

Yang

Check this out, Kungfuguy (what style to you do?). This is exactly what I learned to do tonight:

The actual demo of the thing I learned starts at 7:45, so don’t know if it’ll go right there on the link.

Btw, if this doesn’t work, just add the #t=07m45s to the end of the link and it’ll go right there.

I actually do Shaolin Kempo Karate. Which is relatively prevalent up in new england apparently. But I discovered it in the midwest/south.

Kungfuguy - February 4, 2012 reply

Fun stuff, for sure. Good luck with your studies.

Mencius - February 4, 2012 reply

As PO points out...

JO was invisible tonight when he did play and did not play much in the 2nd half.

I wonder if his injury is still bothering him?

I hate to say it ....but "I wonder of his injury is still bothering him" could be said for a lot of his career it seems

I hope JO's recent injury was the reason tonight for ...

his ineffective play tonight because at least then he would have a excuse for it….lol

Oddly, though, when you combine JO's 19 minutes with Wilcox' 17 minutes

you get ~36 minutes, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 8 pts. Not a terrible line at the 5 for a team that doesn’t use it’s C for scoring.

The negative is that we let Chandler – also not known for scoring – put up 20 points in his 36 minutes. A lot of that was on second-chance points, though, in that first half – 5 of Chandler’s 11 rebs were offensive. So while we were denying him as a first-shot option, he was for a stretch there consistently getting the sloppy seconds and I have to admit I was screaming at the TV each time. We did a much, much better job of shutting him off from the boards in the late second half.

European NBA fan - February 3, 2012 reply

I actually think that this was the key to the game

While Chandler outhustled us on the boards, the Knicks were ahead. When we started playing Celtics-D and crashing the boards, the game went our way.

JO looks totally washed up

Injury or not, the guy can’t play. The C’s need a center so badly it is painful.

yeah right JO cant play and is soft we need to trade rondo for chandler ASAP.

lol have u learn anything from knicks no point no TEAM yea they had a good run lik us with out point but long run it shows

Use Jo as Sheed

Off the bench, not a start. bring his vet saavy vs 2nd stringers, not quicker, springer starters. Kg should (?) help covers for lapses by Bass,Wlcx, Stiem.

Tenacious D - February 4, 2012 reply

I hate these nerve wracking games where for a good part of the game we look like losers.

That said, it was a very ugly but a good win against a team that was really desperate for a win.

Paul Pierce- no question- game ball. He kept us in the game time and again. I thought when he made that incredible three at the end, only to have it taken away by a 1/10 of a second, if that, that it would demoralize the team. Solid defense at the wire made the difference.

In the end, we wanted it more than they did, and that’s what counts. Next – Memphis.

Lygafe.

Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix.

lygafe - February 3, 2012 reply

I think they wanted it

But our defense was just AWESOME in the 4th, and they just couldn’t get it done against it.

Man - I gotta give up a little more love to Bradley

It’s a subtle thing – but that ball-pressure really does have a huge, game-changing affect on the other team, taking down the shot clock. And it gives our defense so much more time to get setup for that first shot – which is a critical thing in basketball.

Love Avery's D

And the comparisons to Rondo’s defense…. don’t make much sense to me. D is Bradley’s specialty, like passing is Rondo’s – both of them do their thing as well as anybody on the planet.

That was out of his hands.

Such a bad call!

Bad call because there was no clear evidence

…to reverse the call on the floor. It was that close.

How about the missed goaltend?

Surprised no one is talking about that.

KY Celts fan - February 4, 2012 via mobile reply

I tellya...

I can accept that one. It was almost impossible to see in real time. It’s the ridiculous things the refs do…. one-sided calls like in the first half… that drive me nuts.

Absolutely!

That was another bad call! That ball was on the backboard. As soon as I saw that I said these refs have a plan tonight. Thank God we got the win.

Celtics_Diva - February 4, 2012 reply

Yes -- That was a goaltend on Rondo's shot

So Danny...

Still wanna trade Paul Pierce or Ray Allen? I don’t mind trading Rajon Rondo, just get some contending pieces back! :D

SparzWizard - February 3, 2012 reply

Rondo has been the most consistent

Before his injury. The same way it took Paul pierce a minute to get it together, rondo will get it as well. This was his first game back.

I am not sure about that

“Rondo has been the most consistent”? — he’s always had a problem STAYING IN FRONT OF HIS MAN on defense, and has always been guilty of a little too much hot-dogging, looking for the hero pass, the steal, etc. He’ll improve from tonight’s game, obviously…. but I wish he focused more on the basics and kept his game simpler.

I'm speaking in terms of the beginning of the season

Rondo was the only one driving to the basket and making something happen while KG and Paul looked like zombies. He carried the team until Paul came back and took over.

Celtics_Diva - February 4, 2012 reply

Agree

+1

I feel like such a bad fan for wanting to trade Rondo, but truth is I don’t like his jump and free throw shooting abilities. We are not beating Miami or Chicago playing 4 against 5 on offense because that’s really what it’s going to come down to. And I think we can get some pretty good value for him. Again, hate on me. Maybe I deserve it, maybe not.

My thing is this,

Rondo has actually been shooting much better than he was last year, his defense is also very good, especially when he plays seriously. That being said, his free throw shooting is horrible and he does turn the ball over a little too much, but this team would not be the same without Rondo. The same way it is not the same without perk.

Considering his assist rates, Rondo doesn't really turn the ball over at any particularly bad rate

he’s similar to the rates that other top assist-oriented PGs post.

You pass the ball a lot – you are going to have TOs.

I’m not too worried about Rondo’s performance tonight. It was not vintage Rondo – but he was clearly rusty and playing not only with a sore wrist, but also a swollen eye. I’ll give him some slack. Even with those strikes, he still dished 7 assists, had 2 steals and grabbed 5 boards – those are good numbers for many PGs.

I'm not concluding anything after this game BTW

I’ve felt this way for a long time and I was on the Rondo for Chris Paul bandwagon. But I do agree Rondo makes us much better and he was rusty tonight. I also would only trade him for another star so it’s not like I just want to get rid of him for anybody who can shoot. I understand how good he is.

Celticsdude - February 4, 2012 reply

He has got to SIMPLIFY his game, at least a little

STAY IN FRONT of his man on D, stop trying for the hero passes and steals. A little improvement in those areas would go a long way, imo.

I don't think Danny ever wanted to trade either of them.

That’s been mostly just fan talk.

I’m sure Danny’s listening to offers – that’s his job. But I doubt he wants to trade any of these guys.

Well, maybe Daniels

Not that that’s possible or anything…..

https://twitter.com/celtics

Quotable quotes...

Doc: “It was one of those games that 2 weeks ago we’d absolutely lose. But we hung in there. This has to be a defensive game. Hung in there”

Doc on Wilcox’s work off bench: “Wilcox in the first half had his head down. But he was the hero, his defensive intensity changed the game.”

Doc on sudden barrage of 3s: “We weren’t playing well. A lot of our 3s came out of loose balls, picking them up and making shots.”

Pierce: “Both teams were just fighting for it. Was like a summer game where whoever won the game would make the NBA.” http://pic.twitter.com/k5DAX5Do

Prediction from @paulpierce34 on the #SuperBowl: “I look for the #Patriots to be poppin’ bottles.”

I agree with Doc…. 2weeks ago, we would’ve lost this game for sure. Thank you very much, Truth Captain for this win!

japsuki - February 3, 2012 reply

Wilcox really struggled

during earlier points in the game but stepped up his game especially in the 2nd half to give the C’s a boost off the bench.

+1

Loved that dive for the ball. That play alone tells me the guy could be important on this team one day this season.

Gotta love that high-light reel put-back by Wilcox at the buzzer of Pierce's miss.

That one was sweet.

The term, Big Three, has levelled up with the C's with all 3 now hitting big 3's!

japsuki - February 3, 2012 reply

K.G. just started taking P.Pierce's advice- to shoot more treys.

lygafe - February 3, 2012 reply

Uh, KG is shooting 10% from 3-pt territory!

It’s amazing, I tellya!

LOL - 2 for 2 in the last two games ....

Lol - I meant to write 100% lol

KG is the best 3-point shooter in the league, what are you talking about?!

I agree!

Love Pierce of course....

and he shot us into the game, but I thought he almost shot us out of it too.

A few too many threes and too early in the clock for me as it wore on.

Great but very frustrating game for missing open shots and bad passing overall.

We took the ball out of Carmelo’s hands at the end and that was smart. rather be beaten by Fields or Shumpert and they weren’t up to it.

Tom Halzack - February 3, 2012 reply

hater ...LOL

Yeah I guess that sounded too...

negative. Didn’t mean it that way.

OT: Speaking of negative, has it been mentioned that the Magic suspended Glen Davis for 2 games for detrimental conduct in practice? oye

Loved Bradley’s energy tonight…again.

Tom Halzack - February 3, 2012 reply

in a related story

Dwight Howard says that he’s open to playing in cleveland with kyrie irving

minutes tonight for Erden and Harangody in the loss!!

That Howard... is a what we used to call a "dufus"

… back in the day, on the mean playgrounds of new york.

in a related story

Dwight Howard says that he’s open to playing with you on the playground in new york

Great stuff

I would lose, probably (ahem).

But he better not be throwing his elbows around on those playgrounds I tellya…. he might lose em.

It hurts to say, but with the game on the line, I don't want the ball in Rondo's hands when he gets fouled.

lygafe - February 3, 2012 reply

Did you see PP beat RR to the ball in the corner at the end?

Whew

Tom Halzack - February 3, 2012 reply

He did it out of desperation- he didn't want the foul called with RR holding the ball.

Lloyd Christmas - February 4, 2012 reply

+1

Definitely a problem.

forever_green - February 4, 2012 via mobile reply

doc is right- this was a loss a month ago. the refs were a factor and were inconsistent, tommy was right too- they allowed carmelo to mug pp.stoudemire disappeared in the 4th. kg was great doubling on melo. the kid- bradley looks like a pro and he augmented rondo. i was very glad to see rondo back and he looked rusty but ok.

nazzbo - February 3, 2012 reply

GREAT WIN!

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce played great down the stretch. KG had a great start and kept the intensity up late. Rondo put together a strong return. All great stuff.

As far as the bench goes they played like a group that hates losing. Nothing less. It was awesome to watch Bass, Pietrus, Wilcox, Bradley and everyone else tonight. Those guys are tough and have the heart and passion to win that you can’t teach. A second group like that wins.

Also, The officiating was terrible. I saw nothing in the replays to overturn the call on the floor for Pierce’s 3 at the end. But we still won in spite of it. Great win!

p-peazy - February 3, 2012 reply

# 34 a true legend

what can you say about this man he will go down as one of the greatest SF next to bird and hondo. it will be a crime if this guy does not go to the all star game as a reserve. now the game i knew that once the 4th quarter came the celtics would shut them down and the captain did some masterful work on the knicks its same story for knicks in crunch time shutdown melo and they have no one else d,antoni is going to be gone and whats the point of bringing in chandler if the team does not play defense this knick team should be playing in the west cause all they wanna do is let mello run the show with no supporting cast you can bring in all the superstars you want but you have to build a team to win not a one man show take some lessons from the 08 celtics championship team then you might learn something what a great clutch typical come from behind celtic victory we are moving up playing good ball cant wait till next thursday when kobe and the fakers come to the garden for a good old bar fight right KG lol lol

lohaus#54 - February 4, 2012 reply

stream of consciousness?

Or a keyboard with no punctuation marks?

yet strangely ... it''s an okay post ... kinda like it

i never believe in puncuation

lohaus#54 - February 4, 2012 reply

That's ok- that's how I write after a game like this when I'm still awake at 7 a.m. over here, but more incoherently. lol.

Lloyd Christmas - February 4, 2012 reply

Solid win

Kicking the Knicks while they’re down feels good.

Gutty Game:

Hopefully , we can start, playing more consistent and be on our way , for the Big 3 final run !!!

switch - February 4, 2012 reply

Great game tonight!

This team still runs through the captain, nobody else. Still want to trade for Sideshow Bob though. Can’t wait to see an unrusty Rondo and see how he and the team looks after better blending. I love these tough, gritty rivalry games. Ray looked rough early on but came up big late. Love Bass and Pietras off our bench. Great game boys!!!!

celty86 - February 4, 2012 reply

GARDEN PARTY

RAY ALLEN FOR THREE, what better start,
Stoudemire jump ball, JO showed heart.
Rondo got a poke right in the face,
What do you have to do to get a foul in our place?

It was a Q1 of runs, each team had a lead,
Pietrus for three, kind of offense Cs need.
Factoid of the week, speaking of offensive yield:
’Melo’s lowest season ever, 40% from the field.

Bradley’s D, along with the heart of KG,
Toward the end Q1, KG for three!!
10,000 defensive rebounds, 10,000th that’s right,
KG, third since counting, made his tonight!

A Harvard player, 50 years since there’s been,
The Knicks have him, he’s Jeremy Lin.
At last we see Rondo (puffy eye) and Bradley,
Watching their defense, gotta love them madly.

(An aside: things for the Magic not as grand as they’d dream,
For detrimental conduct Baby suspended from the team).

Knicks were aggressive, Chandler, Lin, Fields and ’Melo,
Cs need more offense from that Pietrus fellow.
With defense by the Cs hardly part of the mix,
Cs at the half only down by six.

The whole game the Cs played five against eight,
It’s an understatement to say the refs weren’t great!
Ridiculous calls every single game,
Especially if you wear the Celtics name.

Wilcox, Bass doing well, KG looking for his shot,
The game is better when unselfish he is not.
Never underestimate Cs, they define hustle,
They’ll roll on the floor, for the ball they’ll tussle.

Tied at 79—as chippy as could be,
Cs took the lead on RAY ALLEN FOR THREE!!
Then RAY ALLEN FOR THREE, starting to score,
Another smooth move, he shot back door.

Tight at the end, the Captain, that’s P,
Clock winding down, Paul Pierce? NO three!
Insult to injury, refs added seconds to the clock,
Such good defense by the team run by Doc.

Woodson on the Knicks’ bench, this is no baloney,
He might get the job currently held by D’Antoni.

mycelts - February 4, 2012 reply

Yep

What took you so long? Just joking- incredible rhyming, to say the least - you should do the post game coverage from time to time.

all heart...

when you thought that all’s been given up and not going our way, our leprechaun still hovers around our arena, specially with paul’s phantom shot, i’d rather he manipulated the shot clock than PP’s hail mary shot..ugly win, but hell yeah, the celts are fully resuscitated and back…

greenlion - February 4, 2012 reply

trade rondo for chandler or stoudemire were better without him.

stop with the trade rondo knicks are perfect example why u need a true pg

are sick or what? rondo is an example of a failure he has no improvements jst like big baby he stil cant shoot free throws and cant shoot his jumpshots.

Poor Rajon looked like he went 15 with Roberto Duran

gocanes1 - February 4, 2012 reply

Long ride home -- had to take my son back to school -- time to think

1. He is far from a complete player, but in the role he played tonight, Avery Bradley won me over. He brought the energy back in the late third and into the fourth quarter and I believe that was the difference.

2. The shots Ray hit at the end were unbelievable.

3. Wilcox was so bad in the first half and early in the second, it is hard to believe that he made the contribution that he did.

4. Pietrus can really play defense.\

5. The Captain was immense tonight and I still think that falling down 3 should have counted.

6. Congrats to KG on the 10,000th rebound. He also played solid D in the second half.

7. The D was immense in the second half

8, D’Antoni is a horrendous coach and should be fired. I know that don’t have a point guard, but there is no way that team should be 8-15.

9. Lot of empty seats at the Garden tonight. I was shocked. I figured a Friday night and the Knicks would have filled the joint.

10. The obnoxious Knicks fan who sat behind me and my son left a very unhappy guy. Too bad. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

11. I love entertaining games and tonight’s certainly was one of those.

12. Onward!

Hate to be negative, but why can't Rondo shoot free throws? 1-4 tonight

rondo is overrated and awful right now his the worst PG in the league.

Lloyd Christmas - February 4, 2012 reply

What?

Please tell me you’re joking.

maybe wrist or eye is usally not that bad

Hate to say it

But rr is not a player to build a team around. Way too many negatives to take a new team to a championship. Competitive yes. But hardly the qualities of a leader. He’s immature at the wrong times. He hasn’t improved any part of his game. Jennings has developed a great jumpshot over the off season. He really worked on it being consistent and was spotty with it last year

I wouldn’t be against trading him but only in offseason. He fits well with current roster. But with a new team? Not so sure

vgarcia890 - February 4, 2012 reply

yeah ryt now is the time to trade him because he has greater value.

https://twitter.com/celtics

KG quotes:

KG: “We got enough guys around here that shoot 3’s, I don’t want to get confident with that… [But]don’t get it twisted, I do have that.”

KG joked that Pierce is trying to get him to shoot more 3’s. KG said he breaks it out, “Just to let y’all know, I do have that.”

KG on consecutive games with a 3-pointer: “I don’t want to become the new Rasheed Wallace of the league.”

japsuki - February 4, 2012 reply

edit** eep sorry wrong source... https://twitter.com/ESPNForsberg

japsuki - February 4, 2012 reply

Off topic- Karl Malone apparently had to buy a scalper's ticket to see a game in Utah last year.

This happened last year after Sloan quit the team after a lack of backup by the management over there. Malone was told there wasn’t a ticket available for him.

How pathetic can the management of that team get? Malone and Stockton carried that team for 18 years, and this is the thanks he gets?

His statue outside the arena must have blushed in shame at his treatment.

Pathetic, just PATHETIC.

Lygafe.

Lionel Gaffen / Fotomix.

rajon needs to be traded ASAP pls danny make it happen JO cant play we need a gud center.

can u please just stop it..

yeah, we hear you. U hate Rondo but could u just stop this non sense…Rondo ain’t going nowhere unless its for DH.

bopna - February 4, 2012 via mobile reply

now ur dreaming wake up!

i gss he never heard of the perkins trade how it eff the chem imagen rondo leaving ????

RR just came back after an 8 game layoff with a bum wrist, which still hasn't completely healed.

Prior to his injury, he helped carry the team while K.G. and P.P. were getting their game legs in shape.

Give him some respect now and give him the time to get back to his game level.

healthy or not rondo cant hit his jumpshoots and cant shoot free throws.

AWFUL! time to trade the guy.

and dont forget the captain pierce is still the leader of the team the true c's captain right now.

Christmas has been avenged!

GreenRay20 - February 4, 2012 reply

Yeah!

Now to avenge on that Heat loss in April, and we’ll have three opportunities!

God I love Pierce

Such a joy to watch, even when the TOs pile up and the shots aren’t falling. The angles he takes and the decisions he makes on defense; the passes that should lead to baskets but sometimes don’t; the leadership he gives; etc. There are at least a dozen guys in the league who have better numbers than Paul, who are more efficient or amazing, but there are maybe three or four I would even consider taking over him when I needed a basket at a clutch time, or needed someone to fill in for an injured point guard, or someone to guard the other team’s best player at crucial times. I love the Captain.

Ersatz - February 4, 2012 reply

KG'S 10,000th DEFENSIVE REBOUND!

Not his 10,000th rebound—he passed the 10,000th rebound landmark a long time ago!
I’m fairly sure after this season, he’ll be behind Karl Malone in all-time defensive rebound leader category. Congrats to KG!

PS: Somehow after the game, I’d prefer Bradley to handle the ball over Rondo. I guess Rondo is still a bit rusty. But sometimes he’s too risky on defense and it’s completely ruined our defensive system.

Ann Xing - February 4, 2012 reply

yeah

it’s “completely ruined our defensive system.” We’re only second in the league in defensive efficiency! ;-)

I actually do agree a bit. A couple of years ago, Rondo’s gambles made a lot sense: they created disruptions for the other team, and they were part of the Cs strategy. But this year, with KG being a tad slower and Ray being a bit less effective, I’m not sure so sure the gambling and overplaying is as wise; they are less able to cover for Rondo’s adventures. I’d like to see him play a little more conservative D, or at least get a better feel for when gambling is right and when it’s not.

Ersatz - February 4, 2012 reply

Excellent point

And I don’t know if Rondo’s way was ever a good idea. Steals are great to get, obviously…. but a steal is not much more valuable than a stop, yet carries much higher risks of (a) a foul, and (b) losing your man. So these gambles do not make much sense at this point. The team D that we saw in that 4th quarter was AWESOME — swarming, almost impenetrable. If Rondo would just focus on THAT…. the team would be much better off.

He should emulate Bradley, who stays in front of his man at all times, yet pokes and prods at the ball constantly, looking for a break, and when it comes, THAT’S when he goes for the steal. Rondo, on the other hand, likes to poke from behind, which is just ridiculous due to risks (a) and (b)…. especially (b).

I hope he gets it. Soon.

The defensive numbers for our starting 5 with Rondo over the last few years

pretty much suggest that he’s way more than competent at defense. He’s been among the two guys posting the most minutes on this team and it has been consistently one of, if not THE top defensive team in the league over that span.

I’m going to suggest that maybe he does have a bit of a clue as to what he’s doing.

I love what Bradley is doing on defense. But Rondo is by no means a slouch on defense.

Yes

And I think that’s why Ersatz wrote his theory that though it worked in the past, maybe RR needs to change now since the pieces are a tad slower, etc. I’m saying that maybe Rondo’s gambling was never good for the team, and that the Cs’ overall team D might have been EVEN BETTER had he gambled less and focused on covering his man. And I do think Bradley’s way of attempting steals (from the front) makes more sense.

But all that could very easily be wrong. (And anyway, RR doesn’t ALWAYS gamble.) Even if it is, though, I still like Ersatz’s theory.

It seems like almost every game for the last two regular seasons that we play the Knicks it comes down to the last shot

redbridge13 - February 4, 2012 via mobile reply

This is still Paul Pierce Team

Papatrichs - February 4, 2012 reply

Tonight is a bar fight Craig. Bar fight!

"No Moore, No JJJ, No Marquis, No Steamer.....No problem"

Are you serious?

Rondo was back in and our offense looked stagnant.

Moore is the pg of the future Celtics.

Celtic in Rome - February 4, 2012 reply

Except Moore is not a point guard