The 2009/2010 NBA Season Thread

[faldor]

The officiating SUCKED last night.  I'm not saying it gave anyone an advantage (I don't think it did...it sucked on both sides of the ball) and I don't think it contributed (much) to the outcome...but it completely killed the flow of the game.

Ticky tack fouls, blown out of bounds calls that needed reviewing, missed foul calls....just horrible all the way around.  Made the game hard to watch...and I'd guess it made it hard to play, for both teams, too.  I suspect it kept a lot of the shooters out of rhythm....Kobe included.

I'm a Celts fan, and I've thought they'd lose in EVERY round except the first.  I didn't think they could be Cleveland, and they did.  I thought Orlando would be too much for them...and they won that series pretty handily.  I STILL think the Lakers are the better team this year, and I suspect they will win the series.  But at this point, I'm so used to the Celts pulling magic tricks that I wouldn't be shocked to see the Celts win the next 3 games by 20 points and cruise to a series win.  Surprised..but not shocked.  Ultimately, this series probably goes 6 or 7 games with the Lakers winning (much as it pains me to say it).

Go ahead Celts..prove me wrong again.

Refs were terrible and at one point in the second half it appeared to me, through my admittedly "green colored glasses" that the refs were doing all they could to have the Lakers win.  The bogus foul called on Rasheed, followed by another bogus foul that I can't recall the details on.  However as the game went on, they made some bad calls that benefited the Celtics to even things out a bit.  But you're right, the officiating was just bad all around and I won't say it had an impact on the outcome of the game.  That game was decided in the first half when the Celtics dug themselves way too big a hole to get out of.

I thought Derek Fisher's post game comments about Ray Allen were pretty telling and on the money.  He said it's tough to do what Ray does, run around so much on the offensive end and then guard Kobe on defense.  Saying he himself gets tired just chasing Ray down on defense, yet Ray has to do THAT with Kobe as well.  Maybe his legs were just shot.  No disrespect to the Lakers defense on him, it was certainly much improved.  But he still had a fair number of open looks that just didn't go down.  Tony Allen has done a nice job guarding Kobe but he's not an outside threat, though he WAS more effective the way Ray was going last night.

[pilferk]

Also, this was the first game played on "short rest".  I definitely think the Celts legs are questionable...and their collective legs is more of a disadvantage for the Celts than Bynum's ONE knee is to the Lakers.

[faldor]

Also, this was the first game played on "short rest".  I definitely think the Celts legs are questionable...and their collective legs is more of a disadvantage for the Celts than Bynum's ONE knee is to the Lakers.

I watched a little SportsCenter last night, which is always tough to do when your team loses a big game.  Rachel Nichols said that she spoke with Doc and apparently Rasheed Wallace's back is worsening by the day and he's at the point where he can't play him for more than 5 or 6 minutes at a time.  That's certainly not a good thing for the C's, especially with the Lakers having such an advantage in the frontcourt.

Celtics NEED to bounce back in game 4, then they'll have the extra rest for game 5.  IF they can win that they go back to LA, lose game 6 and see what happens in game 7.  Obviously I've deviated from my prediction of Celtics in 6.  No way they win 3 straight in this series.  It's looking more like my other prediction, Lakers in 7.  I'll take the opportunities a game 7 offers though at this point.

[D]

Game 5 is gonna be the one that determines the series. Bos will bounce back and take game 4

and then game 5 will decide the series.

Boston need to do their best to get KG involved early, he has been on a milk carton first 3 games.

I think they should put Rondo on Kobe. His quickness and long arms could bother him, he wouldn't get as tired and his game isn't a perimeter game so it wouldn't affect his offense as much.

i am not a huge fan of the instant replay. just kills the flow of the game.. so even if it does get a few calls right.. i think it just hurts the momentum. its a free timeout.

[w.axl.rose]

did allen get the record for worse shooting performance in a finals or was he off by a few shots?

[D]

I thought what was most hilarious was towards the end on the play where Pau flopped on the pick from KG, how Ray Allen STILL missed the bunny layup! HAHA!

[w.axl.rose]

I thought what was most hilarious was towards the end on the play where Pau flopped on the pick from KG, how Ray Allen STILL missed the bunny layup! HAHA!

 hahah yeah, even the announcers said, if they didnt make that call it wouldn't of matter because he missed that lay up... something among those lines.

[w.axl.rose]

Shove broken glass up the Celtics ass.

"No means no?"

Fuck you.

what happened to celtics in 4?

Obviously the Lakers showed up, which surprised me.

Did you hear that NO MEANS NO chant when Kobe was shooting free throws?  Weren't those the same fairweather fans chanting MVP three years ago?

no

[faldor]

did allen get the record for worse shooting performance in a finals or was he off by a few shots?

I think he was off by a few shots.  I thought they had said the record was 0-13, which is what he shot, but I think the record was actually a little worse than that.

It's time for Paul Pierce to have himself a game.  It was his turn to play the entire game with foul trouble last night, but he has to get it going.  KG finally had a good game, Rondo is doing his thing, they relied too heavily on Ray to carry over his hot shooting last night.  It just didn't happen.  Pierce has to get it going, and I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to.

[gilee7]

The record was 0-14, I think. Allen was 0-13.

I say Lakers win tonight, Celts win game 5, Lakers finish them out in game 6.

The last game wasn't pretty. Although I guess you can attribute all the poor shooting to good defense. It's hard to imagine Kobe having three bad shooting nights back to back to back. I say he's on fire tonight, more like he was in game one.

Like everyone else, I wish the games weren't being called so closely. Seemingly every game one of the superstars have been in foul trouble and unable to get into a rhythm.

[faldor]

The record was 0-14, I think. Allen was 0-13.

I say Lakers win tonight, Celts win game 5, Lakers finish them out in game 6.

The last game wasn't pretty. Although I guess you can attribute all the poor shooting to good defense. It's hard to imagine Kobe having three bad shooting nights back to back to back. I say he's on fire tonight, more like he was in game one.

Like everyone else, I wish the games weren't being called so closely. Seemingly every game one of the superstars have been in foul trouble and unable to get into a rhythm.

Well, I think tonight the refs finally did let them play a little more.  No real complaints there.  Kobe was better tonight, but 10-22 isn't what I'd call "on fire".  He has flashes, but he's been unable to sustain it for any length of time.  I would say he's due for a breakout game where he just takes total control, but it hasn't happened in four games.  Maybe that's not a fluke.  Granted the guy is scoring around 30 per game, but he's taking a LOT of shots to get there, and the Celtics will take that.

The bench was huge for the C's tonight, especially down the stretch.  I don't know if I've ever seen a situation like that before in the Finals.  The Celtics were extending the lead with the second unit out there against the Lakers for nearly the entire 4th quarter.  Glen Davis and Nate Robinson were huge.  Tony Allen played great defense on Kobe again down the stretch.

Paul Pierce finally got it going, coming out strong to start the game.  Didn't do quite as much in the second half, but he didn't have to since the bench took over.  As a Celtic fan, I fear this series could alternate wins all the way through.  I'm not sure either team is going to win back to back games.  Game 5 is yet again a MUST win for Boston.  So hopefully that alternating win trend ends.

[D]

U know whats gonna be funny?
All the media that ripped Alvin Gentry for sticking with his bench are now gonna praise Doc for sticking with his.

[faldor]

U know whats gonna be funny?
All the media that ripped Alvin Gentry for sticking with his bench are now gonna praise Doc for sticking with his.

Did it work for Gentry?  I don't recall.  Doc just did the logical thing.  The bench was playing so well they didn't give him a chance to take them out.  He actually sent KG, Pierce, and Rondo to the scorer's table with 5 minutes left but they made a few more great plays so Doc told them all to sit back on the bench.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[D]

Nah, remember, i was even bitching about he leaving Nash out for 10 minutes and Phoenix lost game 6.

as i stated earlier, this game was must win but now means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of the series.

game 5 is the series for Boston. if they lose, its over. no way they win 2 in LA

[pilferk]

Doc was smart.

We all talked about how legs were an issue in game 3..that the Celts had tired legs.

So Doc ended up using his bench more, getting the big names more rest.  Now, it worked out WAY better than he could have hoped (extending the lead), I'll grant you.  But it was a smart move.

Hopefully, it means the C's legs are fresher going into game 5.  If the Celts can pull out game 5, I don't hate their chances of taking 1 of 2 in LA.

So far, no team has managed to win 2 straight.......about as even a series as you can get.

[faldor]

Nah, remember, i was even bitching about he leaving Nash out for 10 minutes and Phoenix lost game 6.

as i stated earlier, this game was must win but now means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of the series.

game 5 is the series for Boston. if they lose, its over. no way they win 2 in LA

Agreed.  Game 4 was obviously WAY more important to the Celtics than it was the Lakers so it's obviously not the end of the world for them.  Even if they lose game 5 they still have 2 shots at home to win the series.  Of course they'd also be one loss from ending their season too, so obviously game 5 becomes quite important for both teams.  I do think the C's can win ONE game out in LA, but not 2.  That's just asking too much.

And Laker fans can take some solace in the fact that they were in the game the whole way last night without Bynum being any factor at all.  He now gets 2 full days rest to get his knee back in shape.  I think he'll be better in game 5, but then the cross country plane flight may minimize his play in game 6.  The Lakers are just a different team without him, obviously.  The Celtics are able to drive the lane without the fear of getting their shot blocked by two 7 footers.  And even though they missed a boatload of layups, they played much more aggressively, and I think the absence of Bynum had a lot to do with that.

[D]

Scary part is, everyone keeps expecting KG and Pierce to really bust out.. but i don't think its happening. Glen Davis is a bigger matchup nightmare than KG.

KG is just long.. Davis' bulk gives the LA frontline problems cause they can't match his power.

[faldor]

Scary part is, everyone keeps expecting KG and Pierce to really bust out.. but i don't think its happening. Glen Davis is a bigger matchup nightmare than KG.

KG is just long.. Davis' bulk gives the LA frontline problems cause they can't match his power.

Whatever it takes.  KG was asked if the "Big 3" was going to bust out last night, or needed to, or something to that effect.  His response was that he didn't care if it was the "Big 3", it could be ANY 3.  Last night it was Pierce in the first half and Davis and Robinson in the 4th.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I have tickets to games 6 and 7.  Yahoo.

[faldor]

ONE more win needed for the C's.  Did what they needed to do and won the last 2 at home.  Now the Lakers need to do the same as they head back to LA.  I still find it hard to believe the Celtics could beat the Lakers 3 straight games, BUT I just don't think the Lakers are as strong as they were earlier in the series.  The loss of a healthy Bynum makes them such a different team.  It makes the frontcourt and Pau much easier to handle for the C's.  Bynum was a non factor tonight outside of a few minutes in the first quarter.  Pau had by far his worst game of the series.  Kobe was the only Laker who played well, and he played REAL well in the 3rd, but the Laker defense couldn't hold the Celtics in check.  When Bryant was scoring all those points, the Celtics were matching him on the other end.  And still, Kobe is getting the majority of his points off of jump shots.  The Celtics will take that all day long.  Limit him from driving to the hoop and getting his teammates involved, mission accomplished. 

So it's back to Cali.  Obviously I'd love for the C's to win in 6, but I won't be afraid if it goes 7.  The Celtics were finally able to break the string and win back to back games.  Now, can the Lakers answer and follow suit?