OFFICIAL THREAD: Boston Celtics vs. PHX SUNS 1030 et 2/22

[thehealthinspector]

Originally Posted by the PGA tour

^^ regardless of their schedule, they were playing much better basketball the first 2 months of the year. their chemistry was fine. the ball movement was beautiful, and the defense was top notch. i think maybe lack of practice, or fatigue has been a factor the last 2 months, because there's been a lot more one on one. the defense hasn't been as CONSISTENT either, but that might be due to kg's playing hurt. I still think that they will get back to that form for the playoffs.

not to criticize but u completely missed my point about the "toughness" in their schedule at the beginning of the season, that lack of toughopponents is something that can hide weak team chemistry

 

[the pga tour]

Originally Posted by TheHealthInspector

Originally Posted by the PGA tour

^^ regardless of their schedule, they were playing much better basketball the first 2 months of the year. their chemistry was fine. the ball movement was beautiful, and the defense was top notch. i think maybe lack of practice, or fatigue has been a factor the last 2 months, because there's been a lot more one on one. the defense hasn't been as CONSISTENT either, but that might be due to kg's playing hurt. I still think that they will get back to that form for the playoffs.

not to criticize but u completely missed my point about the "toughness" in their schedule at the beginning of the season, that lack of tough opponents is something that can hide weak team chemistry

what i'm saying though, is if the schedule was flip-flopped and they were playing the suns earlier in the year (no excuse), there is no doubt theywould have won IMO. if you just watched how they played, it really wouldn't be a question. they weren't just beating teams, they were absoluetlyCRUSHING teams. and their chemistry was OBVIOUS! they ran the offense to perfection, and were ruthless. now...not so much.

 

[thehealthinspector]

Originally Posted by the PGA tour


what i'm saying though, is if the schedule was flip-flopped and they were playing the suns earlier in the year (no excuse), there is no doubt they would have won IMO. if you just watched how they played, it really wouldn't be a question. they weren't just beating teams, they were absoluetly CRUSHING teams. and their chemistry was OBVIOUS! they ran the offense to perfection, and were ruthless. now...not so much.

yeah but what im saying is that had the schedule been flip flopped, boston's record wouldnt be what it is, im not saying that they would have lostthose games just that they would had to play a lot more harder fought games, the point im trying to make is that when they were playing those eastern teams atthe start, it was obvious that their starting line up was better than all those other teams starting line ups based PURELY on talent and what im saying is thatthat kind of situation can hide weak team chemistry, yeah they were passin the ball well but they were playin weak teams who had weak defenses, i am howevergoing to call u out on bostons defense which hasnt been anything more than slightly above average due to kg's ability to cover down low

- im sure u watched the game today, during the first half phoenix was usually up around 10 to 15 but during the the 3rd, boston started to narrow the leadto where it was around 45-53 - right around this point, there were fast break opportunities where as boston got down the floor, they made bad passes, not justonce but on like 3or4 straight occasions - u may be sayin "well, it happens" but i dont think it does, not to teams with chemistry that have beentogether for over a season, i dont think ud see something like that from teams like Pho or SA or Dal
- i dont think it was nervousness and i dont think it was frustration cause Boston started to pick up steam, i think it was just not havin a feel for eachother

- im not trying to badmouth boston or say that theyre a bad team cause theyre not, im simply sayin that they may have lacked team chemistry all along andthat we're just witnessing it now because all those easy games they played at the beginning of the season may have blinded people's expectations andperceptions of whats actually there

 

[the pga tour]

agree to disagree because how do u explain the blowout against the nuggets and warriors, and other good teams the first time around?

the clear sign where they lost their intensity to me, was after that win in Detroit. Up to that game every game was a test in some way. first game, first roadgame, first division test, first west team etc.. after that win they kinda took it down a notch, and haven't been as cut-throat.

 

[noblekane]

i think the celtics just got star struck by the appearance of shaq...

thats 3 in a row though

 

[thehealthinspector]

Originally Posted by the PGA tour

agree to disagree because how do u explain the blowout against the nuggets and warriors, and other good teams the first time around?

the clear sign where they lost their intensity to me, was after that win in Detroit. Up to that game every game was a test in some way. first game, first road game, first division test, first west team etc.. after that win they kinda took it down a notch, and haven't been as cut-throat.

again, not to badmouth but i can explain it the same way boston lost 3 straight: to phi, ny, nj (weak weak and weak) - a fluke

 

[the pga tour]

Originally Posted by TheHealthInspector

Originally Posted by the PGA tour

agree to disagree because how do u explain the blowout against the nuggets and warriors, and other good teams the first time around?

the clear sign where they lost their intensity to me, was after that win in Detroit. Up to that game every game was a test in some way. first game, first road game, first division test, first west team etc.. after that win they kinda took it down a notch, and haven't been as cut-throat.

again, not to badmouth but i can explain it the same way boston lost 3 straight: to phi, ny, nj (weak weak and weak) - a fluke

not to badmouth either, but that hasn't happened. they're actually undefeated against those teams.

this was their first 3 game losing streak of the season. i'll give you the back to back losses to washington though, although that was after that detroitwin i was talking about.

 

[rocboys]

celtics is a good team but they fall in love with jumpshooting too much. shaq protect the paint good. garnett over amare was nasty. amare is one selfish dude.

 

[sohi 23]

Originally Posted by rocboys

celtics is a good team but they fall in love with jumpshooting too much. shaq protect the paint good. garnett over amare was nasty. amare is one selfish dude.

There are so many things wrong with this reply, I don't even know where to start

 

[rocboys]

lol random right? ur team dont want to the rockets in first round.

 

[sohi 23]

Originally Posted by rocboys

lol random right? ur team dont want to the rockets in first round.

What?!?!
TGP, your presence is required

 

[nnarum]

Originally Posted by rocboys

celtics is a good team but they fall in love with jumpshooting too much. shaq protect the paint good. garnett over amare was nasty. amare is one selfish dude.



lol random right? ur team dont want to the rockets in first round.

 

[rapsa]

great game by AMARE!this is the beginning of Amare's NBA domination!

 

[tupac003]

Originally Posted by rocboys

lol random right? ur team dont want to the rockets in first round.

Wow...

We were talking about the suns and the celtics... and some how you bring up the rockets and the lakers.

You are very very random...almost troll like.

 

[scuse7]

We just weren't going to win last night.

KG played good and kept demanding the ball, but every time the double down came, he would kick it and the shot would not fall.

Ray and Paul probably had their worst games of the year. It wasn't a good game at all, but you could look at it like we played good defense? Everyone justwasn't on.

No matter what i thought we weren't going to win. I liked how the game was played with the physical stuff. Made it a good NBA game. At least we won'thave to see you guys come playoff time.

 

[nbadotcom]

It was late when I got home last night, so I didn't get a chance to post.

I liked the intensity that the Suns showed from the opening tip all the way through the game (except Boris Diaw). Amare was a beast. He showed that chumpGarnett what a real basketball player is. I laughed when Garnett tried to get into his head and then Stat repeatedly owned him.

Garnett is a chump with no heart. I feel sorry for Celtics fans. This team won't do anything in the playoffs with that bum.
In his "illustrious" 12 career, Garnett has been a part of exactly 17 playoff wins. Amare Stoudemire, in his 4 complete seasons (one missed due toinjury), he's been a part of 17 playoff wins.
The same number of playoff wins in 8 less years? LOL Garnett is a complete joke. Good thing he's earned every dollar of that contract. He sure has beenable to be a leader LOL

Paul Pierce kills this team as well. I saw many possessions where he just tried to do everything...taking the ball in against 2-3 defenders and jacking up abad shot - vintage Pierce. I thought he was going to be less selfish with this new team - I guess not.

It was great seeing the overhyped trio of Celtics go a combined 18-42.

Anyway, back to the game...I hated to see the Suns play such a slow paced, Eastern Conference style game - however I loved the fact that we actually playedsome defense for one (even Amare) and we actually killed an opponent on the boards. This was definately a game that the old Suns wouldn't have won. I thinkthe first game with Shaq - without Trix, we would have beaten the Fakers..but this was a completely different type of game.

Our offense looked out of sync. Nash didn't really look comfortable playing with Shaq in the lineup. Even with Shaq out the pace was slowed down and theSuns offense wasn't really effective. We didn't get fast breaks, we didn't get out and run, and Nash wasn't really able to distribute the balllike he normally does. That concerns me about the Western Conference teams. We'd need to play much better on offense to win in the West. No way we beat thepowerful west teams by scoring just 85 points.
I wish the Suns were in the East. We'd have already clinched the #1 seed playing against those crappy teams most nights.



Another glaring weakness was shown in this game...We don't have a backup PG. Once Barbosa got hurt there wasn't anyone to handle the ball - unless youcount Grant Hill walking the ball up the floor.

Strawberry played well. I liked the defense he gave us...
Boris Diaw needs to be deported to France. Immediately. He's a worthless bum. It is so frustrating that he shows a flash of being a good player and thenreturns to being a lazy piece of crap for the rest of the game. If you're not going to play hard, get the hell out of the lineup.

I think the jury's still out on the Shaq deal. I don't think our offense has looked good in either game. Steve hasn't been able to reach doublefigure assists with Shaq on the team. We aren't getting the spacing or fast breaks that allow the open looks. Raja Bell's long range shooting has beenreally taken away by the slower paced offense. Nash hasn't been able to penetrate much, and we're not getting the open looks from beyond the arc.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

When the Celtics were in half-court offense mode and Shaq was in the game, the Suns weren't getting as owned as they usually do, where anyone could scoreon them inside. Shaq's presence in itself gives the Suns some interior defense and the teams will think twice about trying to score from inside.

Grant Hill is grabbing a lot of rebounds that Shawn Marion would've grabbed and his rpg has been twice as high after Marion left than before the trade.Shaq's rebounding has also been great, that's what the Suns need, they were getting owned on the boards.

 

[jdiddy931]

We aren't getting the spacing or fast breaks that allow the open looks
24 fast break points isn't enough for you?

No way we beat the powerful west teams by scoring just 85 points.

Isn't that way the spurs when games?

 

[bjm5295]

We all know the West is the place to be, but even though we've lost three in a row, its not like these are the first three games we've played againstthe West....

Beat the Spurs.
Beat the Suns before.
Crushed the Warriors the first time around.
Beat the Mavs WITHOUT KG.
Handled the Lakers twice, granted without Gasol.

And yes, I remember that all of those (except one of the Laker games) were at home, but its not like if we got a finals matchup that we'd play all 7 outWest.

With that, I'm not saying the Celtics are clearly better than any of the West teams, because they arent. But its a two way street, no West team is clearlybetter than the Celtics, which a lot of people seem to believe. Anything can happen at any time on any night.

 

[mario23407]

Originally Posted by bjm5295

We all know the West is the place to be, but even though we've lost three in a row, its not like these are the first three games we've played against the West....

Beat the Spurs.
Beat the Suns before.
Crushed the Warriors the first time around.
Beat the Mavs WITHOUT KG.
Handled the Lakers twice, granted without Gasol.

And yes, I remember that all of those (except one of the Laker games) were at home, but its not like if we got a finals matchup that we'd play all 7 out West.

With that, I'm not saying the Celtics are clearly better than any of the West teams, because they arent. But its a two way street, no West team is clearly better than the Celtics, which a lot of people seem to believe. Anything can happen at any time on any night.

we didnt have devin harris and jerry stackhouse.

 

[nbadotcom]

Originally Posted by bjm5295

We all know the West is the place to be, but even though we've lost three in a row, its not like these are the first three games we've played against the West....

Beat the Suns before.
WRONG. This was the first meeting this year. They play @ Boston March 26

Crushed the Warriors the first time around.
Big deal. They're not one of the top teams in the West. Nobody that doesn't live in the Bay Area thinks they're a contender.

Handled the Lakers twice, granted without Gasol.
LOL Big deal. The Fakers are trash.

 

[downtown43]

can any suns fans tell me whats good with my man DJ Strawberry? will he ever get a chance to run anything on offense?

in all the Suns games i watched this year, he basically looks like he's scared to shoot and passes as soon as he touches the ball. i know he has to deferto the 4 others on the court who are better scorers than him, but will he remain in that role or does he have more upside?

and he used to be a legit lockdown defender in college, but the Suns basically turned him into a flopper

 

[nbadotcom]

Originally Posted by DOWNTOWN43

can any suns fans tell me whats good with my man DJ Strawberry? will he ever get a chance to run anything on offense?

in all the Suns games i watched this year, he basically looks like he's scared to shoot and passes as soon as he touches the ball. i know he has to defer to the 4 others on the court who are better scorers than him, but will he remain in that role or does he have more upside?

and he used to be a legit lockdown defender in college, but the Suns basically turned him into a flopper

He's really not there to do anything on offense.
When he was in training camp the coaching staff basically told him that he needs to play defense to get any run. He's come in and played some decent D. Ithought last night was his best game. He played some hard D on Ray Allen...had a great block, and wasn't credited with any steals but knocked a couple ofballs loose and created steals for teammates.
And, yes he drew an offensive foul last night and drew a great one against Fakers SG # 24, but like I've always said - you can't blame the players orthe team for flopping. Blame the lameass NBA officials and David $tern that has created that. If they don't call it, players won't do it. But, if theobject of defense is to stop your opponent from scoring, and you can make a play that not only creates a turnover, but draws a foul on the opponent, and theofficials will call it 9 out of 10 times - you're dumb NOT to do it. You're not taking the advantage the officials are giving you if you DON'T doit. If the league stops calling it you won't see players do it. Blame the NBA.

 

[bjm5295]

We all know the West is the place to be, but even though we've lost three in a row, its not like these are the first three games we've played against the West....

Beat the Suns before.
WRONG. This was the first meeting this year. They play @ Boston March 26

Crushed the Warriors the first time around.
Big deal. They're not one of the top teams in the West. Nobody that doesn't live in the Bay Area thinks they're a contender.

Handled the Lakers twice, granted without Gasol.
LOL Big deal. The Fakers are trash.
I could have sworn we played the Suns... ya got me there.

Who the hell was I thinking of...

Warriors: If you kept reading, my point was anyone can beat anyone at anytime. And they're only five games back of first and in the playoff race so theymust be doing something half right.

And since when are the Lakers trash? I hate them as much as the next guy but come on...

 

[tupac003]

Originally Posted by bjm5295

We all know the West is the place to be, but even though we've lost three in a row, its not like these are the first three games we've played against the West....

Beat the Suns before.
WRONG. This was the first meeting this year. They play @ Boston March 26

Crushed the Warriors the first time around.
Big deal. They're not one of the top teams in the West. Nobody that doesn't live in the Bay Area thinks they're a contender.

Handled the Lakers twice, granted without Gasol.
LOL Big deal. The Fakers are trash.

I could have sworn we played the Suns... ya got me there.

Who the hell was I thinking of...

Warriors: If you kept reading, my point was anyone can beat anyone at anytime. And they're only five games back of first and in the playoff race so they must be doing something half right.

And since when are the Lakers trash? I hate them as much as the next guy but come on...




ZO hates everything thats isn't the suns or the wildcats.

The suns lost to "trash" 3 times this year so what does that make the suns?

He will find an excuse as to why they lost (ie $tern, horry, or any load of crap he thinks of) to explain why he lost. Hell he continues to call GS and NBDLteam yet they keep beating the suns (twice this year). So don't listen to anything zo says. He knows ZERO about basketball. He is just in love with afranchise that would be better off if he wasn't a fan.