In the end IT did the killing.
Heard Danny Ainge on the radio on Friday. He said that Celtic practices had a pall over them. No joking, no looseness. Everybody was tight, not knowing how to respond in the wake of Thomas' sister's untimely death.
Looks like they've shaken free and are back to Celtic basketball.
Kudos to Brad Stevens for starting Gerald Green the last two games. Impactfull tonight for sure.
And the loss of Rondo is having a major impact on Chicago's ball movement.
Butler won't be getting 25 free throws in the Garden. Celts should get the next two.
LOL at Celtics fans praising Brad Stevens and talking about how the Celtics have "a different mindset".
They are playing against Jimmy Butler and a bunch of D-league scrubs. Zipser, Felicio, and Bobby Portis all got double digit minutes. Bulls' big offensive spark plug was Isaiah fucking Canann. And y'all still lost quarters 2 through 4. Think about that.
My point is (other than to point out how hilarious NE fans are in general), this Celtics team is not that good and should not be lauded as such. They are just playing a terrible team that had to beat a resting Nets team on the final day of the season to squeak into the playoffs in the East...and then lost their PG.
Celtics basketball...lol, sheesh, gimme a break. It's an embarrassment that they even lost a game in this series much less 2 home games.
If they play Washington next round and the Wiz are + money it will likely be the biggest wager I've ever made.
Celts just benched IT because he was getting destroyed on the Butler/Canaan brush screens
Surprised announcers haven't mentioned it. Just gonna overlook a team benching it's leading scorer I guess.
edit: Back in now. Should be interesting. He was getting killed.
What bragging? I was discussing the game at hand within the context of the thread.
The soul had come out of the team in the immediacy of the death of IT's sister. The Celtics have solid leadership at the player level, the coaching level, the GM level, and the Organizational level. They hurt as a team when their best player, and a well liked player, was severely wounded just as they went into the Playoffs. On SOME TEAMS that kind of thing matters. This is a close organization vertically and that kind of thing matters here.
With a little time, after her burial, and after being embarrassed in the first two games in the Garden, they suddenly regained their mojo.
When I said "in the end IT did the killing" it was in the flow of the thread responding to the post above mine. Did you watch the game? Maybe YOUR bias is clouding your judgement because in the end IT clearly did the killing and was clearly the MVP of that game.
I bet these games. I pay attention. I'm not your best XXs and OOs guy but I pay close attention to shifts in how a team is playing and try to pinpoint why those shifts are occurring. Personnel conflicts and team chemistry are big factors. As for your Bulls, it should be noted that prior to the Celtics coming out of their funk and taking the last two (yes Rondo mattered) they won 11 of their last 16 and covered 12 of their last 16. They clearly had gotten it together heading into the playoffs. Why the change over what had been a very dismal season? Because Wade went out (I thought for the season and was surprised to see him in Game 1) and Rondo took over. The team leadership had changed. The Bulls responded. It is no coincidence that they lost the last two with Rondo on the bench.
As for my comment about Jimmy Butler and his 25 free throws, what is inaccurate about that? The NBA is a homer superstar league. I'll give you 2-1 that says Jimmy Butler doesn't get 25 free throws in either of the next two games in Boston.
In the end, we Boston fans are aware of the limitations of this Celtic team. We are also aware that they had the best record in the East. That, my friend is overachieving. Overachieving can only happen when there is great coaching and great, unselfish team play.
If you don't think that Brad Stevens is one of the top five coaches in the game I don't think you understand the game. Overachievement is the definition of great coaching.
Bragging? Nobody's bragging. We're discussing the flow of a series.
And it's fun when the team you root for overachieves. And it's fun when the smallest guy in the league dominates (yes offensively only) men that tower over him on a big man's game.
How far will these C's go? I don't know. For me it's about the ride, not the destination. It's been a fun ride.
And just for shits and giggles I'll take the Celts vs Wash in a friendly bet with you IF we even get that series.
