# Game 40: BOS vs TOR



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Boston Celtics (33-6)







































VS

Toronto Raptors (22-19)


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

With Posey not playing, and Rondo likely still only in limited minutes this game could be pretty difficult... Hopefully Perk can continue his scoring from last game.. as will KG and the rest of the Bigs against Toronto's interior D.

Boston 99-94


----------



## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

Posey being out could be a good thing.

Toronto is pretty beatable. This would be a good game for Powe and Davis to get a lot of minutes. Who knows, if they perform well then Doc might be convinced to stop playing so much small ball.


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Tony Allen will be the X factor tonight (not saying if thats good or bad), we'll see how it goes. GO CELTS


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Nice to see Posey still doin his pre-game ritual with the guys even in street clothes... 
HERE WE GO


----------



## southeasy (Jun 11, 2003)

good call by the boston fan on Tone Allen.

he's playing well... and who is this andrea bargnani? toronto fans haven't seen him play D & rebound like this in awhil.e...


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Why would you not put Big Baby in this game?? Toronto is a team he is bound to get a ton of offensive boards against.

down by 2 at the half, Toronto shooting over 55%... hopefully we can bring that down a bit.


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Toronto now 11/14 from 3..... killing us


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Looks like somebody is going to have the oppurtunity to be Mr. Big Miss again. we don't seem to ever excel in the clutch


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Nevermind Ray Got It! Ray Got It!


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

God Damnit. Were Going To Have To Sink Another One With Ten Seconds To Go


----------



## mqtcelticsfan (Apr 2, 2006)

Ray's got the hot hand, give it to him.


----------



## mqtcelticsfan (Apr 2, 2006)

Disappointing.


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Pierce's foul killed us. He better hit one here and make up for it


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Please dont Iso Paul.... dont do it


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

eddie house. its clutch time- we have three future hall of famers- and we give the ball to eddie house. Perfection


----------



## mqtcelticsfan (Apr 2, 2006)

Marcus13 said:


> Pierce's foul killed us. He better hit one here and make up for it


Pierce's foul killed us? How?


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

DDAAAAYYYUUUMM .... Eddie with a miss and Rays tip bounces off the rim at the buzzer.

Nice game... nothing you can do when a team is shooting like that


----------



## mqtcelticsfan (Apr 2, 2006)

How are you guys so far behind?


----------



## MrkLrn13 (Mar 1, 2006)

*
OWNED YOU.*


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Oh and i dont mind running the play for Eddie... hes a great shooter and the teams are going to collapse on Ray, Paul or KG if they get the ball.

Pierce may have over dribbled with that spin move though


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

MrkLrn13 said:


> *
> OWNED YOU.*


3-1


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

mqtcelticsfan said:


> Pierce's foul killed us? How?


Maybe I read the play-by play wrong, but didnt Calderon get an and-one on that last toronto posession?


----------



## mqtcelticsfan (Apr 2, 2006)

MrkLrn13 said:


> *
> OWNED YOU.*


We're 2-1 against you and 33-7. Congrats...


----------



## mqtcelticsfan (Apr 2, 2006)

Marcus13 said:


> Maybe I read the play-by play wrong, but didnt Calderon get an and-one on that last toronto posession?


Yes, but with the foul, they got one point, and we were still down two, instead of one, which is still one shot.


----------



## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

it would've been devastating if Toronto shoots like this and still loses. This has to be the best shooting game this season in the NBA.


----------



## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I don't understand why Eddie House took the shot in the last 2 plays. You guys were getting layups all night with guys going inside. Should have dumped the ball inside to KG and let him get a shot up or get Pierce or Allen a shot.


----------



## silverpaw1786 (Mar 11, 2004)

Marcus13 said:


> Maybe I read the play-by play wrong, but didnt Calderon get an and-one on that last toronto posession?


since when are there 1 and 1s in the NBA, I thought it was just 2 shots?


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Hard to believe it was only a one posession game when you look at how well Toronto shot.

Doc was stupid for putting Rondo on Jose in the crunch though he couldnt stop him all night


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

seifer0406 said:


> I don't understand why Eddie House took the shot in the last 2 plays. You guys were getting layups all night with guys going inside. Should have dumped the ball inside to KG and let him get a shot up or get Pierce or Allen a shot.


Should have gone inside to KG, but Pierce always demands the ball in the last seconds which to me isnt working at all...

House isnt actually a bad option, teams wont rush him like they do Ray or Pierce... it was contested but by the time Pierce got him the ball there wasnt much alternative for him but to take it.


----------



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

silverpaw1786 said:


> since when are there 1 and 1s in the NBA, I thought it was just 2 shots?


If you get fouled in the act of shooting, and you make the shot, you get only 1 free-throw.


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

mqtcelticsfan said:


> Yes, but with the foul, they got one point, and we were still down two, instead of one, which is still one shot.


As it turns out, this is true. However, if House would have made that shot, I dont think we'd be looking at it in the same angle


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

silverpaw1786 said:


> since when are there 1 and 1s in the NBA, I thought it was just 2 shots?


i didnt say 1 and 1, I said an and-one. This is what we call it when a player makes the basket, and draws the foul


----------



## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

That was a legit loss.

We didn't have an off game, we weren't missing a player out of the Big 3. None of the Big 3 shot poorly or had off games. We didn't play a crappy team either.

We lost to a playoff team who was shooting incredibly. They also needed a very clutch play to win the game.

The thing is, a team like that lives and dies by the jumpshot. I'm just glad that we depend on our defense, not on our offense (especially jumpshots). A team is bound to get hot like that and overcome great defense, but the bottom line is, great offense can overcome great defense, but great defense is more consistent than great offense.


----------



## southeasy (Jun 11, 2003)

it's really not hard to believe boston was still in the game... toronto has never had that many turnovers this season, and it's not like boston even forced half of them, ..t.o. also got severely outrebounded, as we always do.. toronto just put everything together for the first time this season w/ our shots.... probably the best all around game from bargnani.. EVER in his career, 3 assists, 3 rebounds shy of a triple-double.

4 players over 20pts

i love ya boston, but toronto is still around, we're a good team, our 1st game was an OT playoff type game, the last 2 were forgetful for toronto due to injuries & the tj ford situation.. tonight was amazing..

boston is great.

peace


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Im just glad the odds of shooting like that consistantly for a playoff series are slim n none


----------



## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

Avalanche said:


> Im just glad the odds of shooting like that consistantly for a playoff series are slim n none


Correct.

Also, in the playoffs, when you only have 4 games to get your act together, you won't always be hitting your shots. You're stroke can be off, or you'll be fatigued mentally and physically. You can always depend on your defense since its consistent, but your J won't always be falling. Thats why I'm so glad that the Celtics are a defensive minded team.


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Definately... 

Oh and after this loss.... feel for the wolves who are up next.

(who btw beat the suns AGAIN, 39/15 from Big Al)


----------



## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

it was an excellent shooting game from toronto but i thought the c's perimeter defense wasn't that great. if you look at the highlights you'll see almost all of the 3's from the raps were wide open, and trust me when i say bargnani, delfino, parker, calderon, kapono, all hit about 70% of their 3's or better in practices. the c's didn't make defensive adjustment and allowed calderon to find open players. nobody even attempted to step into those passes. the raptors is basically a jumpshooting team and their best post player bosh tends to play more of a perimeter game also, so i don't see why the c's were all clogged in the paint on defense.


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

We didnt have Posey, who wouldve got big minutes tonight on the tall perimeter shooters Toronto has


----------



## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

To be honest, if I'm Doc Rivers, I would have the exact same game plan the next time they play the Raptors (in the playoffs). I don't care which team it is, if you limit the team to outside shooting only, you are going to win most of the time, even if it's against the best 3pt shooting team in the league.

Doc did make some small mistakes like sub pattern and offensive plays, but the general direction is correct.


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Sort of.

He played Rondo too much when he was getting torched, and any night you have TA playing like that you have to ride it out.

Didnt play Big Baby enough, a guy who could have been Huge on the offensive glass given the minutes, i know either Bosh/Bargs is a tough match up but hopefully this is where Posey will help Next time.

Still doesnt call timeouts to stop the opposition when they are on runs...

Really needs to work on his playcalling in the crunch.

Buuuut... as i've said, not much you can do when a team shoots like that, and it wouldnt last for 4 games in the playoffs IMO, not against our D anyway


----------



## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

good game.

besides shooting, we played awful though. 

if we hadn't turned it over every other possession and gave up an offensive rebound every minute.. this would have been a blowout..

we really had no business winning this game if we didn't shoot lights out.


----------



## The KiBosh (Feb 17, 2007)

Avalanche said:


> Didnt play Big Baby enough, a guy who could have been Huge on the offensive glass given the minutes, i know either Bosh/Bargs is a tough match up but hopefully this is where Posey will help Next time.


Don't be deceived by blanket stats. Raps are actually a REALLY good team at protecting their glass. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/statistics?stat=teamstatreb&sort=offreb&league=nba&season=2008&seasontype=2&avg=pg&order=false&split=999
5th best in the NBA ahead of Boston. The reason for the Raps woeful rebounding numbers stem from the fact that they spread the floor on offense which leaves no one under the rim to pad the Offensive rebounding numbers.




Avalanche said:


> Really needs to work on his playcalling in the crunch.


Doc leaving in Rondo was a terrible call on his part. I read an article this morning about how most of the Raps timeout was spent drawing up a different play. When Mitchell saw Doc put Rondo back on the floor he changed his play immediately and told Jose to attack Rajon. 



Avalanche said:


> Buuuut... as i've said, not much you can do when a team shoots like that, and it wouldnt last for 4 games in the playoffs IMO, not against our D anyway


Agreed. The ONLY reason the raps won this game was their shooting. Every other aspect of the game they played was below average on their part. The Defence was shaky to mediocre for them. They turned the ball over WAY more then they normally do. Boston abused the Raps on the offensive boards. 

I would love to see these two teams in the playoffs though. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Boston is the better team but I think the Raps Match up well against them. Even the season series of 3-1 for the Celts is a little misleading. First game they played could of gone either way and was won in overtime by a buzzer beater. The two games in the middle were more one sided but one of them was played without Bosh so its not a very good indicator. Guard play and ball movement seem to cause a lot of problems for the C's.

On a side note. I really hope the C's win it all this year. Garnett deserves it.


----------



## cgcatsfan (Jun 10, 2005)

Thanks!! He does, Garnett is a great player. Pierce deserves it too for all the years he carried the franchise on his back by himself. 

Games like this one highlight the fact that the Celtics are (in general) winning because of the players and not because Doc is a good coach. 
As previously mentioned, he didn't do a good job with player management or 
strategic use of time outs. 

The Raptors shot the lights out and I do agree that we should have harrassed them a bit more behind the arc.


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

This is why we need to be winning by 10+.... keep Doc out of it lol.


----------



## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Avalanche said:


> This is why we need to be winning by 10+.... keep Doc out of it lol.


Which really doesnt sound good for the ECF/NBA Finals


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

The thing that worries me in the playoffs is Docs tendancy not to call timeouts when the other team is on a run, and stick with the line up even when its not working.


----------



## cgcatsfan (Jun 10, 2005)

I have faith in our TEAM. We haven't lost a lot of games and I think they're hip to the fact that they have to do it in spite of doc sometimes. 

They can take it on themselves to call some time outs. Hopefully that doesn't piss Doc off too much. They have no control over the line ups, but I think the big three could quietly influence him behind the scenes. 

I honestly feel that the team has a "whatever it takes, we're all in this together" attitude. That is often the deciding factor come play off time.


----------



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Playoffs cant come soon enough


----------

