Comments on: Know Your Enemy: The Boston Celtics

By: Don W.

Don W. — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:02:16 +0000

We just have to have that same intensity and we will be fine. Just need to stay healthy and we will be right there, regardless of who we play. Go Lakers.

By: Murcy

Murcy — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:20:02 +0000

Hi there you guys, it is the first time i am commenting here, and let me just tell you that i find this blog and teh comments astonishingly good (and, sad to say, completely un-laker-fan-like, as it actually builds on facts, and has valid and normal arguments. if you need proof that most of the time it is not like this, read the comments on lakerblog in the chats with other team’s bloggers).
anyway, just thought i would put in m two cents on teh whole lakers-celtics thing. unless by some miracle my teams, PHO and PHI come out on top somehow, there is going to be a repeat of last years finals. and teh celtics are going to win again, by a little. bynum might really be the next big thing, then again, he might not. he might collapse under the pressure, or might not. rondo was great all year, but bad in the finals, but he woke up on KG’s intensity and help. I am not sure kobe is the kind of player who is going to be like that. then again, i might be wrong. posey was great last year, but tony allen was also pretty good before he had a major surgery a year and a half ago (remind you of anyone?). he will get a bigger role this time, and in the preseason o’bryant and miles looked promising as well as walker, a rookie who hustles really hard. i know kobe can kill anyone, but the celtics were pretty good in limiting him (as much as this is even possible), whereas LA could not contain pierce. so, unless LA gets tougher, more urgent, and more willing to work hard, in which case they will match boston’s greatest strenghts, they will not win… i think. peace

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:06:14 +0000

NBATV is running classic hi-scoring games and I’m watching Maravich in 1977 go for 69 and one of the refs is Dick Bavetta!

BTW the Kobe 81 pt game is on at 3:00 AM(LA time).

By: Hassan

Hassan — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:43:27 +0000

Dear Marc,

Your celtics make my blood boil and give me a bad taste in my mouth. The refs extending the series is completely trash. Like Chris J said, try and explain the FT difference. The Lakers of last year were barely expected to make it into the playoffs, let alone the Finals. In case it slipped your mind, they were in a bit of rebuilding phase, which is why Kobe was so upset in the first place. Yeah, our boys took your boys to game six when were were re-building. You better watch out cuz this year we’re gonna be ready and we’re gonna be hungry.

See you in the finals.

Unless you know, the Hawks kill your team again or something,

By: wondahbap

wondahbap — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:14:44 +0000

Went to the Celtics-Cavs game last. Darius Miles does not look good. They played him for about 2-3 minutes in the 2nd Quarter, and I felt bad for him. I don’t know if his roster spot is guaranteed or not, but if I was a Celtic fan, I would hope he wasn’t playing AT ALL.

Also, seeing all these brand new Celtic ans made me sick. Trust me. They are brand new. I NEVER saw anyone wearing Celtic gear before. Now, all of a sudden it looks like spring again. I had to sit and listen to these mommies and daddies call LeBron “LeBryant.” I hate New England sports fans……………except Sox fans. Go Sox!

Also, I was about 10 rows up form the Cavs bench, and during the shoot around for the 2nd half, a fan wearing a bootleg Jordan Dream Team jersey yelled to LBJ, and asked who he thought the best player was. LeBron told him, “the person on your jersey, followed by Kobe.” No cameras around. Seemed honest. It just made me realize that he probably is sincere when he says it, not just good PR. He was probably too young to really enjoy MJ, and was most likely a big Kobe fan as a kid.

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:54:03 +0000

The Celtics offense last year really wasn’t all that bad…when they managed to complete a possession without a turnover. The basic numbers are that they averaged 100 points playing the 19th fastest pace and they rated 9th in offensive efficiency. Not great, better than average but considering their offensive talent, a dissapointment. However, when you delve into their just their shooting numbers, they operated like a top five offense:
4th Field Goal %
5th eFG %
5th 3pt%
8th FT%

What really dropped them to 9th in offensive efficiency was their horrible turnover rate. You can shoot and pass as well as you want but if you turn the ball a lot, that’s a lot of failed possessions. They were second in turnover percentage, just one percentage point behind Sacramento and ahead of a 15 win Miami team, Memphis and Seattle just to cite a few. The Celtics were the only team in the top 10 in turnover percentage to have a winning record, an indication of just how good their defense was.

What that also indicated is that they had enough offensive firepower to where when they managed to hold onto the ball for long stretches, they could score in bunches in a variety of fashions, which being set against the backdrop of their defense, produced huge differentials. Like game 4 in the finals for instance.

By: drrayeye

drrayeye — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:33:05 +0000

Though it would be a thrill to face the Celtics again at the end of this season with home court advantage, both teams have some work to do to get there.

Right now, the Lakers are no better than one of the top four teams in the Westerm Conference. I’d be surprised to see a championship Laker team emerge before December. However, there are no missing pieces, and when the entire squad is fully orgnized, it will be panic time throughout the NBA.

By: bchamp

bchamp — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:52:04 +0000

I welcome Marc’s opinion of dissent. Just don’t go into hiding if things turn out different than you think.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:47:29 +0000

Paying homage to the best efforts of campaign staffs everywhere I offer Spin and Counter Spin

Posey left.
Spin-The Celts plan to replace his contribution w/numerous other players,thus developing a deep bench and allowing the Starters to rest,keeping them fresh for the Playoffs.
Counter Spin-The more options you give Doc Rivers,the worse a coach he is.

The Celts are a yr older.
Spin-The team has had a yr of getting to know each other and is now a smooth machine.
Counter Spin-They’re a yr older.

It’s tough to repeat as teams lose their hunger.
Spin-KG’s intensity will prevail.
Counter Spin-KG’s intensity didn’t prevent the T-Wolves from collapsing.
Counter Counter Spin-This is Boston not Minnesota.
Counter Counter counter Spin-And Posey leaving for a little more money differs from Sprewell wanting to feed his family how?

The East Improved over the Summer.
Spin-Suuure they did. Atl lost Childress,Orl added a SG who can’t shoot,Cle added A PG who doesn’t pass,Tor added a guy who hates playing inside and wants him to play inside,Wash can’t even begin to stay healthy,Phi added a PF who’s had how much success getting to the Playoffs and does anyone really fear Detroit anymore?
Counter Spin-The East IS better,everybody says so. So there!

Atlanta showed Boston is vulnerable to athletic teams.
Spin-1)How many athletic teams are like the Hawks in the East? 2)And who won the series?
Counter Spin-And who lost 3 games to a sub-500 team?

By: Snoopy2006

Snoopy2006 — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:07:22 +0000

After the Finals I officially hate KG with a passion, and I’ve always disliked him, and I know that Kobe-Pau-Odom-Bynum is stronger than Kobe-KG (assuming Mitch doesn’t make the Pau trade if we had gotten KG). Still, I can’t help but wondering how KG and Kobe would have played together. The basketball fan in me is so curious. As someone said, Kobe and KG are the two most intense guys in the league. I think they would have thrived together. And KG could have installed a defensive mentality that could have offset the losses of Bynum and Odom. Our individual defenders (Ariza, Kobe, Fish) are about as strong or stronger than Boston’s, and KG’s attitude could have turned that into an amazing team defense. Coupled with the triangle, that could have been a potential dynasty.

No complaints. Kobe and Pau get along perfectly (anyone see the Kevin Ding article about Kobe and Pau’s off-court chemistry? great read) and with Bynum back we have a team that is special now and will be for several years. It’s just that as a purely basketball fan, it would have been interesting to see Kobe and KG’s intensity together. Now I just want to see Kobe destroy KG.

Also there was a great article talking more about the history between Phil and Tex Winter (yes, the main article is about Krause, but if you scroll down, it gets good later):

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/10/09/big-nuts/