What the CRAP was that?

Heil Coach Manatee!


Sigh... That's the sentiment I had after the 82 - 84 loss in Orlando last night.


After a rough first half for the Celtics, they started to slowly crawl back in a comeback that lasted all the way until the final buzzer. If the fourth quarter was, say, an extra 2 minutes longer, the Celtics would have edged out the Magic for the win.


First off, as I*Heart*Celtics' foremost bitch-about-the-refs guy, I'd like to add that since the game was played in Orlando, the rules that we had to play by were of course changed. I mean, just little things, like for instance playing defense or attempting to block a shot, were of course only allowed if you had a big gay star-y comet logo on your jersey. And minor details like felony assault and battery were not really called if your team's city is a ring of a crime with a disney-y center.


With that said, I will admit that the Celtics were generally outplayed. Our first half defense was straight from the Sun's defensive playbook (First rule of Sun's basketball, you do not talk about defense. Second rule of Sun's Basketball... you get the idea). I'd like to personally thank Hedo for missing all those open looks we gave him, but other members of the Magic were more fortunate. Now I know that when you are the NBA's 3-point shooting team, AND you have an inside man like Howard, the other team's D gets stretched, but that was not the issue here. We have seen the Celtics defend the Magic well in the past, it seemed like this time they were just not interested.


Also, I have to hand it to the Magic, no-calls aside, they played great defense. They played the kind of defense that they... nay, WE are known for. Combine this with the refs, our lazy-ass first half, and subtract Powe, TA, and a KG down the stretch, this becomes a game that I am glad to have only lost by two. The Celtics put together a great come-back bid by the end of the game, but it just fell short. They went to playmaker Pierce, which I could not second-guess Doc for, but for the last chance hoop, maybe a pass to Ray or House might have been just the unexpected thing we needed to fake out the Orlando D and get an easy look. We had been going to Pierce and it was working, I think everyone in the world was expected the ball to go back to him and it did. He then drove into an entirely not-surprised wall of Orlando-y justice which terminated his lay-up with extreme prejudice. Again, I am not criticizing, but maybe a surprise play would have been a good idea.


Other points of note:
It's good to see that Moore's fouling prowess is still top notch. "A three-pointer you say? How about three, one-pointers and a foul?" says Mikki. "Fine with me." said Rashard Lewis (who I really want to call "Richard Lewis" but am resisting... or am i?). 4 in almost 12 minutes, so at least he would have lasted more than a quarter of play. (side note, don't tell me this isn't a big deal. Moore is a guy we got in hopes of solid, big-guy minutes from and we got a "Do not pass go, go directly into the penalty" community chest card. on a side note to that side note: if Lewis missed that 3 and Mikki doesn't foul, Celts win by one point).



KG's 16.5 minutes looked OK, nothing amazing. You can tell how this team missed his defensive presence in this one though, especially with Howard stomping around with diplomatic immunity and grabbing 21 boards.


Van Gundy was bitching, before the game, about how people acknowledge the fact that the C's have a lot of inju... wait why I am spending time on what escapes that manatee's facehole?


So now we are 3rd in the East, under the Lebron's and the Magic. Whatever, not worried, peace out.
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