94-87 Celtics. Game over. Bosh nowhere to be found. Offense non-existent. We were freestyling like we’ve never freestyled before. I’ve been saying this for a looooong time. One of our biggest problems is fourth quarter offense and what Mitchell can do when it counts. This is not a moral victory.
1:37m 86-84 C’s. No fourth quarter offense. We have no fourth quarter offense. Rivers runs a play to get an Allen three and we counter with pure horseshit. We’re basically running down 24 seconds and turning the ball over. I’m telling you we haven’t run a single play in the last five minutes. If you’re seen Bosh, tell him there’s a game on.
3:14, 84-81 Raps: KG with a score followed by an AP 3 and a JO score. O’Neal with 23/11, Bosh is nowhere to be found.
4:26 4th, 79-77: Raptors resort to shooting jumpers. No fourth quarter offense. Gone is the movement of earlier and we’re basically relying on Parker and Calderon to hit threes with the shot clock winding down. Bosh is nowhere to be found. Celtics are getting ball movement and Pierce is hitting his threes (being guarded by JK still). This one’s not looking good because we just can’t score and don’t have any plays to fall back on.
8:10 4th, 71-70, Sam with a very bad sub. Taking out JC and putting in Will in there really hurt the team, -5 in a matter of a minute or so. What did it buy us? Nothing. Celtics would be winning if it weren’t for JK bailing us out with some last second shots. Raptors defense is looking weak and CB4 is on the bench. JO’s not getting the space he got earlier and the Raps aren’t really looking for him in the post anymore. Tense affair this one and every score we’re getting is tough. 4Q offense is a problem.
65-59 End 3rd: Jason Kapono hits a three to give us a cushion. Celtics defense really stepped up there starting with KG who was basically yelling in Calderon and Bosh’s ear the whole time. A total BS call went against us (bis surprise) Bosh called for a block after it was initially called a charge. Celtics getting easy scores now by moving the ball and KG, Pierce and Allen doing the scoring. Sherman Hamilton made a good point, KG could easily be called for a taunting tech. JC’s fighting back though…4th quarter here we go….
3:08 3rd, 59-51 Calderon finding Bosh for a sweet alley-oop in a half-court play. KG didn’t even bother challenging Bosh. KG is 7-16 and Bosh is 2-7. The stretch ends badly for the Raptors. Moon misses an ill-advised three, KG scores against Bosh on a post-up and Pierce hits a semi-transition three to cut the lead to 8. This all happened between a Calderon/JO turnover as JC tried to sneak a pass in the paint. Celtics D is picking up, let’s see what happens.
7:00 3rd, 57-44 The great ball movement continues. It’s one and done for the Celtics. The rebounding has been solid and O’Neal’s attracting a lot of attention and passing well out of the pivot position. Chris Bosh is trying to get going but gets called for a travel after a Perkins and KG double. The Celtics have gone into a shooting funk right but so have we. Ray Allen came out of the gates hitting a jumper but then KG missed a jumper which is indicative of the game – Celtics on the perimeter. I get a feeling sooner or later Celtics are going to step up their D and we’ll have to respond.
48-36 Halftime: Uneventful last little bit of the half. The Raptors turned the ball over three times. AP twice and Kapono once. We let the Celtics off the hook a little here, lead could’ve been bigger. KG manged to get Boston’s first second chance points. Chris Bosh with some bad offensive decisions to finish off the half. The Celtics defense is really focusing on him and collapsing quick on his drives. JO says in the halftime interview: “Kendrick Perkins has know for a while that he can’t guard me”. I love it. Job’s half done, hopefully Bosh can step up in the second half and win this for us. Overall, Graham and Kapono did a solid job in this half. Graham was playing mainly because Parker’s in foul trouble. Parker’s been very bad in the half, he’s just not in sync with the offense and is basically going through the motions. This was a good half but if we want to win the game we need more than just the supporting cast to play well, Bosh needs to wake up.
2:38 2nd, 46-32: Jermaine O’Neal and Kendrick Perkins get T’d up. JO showing some emotion to add to the great play. Joey Graham hit another three after being found by Kapono and the Kap and JO combined for a beautiful give ‘n go for a score. It’s almost like we’re too quick for the Celtics. They haven’t gotten single second-chance point yet. O’Neal with 19 points and 7 rebounds so far. Bosh has been quiet so far with only 6 points but we haven’t need him. Yet. Kapono is still guarding Paul Pierce and is basically shutting him down. Yes, its unreal.
5:56 2nd, 34-24 Raps. The Raptors just ran the prettiest break I’ve ever seen. Seriously. Can’t describe it but it involved Bosh’s look-off pass, Solomon finding Hump for a jam. Joey Graham’s hitting the glass hard and gets a loose ball foul out of Pierce. The Raptors are forcing the Celtics into jumpers and on offense the Celtics are constantly rotating because the Raps are moving the ball. 5 points and 3 rebs for Joey. Energy level is high. JO just pwn3d Baby Davis for a three point play. Jose Calderon finally gets in the game after an extended rest.
8:48 2nd, 28-22 Raps. Joey Graham’s (playing cuz Parker’s got 2 fouls) won us a rebound and hit a J. Bosh faced up Powe to get a jumper and Kapono’s displaying some nice passing skills in finding the open man. The Raptors ball movement is crisp and their defense solid. Eddie House burned us for 5 points so that sucks but overall we’re right there fighting through screens and making life uncomfortable for Boston. On one play Kapono was guarding Pierce and actually forced a turnover. Yeah, he stopped him. Graham getting some burn. Will didn’t look too solid in this stretch, Calderon’s probably going to replace him soon. Hump’s in the game and keeping Baby Davis off the glass. Even got us an offensive rebound.
End of 1st Q, 23-18 Raps. Jason Kapono comes off the bench, gets a jumper off a broken play and then hits a three. Then to end the quarter he shows some nice vision in finding Hump off the pick ‘n roll. Will Solomon ran the point in this stretch and held his own. Graham’s getting burn, maybe Mitchell’s saving Moon for Pierce-duty. Boston outscored Detroit 30-10 in the second quarter last game so we got to watch out.
2:20 16-14 Boston. Celtics on a 7-0 run. JO’s taken a couple heat-check shots that didn’t work out and Parker’s off-target on his fadeaway. Celtics have introduced Leon Powe who’s had a little more success with JO than Perkins. Calderon looks a little shaky so far, not been able to turn any corners or setup anyone. Bargnani’s in the game guarded by KG. Hasn’t been a factor yet but did give some good help on a drive to the rim. Joey Grahams’ in the game playing D on Garnett.
5:20 1st Q: Jermaine O’Neal’s 4-6 with two rebounds early on and the Raptors are up 12-7. JO’s also playing great D on KG, not falling for his fakes. Bosh has an early jumper while missing one too. Raps overall defense has been good and have forced some bad shots from the Celtics. It’s a good start, mostly fueled by Jermaine O’Neal who’s looking to be very aggressive. Kendrick Perkins seems to be no match for him early on. Moon’s holding his own against Pierce so far, getting a nice early deflection.
7:30PM: Boston is 6-1 and the Raptors are 4-2. Last year Boston won the season series 3-1.
26 Raps
for some reason the live chat never works for me. It keeps telling me “Sorry, your browser is not Java enabled, please visit our java support pages” When I clearly have Java, and it IS enabled. Hell, I even tried it with IE, and same thing.
Sorry dude, there are about 20 ppl in there right now. Make sure you have Java 1.6…
Since I can’t say it in the liveblog, I’ll say it here. I was waiting for the raptors to blow the lead, and I knew it was inevitable, but this…this pisses me off. It really hurts. I need to break something..Damn it.
…like ive said many times.when the boys are firin on all cylinders,we win.when its a dogfight or becomes a dogfight,it comes down to coaching and it becomes a chess match.sams subbing=fail,sams playcalling or lack thereof=fail…what do we even have a coach for if sam isnt going to guide us or lead us to victory.we were just running around on o doing nothing the entire 4th….kapono out there for d passing up 3’s while jamario sat?…no touches for bosh our best player,not one!….guys,this team is good,we deserve better,sam needs to go.
freestyling ball is good when its on,when it isnt u need a coach….u notice sam jumping up n down in the first qtr cheerleading/what he calls coaching,once the game started to slip…..he cocooned into his seat,rubbing his eyes.
Did Bosh leave the building,where the FUCK did he go….man up for Christ sakes,jose even faced up with Garnett,thats right save yourself for Charlotte.The face of the franshise was missing in action!!!!! Dont tell me that this experience will help us down the road…getting our lunch served to us last year by the Magic,…Oh THATS RIGHT BOSH DISAPPEARED THEN TOO.
Who’s in charge of substitutions? Has Kapono done anything in his life that would qualify him to guard Pierce?I realize the Truth can turn it on when he pleases, but that doesn’t mean we should cwoss ow fingahs he dodn’t? SERIOUSLY WHO THE FUCK IS IN CHARGE OF SUBSTITUTIONS!?!?!?!?!?
guys…sam had kapono on the mvp of the championship finals.
I can’t decide if this is more on Mitchell for calling the same high-screen and roll 15 times in a roll, or Bosh for not realizing that play wasn’t working and just demanding the ball in the post.
Forget a big man coach, or a european coach, or a shooting coach. These guys need a pride coach.
Ive said it before Ill say it again.
Chris Bosh has always will choke when the big game is on the line. He’s mentally weak. That’s a huge detriment.I keep telling everyone that. hes overrated. Glorified jumpshooter. He’s overrated. He slashes to the rim and he gets stripped..95% of the time.
BUT BUT BUT…… he did have that 30 point game against Charlotte. Against elite talent he chokes. Howard last year, Vince Carter in 2007 P.O series.
Look last year the Dallas New Orleans Series. West is getting bullied by Dirk and West has none of it. He goes right up to his face and taps it with his hand telling him to to try any shit with him. Dirk then tucked his chin in and ran for cover. NO wins the series.
David West is the better player overall. Chris Bosh playing with Chris paul…He would choke too against Boozer, Yao Ming, Amare, Bynum.
“4Q offense is a problem.”
the sun rises, the sun sets,
Kapono, Jose and Parker can’t hit a shot in crunch time
- no matter how many shots each of them gets.
Yes, you have been saying that for a while.
How many 40+ point games has he had in his entire career?
2-3? lmao
Lebron James gets that every 4th game or so.
Backs down from Sheed and KG? He wants his team to be more aggresive and attack the rim yet he runs for cover when he’s faced with an opposing player?
Fucking Idiot
Q1: JO doesn’t fade away. 17pts, 7bds.
Q4: JO fades away…2 airballs.
I feel like the schoolyard bully just pantsed me in front of the girl I like. This one stings, and good.
PS. I hate Paul Pierce so much. SO much.
Too bad Smitch LOOOOOOVES him
Ugh Bosh disapeared, you think Kobe or Lebron or fuckin paul Pierce, I don’t thik I hate anyone this side of VC more then him, would let his team fall off like that with out at least going down gunning?! disgusting as someone else mentioned, Sam mitchell is an idiot I think its been well documented. Kapono did the best he could, but I really wish he would just pull the damn trigger sometimes.
Yeah.
No one has a problem if you loose to the better team. Its inevitable at times. No one will punish you if you give 110% effort and shed blood for your teammates and lead.
But this is a common thing with Bosh, for years. Being scared of players who are physically imposing/aggressive. And most are all talk I doubt KG would have done the finger thing with Bosh. No Way. Bosh rolls over and dies. Plain and simple. Its games like these that really define the characteristics of a Star. The never say die attitude. Bosh was on the bench and it was because he was scared.
Look at Chris Paul. TJ Ford. Iverson. 6 feet tall and have the heart of a lion. Yes, they all lost a playoff series but they gave 100% every game.
Lebron James 2 years ago goes to the finals with that group of D League players? Defeats the Pistons with them having home court advantage too. Detroit wins first 2 games. Up 2-0. Most players would pack it in and accept Defeat. Raptors especially. Parker I dont like either, he’s soft and mentally weak as well. His sister has more balls.
Anywho Cleveland wins the next 4 games and Lebron had that Game 5 / best performance I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t even matter they got swept by Detroit because Lebron did the unthinkable
*swept by San Antonio
When Chris Bosh is checked by a mobile #4 … which the opponent can do quite easily when CB4’s running mate is a physically ‘bigger’ player than Chris, who needs to play on the block [ala JO] … it allows the opposition to use its #5 vs the Raptors Center, who is not Chris Bosh, in that specific scenario.
This, in turn, forces Chris, either:
i) To the perimeter;
or,
ii) To his mid-range game, BUT vs an individual check WHO CHRIS BOSH HAS NO QUICKNESS ADVANTAGE OVER [e.g. like Kevin Garnett], at the #4-spot.
Understanding how the NBA game works … means understanding ‘the value’ and ‘the power’ of individual match-ups and mis-matches.
Why does a good player kill certain others but, then, struggle when he has to face a specific individual?
Because he’s not trying?
NO, sirree.
Because he’s not clutch?
NO, sirree.
Because he’s a wuss?
NO, sirree.
THE ANSWER lies in the individual match-up … Nothing More; and, Nothing Less than that. :-)
Its because he’s scared. That’s why.
I guess the Celtics should have packed it against the Lakers. I mean they have Kobe, 3 time champ, Gasol, Odom, Phil Jackson.
They won the Chip because they wanted it more then LA. Matchups had no part in this
And Toronto wouldn’t win a playoff round against The Pacers or Miami Heat. That’s a guarantee. There wings are all balls to the ball and would walk over us
Tonight’s game: 5 min left and your taking Jumpshots? Cant fucking attack the rim and draw a foul? What a bunch of insecure pussies. If I was making millions and on TV I wouldn’t be able to show my face tom morning.
*Bosh
——————-
re: I guess the Celtics should have packed it against the Lakers. I mean they have Kobe, 3 time champ, Gasol, Odom, Phil Jackson.
They won the Chip because they wanted it more then LA. Matchups had no part in this
——————-
When you write this … it means that you don’t understand yet how specific match-ups work in the NBA.
‘Want’ will only take you so far in this League.
‘Favourable Match-ups’ + ‘Want’ … on the other hand … can sometimes take you all the way to the NBA Title, and beyond. Ubuntu!
——————-
re: And Toronto wouldn’t win a playoff round against The Pacers or Miami Heat. That’s a guarantee. There wings are all balls to the ball and would walk over us
——————-
Similarly when you say something like this.
Whether it was said in earnest or in jest is irrelevant.
——————————–
Understanding ‘How Match-ups Work in the NBA’ means that …
* You know implicitly there are ‘good-great’ players who can find themselves in a ‘bad’ match-up against an inferior player, and likewise
* ‘Average-Bad’ players who can sometimes find themselves in a ‘good’ match-up against a ’superior’ player.
What matters most, in the NBA, and in Life, in general, is how two opponents ‘match-up’ against one another … NOT whether one is considered to be ‘better’ overall, as a ‘Playa’, in general, compared to the other and all the other ‘Playa’s’ in that specific world [i.e. 'closed' environment].
The NBA game is a special, special place … with ‘Rules of Engagement’ all of its own.
And, as Sam Mitchell said in his interview from Sunday, Nov 09, 2008,
[paraphrasing]
“The players you have to go against in THIS League you won’t find in any other League, anywhere in the World. Will Solomon is finding THAT out.”
There isn’t any other game in the world like the NBA. : )
Khandor-
Shut up!
I respect you, too, Tinman … never doubt that. : )
“The players you have to go against in THIS League you won’t find in any other League, anywhere in the World. Will Solomon is finding THAT out.”
lol. That’s an excuse and taking the easy way out because Sam knows he cant coach an NAB team who want to contend for a Title.
Watch Live Streaming
Link 1 : http://www.basketball-livestream.blogspot.com
Link 2 : http://www.p2p-broadcasting.blogspot.com
Link 3 : http://watch-livestreaming-online.blogspot.com