1/24 730 EST (TNT) Lets beat feet, but first let's yeet the Heat.

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Jun 26, 2006
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Miami 14-5 offensive rebounds is a big deal, too - they took 20 more shots than the Cs did!

It's pretty remarkable the Cs were even in the game, when you look at the boards and TOs.

If Miami isn't 22-61 (thank you, Tyler) from 2, this is probably a Miami blowout.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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If you count NBA TV, 12 of their next 16 games are on national TV, which probably means they will tryhard through this stretch, make us forget about the last two losses, and then cruise through the final month stretch which is a fairly light schedule.

Being in 1st doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of stuff to figure out in that time. Coach has 50-60ish games to get it right, because this season is not a trial run.

Edit: Just hoping Miami hangs at the 6 slot, which I believe would make it very unlikely we face them this spring.
 
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lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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People can and do question strategy here all the time. It seems to be a point of contention when someone tries to introduce context into the situation.

If Mazzulla is making mistakes after three months of being an NBA head coach, is that a shock? I trust that the franchise is well run enough to help Mazzulla along. Stevens attention to detail may not have suited many here but it really feels like he is highly regarded amongst his peers for his preparation and coaching acumen. I am assuming he and his staff will have notes for their young, interim coach and I assume Joe will make adjustments. The team, Brad and Joe have all earned that trust. YRMV
Mazzulla admitted he should have called time in Toronto. Credit to Joe for acknowledging his mistake there, as it does show a willingness to learn and adapt. I am curious what he has to say about the situation here; certainly am willing to hear him out. Very few of the complaints about Stevens' coaching acumen made any sense.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Maybe Mazzulla will fail and all of his critics here will be correct. I would prefer an NBA title but to each their own.

Calling this game coaching malpractice - its January the 24th, the second end of a B2B and a bunch of key veterans out - is sports radio hot takez writ large.

The Celtics are 35-14 and have a 3+ game lead for the one seed. And this game is what tipped opinions on Mazzulla?
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Maybe Mazzulla will fail and all of his critics here will be correct. I would prefer an NBA title but to each their own.

Calling this game coaching malpractice - its January the 24th, the second end of a B2B and a bunch of key veterans out - is sports radio hot takez writ large.

The Celtics are 35-14 and have a 3+ game lead for the one seed. And this game is what tipped opinions on Mazzulla?
Wanting to win and being mad when they lose are the same thing, actually.
 

bankshot1

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How Joe coaches in the post season may well be very different than how he coaches in the regular season.

I was calling for a TO also, but malpractice? Cmon.
How about rookie mistake? I've been underwhelmed with our interim coach's in game coaching YTD. . He may get better with experience. I hope so as he's got a championship team.
 

InstaFace

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The Celtics' payroll this year is $173.8M.

The 4 players who were out tonight represent 4 of our top 5 salaries, or over $95M in payroll. We had 55% of our payroll out of uniform tonight, and the payroll of the team we did field ($78.7M) would've been last in the league by over $18M (San Antonio, $96.7M).

I can forgive a loss, in other words. What I can't so readily forgive is the (lack of) coaching, since that shouldn't ever take a night off.
 

timelysarcasm

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Maybe Mazzulla will fail and all of his critics here will be correct. I would prefer an NBA title but to each their own.

Calling this game coaching malpractice - its January the 24th, the second end of a B2B and a bunch of key veterans out - is sports radio hot takez writ large.

The Celtics are 35-14 and have a 3+ game lead for the one seed. And this game is what tipped opinions on Mazzulla?
I generally agree with you and I think Mazz has done a great job this season. This loss doesn't annoy or worry me in any way other than I hate when they lose to the Heat.

But I don't know what the bolded has to do with the game's timeout usage.
 

CaptainLaddie

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I can't be mad when the Heat played full strength at home and the C's sat Horford and Brown. I dunno. Sucks to lose considering the 4th but I looked at this as a scheduled loss before the game.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I generally agree with you and I think Mazz has done a great job this season. This loss doesn't annoy or worry me in any way other than I hate when they lose to the Heat.

But I don't know what the bolded has to do with the game's timeout usage.
I agree with the criticism of the timeout usage. Referring to it as coaching malpractice or getting anything other than annoyed with it seems a lot extra given where we are in the calendar and how well the team has done overall.
 

benhogan

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Turnovers/missed shots suck, but even worse is standing there & not getting back on D.

Tatum has made this a habit this season. Originally it was barking at Refs. Or early in games. Or in blowouts. BUT now it's full-on quitting on transition D with 5 minutes left in a tied game.

WWID?
 

Fishy1

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I can't be mad when the Heat played full strength at home and the C's sat Horford and Brown. I dunno. Sucks to lose considering the 4th but I looked at this as a scheduled loss before the game.
Heat were definitely not full-strength. Jimmy Butler didn't play a single minute
 

128

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Heat were definitely not full-strength. Jimmy Butler didn't play a single minute
Yeah, the "schedule loss" argument would be easier to buy if the C's hadn't been up 10 with 10 minutes and change (or whatever it was) to play. They had enough to get it done against the Butler-less Heat, but fell apart down the stretch.
 

Fishy1

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Yeah, the "schedule loss" argument would be easier to buy if the C's hadn't been up 10 with 10 minutes and change (or whatever it was) to play. They had enough to get it done against the Butler-less Heat, but fell apart down the stretch.
If anything about it was a schedule loss, it was the fact that it was back-to-back and we were missing four of our top 6 players. Even with Tatum, that's a tall order. Still, the Celtics had their best player and the Heat didn't.

I'm not worried about it, tbh. Hauser and Pritchard hit one three each and we win, for example. Lots for this team to still get better at, and I think they will.
 

CaptainLaddie

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If anything about it was a schedule loss, it was the fact that it was back-to-back and we were missing four of our top 6 players. Even with Tatum, that's a tall order. Still, the Celtics had their best player and the Heat didn't.

I'm not worried about it, tbh. Hauser and Pritchard hit one three each and we win, for example. Lots for this team to still get better at, and I think they will.
The Heat had Bam out there, no?
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Ha! Good point. Unclear to me if Bam is better than Jimmy. I've always thought of Jimmy as the best player on the Heat though.
I know, it's kind of a funny thing. Jimmy is far more terrifying but I think at this point Bam's probably a better all-around player. Putting it another way: I hate betting against Jimmy, and I have no problem betting against Bam.