Mentality Heading into Game 6
- Thread starter BigSoxFan
- Start date
And like 30% of what they were for this game the whole time through beginning of game 4.
No idea what to expect anymore. The theme has been if the Celtics can limit the turnovers they're tough to beat, yet they keep turning it over. So if they can actually limit the turnovers, they have a chance. Another near 20 turnover game and they're done. One thing that scares me, as dumb as it sounds, is the Warriors are due for a bounceback game themselves. They shot as badly as they could from 3, especially Curry, and still pulled it off. If they have the 3s falling it's going to put even more pressure on the offense to execute or the game will get out of hand.
Nothing substantive to add to this, but I like it. Seems predictably unpredictable, and thus on par with the whole postseason.
I think the Celtics win by 15+, or lose. I think they are just too tired to play hard for the full 48 - if they can put the game away with 4-5 minutes left that's huge. If it's close down the stretch, I can see Smart missing multiple semi-open 3s early in the shot clock, and/or Brown losing the ball every time he drives, and/or Tatum front rimming (or air-balling) multiple jumpers, with the rest of the roster disappearing entirely. If they get through game 6 anything is on the table in game 7 (including a close win), but if the outcome of this game is in doubt in the final minutes, that's bad news.
I just don’t get everyone singing the “It was a great ride” dance. Maybe it’s an age thing and those who are older appreciate it more - I’m admittedly spoiled, since I was 12 during the first of the 12 titles in 17 years (plus 2 Football nattys thrown in)
I could understand that sentiment if they showed up and were so clearly overmatched. But once they were up 2-1, and led by 5 with 5 to go in Game 4… that went out the window. At that point I can’t settle for “what a ride”. At that point they’re too close to the finish line to just be grateful for the ride.
I said all along that C’s had to do this in 6 because they weren’t winning a Game 7 in SF. But the more I think about it… the fact they seem dead to rights ATM makes me wonder if GS would get tight in a close game in Game 7 - the pressure would be SQUARELY on them. Have to get there first.
I could understand that sentiment if they showed up and were so clearly overmatched. But once they were up 2-1, and led by 5 with 5 to go in Game 4… that went out the window. At that point I can’t settle for “what a ride”. At that point they’re too close to the finish line to just be grateful for the ride.
I said all along that C’s had to do this in 6 because they weren’t winning a Game 7 in SF. But the more I think about it… the fact they seem dead to rights ATM makes me wonder if GS would get tight in a close game in Game 7 - the pressure would be SQUARELY on them. Have to get there first.
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It has been a great ride, but it has been as frustrating as it has been great.
As Parcells said a couple decades ago, you are what you are. This team looks like it should be a champion, but if they don't win these last two then they just aren't. Yet.
Every rotation guy on this team, Al Horford excepted, should be better next year. Stevens has an offseason to make some moves. The team has only understood what Ime wants of them for 5 minutes and under pressure they struggle to do it.
There are never any guarantees in the NBA: no one thought after 1986 that the Celtics were going to become a franchise in decline and then a bottom feeder. But to the extent these things are predictable the Celtics as a franchise are in a good spot.
Have the Celts won any games this postseason in which both teams played pretty well? Maybe one or two games in the Nets series? Feels like all of their wins are either blowouts or a few close ugly wins thrown in. Like I can’t say GS played well in game 1 or 4 when they put up 16 and 11 in the 4th. But maybe that’s true the other direction as well, you rarely feel like your team played well if they lose.
i voted Dubs win tonight, but I can see a scenario where the Dubs come out overconfident and the Cs jump on them and force it back to Cali. Plus, I do think they’ll get a friendly whistle tonight.
And then who knows?
And then who knows?
I think this has been largely true of the playoffs. I don’t remember exact numbers but one of the major talking points on a few nba pods towards beginning of conference finals was the amount of blowouts. At one point there was like a 17 game stretch where there were a negligible amount of lead changes.
Right. While the series have been captivating and tight, the individual games haven't been all that great. It's a weird dynamic.
IIRC, after Bill Walton broke his foot early in the 86-87 season (while rehabbing from a broken finger), Bob Ryan said in a column that: 1) thanks for 85-86, but this *has* to be the end for Walton; and 2) Walton's absence means it's unlikely Bird will ever get 2 NBA championships in a row. Not exactly predicting the nadir-around-the-corner, but still pretty good.
Remember what happened between the 1986 win and Walton breaking his foot? It wasn’t just Walton that led to Ryan’s claim.
Also, there’s a case to be made that they win anyway in 1987 but for a different broken foot.
Of course. Just a mild response to "who could've predicted....." Ryan had more stuff (working totally from memory here) about the overall age of the team (both in years and beatings) that fed into his point. I mostly remember it because he was really a lone voice on the "we've seen the best of these Celtics" / "end is near" train.
(And who knows how the early 90's look with Reggie Lewis, Bias, etc etc.)
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Yeah, the nadir started after Bias death…it was as if Red’s deal with the devil had finally come due. Broken feet, broken back, another death, lost #1 pick…
I still fantasize about grizzled veteran Bird initiating fast breaks to Reggie or Bias with a baseball pass down court for dunk (or a kick out 3 to a trailing Bird).
That being said, I'm enjoying the ride this season. It's been really fun being able to watch a core group of guys grow up together both in skills and mentality. 2008-10 was fun, but it wasn't a different kind of fun because of the hired guns of Garnett and Allen. And I do think age and history has something to do with the "enjoying the ride" perspective.
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I'll add some questionable Zarba blocking/charge calls to this. This has been a great run but it ends tonight.
You can be grateful for a fun ride and extremely frustrated with the end of the ride. It doesn't have to be one or the other...on my end I've thoroughly enjoyed the last five months of watching this team have one of the best in season turn arounds of all time, completely dominate the last couple months of the regular season, and then make it to the finals beating Durant/Kyrie/Giannis/Butler along the way. The last week has been maddening, and will likely end that way. But these celtics, who were 18-21 after blowing a 24 point lead to the shitty knicks, are playing on the 2nd to last possible day of the season. No matter what I'm grateful for that alone.
edit: I'll add that I already had one edible today. Correlation doesnt equal causation, but Im sure that played a factor in my over the top, rosy colored glasses post above. As far as my mentality for this specific game goes, 10 addtional mg's of gummies are awaiting me around 7pm. That says it all.
It's not all that different from the 2021 Red Sox. The Celts were what, 5 minutes away from a 3-1 series lead? IIRC the Sox were 2 innings away from a 3-1 series lead after a very unexpected run throughout the playoffs where at times they looked unbeatable. It was a frustrating ending to a team that was ultimately superior, but it was still a fun ride that I was / am grateful for.
Ugh, I'm still not sure that homer Altuve hit off Whitlock in the 8th of game 4 has landed.
A couple of years I was at SeaWorld and went on a roller coaster where they locked your legs in and pitched you forward so it was like you were flying. The ride was incredible, but at the end it stopped and broke, and we were left hanging there in that awkward position for 15 minutes. My hamstrings started to cramp and there was nothing I could do about it.
The ride itself was amazing. The end? Not so much.
Please Celtics...don't be the cramp on the broken coaster at the end of an amazing ride.
On one hand, it's a home game and you hope to get some favorable calls from the officials. On the other hand, Golden State is definitely good enough to overcome both of those things. The thought of Curry having two poor shooting games in a row doesn't seem likely. I'm terrified of him going off and the C's not having an answer.
I'm hopeful for 1 of 2 things (or in a perfect world, both!) Tatum goes nuts and has the finals performance that fans have been waiting for. 40+ with minimal turnovers and just putting the team on his back. A consistent game where he is in control the entire time and not just in spurts. Or.......huge games from our roles players. Mostly looking at Grant and Payton on this one. Lots of 3's from both and the chance to take some of the heat off the J's if necessary.
I really just want one more game. I can handle a loss in game 7 knowing that this team is young and this is invaluable experience for them. But losing tonight, after what happened in games 4-5 would leave a pretty sour taste for the off season.
I'm hopeful for 1 of 2 things (or in a perfect world, both!) Tatum goes nuts and has the finals performance that fans have been waiting for. 40+ with minimal turnovers and just putting the team on his back. A consistent game where he is in control the entire time and not just in spurts. Or.......huge games from our roles players. Mostly looking at Grant and Payton on this one. Lots of 3's from both and the chance to take some of the heat off the J's if necessary.
I really just want one more game. I can handle a loss in game 7 knowing that this team is young and this is invaluable experience for them. But losing tonight, after what happened in games 4-5 would leave a pretty sour taste for the off season.
This is probably good news for the Celtics. Zarba’s awful but this seems like a crew that will be really influenced by the crowd.
As the token Celtics-Yankees fan on this board, I tend to avoid this forum. I have posted in two game threads and the Celtics lost both games. I'll avoid the thread tonight and cross my fingers that the C's can somehow force a Game 7.
To fill your time, please feel free to post here instead...
https://www.sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/6-14-6-16-rays-at-yankees.36798/page-2
Because what does a professional sports team owe you? It's entertainment. Two to three hours out of our days to be distracted by our day-to-day lives.
How will your life change if the Celtics win or lose the NBA Championship?
To get this indignant over a game is weird, man. Especially a team that was left for dead in January. It'll be fine. You'll be fine.
These guys look tired and they may be done. I won’t be surprised if they fall apart in second half and are eliminated.
But that is not my prediction.
I think they have more fight in them. I think Al and Smart are going to be impactful and energized. I think they are due for a better game from the PP/White/Grant group. And I think they will be physical.
I’m excited to see whether I’m right—and either way it has been a great run from a really likable (albeit oft-frustrating) team.
But that is not my prediction.
I think they have more fight in them. I think Al and Smart are going to be impactful and energized. I think they are due for a better game from the PP/White/Grant group. And I think they will be physical.
I’m excited to see whether I’m right—and either way it has been a great run from a really likable (albeit oft-frustrating) team.
I mentioned earlier last week...I think the intensity they have had to maintain has them spent.
That said they have one more. Al does something heroic and the team responds. No one wants to let the old man down. They Win tonight.
We hope for the Tatum interstellar game in game 7.
That said they have one more. Al does something heroic and the team responds. No one wants to let the old man down. They Win tonight.
We hope for the Tatum interstellar game in game 7.
This seems a weird take to me.
Giannis put up some monster numbers in games the Bucks lost. If we're saying, yeah, he was great but the rest of the team wasn't, then this seems to me to be begging the question: naturally, for a team to have lost, certain things have to have gone wrong.
More broadly: the C's have scarcely won or lost two games in a row since the opening round. In those losses, do you feel that the same dynamic has applied, where they've generally looked bad? (I do, with the possible exception of Finals G4). Because at that point, we'd be saying only one team plays well in each of these games and yet it constantly switches back and forth, which seems coincidental. I see it more as there being something about the C's style of play that creates these optics, that their brand of "winning basketball" excludes the possibility of the other team looking really good in the process.
It might be a function of that. Looking back at their wins post round 1:
Game 2 Milwaukee: 109-86, was never close
Game 4 Milwaukee: 116-108, outscored Milwaukee 43-28 in the 4th, I think this qualifies as a game where both teams played pretty well
Game 6 Milwaukee: 108-95, led by 10 at half, Milwaukee never made it a one score game, they shot 41% from the field, wouldn't really say they played well
Game 7 Milwaukee: 109-81, somewhat close for the first half but it was blowout city in the 2nd half
Game 2 Miami: 127-102, blowout city
Game 4 Miami: 102-82, blowout city
Game 5 Miami: 93-80, lead was double digits the entire 4th and got over 20
Game 7 Miami: 100-96, more of a rock fight and not as close as the final margin would suggest as the Celts had a 13 point lead with 3:30 to play
Game 1 Golden State: 120-108, Warriors did play well for 3 quarters but 40-16 in the 4th
Game 3 Golden State: 116-100, Warriors made it kind of competitive but was never in doubt down the stretch
So of their 10 wins in rounds 2-4, I see very few games the Celts won where the other team played pretty well. I don't think it's a weird take. Obviously it's good if the Celts are blowing out teams. But it feels like the Celts aren't awesome at winning close / late games where the other team is actually playing well. Which to me is why it has been hard for them to close teams out, and why they're down in the Finals. They're playing very good or great teams, sometimes you need to win when the other team is playing well too.
Here's my mentality:
Win the whole f*cking thing. (the royal) We left this team for dead after RJ Barrett capped off the epic collapse at MSG. We left this team for dead after the game 5 collapse against the Bucks. We left them for (mostly) dead after failing to close out at home against Miami. I'm done doing that. Win. And win big. Celts by 2f*cking5. Mark it down.
Win the whole f*cking thing. (the royal) We left this team for dead after RJ Barrett capped off the epic collapse at MSG. We left this team for dead after the game 5 collapse against the Bucks. We left them for (mostly) dead after failing to close out at home against Miami. I'm done doing that. Win. And win big. Celts by 2f*cking5. Mark it down.
These Celtics are a battle tested team that has been the superior team to the Nets, Bucks, and Heat. GS is a formidable challenge because they are equally talented (especially with Wiggins playing like he is) and also veterans in terms of Finals experience.
That being said, I am expecting us to win tonight and then we'll see in G7.
Count me among the few cautiously optimistic we still pull this out.
That being said, I am expecting us to win tonight and then we'll see in G7.
Count me among the few cautiously optimistic we still pull this out.
I'm already nervous drinking ... and not posting in the game thread. I don't ask for much, but a win tonight would be fucking awesome.