My 2 cents

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

  Because of Holiday obligations I just now was able to watch my tape of the
Nets game.  Yes, even knowing it was going to be an ugly affair I still
wanted to see the game.  My husband thinks I'm crazy.  Maybe, but I prefer to
be called a fanatic.
After reading some of the newspaper articles and the posts on various boards
I expected to see a game where there was no passing and the captains totally
hogged the ball.  That's not what I saw at all.
What I saw was a game in which every single player struggled to make even the
easiest of shots, simply hold on to the ball, or make the right plays at the
right time.
When the entire team is off it's game at the same time what you get is 35
point blow outs like this Christmas catastrophe.
There was passing that would on any normal evening lead to assists,
particularly in the first half,  but instead led to missed shots, turnovers
or trips to the free throw line.  It stands to reason that there will not be
many assists handed out in a game where your team is shooting around 25-30%.
On the other hand the Nets were about as hot as they could be.  They started
by hitting their outside shots and then moved into the paint scoring with
ease.  The Celtics were definitely not playing hard on the defensive end
until about halfway through the 2nd quarter.  But by then the Nets already
had everything going for them.  Even if the Celtics could have turned their
offense around, which they never did for any protracted period of time,  it
would have been too little too late.
I will resist the urge to point any fingers defensively, but it was clear to
me that there were three players in particular that didn't seem to be giving
it their all.
With the Celtics defense that just can't happen.  They need all five players
on the court playing hard nosed defense to the best of their ability or the
system totally brakes down.

I don't think anyone who has followed this team could possibly be surprised
about the outcome of the Nets game.  Disappointed? Yes.  Surprised?  No.
We all know they are very capable of these sort of stinker games, especially
against teams like the Nets who have scoring options at every single
position.

I'm looking forward to a very hard fought game this evening.  I'd like to see
the Celtics come out with fire in their eyes.  Forget the Nets game, we owe
Miami a loss on their home court and I'll be very disappointed if the Celtics
don't deliver.


TAM