The Celtic's Resurrection

[PuttPutt]

When the playoffs began, nobody looked seriously at the Celtics. Some experts even picked Miami to put them away. Celtics has made remarkable run eliminating both Wade and Lebron and now Howard's magic is down 0-2 in a series that many though orlando will dominate. They just continually defy the norms and could be headed to a finals rematch against the Lakers.

[elvis14]

When the playoffs began, nobody looked seriously at the Celtics. Some experts even picked Miami to put them away. Celtics has made remarkable run eliminating both Wade and Lebron and now Howard's magic is down 0-2 in a series that many though orlando will dominate. They just continually defy the norms and could be headed to a finals rematch against the Lakers.

I wouldn't say they defy any norms. They pretty much held KG back and let him take his time getting as healthy as possible for the playoffs. They have a really good team and when you add in a somewhat healthy and well rested KG you get a real contender (obviously at this point iti's either them or the Lakers).

[CG031]

The Celtics are obviously a very good team. But they certainly show their age at times. Allen was obviously fatigued last night going 0-13, following a great 8 three pointers effort on Sunday. Paul Pierce has contributed nothing, and Garnett consistently looked mediocre so far in the first three games.

I don't think the Celtics can win this series because I think the Lakers are a better team, but it will still go six games.

[elvis14]

The Celtics won game 2 with heroic efforts from both Rondo and Ray Allen. It doesn't bode well that they need that kind of effort from 2 guys to pull out a game.

[jamo]

The Celtics are obviously a very good team. But they certainly show their age at times. Allen was obviously fatigued last night going 0-13, following a great 8 three pointers effort on Sunday. Paul Pierce has contributed nothing, and Garnett consistently looked mediocre so far in the first three games.

How was Allen "obviously fatigued"? He just set an NBA record for 3's in a Finals game. He had a bad game, he'll probably sleep at the Garden taking so many shots between games to get himself ready for game 4. Ad for Pierce, he hit 3 big time 3's in game 3 and would have done better if he didn't pick up a bunch of bogus fouls. The referees have been terrible this series for BOTH TEAMS. And after game 2 (in which the Lakers shot far more free throws than the Celtics) all anybody could talk about was how Kobe had 5 fouls.

And Garnett had 25 points in game 3, how is that mediocre? The Celtics lost game 3 because they didn't play solid defense down the stretch. Simple as that. That's the same reason the Lakers lost game 2.

[elvis14]

How was Allen "obviously fatigued"? He just set an NBA record for 3's in a Finals game. He had a bad game, he'll probably sleep at the Garden taking so many shots between games to get himself ready for game 4. Ad for Pierce, he hit 3 big time 3's in game 3 and would have done better if he didn't pick up a bunch of bogus fouls. The referees have been terrible this series for BOTH TEAMS. And after game 2 (in which the Lakers shot far more free throws than the Celtics) all anybody could talk about was how Kobe had 5 fouls.

Interesting points. Ray Allen had a bunch of days off then played game 1, had 3 more days off and played game 2, then had 1 day off and played game 3. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that Ray played tired last night. He was incredible Sunday night and I loved watching him light it up but on just 1 day of rest between game 2 and game 3, he was really awful. Maybe he wasn't tired but I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that he might have been because the schedule was more compressed for game 3. KG is averaging 15 and 8 in the playoffs. I wouldn't call that mediocre but could do more, he used to be that good. You can't bring up the 25 he had in game 3 as an argument unless you want to bring up the 6 he had in game 2.

I hope game 4 is fun to watch. Consistent officiating would be good and I don't mind a bunch of fouls being called if it keeps the game cleaner. If I want to watch wrestling, I'll watch old tapes of myself

[Greg]

The Lakers are the better team, thats obvious. Ray Allen being fatigued, give me a break, they dont play back to back games in the finals, quit acting like a little girl. If the Lakers play at least somewhat good, they will win the next 2, their talent level is so much better than Boston. Kobe played poorly in the 4th quarter of game 2, thats why the Lakers lost that one. He got into rare foul trouble and just wasnt on the floor enough to make his normal contribution. Usually someone else will step up and Fisher did in game 3. In game 2 everyone struggled in the 4th quarter, dont count on that happening again Boston. I really just dont see how they beat both Cleveland and Orlando but im sure the Lakers appreciate not having to play either of those teams, both would have been a tougher matchup for L.A.