I think this series which starts May 1 is likely to be the deciding series in the east and maybe for the whole NBA Championship. The key as always will be D. Can the Celtics keep the score below 90? If they do I think they win. If its over 100 its likely to be miami blowouts.

This is where we need Shaq. I don't think he has the drive to come out and play again. I'd like to be proven different but I see him just riding the injury out until the dance is over.

So anyway , I think this series will be the best basketball we'll see in the playoffs. I may even have to get into my chinese food and Mai Tai routine for this series. That behavior is normally saved for the finals but as this may well be better than the finals , I just may have to splurge on myself a little.

Anyway , its hard to pic this series without seeing at least one playoff mode game. In truth these teams have never met in the playoffs as this Miami team is a unique thing that only happens maybe every ten years in basketball. Of course I hope for the Celtics in 6 but think it will go to the wire with 7 games. I hjave never made a prediction on the Celtics losing a series so I'm not going to start now. i say the old guys got one more in them. I hope Shaq gets hit with a bolt of lightnight up his butt. that's about the only thing that may get him to at least try to contribute in this series.

C's in 6. If Rondo plays like he can and Pierce and Ray shoot good we won't need no stinking Shaq. It will probably be all about the last few possessions and we got that part of the game over them by a good margin.

I think Shaq is done, put a fork in him.
C's still have a team mentality, which I like, Miami does not, so..C's in 6, as long as they stay healthy and focused is a good prediction. never jump off a C's bandwagon...it's all about 18....after all!

I think you are a blind fool if you think the reason Shaq is not on the court is because he is milking an injury so he does not have to play????? Everytime he has been on the court this season he has shown fire, and passion and desire! The 6 minutes he last played are a good example....he had I think 7 points in that 6 minute run before he pulled up lame. Its never been like he is a statue when he is on the court! He has some of the most talented players in the game today dishing him the ball....(hall of famers all of them by the way) and why would he not want to take advantage of that situation???? I feel he has every minute he has been on the court....the shame of it is his age and his immense size is catching up with him.....his only crime is getting older! If he can get in there and give some quality minutes....this team can't lose....and why would Shaq not want to own a Championship ring with the Boston Celtics on it??

PS-Have you all missed the stats put up by the Celtics bench in the last series???? Horrible!!! The bench needs to step up their game if the Celtics are to advance!

I can't wait for this series to begin:soon::jump::soon:

I don't know that I think is as critical this series as he would be in the next couple. Nicwe to have yes but I don't see miami dominating inside with or without him in the c's lineup.

I think my playoff fair will consist of goose island ipa and chicago style jalepeno cheddar dogs with curry ketchup and kraut
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Mine will be sausage and pepper grinders on french bread with porter beer or Mai Tai's along with a Chinese buffet. We have a restaurant in Cumberland called the Royal Panda which is a great place to watch a big game , be it basketball, baseball or football. Sometimes I even drink the Mai tai's in a Panda glass and take it home with me at the end of the night. :)

I think you are a blind fool if you think the reason Shaq is not on the court is because he is milking an injury so he does not have to play???????

I never said he was milking the injury so he didn't have to play. I believe he is hurting for certain. There is a world of difference between someone "milking" an injury and someone not being willing to come out and play while in pain. What I said was I don't think he has the drive to push himself to rehab and come out and try to play despite the injury. Bird had a carreer ending injured back but he still took the floor and tried. And I didn't complain at all about how he has played since he came to the Celtics. As I also said , I do hope he tries to play as we could use him right now. I wouldn't have said I hope I'm wrong and he does play if he were a loafer when he was out there.

well at least they can't play any worse, got it out of their system, I hope.

While I wanted to see them win , the first game on the home teams court is one the home team is supposed to win so hey , things are on track. i hated to lose with the fine performance by Ray and PP but lets face it , Rondo was a no show and KG may very well have seen the last of his true "allstar" days. I thought the flagrant foul call on Oniel cost us the big third quarter comebacl and the momentum it carried. I was also shock to see the whole mess with PP when he eventually got ejected. No way that was a flagrant foul and no way should he have been ejected. His ejection was the end of the game. Doc should have just pulled the starters and let the bench have some playing time. It would have helped the old legs , helped the younger guys get some playoff time on the floor and serve as a protest to some extent about the ref making a truly stupid call and then excalating it to the ejection. Now I don't think they would have won anyway but that wholem thing was surreal and puts Pierce in the position of not being able to play agressively in the rest of the series do to the game suspension now hanging over his head should another overzealous ref decide to pound his chest again. wade played a great game. far better than anyone expected. If he has all 30 point games , then not only will they beat us but they will be the league champs. We got to figure out how to keep him under control!
Rondo has to contribute more or its all over. KG just isn't going to be the force we hope but he could be more effective if we could have Kazaam coming off the bench.

Anyway , they were supposed to win game 1 at home so on to Game 2.

I will say it again....the bench has to STEP IT UP! If Rondo does not show up they never have a chance! As Rondo goes.....so go the Celtics but if the bench cannot contribute in a more meaningful way......they are done......and the bench last season was key!

It will be a tough series, I really hope they pull through, but deep inside that little voice says. (((ahhhhhhh))).

They held them under 100 points, but could not get it through the iron.

Plus I hate games that we have to beat the team and the FRIGGIN refs. COMON ejecting the Capt late in the forth quarter for a little bump....... How much did he get $$$$$$$$$.. awhole !!!!!
Its the freaking playoffs. Like it was said, half the players in every game would be ejected if that applied to them like it did to Pierce.

If they called them way back when like they do now , Cowens wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes before his 2 T's and ejection. I would hope someone from the NBA front office had a talk with these refs about letting them play.

I will say it again....the bench has to STEP IT UP! If Rondo does not show up they never have a chance! As Rondo goes.....so go the Celtics but if the bench cannot contribute in a more meaningful way......they are done......and the bench last season was key!

YUP,,,when Rondo and KG play together and kick arse, it leaves Pierce and Allen a bit more room. Then its all good.

They will be in deep #@%$* if they dont pull it together and the bench too.

Good luck tonight !!!!!!

We are looking pretty desperate now. Best guy we have PP, is hurt and it looks bad. yes he played but he was slow , especially on D. Rondo hurt, we'll see how Ray feels today with bruised chest , Shaq still out. We need a miracle! :)

You have to admit that miami is a good team. between wade and james we have a big problem. Most teams with a big gun you double team him and let the rest of the team try to beat you. You can't double team 2 great players with only 5 guys on your side. Oh well, so they won their home games , they are supposed to. If we don't win game 3 then things will be over quickly. I think they come out roaring for game 3 and win it.

Miami wants it more......they were tired of being dissed by the press for their inabilty to beat Boston.

Guys Miami is a lot younger team!!! They have strong, young legs!! Stick a fork in us....they are done!!

They won't go down without a fight

Rondo toughs it out after dislocated elbow
he's a PLAYER

they need to win Monday as well

keep up the intensity and bring it back to Miami


you have to BELIEVE!!!!

YouTube - Rajon Rondo's Heroic Performance Lifts Celtics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Uz_VZSaok)

The Celts look awesome when they took the game inside.
The really need Perkins, Shaq is just too fragile..

KG played the best game I have ever seen him play. If not for Rondo's elbow , I would be predicting the Celtics now know they can beat miami by going to KG down low. He dominated the center. have not seen a guy play that good at center since Kareem. points and rebounds , he crushed Miami.

Too bad about Rondo. That guy earned his green jersey yesterday. That one handed performance now mkaes him a Celtics legend. Good for him! Now , if by some miracle that elbow doesn't swell to the size of a softball , maybe he can play in the next game but you got to figure he is an unlikely player next game.

Green played really well. We'll be seeing him more. No way Doc missed the performance he put on and that should get him extra minutes. Good to see shaq out there. Even though obviously slow on his feet , he plugs the middle with shear size and he is still an offensive threat.

Pierec as always great. Ray Allen has to be the most "professional" player in the league. Always ready , always working hard, always a threat to shoot.

If Rondo were 100 percent , I say we win the next game easily by feeding KG and then Miami would be in trouble. Lets see how they do with rondo on the bench or at best playing with one arm on guts alone!

Go Celtics !!

take the fork out. their not done yet. will someone please let me know if big baby is playing in this series. so far, he's been a no show. 6'8" and 3 rebounds in 30 min. what's up with that. they should have picked up leon when he was available.

I don't Rondo is going to be sayin it's only stiff tomorrow.

But if he spends the time in a chilled pressure cuff with alternating warm massage he may be somewhat mobile. The tendons just don't react that well to that dislocation.


I agree, down low, transition opportunities. In the paint, with Ray on the outside a threat.

Pierce blocking the middle was awesome just shut down them boys like nobody's business

Good luck tonight boys! I'll be cheering hard for them to tie it up! Enjoy this team while we still can cuz it aint gonna be the same next year for sure.

Dumbest 15 seconds of basketball I have ever seen. If you don't drive to the basket under those circumstances , you just are not thinking.

Oh well , we had the best possible scenerio to win and blew it. BLEW IT! BLEW IT!!!

You can say that again.....

You can say that again.....

BLEW IT!

Saltheart I piss and moan constantly when they lean on the 3 point bomb like a crutch when what they really need to do is manage the clock, work the ball inside and score 2 points!!!! Blew it is right!!!:wall:

What do I always say (SCREAM) in the end of a tight game..

DRIVE TO THE HOOP:wall::fury:
Pierce would have been fouled on the second drive, if he kept going. But noooo he tries the same pass to the corner (to West I think) that gets picked off.:smash::smash: That play sealed their fate.

That was the pivotal game. 2-2 managable, 3-1 not so much !

Sorry to say, but its time to stick a fork in them.
They're DONE.....:(:(:(

With 15 seconds left in a tie game you work the ball around killing time but hoping the ball movement opens up a lane for the drive to the basket. The defender either lets you go and you score with a layup and win or he has to foul you and you win at the line. To just stand there for 15 seconds and throw up a long range bomb is stupid when you have a guy like Pierce who can drive the lane against the best of them.

Just a huge disappointment as any kind of rational move would have won that game and then its 2-2. Oh well , all we can hope for is another good game to watch.

In MIA, I don't think we'll stand a chance.

That was the most frustrating ending ever!!!

How many open shots did they pass up in the last couple of minutes!!! Only to pass them up and become a turnover.

Once it went to OT I knew they were going to loose.

It is too bad what happened to Rondo because he was not himself having protect his left arm.

Yes , besides the 15 second total screw up , they gave the ball away about 6 or 7 times at the end of the 2nd quarter and again in the 4th quarter. Another thing I find totally amazing is that they blew miami off the court on Saturday by going down low to Garnett and yet they didn't do that at all last night.

I think if they started using their heads they could dominate miami and make a comback (never say die!) but if they keep playing like retards then I guess they have an early end to the season. What an oppurtunity though to go all the way with LA out of the picture already.

Once again they fall apart in the end of the game! Lots of turnovers and missed shots. Very frustrating!

Last 4:30 it was a 16-0 Miami run. Lebron was absolutely on fire the end of the game, not much you could do to stop him.

With Lebron and Wade playing as well as they did it was just too much for Celts to overcome.

The NBA and their crooked refs gave the Celtics every opportunity possible. Even with David Stern stacking the odds to force a Game 6, the Celtics couldn't finish.

Celts just fell back to the outside shot and it hasn't worked against the Young 3.
The Old 3 are going to see some changes in the offseason.

The NBA and their crooked refs gave the Celtics every opportunity possible. Even with David Stern stacking the odds to force a Game 6, the Celtics couldn't finish.

Don't know what game you were watching?

Every single time Wade drove to the hoop he got a call. It was nuts sometimes he would force the contact and the call would still be against the C's.

I watched all the Celtics games and while I think its was mostly good officiating I do think Pierce got screwed on the ejection and that Wade got away with murder the whole series. I have definitely seen worse ref performances in the past.

All things considered , I think we just got trounced by a team who was better than us now. I think the mid season Celtics could have beaten the playoff Miami team but we were too beat up by the end of the season. Its tough to get old! :)

Miami or Chicago for the East champion?

My money is on Chicago....

Miami or Chicago for the East champion?

My money is on Chicago....

That's fine by me, as long as lebron loses, i'm good with that.

The way Lebron and Wade are playing I don't see anyone beating Miami.

point guard and inside play + home = chicago in six.
now if danny can figure out how to get dwight howard and kevin love, we'll be all set.

Miami. In fact Miami all the way to the NBA Championship IMO.

I guess LeBron deserves a ring-finally.

I was very surprised to see what a dirty playing sneak Wade is. I never realized that before.