Ah, a relaxing Saturday game, I thought. An easy "W" for the Celtics against the New Jersey Nets and then they can rest up until the Pistons on Tuesday.
Nope.
A rough weekend has finally come to a close for the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce's absence due to an injured thumb showed on Friday night in their 20 point deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but even worse in the humiliating 8 point home court loss to the New Jersey Nets. Yes, the Nets, the horrendous team who entered Saturday's game 5-52 and 2-27 on the road. And we lost to them.
In the frustrating game on Friday night against the Cavaliers, the Celtics led the majority of the game until falling apart in the fourth quarter. Efforts made by Ray Allen (21 pts) and Rajon Rondo (19 pts... love him!) weren't enough to keep Boston on top. And maybe I should admit that yes, Lebron James (36 pts) is a freak, and of course he powered his way to victory; but after Boston having led the majority of the game but losing at the end by twenty points was just too painful to sit through.
The following day, assuming the Celtics would be able to redeem themselves for an easy victory against the Nets, I neglected to turn on the TV. Who wants to watch a blow out when you can choose to take a nap? After all, I had just come back from my three-game lacrosse tournament. Sound asleep, I was suddenly awakened by a text message sent to me by my Knicks-loving boyfriend, who highly recommended that I turn on my television. What, a sick dunk by former Knicks player Nate Robinson? (Welcome to the C's, by the way.) But nope, way worse--halftime, 49-42, and the Celtics were losing. LOSING. I watched the rest of the game in terror, as each minute on the clock wound down to the final buzzer, resulting in an embarrassing 104-96 defeat. Needless to say, I didn't respond to the text message.
Oh, the frustration. Kevin Garnett's 26 points and Marquis Daniels' 16 points weren't even enough to carry the team to victory. The Nets, led by center Brook Lopez (25 pts), held the lead the entire game after a jumper by Keyon Dooling at the end of the first quarter.
I blame the majority of this loss on defense. Wasn't that supposed to be a great Celtics strength? Guess it's heading down the drain, because the Nets took 41 free throws--the Celtics only took 11. Then again, maybe it's a careless offense: the Nets scored 25 points off of 18 Boston turnovers. Joy. Garnett said he was "disgusted" by the loss and claimed it all came down to defense--and their lack of it. I'd say quite a few Beantown fans would agree.
At least Doc Rivers didn't use the flu-bug going around the locker room as a reason for their loss, explaining: "No, No, No.... We just didn't play very well." Ya think!?
Ah, how naive I was that Saturday afternoon, thinking we'd win against the Nets.
Oh, wait. We should have.
Pierce... please come back?
I am with you that they need Paul back in the line up, but was this loss more of the celtics losing the game, or the nets acutely putting together a game and winning it themselves. I am a neutral fan when it comes to these two teams, so Im pretty sure that the nets took this one. You have to remember that they do have some talent, Brooke Lopez is an up and coming big man, plus with scorers like Chis Douglas-Roberts and Terrance Williams and a point guard who can make a play happen, in Devin Harris. They just need to figure out how to put it all together...and plus the Celtics are playing like shit, better find those winning ways before the off's start
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