we have a bunch of little "jerks" on our team...Jae calls out IT, are we a team?

[Tr1boy]

This is what losing will do...and the captain navigating the ship are cbs and ainge

Ship is drowning

Was just hoping to at least get out of the 1st round this time around... Doesnt look good

[Surferdad]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

I agree....Its more on DA though too me.  We have no big man presence inside at all and its been that way since DA traded Perk.  He had a chance to get a rebounder for minimal assets and he sat on his hands.  Now we see the real team out there against tough seasoned vets who have been there before. 
This team is soft and soft doesn't win playoff basketball games.  They have no inside game and no toughness in the paint. Example: Amir is pitiful, he makes Lopez look like a hall of famer.  But there lies the problem, he is a back up 4 playing center.  Until DA decides tough big men are valuable this club is doomed. 
We all knew they weren't winning the east and certainly not the title.  Perhaps now DA will rethink his current roster and structure this team correctly with quality big men in order to build a true contender.

Yup.  I have been saying that for a couple of days here.  I learned nothing new from the 2 losses.

[Roy H.]

I don't like the look of the team right now, but this isn't unusual. We did this in 2008, the Cavs and Dubs do this, the Bulls were squabbling earlier this season.

I hope Jae was including himself in that quote, because he's taken some bad shots.

[Fan from VT]

If the Celts were in the west, they'd be the #4 seed, losing in a 4-5 matchup with LAC, and no one would be surprised.

They're not playing against the Clips, though.

For me it's not just that they're the one seed and they haven't played like it.

It's that they're losing in convincing fashion to a very flawed and beatable team that only managed to win 41 games.  I don't care what your flaws are as a roster, if you were good enough to win 53 in the regular season and that's your first round opponent, you need to show something more than what the Celts have shown in this series.

I mean, the Celts are underachieving. But in reality, the Celts were not "good enough" to win 53; they were "good enough" to win 49 and lucked into 4 more wins than that.

[tankcity!]

Our team is really soft. That is what bothered me the most. Smart can compete physically at least. The rest of the guys seem to be all talk. I'm also sick of Bradley talking. He needs to hold himself accountable and play better. He was here through the KG era. Should've been more prepared.

I'm open to trading Crowder and Bradley now. Hopefully we can fetch a young piece like Saric or something.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

This is no longer a team.  When Stevens allowed it to become the IT show we were done.  Last year we jelled because we spread the wealth.  Someone didn't have the balls to say look Isaiah distribute more or be the 6th man.  When one guy is the team the your kinda outnumbered against your five squad opponent.  Look at Chicago, everyone was involved.  That's why I said smarts growth has been stunted and now brown is missing minutes because the organization is too afraid to take risks.  And sorry no help is coming soon because we'll have he same sloths next year eating up minutes where we should be developing players.

When I was watching last night, in the first half, there was plenty of passing to the open man—by IT and others—but everyone was laying bricks. If IT sometimes takes over, it's because he really doesn't have much choice; no one else can create offense, and most of his teammates are unreliable/inconsistent shooters.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

I agree....Its more on DA though too me.  We have no big man presence inside at all and its been that way since DA traded Perk.  He had a chance to get a rebounder for minimal assets and he sat on his hands.  Now we see the real team out there against tough seasoned vets who have been there before. 
This team is soft and soft doesn't win playoff basketball games.  They have no inside game and no toughness in the paint. Example: Amir is pitiful, he makes Lopez look like a hall of famer.  But there lies the problem, he is a back up 4 playing center.  Until DA decides tough big men are valuable this club is doomed. 
We all knew they weren't winning the east and certainly not the title.  Perhaps now DA will rethink his current roster and structure this team correctly with quality big men in order to build a true contender.

Yup.  I have been saying that for a couple of days here.  I learned nothing new from the 2 losses.

I've been saying it for years. The Celtics weren't great rebounders even when they had Perk and KG, and they've been mostly awful since then. You have to have size to win in the postseason; it's that simple. Danny thinks we can win with undersized bigs and undersized guards. Never gonna happen.

[Hank Finkel]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

I agree....Its more on DA though too me.  We have no big man presence inside at all and its been that way since DA traded Perk.  He had a chance to get a rebounder for minimal assets and he sat on his hands.  Now we see the real team out there against tough seasoned vets who have been there before. 
This team is soft and soft doesn't win playoff basketball games.  They have no inside game and no toughness in the paint. Example: Amir is pitiful, he makes Lopez look like a hall of famer.  But there lies the problem, he is a back up 4 playing center.  Until DA decides tough big men are valuable this club is doomed. 
We all knew they weren't winning the east and certainly not the title.  Perhaps now DA will rethink his current roster and structure this team correctly with quality big men in order to build a true contender.

Yup.  I have been saying that for a couple of days here.  I learned nothing new from the 2 losses.

I've been saying it for years. The Celtics weren't great rebounders even when they had Perk and KG, and they've been mostly awful since then. You have to have size to win in the postseason; it's that simple. Danny thinks we can win with undersized bigs and undersized guards. Never gonna happen.

Exactly!!!!  My question is, why does DA think this way?  He played with some of the better big men ever (Bird, McHale, Parish).  The league hasn't changed that much, you still need quality rebounding big men to win championships.  We have zero on the team right now and it is exposed big time in the playoffs. 

[kraidstar]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

I agree....Its more on DA though too me.  We have no big man presence inside at all and its been that way since DA traded Perk.  He had a chance to get a rebounder for minimal assets and he sat on his hands.  Now we see the real team out there against tough seasoned vets who have been there before. 
This team is soft and soft doesn't win playoff basketball games.  They have no inside game and no toughness in the paint. Example: Amir is pitiful, he makes Lopez look like a hall of famer.  But there lies the problem, he is a back up 4 playing center.  Until DA decides tough big men are valuable this club is doomed. 
We all knew they weren't winning the east and certainly not the title.  Perhaps now DA will rethink his current roster and structure this team correctly with quality big men in order to build a true contender.

Yup.  I have been saying that for a couple of days here.  I learned nothing new from the 2 losses.

I've been saying it for years. The Celtics weren't great rebounders even when they had Perk and KG, and they've been mostly awful since then. You have to have size to win in the postseason; it's that simple. Danny thinks we can win with undersized bigs and undersized guards. Never gonna happen.

Exactly!!!!  My question is, why does DA think this way?  He played with some of the better big men ever (Bird, McHale, Parish).  The league hasn't changed that much, you still need quality rebounding big men to win championships.  We have zero on the team right now and it is exposed big time in the playoffs.

Cleveland and the Warriors didn't play their traditional big men much in the Finals last year. I seem to remember Bogut and Mozgov riding the pine a lot as small-ball lineups took the floor.

The Spurs have Dedmon I suppose, but a player of his limited ability wouldn't help us much unless we already had a great core in place with some stars. Gasol is old and Aldridge really isn't a "banger."

Team rebounding is important, but I don't know that it is essential to have those old-school rebounders.

I think part of our rebounding problem stems from IT, Bradley, and Crowder either getting gashed or not fighting over screens, which creates mismatches and lanes to the basket. Our guys go through the motions and play help defense so Brad doesn't pull them out, but that initial lazy defense on the perimeter causes the initial breakdown which leads to layups or open perimeter shooters.

Can't rebound the ball if the other team is constantly pulling you out of position. Unless of course you just don't care about your opponent scoring. A lot of our defensive rebounds are contested because we are struggling to play defense in the first place and the other team is always a step ahead of us.

[hpantazo]

This team is falling apart, and I have a feeling it's more about guys putting egos and personal contract interests over winning. Th signs were there, especially in the last part of the regular season. Too bad. I though Ainge and CBS valued character over talent to prevent this sort of thing from happening. They might as well have traded for Cousins, at least then they could have something to point to for this terrible team chemist, and Cousins would still give them a fighting chance on the court either way.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

I agree....Its more on DA though too me.  We have no big man presence inside at all and its been that way since DA traded Perk.  He had a chance to get a rebounder for minimal assets and he sat on his hands.  Now we see the real team out there against tough seasoned vets who have been there before. 
This team is soft and soft doesn't win playoff basketball games.  They have no inside game and no toughness in the paint. Example: Amir is pitiful, he makes Lopez look like a hall of famer.  But there lies the problem, he is a back up 4 playing center.  Until DA decides tough big men are valuable this club is doomed. 
We all knew they weren't winning the east and certainly not the title.  Perhaps now DA will rethink his current roster and structure this team correctly with quality big men in order to build a true contender.

Yup.  I have been saying that for a couple of days here.  I learned nothing new from the 2 losses.

I've been saying it for years. The Celtics weren't great rebounders even when they had Perk and KG, and they've been mostly awful since then. You have to have size to win in the postseason; it's that simple. Danny thinks we can win with undersized bigs and undersized guards. Never gonna happen.

Exactly!!!!  My question is, why does DA think this way?  He played with some of the better big men ever (Bird, McHale, Parish).  The league hasn't changed that much, you still need quality rebounding big men to win championships.  We have zero on the team right now and it is exposed big time in the playoffs.

Cleveland and the Warriors didn't play their traditional big men much in the Finals last year. I seem to remember Bogut and Mozgov riding the pine a lot as small-ball lineups took the floor.

The Spurs have Dedmon I suppose, but a player of his limited ability wouldn't help us much unless we already had a great core in place with some stars. Gasol is old and Aldridge really isn't a "banger."

Team rebounding is important, but I don't know that it is essential to have those old-school rebounders.

I think part of our rebounding problem stems from IT, Bradley, and Crowder either getting gashed or not fighting over screens, which creates mismatches and lanes to the basket. Our guys go through the motions and play help defense so Brad doesn't pull them out, but that initial lazy defense on the perimeter causes the initial breakdown which leads to layups or open perimeter shooters.

Can't rebound the ball if the other team is constantly pulling you out of position. Unless of course you just don't care about your opponent scoring. A lot of our defensive rebounds are contested because we are struggling to play defense in the first place and the other team is always a step ahead of us.

The Warriors and Cavs still played Festus Ezeli and Tristan Thompson, respectively, quite a bit. Thompson especially can board.

Plus, those two teams have the game's best players, along with the Spurs and Kawhi.

Boston doesn't have that luxury.

[spikelovetheCelts]

Fustration reared it's little head last night. No Jerks  to me. We had spots where we were clueless of what to do. If you shuffle people in for 3 minute spurts like Zeller and Brown and expect things to change you are in trouble. Wade sat back until they stopped paying attention to us and he burned us good. Bradley must not be 100 percent because he should own Wade now. The Bulls are hungry and Rondo is Rondo. I don't see us winning 4 of 5. Hopefully we get the number 1 pick. Trade Crowder and Bradley for a big. Sign a big and hope Rozier and Brown grow and are two stashes do the same.

[Ilikesports17]

I may be misinterpreting Jae's comments, but I dont think he was calling anyone out. That is a standard quote you hear a lot after losses, where teams talk about trying to get it all back at once rather than taking it possession by possession.

Crowder was guilty of a few of those shots (as Im sure he knows) I do not think his intention was to call anyone out. Just to try to explain why we didnt come back.

[Rosco917]

This is how a team acts when it's being embarrassed on national TV for the second night in a row. Fingers begin to point.

"Their length bothered us" I'm just so tired of hearing Stevens say these words for the last three seasons.

Can we please try to put a team on the floor with talented, normal size and length please.

[snively]

AB was basically pining for Rondo's leadership in the post-game.

This is where Al's laid-back nature is a problem. This team needs a guy who can lead on both ends. Al has the game and the experience to do it, but he's not stepping into the void.