Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“We absolutely deserved to lose the game, whether we won it or not,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “We deserved to lose the game.”
“We just can’t play down to anybody,” said Avery Bradley. “We have to play consistent; that’s what we have to do every single game and we didn’t do that tonight.”
It was a night in which the dreaded “Cool Celtics” that Rivers hates to see, were on the floor for long stretches in the second half after Boston built a double-digit lead at the half.
All that the C’s did well in the first half to gain control, soon became a distant memory.
“We went from being a solid, just a good looking basketball team, to showtime,” Rivers said. “I believe in the basketball gods. When you mess with the game, the game messes you up.”
“We don’t learn,” said a visibly disappointed Rivers. “We’ve done this three or four times this year; we just don’t learn.”
I’m not sure why Doc Rivers is so pissed off about last night’s loss to New Orleans. It’s nothing new. The Celtics have been messing with the basketball gods for years now. They f-around with mediocre and bad teams. Sometimes they win, and sometimes they don’t.
It’s not fair to single out one player for this debacle but I’m going to. Kevin Garnett’s lack of effort on that final play is inexcusable.
Yes, he drifted off Anthony Davis to help on Eric Gordon. But he reacted horribly to the rebound. There was no effort to find Davis on the shot release, and little effort to secure the rebound. He watched the ball.
Maybe KG was still weak from his illness. Maybe the sore adductor muscle prevented any lift out of those 37 year old legs.
Sorry, KG. I love you but I expect more from a man who is 10th on the league’s all-time rebounding list.
Related links: Herald – Hoops gods, Hornets sting Celtics | ESPN Boston – We deserved to lose | Globe – Celtics lose to Hornets | CSNNE – Boston’s defense leads to loss
In other news, Jeff Green faded away, like usual:
Green got off to a blazing start, hitting his first four shots, including a 3-pointer. Yet, he attempted just two shots in the second half and was held scoreless, hardly an impressive response to his career night.
The Hornets made Green play defense in the second half as he was assigned to 6-foot-10-inch Ryan Anderson, a matchup that proved a struggle. In the fourth quarter, when the Celtics needed an offensive boost, Green did not attempt a shot in his five minutes.
Jeff Green being Jeff Green.
Grrr…..
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston – Road is where the hard is | Tie breakers in focus | Herald – Lebron James talking smack | CSNNE – Signing White, Randolph addresses future |
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