Why Doc? WHY?

[vct33]

Why does Pierce have to control the ball on every late-game offensive possession? Our offense is so pathetic when Paul is running the "point". So why does it continue to happen that way? Is Doc afraid of hurting Paul's feelings? Or does he actually think that we are better off with the ball in his hands? Either way, you need to wake up coach.

[apc]

i think he does,
i also think he doesn't want to hurt Ray's feeling and sit on the bench when he has an off night.
Tony should be playing 25-30 minutes every game. he is the only one on our bench who brings energy.

[Celtics17]

I've got to say I agree. More Tony, less Ray.

[illinirog70]

The biggest disappointment was the Final play. Down one and you take a three instead of going hard to the basket with Pierce or KG? Really? That IS NOT Celtic Basketball. Really disappointed in the lack of FT shooting and physical play on this team.

[BrazilianFan]

So frustating last night.
I agree with vct33, why should Paul control the ball??

Rondo would do a better job.
Besides that, Paul, Ray, KG, even without the ball is a thread for the opponent defense, while Rondo….he is dangerous when he got the ball on his hands, not when his on the corner waiting for a final shoot.

[RAH]

The biggest disappointment was the Final play. Down one and you take a three instead of going hard to the basket with Pierce or KG? Really?
I agree that the final shot was the worst (a 3 when they only needed 2? Why?). However, Pierce had the ball in the lane with about 4 seconds to go and I guess he figured he had too many defenders on him and kicked it to Ray in the corner. I think that his pass was the surprising thing. I think Paul's been doing that too much this season - I mean he gets praise for trying to involve his teammates and not trying to do it all himself, but sometimes he carries this way too far, as in this case. (On a less positive note, I also wonder if this was his way of saying "put up or shut up" to Ray. I cannot imagine that ANY of the other players is exactly pleased with Ray's performance this year).

[Celtics17]

That was clearly the right play by Paul in my mind. Ray was wide open. Unfortunately, the execution wasn't great, and the pass was sort of a looper that didn't get there quickly enough, giving the defender time to rush at Ray. On the other hand, I thought that Ray got the ball with enough time to make a little up fake and get an uncontested shot as opposed to the pressured one that he ended up taking.

Oh well, this loss was an absolute heartbreaker, but I've actually been seeing some signs in these last three games that our team is closer to getting right than it would seem. In our last three, I would say that the Hawks were the only team of the three that outplayed us overall and looked better than us.

[texascelticsfan]

House would've nailed that three. Ray is not the shooter he once was.

[richard]

I would like to know why Pierce runs the floor like 35 year old instead of a 31 year old? I think the age around him is slowing him down. I really like to see the Celtics get younger and faster next year. The only people they should keep is these guys or re-sign.

Tony Allen
Marquis Daniels
Eddie House
J.R. Giddens
Paul Pierce

People they can get rid of:

Brian Scalabrine
Ray Allen
Shelden Williams

People they can replace them with:

Rafer Alston
Rasual Butler
Matt Bonner

[RAH]

I would like to know why Pierce runs the floor like 35 year old instead of a 31 year old?
I think that he has never fully recovered from that knee surgery he had a few weeks ago. They just don't tell us about it, although they have been hinting about it. Several times Tanguay or Donny Marshall said that Pierce isn't "100%". Of course, now that he screwed up his ankle/foot in the game with Washington, things will be even worse. I'm holding my breath this morning hoping it isn't something serious. If it is, we're totally screwed.

As far as who to keep, I guess Rondo isn't young and fast enough? Concerning Scalabrine, seems to me he is about as good a 3rd-string/practice player as you are apt to find. That's not saying much, but what do you expect/want in a "role" player like this?