Why you shouldn’t overreact to last night’s loss
I know it’s easy to overreact to last night’s loss. (“Losing to the Cavaliers? They’re going to do THIS again?? They don’t give a damn about the regular season!! NOOO!!!”) I even cautioned before the game that it would be a nice measuring stick to determine the Celtics’ collective attitude this year. But there are a couple reasons why you shouldn’t be too concerned… yet, at least.
1. It was just one game – I know last night felt like deja-vu, like last year all over again. But it was just one game, people. Last year wasn’t concerning because the Celtics lost a single bad game. It was concerning because the Celtics made a habit of losing to bad teams, a habit of getting outworked by inferior opponents. They went .500 for the final two-thirds of last season, for God’s sake. They lost to the Nets. They lost to the Wizards. They lost to the Grizzlies by 20. And they lost all those games at home, and two of them with one day of rest in between games. I remind you, last night was only one game. Until the Celtics make losing ugly games the norm, I won’t be too worried. After all, as Greg Payne points out, the ’08-’09 Celtics lost to the Pacers in just the season’s third game. They went on to start the season 27-2.
2. It was a classic trap game – I know last year is clouding your vision right now. You see one bad early loss and think, “AHHH!! It’s happening again!!!!” But last night was a classic trap game. It was the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, and it followed the most historic NBA season-opener ever. I’m not condoning excuses, but… if there was ever a time for the Celtics to take a game off, it was last night.
Which is why last night was different from last season. It was a game the Celtics were supposed to struggle with, rather than a night the Celtics were supposed to take care of business. When Doc Rivers first looked at the schedule, I guarantee he circled the game against the Cavaliers and thought, “Shit, I’d better come up with one hell of a pre-game speech on that night. It’s going to be tough to motivate the troops for that one.”
At home, with a day of rest, the Celtics are supposed to blow out the Cavs. But on the road, with no rest, arriving in Cleveland late on the night before the game, coming down from the emotional high of opening night, and playing against a team attempting to prove the world wrong, the Celtics were supposed to struggle.
Maybe I’m offering the Celtics too many excuses. Maybe I should expect them to take care of business wherever, whenever, no matter how tired and weary they happen to be. But where I’m sitting, a win last night wasn’t just to be expected. It would have been one of the most impressive, mentally-strong wins the Celtics would have all season. So take it easy on them, for now.
But if they lose to the Knicks on Friday: PANIC!!!!!!!
Related posts:
Celtics Blog | Jay King | October 28, 2010
Sorry, but you are 100% wrong on this and you should be worried. They very well could be 0-2 if a couple of 3s didn’t fall vs the Heat. They blew a 19 pt lead in the same EXACT fashion as they blew leads last year. But the difference is they now have 100% better talent, even with KP out. One game? One game speaks volumes about their mindset which apparently is still on ‘we can just turn it on when we want’. Well, guess not. It is Doc’s responsibility to coach the team but when PP gets 2 rebs in 33 mins, Shaq 2 rebs in 21 mins, and Davis only 5 in 33, while JO is 6 fouls in 12 minutes and nothing else then it falls on the players and they have NO, ZERO, NADA excuses. I don’t care if they sat on a plane all night and then got to the game 5 minutes before with no warm-up. They know how to rebound and block out. They know how to play defense because they showed it the night before. Cleveand’s talent is 1/3 of the Heat’s if all combined together. Turnovers (19) and fouls (24) killed them and those are because of laziness (coasting?) or not being focused. Come on Jay, you have to be pissed off about this and not give them a pass; whatsoever!!!. All the pre-season talk is now just that…cheap, meaningless talk. They are a .500 team and lucky to be so. These are the exact kind of games that Bird, DJ, Halichek, and Russel era teams ALWAYS won. This team has serious FOCUS issues and unless they are addressed very soon it’s going to be another ugly season of lame efforts. Just my opinion, but what also conserns me more is the lack of anger by the players. I’m sure you gave 100% EVERY time you played (as the article you wrote about getting in your friend’s face) and I did too, in meaningless Y pick-up games other than for the love of playing and getting to stay on the court (or else). These ‘players’ are paid millions to give effort and ultimately win and last night’s effort should have them return what they were paid. Everything good that was built to this point is now in question as they pissed on all the goodwill they generated by showing up and doing not much else. Go Cs…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Agreed.
James, you need to take you pills bro, you’re going off the deep end.
People are sleeping too much on this Cavs team. Ya you lost Lebron, but they are a young team, with great athleticism, and a great Coach, who are damn motivated to prove the world wrong.
Don’t underestimate what a little motivation, a little locker room “us against the world, F you for doubting us” type mentality can do for a team. It draws them together, it bonds them, it motivates them to leave it all on the line every freaking night. I’m not saying get ready for Championship parades in Cleveland, but the team has talent, and I wouldn’t be shocked if there a .500 team this year.
So in this game, with everything in the world to prove for the Cavs, and everything can you prove in the first week of the NBA already proven for the Celtics, well… shit happens.
Knicks on Friday night is another story, that’s a game they should and need to take care of business. If they struggle again, ok, we need to start questioning the mentality and wonder if this season will be a Deja Vu.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I guess you never watched the old Celtic teams that would never have let an effort like this happen. Even Doc said they played the whole game liked they played the 2nd half vs the Heat. where the f** is the Celtic pride? Sorry but I have played too much hoops and watched too many games (over 50+ yrs) to know what I am seeing is a problem. Yes, I agree the Cavs have some young talent and something to prove but shit only happens if you let it. when you control your own destiny then I want to see all out fighting like the world is going to end and the Cs just don’t show that, at least not vs the Cavs.
Go Cs…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
@james – i agree with you in some areas, but its not like they just gave up and didn’t take shots. they took shots that just didnt drop. theres no control to be had over destiny once the ball is our of your hands. its either gonna drop or its not. and for that matter, we were only in a 1 possession game until parker got the longest second of my entire life to shoot a 3! but i would not say that this means they are doing it all over again. i would say, they should be closely monitored in terms of “if you aint givin us good effort in the 4th, get the fuck off the floor” but AGAIN it is only NUMBER TWO out of EIGHTY TWO.. there are still some kinks to be worked out.. we got a lot of big guys and only 2 of them at this point (KG & Glenn) are established enough with the sets to make the closing minutes count. we’ve seen NOTHING from JO, Delonte and Perk are on the bench, call me crazy but I like Semih Erden at C, we could have used him last night if it wasn’t for the shoulder. give it some time… we’ll be alright. besides, what else does cleveland have to get excited about? they will probably only win at MOST 50 games this year. we won 50 games last year HURT. so now that we’re healthier, just wait it out… if losses start happening repeatedly because of bad 2nd half or 4th quarter efforts, then I’ll be nervous. but like the article says, you really shouldn’t over react.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I didn’t see the game as I am on the west coast. but I really don’t think I’m over-reacting when, even if the shots don’t fall (PP & RA), there are others ways to beat teams and that’s with rebounding, defense, less turnovers, and less fouls. Somehow the Cs out-rebounded the Cavs by 1 reb but shot 9 fewer shots. How does that happen given those stats? Well it happens because of turnovers and fouls, which they certainly can control. I watched the opening game and again the Cs could be 0-2 right now if a couple of 3s (PP/RA) didn’t fall. I much rather see PP/Shaq and Davis with at least 6-7 rebounds each because then I know they are hustling. Yes, KG had 15 rebs, but PP and Shaq need to do better. Getting 2 rebs per game isn’t going to cut it. RA also needs to go to the hoop when his 3 is not falling, same for PP. The bottom line is that they should not have lost and they got beat in the 4th qtr when champions win. Thanks for agreeing somewhat with me and hopefully they will fight harder next time and all season. Go Cs…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0