Of course, though, KG doesn't have to be "Big Ticket" any more. What Doc and the team have to get through to him is that he just needs to do the things he can do, and be dependable in doing them. (Take the jumper from the elbow, box out his man and grab rebounds, direct the defense the way only he can) The great story when this team came together is that the stars found a way to reduce their roles to fit together. Seems to me it's time to reevaluate all those rolls again. Pierce can't do the things he's always done, KG can't either. Hell even Ray looks old on some plays when he's up against youth. But each of these guys do things that can make this team special. KG isn't dying, he just needs to accept and adapt.

Too much is being made about the offense from this game. Yes it was problematic, but the defense was worse. The only reason the Pacers only scored 33 in the first half was THEIR shots weren't falling either. The defense was turrrble! Just turrrble.

I remember the years prior to the latest resurgence. This was the worst game I've ever seen the Celtics play. But I don't take that to mean this team is done. There is work to do. Lots of bad decisions were made on both sides of the ball last night. Sure the offense was abysmal, but the defense was worse. These are manageable problems and I'm confident these four days off will prove valuable and many issues will be addressed in practice.

Is there a source on what the season would look like? I guess I assumed it would be the same schedule just picking up from 12/25/11.

Nah, this is it. We'll be seeing basketball this December.

Ahh yes. I remember that now. Well then I'm still thinking McHale would win this one. McHale was a pretty decent defender so he could force some bad shots for Pierce, but I just don't see McHale being stopped by Pierce.

This is the first matchup where I've really wondered about the rules of the game. Is it make it take it? Is there a three point (or two point) shot? If it's make it take it, seems to me the game is heavily in Kevin's favor. Paul can't hit all his jumpers, but as Ainge still lives said, you can't stop the blackhole. Hmm

I'm not sure I agree with this. If my company locked me out from work, I'd look for new work. If I had the means to take a break and travel around, I'd do that. If that travel took me to places where I might find new work, I'd do that too. The players are the face of the league, they are not the league, they are employees of it. If Google told all it's employees to stop coming to work and we're not gonna pay you, I'm guessing a rival of Google will find itself with a boatload of awesome new recruits.

Right, that's what I was getting at. All 64 have been great clips, just hard for me to vote for a "best play" when it's delivered as two plays. Again, I don't mean to put a blemish on what you're doing, cuz this is great stuff, just pointing out a thought I had through the first round. Keep up the superb stuff. Thanks

I hadn't been watching the results much, I was hoping none of the two-play clips made it through the first round. Now that cranky man has spoke his mind, I love that you are doing this. Good fun! Thanks.

I hope Semih finds a place in the NBA. Sure he's not a top 5 center in the league (though is there a clear cut top five centers in the league?) but I really liked watching him play, see him hustle and see him improve. I think he would be an asset for any team.

Almost like they are following some sort of "blueprint", eh?

It's just a match up thing. I don't see any signs of Perk being a lose for the Thunder, it's just a match up he isn't suited for. McHale and Bird could never keep up with Worthy, but you wouldn't say they were losses for the Celtics. (Sorry not comparing Perk to them, just the only example I could come up with this very second)

Really?

You're right, he did say Hellified in this part of the presser, but a little later on is when he used horrific.

I caught that last night in the post game, also. Horrific is a big word when you are talking about injuries, so what could it be? Makes me wonder more about comments made during Rondo's "slump". Doc would say Rondo wasn't hurt, KG slipped in that he was. I can easily see that both guys would play it that way given an injury to Rondo. Doc would respect Rondo's wishes to downplay all injuries (which we've seen Rondo downplay every injury he's ever had) and KG would just say it like it is.