Celtics lose heartbreaker to Bucks


In past years a loss to the Bucks would have been devastating.  However, this year it's really nothing to be ashamed of. I was impressed with Delfino, Jennings, Ilasyova, and Salmons. But the one guy that really dominated this game was Andrew Bogut. He was the best player on the floor and contributed an amazing 25 points and 17 rebounds.  How this guy didn't make the All Star team is incredible. He's tough, a great offensive rebounder, and can finish in the lane with either hand. The Celtics need to hope they don't face this guy in the first round.

Boston played pretty well defensively and looked like the Celtics of old in stretches.  Rondo had a great game with 20 points and was an impressive 8-9 from the line.  He also had two of the best plays of the night including an acrobatic put back dunk.  Garnett had a solid game as well with 14 points and 10 rebounds. I was also pleasently surprised with the debut of Michael Finley, though he didn't get any time in the second half. It was classic Doc to sit the second unit just when they were playing well together.

Besides those 3 no one else showed up offensively. We all love Perk, but the guy just isn't playing well lately.  Pierce is still struggling, and though I was impressed with his aggressiveness in the second half, he looks like a shell of himself.  He also continues to force shots. I don't know why that last shot went to Pierce and not Ray.  Look, the reality is Ray Allen is the guy you give the ball at the end of games now, not Pierce.  The sooner we realize that the better we'll be.

I have a feeling we'll see a little bit more of tonight's Nate Robinson in the future.  The good news is if he's a ball hog like he was we can just pull him.  Still, let's hope the Nate from last week shows up more than the Nate from tonight. We might have 3 of the top 5 gunners in the league in Nate, Finley, and Sheed.

The Celtics had a ton of chances to win this game. You can't blame this on the refs because if anything the Celtics got more calls. Milwaukee had two key offensive rebounds in the last 4 minutes and that offensive foul on Perk killed us.  Still, we had a chance to win in the end but foolishly gave it to Pierce and not Ray.  You can't be too dissapointed about this loss because for one the Bucks were at home. Also, they are a legitimate team and a projected 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs. Finally, what do you really expect to happen when Ray and Pierce shoot a combined 3-16 from the field? It's actually kind of a surprising it was that close.  The Celtics have another tough game tomorrow against Memphis and let's hope for a different result.