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By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff With their team down more than 20 points and with the game clockwinding down toward a loss in Game 6, Celtics fans stood andchanted "Let's Go Celtics" for what must have been three or fourminutes. It was a sign of solidarity, a sign of support for a groupof players who collectively may have played their last game at TDGarden. "It was unbelievable," said Rajon Rondo. "That just shows we havethe best fans in sports, in the whole game of basketball." The gesture might have been surprising anywhere but here, butBoston fans are fiercely loyal. They support their own, and they'veembraced this team as just that. Despite the mercenary aspect ofthe whole thing when this collection of players was broughttogether five seasons ago, the Celtics' four star players are now apermanent part of the fabric here. It's now easier to rememberKevin Garnett for his big moments in five seasons as a Celtic thanfor anything he did in 12 seasons in Minnesota. We expect Garnett,Ray Allen, Rondo, and Paul Pierce to produce in big moments becausewe've seen them do it in the playoffs over and over again. Which is why Game 6 was so disappointing. With a chance toeliminate the Miami Heat and earn a berth in the NBA Finals, theCeltics didn't show up on their home floor. And because they laidan egg in their most crucial game of the season, they may have costthemselves a chance at another title. It's tempting to give a pass to this eminently root-able bunch andpraise them for making it this far. They weren't supposed to behere, weren't supposed to make this Miami series competitive, andthey aren't expected to win the title should they advance to meetthe Thunder. "I would say most of the people in this room would have said, 'Wow,they're going to get to a Game 7? We'll take it,'" said Celticscoach Doc Rivers. "That's the way we have to view it. We won a gameat theirs, they won here. Now we get to play for all the marbles.This team has not done it the easy way this year." Chalking Thursday's loss up to "We'll get 'em next time" would beletting the Celtics off the hook. Game 6 was there for the taking,and the Celtics gave it away. The team may have the best fans inthe world, but those fans also shouldn't be happy if the Celticsfollow this loss with another on Saturday. If they play like theydid in Game 6, they almost certainly will. Consider some areas the Celtics were less than stellar in Thursday.Allowing LeBron James to score 45 points is a good place to start. "I didn't think we played him with a lot of force, though,honestly," said Rivers. "Listen, he made great shots. But we canplay better defense." A team built on championship-level defense didn't show it Thursday,allowing Miami to shoot 49 percent from the field. James made 19 of26 shots from the field, and not even the best player in the worlddoes that without a little help. The trapping, suffocating schemesBoston used in their last three wins over the Heat were nowhere tobe found. Another area to take issue with is that the Celtics had a terriblestart on their home court, getting themselves down by 10 points inlarge part due to poor ball movement. The Celtics had one assist tofive turnovers in the first quarter. A team led by Rondo shouldn'tget themselves in that position. "We have to get to the second and third option, and sometimes thefourth option," said Ray Allen. More often than not Thursday night, the ball stuck to the righthand of the first option and didn't even find the second. After coming up so clutch in Game 5, Pierce provided the finallayer of disappointment in Game 6, making just 4 of 18 shots fromthe floor. He also took himself out of the game in the secondquarter by picking up his third foul. He's guarding James, butPierce's penchant to foul has become a problem. "Paul is a big-game player," said Rivers. "Game 7s are the biggestgame you can possibly have. What I saw tonight, I thought he wasready for the game. He just didn't have a great game tonight." Less than excellent games from Pierce, Rondo, and Garnett inparticular are disappointing at this stage. The Celtics don't needthe 44 points they got from Rondo in Game 2. But a game like his 15points, 15 assists, and 3 turnovers in Game 4 would have at leastmade it competitive. Pierce doesn't have to shoot well -- he made38 percent of his shots in Boston wins in Game 3 and 4 -- but he'sgot to find some other way to be effective. In those two games, itwas getting to the line a combined 13 times. In Game 6, Pierce hadtwo free throw attempts while missing six 3-pointers. Game 7 is wide open, but Celtics fans, the same ones who stood andcheered on their team until the better end, deserved a bettereffort in Game 6. The Celtics added extra games in both the Atlantaand Philadelphia series because of performances that could bedescribed as lackadaisical. They did the same Thursday night. Ifthey do make it to the Finals, they'll have made their own path alot more difficult. Their penchant for dragging things out isbeginning to lose its charm. The Celtics have come too far for moral victories. This is no timeto praise them for making it this far. It's easy to like this team,but it's also not unreasonable to expect them to keep winning.They'll need a much better showing Saturday night in order to makethat happen. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Floating Pontoon Bridge , China Military Pontoon Bridge for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Steel Suspension Bridge.
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