Given how the last two losses went, I think we all needed a bounce back game like this.
The fans, the players, everyone.
The more insane the better, because that’s what drives clicks.
By now we all should know how this works.
The bigger point is, they didn’t let this snowball.
The only contending teams who can say that so far this season are BOS, OKC, and MIN.
Not a bad group to be in if you ask me.
No other team in the East has 20 of those types of wins.
This is all a way to say, take a deep breath.
Getting back into the win column to help close out the West Coast trip strong is a positive.
They can still be even better.
Can’t just talk about it, they also have to be about it.
Consistently handle their shit in a way that translates to winning basketball.
Everything this team does starts at the top of the food chain with their two best players.
They are the tone setters, and that will always be the case.
Since returning from the All Star Break, Jaylen Brown has done nothing but show incredible leadership.
Every night, regardless of the opponent.
Maybe you are partial to the 55/42% shooting splits with 2.7 3PM a game.
Those are pretty sweet.
Maybe you’re a fan of his passing leap, with nearly 4.0 assists a game.
I sure as hell know you don’t love the 65% FT%, because that shit stinks.
I lean more towards his 1.4 TOs a game since the break.
Of these 7 games, only 1 has seen Jaylen finish with more than 2 TOs.
Early, with Tatum struggling, it needed his scoring.
When it was clear Tatum was starting to heat up?
We saw Jaylen adapt.
He took only 4 FGA, finished with 3 AST, and played great defense.
He’s aggressive, but also in control.
He’s better at recognizing the situation and giving the team what it needs.
That’s his leap, and it’s made a world of difference.
The play of the Celtics starting backcourt is probably the second most important factor of this win for me.
This has always been true of the Tatum/Brown era in my opinion.
241 assists in 51 games (4.7).
In the 7 games post-ASB?
46 assists (6.6).
All while almost never turning it over (1.3).
Watch his pace with he ball.
Last year, the leap was his jumper.
This year confirmed what we saw last season, but with his new role came a new challenge.
It’s because of Derrick’s eyes and brain.
The same is true for a player like Jrue.
Biggest play of the game was the Al Horford corner three.
A huge shot in a huge moment that was created why?
Because of Holiday’s eyes and brain.
He saw the slip screen was there, made an immediate decision and slid to the rim.
In a playoff series, you need players that can read the floor and process things quickly.
That is what the guard play gave the Celtics last night and look at what a difference it made.
Pretty much where theyv’e been all year in terms of rating.
The bigger jump is in their points allowed.
The Celts have held their opponents to 110 or fewer in 4 of their last 5.
They’re doing this all defensively while being 30th in the league in forced TOs (11.8).
- After a nothing burger against the Nuggets, the bench did bounce back in a huge way.
I don’t really understand the hate that Kornet gets from some Celts fans.
He’s also really effective in that role, and for stretches was the best center on the floor.
That’s something that really happened.
Bad look for the Suns, but I’ll take it.
Especially if Tatum or someone starts off slow.
- Then of course, there’s the play of Jayson Tatum.
I look at it like this.
That guy can never happen.
There wasn’t that same “check out” feel like we saw against the Nuggets.
The energy and effort level was there.
He also was much better in the 4th quarter.
As they say, it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.
These are the pop in of Tatum “stinkers” that I can live with.
Not the DEN one.
That’s all I really need and it’s really all the team needs.
It’s when he no shows all areas of his game that it becomes too much.
That stuff doesn’t play to the masses.
- We should acknowledge the clutch time progress though.
Much better execution this time around because we saw a few things.
High percentage looks
When you do #1 and #2, you get #3.
When you get #3, you execute in the clutch and win a close game.
It’s not a complicated formula, the Celts just have to stop fucking around and do it.
- Another game with 60 points in the paint and 39 3PA.
A nice little reminder that it does not have to be one or the other.
The Celtics are capable of doing both, which is what makes them so devastating.
You need efficient shots to win, and you need 3PM to win.
How they work together should be the focus, not which one happens more.
If that means voodoo or some sort of dark magic, so be it.
I cannot live in a world where he’s missing 3+ FTs a night.
Can’t have it.
In clutch moments, give me 100%.
That’s all I ask.
At this point it’s probably a little mental, which is understandable.
He looks like a guy that could really benefit from a day off.
If you step on the sideline or commit a charge, I can live with that.
Those are dead ball TOs.
Now the crowd is juiced and momentum starts to swing.
You get into the 4th quarter, possessions matter.
Being careless and wasting possessions is how you collapse.
So seeing shit like this
cannot happen.
It’s as simple as that.
The problem is, in these moments we as fans want the guards to handle the ball and initiate.
That’s why they are there right?
The crowd is going to be going nuts.
Things are going to be hectic.
If you don’t, there is no title.
For years we were told this was the Marcus Smart problem.
It has to be cleaned up.
- Jaylen’s tech is just the latest in a long line of pathetic NBA officiating decisions.
Adam Silver doesn’t think he has an officiating problem though.
If you could, earn some early rest on those games by sitting the 4th quarter.
