I’m not sure about anyone else, but I am still jazzed as fuck after last night.
Didn’t sleep a wink, but for all the right reasons this time.
So being able to avoid that despair was a big-time win for me mentally which I appreciated.
I imagine the team felt the same way.
There wasn’t too much “basketball” importance in this game last night.
The importance was all mental.
The Warriors were a demon this team had to collectively overcome.
When it came time to deliver in the biggest moments, this team rose to the challenge.
That shit was brutal.
No other team makes you feel the way playing the Warriors does.
It’s different than going up against someone like Giannis or Jokic or Embiid etc.
The way the Warriors play, the talent of their best players, every possession is stressful as fuck.
Every time Curry has the ball, you’re scared.
But in a game everyone said the Celts needed to have, they won.
That’s what truly matters right?
When we need Al, Al is there for us.
Love him for that.
- A couple of things can be true when talking about Jayson Tatum’s night.
For starters, the Celtics do not win this game without the performance of Jayson Tatum.
The fact that he played every second from the 2nd quarter on is ridiculous.
When he came back in to start the 2nd quarter, he had 2 points.
No other player from either side scored more than Tatum the rest of the way (32 points).
Think about that for a second when you then realize that he shot 9-27 which was HORRENDOUS.
His late game decision making and ball security?
Just brutal TOs that you cannot have from anyone let alone your best player in those spots.
The thing is, with each brutal TO, Tatum found a way to make up for it.
In OT, he hit the dagger and then sealed things from the line.
Tatum finished with 13/7/1 over the final 1.5 quarters despite playing every goddamn second.
That’s big time and what everyone says they wanted from Tatum right?
When he was struggling with his shot, he got his ass to the glass.
He found ways to create for others.
Did he have bad moments?
Did he also come through down the stretch and make a massive impact overall on winning?
Good showing by him.
- Quick question, do we think a healthy Rob makes a difference in this matchup?
The Warriors thought going small against this team would work, unfortunately they were wrong.
Rob was a monster in this game, especially on the offensive glass.
I would make the case that the Celts are cooked without the 2nd chance opportunities Rob provided.
Poor shooting, turnovers, bad defense, it was gross.
That was nothing we haven’t lived through before.
In the fourth quarter last night, Smart took 1 FGA.
He finished with 3 assists.
In the OT, he took 2 FGA and finished 1-2.
- In the previous losses to GS, a common theme was that this team caved under pressure.
That mentally they didn’t have what it takes to break through the adversity.
This might be my favorite part of their win last night.
Each and every time they answered.
- For 95% of the night, I’d say Jaylen was brutal.
Coming back from injury, that was mostly whatever for me.
It was annoying, but I think guys get a pass in their first game back from injury.
That helped set the tone for that entire extra period.
The second he stops shooting is when his confidence is cooked.
Jaylen’s night was a great lesson.
Even when things aren’t going your way, remain confident.
There’s just no excuse for what we saw from Tatum and Smart.
I’ve watched these plays 1,000,000 times and I cannot understand what they were thinking.
That’s where he thrives.
In this specific situation though?
Just hold onto the ball.
Plenty of time on the clock, at this point in the game possessions are so important.
Just take your time and run something.
He obviously didn’t see Wiggins coming either, but man was that a tough one.
His final TO to me though was the worst of them all.
This is just flat out bad
I’m not sure what he was trying to accomplish here.
First off, he leaves his feet to pass which is absolutely something you should never do.
Then you through kind of a soft floating pass right into the teeth of the defense?
That was also very bad.
I mean good God man take a deep breath.
Only bad things happen when you do that.
There are a billion different things he could have done instead of what he chose.
There’s no defending it.
The true definition of a mental lapse.
I say that from a place of love and trust, but christ.
Thank God Jaylen saved that pass is all I can say.
- I cannot explain why this team shoots like complete dogshit on 2 days rest.
In this game, they finished 38/31%.
It makes no goddamn sense.
A rested team should be able to make wide open looks at a little higher clip in my opinion.
- When you play GS, you have to win around the margins.
See for yourseld
Look at that shit!
This was not a case of the Celts settling for 3PA and not attacking the paint/rim.
They were great with that.
Where they struggled was ya know….making the layups/floaters.
The crazy part is the Warriors were playing small and didn’t really have any sort of rim protection.
The Celts just smoked bunny after bunny after bunny.
Why that matters against GS is every one of those missed layups is a gut punch.
So really, you’re getting it from both ends when the Celts miss layups like this.
So bizarre for a team that is very good at finishing at the rim.
Especially when Tatum/Brown were struggling.
Brogdon did what he could early, but he went cold too and finished 5-15.
For whatever reason the depth on this team can’t seem to show up whenever they play GS.
The Ugly
- Nope, not after 8 in a row.
At the end of the day, that is what matters most.
They took another punch from GS and punched back twice as hard.
