Now with Derrick White back with the team, there really wasn’t any sort of excuse.
So just because they lost it I don’t think you should suddenly change up your tune.
In a big spot with a good test against a good team, the Celtics collectively failed.
Maxey/Embiid outperformed Tatum/Brown when it mattered most.
I’m sorry if this upsets you, but it’s simply what happened.
Tyrese Maxey (11 points on 50%) had more points in the 4th quarter than Tatum/Brown combined.
When it got close and the Sixers needed a dagger, it was Embiid making the big turnaround jumper.
In the entire second half, the Jays finished with 14 total points.
The Celts finish their road trip 1-2, with both losses coming in excruciating fashion.
That’s maybe how you know basketball is truly back.
Allow me to explain.
I was honestly expecting a 50 ball on his head so that was a pleasant surprise.
So, to get Porzingis the exact look that was a reason Brad traded for him is perfectly fine.
Not too different from Jaylen’s shot on Monday night.
Would have loved some of those open 3s to drop, but overall Derrick played well.
- The same is true for Sam Hauser.
His role is simple.
Come in, make your threes, play acceptable defense and that’s it.
That my friends, is called filling your role.
- If we’re going to be truthful, that’s really it for this section.
Especially against the top 5 defenses.
When you look closer, it’s not surprising to see why.
The ball isn’t moving and TO’s are high.
This is the start of a trend, and it’s not a good one.
Was he shook by his 1-5 showing in the 3rd quarter or something?
That’s obviously an issue seeing as how, ya know, he’s their best player.
The team goes as he goes.
Very weird game from him.
To finish 6-14 (2-6) with only 3 FTA just isn’t going to cut it.
Not for a guy that’s trying to work his way into being a Top 5 player.
The expectations are higher and the standard is higher.
- For me, this game had two different turning points.
The first game to start the 2nd quarter.
Tatum was on the floor, Embiid on the bench and the Celt were up 5 points.
From that moment on, it was nothing but disaster.
There was no separation.
In fact, just 2 minutes later it was 35-33 at the 8:39 mark, Joe called timeout.
Over the final 7 minutes, the Sixers closed on a 25-14 run.
From up 10 to down 7 at the half in a single quarter.
Then of course we had the 3rd quarter.
Remember how bad the 3rd was against the Wolves when they scored 19 points?
It’s ultimately what cost them that game on Monday night.
Well how about this?
I mean what the fuck is that?
17 points, 25/27% splits, and more TOs than FGM with Tatum playing every second?
Coming off what we saw to end the half, this was why the Celtics lost.
They cannot keep having these disaster quarters.
It’s fine to lose a quarter, that shit happens.
Coming off what we saw in the 3rd on Monday?
That stuff cannot happen.
Every single game is being impacted by the officials making insane calls/techs it’s bananas.
Honestly, it’s hurting the product and Adam Silver clearly doesn’t give a shit.
On that final play, what exactly was that ref looking at?
Brutal showing for everyone involved.
It’s a fucking disaster outside of Hauser finding his shot again.
How a guy goes from this
to what we’re seeing to start the season is insane.
There’s being bad, and then there’s being whatever we’re seeing from Pritchard at the moment.
I’m not sure it’s possible to start off any worse.
But there’s also Al as well.
He’s been brutal offensively to start the year as well.
It’s a long season, and this is how you burn out your stars.
This is why Brad traded for Brogdon in 2022.
It’s a glaring concern until proven otherwise.
- I wanted to wait until the final spot because it requires a true deep dive.
Use whatever word you want.
The Knicks win comes to mind.
I can survive a poor shooting night from Jaylen.
Let’s run through them all
Jaylen gets the ball and pushes the tempo.
The mistake of course is for no reason he decided to dribble into 4 players.
This is something we see a lot when Jaylen’s decision making is fucked up.
That is exactly what happened on that play.
There’s no advantage there, just pull it back out and wait for help.
That’s not going to help his left hand allegations one bit.
Not even 1 minute later, we once again saw Jaylen drive into traffic without a real plan.
This looked very similar to his drives against MIA in the ECF.
Jaylen was being pressured the second he received the inbounds pass.
What does he do?
Just do anything other than trying to dribble through an entire defense by yourself.
These are the types of mistakes that Jaylen needs to figure the fuck out.
He is not a rookie, he is not a young player.
It’s partly what helped PHI change the momentum.
This would be true if Jaylen was making $300M or league minimum.
These are losing plays.
That would be true.
The team struggling against good defenses is a concern.
The bench giving nothing is a concern.
