Instead, this final stretch of the season is really only about one thing.
Getting through it healthy.
Sunday night, without Jaylen, Porzingis, or White, the Celts won by 26 points.
Monday night, without Tatum, Horford, or Jrue, they won by 25 points.
Can we stop pretending like that’s normal?
That is good for 47% of their games, so just think about that for a second.
Not just win, but be up by 20+.
That is as insane as insane gets.
Before we dive in, we also have to address what else happened last night.
Just like yesterday, prepare yourself for what your body might experience when you read this tweet
Holy fuck.
That is what I immediately said upon seeing this information.
They were the super team of all super teams.
And yet, look at that picture.
So what does this mean?
That’s what is at stake from here on out.
Personally, I love the pressure.
I embrace the pressure.
Alright, I’ll give you a minute to clean yourself up and then we can dive in.
The Good
- Welcome back.
Come on, something’s up.
For White, that means doing what he does best and shooting without hesitation.
For him, that’s what makes all the difference in the world.
But when he grips it and rips it?
You get a performance like this.
For the Celts to win the title, they need Aggressive Derrick.
Him being an efficient scoring threat is what makes this version of the Celts seem so much more devastating.
Silly me, the guy is still extremely locked in
How locked in?
Well, what we are experiencing is what things look like when both guys lead from the front.
Because their two best players are focused.
It was also nice to see Jaylen finally get back to 75% from the line.
For me, that’s the bar I need him at.
You give me 50/50/75% and I’m a happy camper.
Think of the greatest three point shooting teams to ever grace the NBA.
You’d probably pick some iteration of the Splash Brother Warriors right?
Not a bad pick given what we all lived through.
Again, think of how ridiculous this is given what we saw the Celts do these last two games.
One night you sit Jaylen/KP/White and you still make 20+ 3PA.
Then the next night you sit Tatum/Horford/Jrue/Hauser, and you still make 20+ 3PA.
That shouldn’t be possible.
What other team in the league is doing something like that?
We really shouldn’t ignore the heater the Celts are currently on from deep since the ASB.
The Celts are making 18 3s a night since the ASB.
Oh and the best part?
As a team, they are shooting 43.0% in these 13 games.
When the Celts are shooting like this, you really don’t stand a chance.
If that happens, I think we’ll all like how things shake out.
I dunno about anyone else, but to me it didn’t look like KP missed a beat.
Give him 15-20 minutes here and there over the next 14 games, but I’ve seen enough.
If this season has taught us anything, it’s that a healthy KP gets whatever he wants.
He’s too fucking tall and is a matchup nightmare.
If you go big, he takes you out 35ft and drains threes in your eyeball.
If you go small on a switch, he punishes you.
There is no defensive solve for him.
This is peak Mazzulla Ball folks.
The Celtics are 19-2 this season when they finish with at least 30 AST.
They are 17-3 when they finish with under 10 TOs.
So what does that tell us?
Basically what we already know.
When this team moves the ball and takes care of the ball, opponents cannot reach their level.
You know, the guy who goes out and drops 90 points and looks unstoppable.
This is what that looks like in NBA form
No Jrue Holiday?
You know how many players would dream of being a near 40% shooter on 4.1 3PA a night?
On this roster, that’s the worst shooter of the group.
Make that make sense.
I know where I’ve seen this before
The answer is Young Avery Bradley.
At that stage of his career, nothing Avery threw up ever had a chance of going in.
He shot 34/0% as a rookie and 40/31% as a 22 year old.
You knew the shooting had to come around, but the defense was absolutely NBA ready and impactful.
Is that not what we saw from Jaden Springer last night?
His 3pt shooting is a disaster, that shit isn’t even close, just like Avery.
you’re free to feel his impact, just like Avery.
As you’ve got the option to imagine, they’ve won all 6.
The Bad
- I am becoming fascinated with the severe lack of buckets that come with Oshae Brissett minutes.
What makes it so interesting is I LOVE everything else he does on the floor.
I truly believe his OREB skills are a weapon, and his energy on the court makes a difference.
But for the love of God, the guy might have the worst layup package I’ve ever seen.
It doesn’t matter what he does, he cannot finish around the rim to save his life.
It’s the perfect example of a million dollar move with a 10 cent finish.
I truly am fascinated by it.
The thing is, it’s been this way all year!
It’s not like this is just a rut, he’s shooting just 68% at the rim!
I can’t stop looking at it.
- Nowhere near enough minutes for Jordan Walsh in this game for my liking.
That is not what these games are for.
We’ve reached the perfect part of the schedule for it.
Play Walsh with some starters on certain nights, let’s see what it looks like.
Cool for them, but not what I want to see in blowouts.
I want to see the kid.
We can move on.
The Ugly
- Per the rules of the blog, we’re done here until the Celts lose again!
Alright, now the fun starts.
The result was one of the worst ass kickings the Celts have experienced all year.
Anyone who suggests otherwise is full of shit.
All games against “contenders” from here on out are important.
Show up tomorrow and handle your business and it’s smooth sailing the rest of the way.
