That it was really about where you were at around Christmas.
Well, folks, here we are.
The Celts are officially at the NBA’s All Star Break and what do you know?
How is this 58 game sample size?
They are the only team in the league to be both top 5 in offense and defense.
Instead, the Celts are the best team in the NBA.
They got their players back and swiftly took care of business.
Think of how much better you feel heading into the break this year compared to last year.
It’s not even fucking close.
That’s Love and Trust.
Beating the Pistons last night is whatever.
This isn’t about them.
Get rest, get healthy, and then the fun really starts once we’re back on the 23rd.
For now, let’s talk about win 42.
I think Jayson Tatum is very good at basketball
A rested Jayson Tatum looks pretty good eh?
Well wait, I guess that depends on your definition of good.
For me, 38/9/7 on 15-24 (6-10) shooting in 34 minutes is pretty damn good.
You could have a different opinion, it would just be wrong.
Tatum finished with 24 points in the 3rd quarter, going 9-11 from the floor and 6-6 from 3P.
Tatum played all 12 minutes and took nearly half the total FGA (25).
It’s a feel thing.
The beauty of his performance though wasn’t just the scoring or the shooting.
It was the fact that he did everything.
Tatum led the Celts in points, rebounds, and assists.
He did all this while only taking 2 FTA all night.
I’d like to see some other MVP candidates score 38 points in 34 minutes with 2 FTA.
None of that foul merchant bullshit in this game that’s for sure.
- The wait from 1/23 to last night was one of the longest struggles of my life.
This team just didn’t feel like themselves at times.
Offensively, defensively, energy wise, something was missing.
He finished with 9/7/6/6 on 4-6 (1-3) shooting in his 29 minutes with only 2 TOs.
Suddenly, things looked back to normal.
So much of his role on this team as the floor general is his feel for the game.
As a team they were crisp, organized and selfless.
Smart sets that tone.
Did the ball ever feel like it was sticking in this game to you?
I don’t think so.
I mean, the Celts had a 128 Ortg in this win.
- Did you know the Celts are now 8-1 on B2Bs this season?
That is simply outrageous.
- Nothing like a wire to wire win.
There were 0 lead changes in this game, the Celts largest lead was 21.
When you play the Celts you basically have to pray for a few things.
You have to pray they miss their 3PA and that they turn it over a shit ton.
When the opposite of that happens, you have no shot.
- I want to be very clear about something.
Blake Griffin will die for this team, and I will die for him.
That’s how this works
Does Blake need to be diving of the floor like this?
He’s Blake Griffin.
- If anyone on this team deserves the rest of the All Star break, it’s Derrick White.
He only shot 3-11 in this game, but was a +12 in his 26 minutes.
He can do it, we’ve seen it, and it feels like he learned his lesson.
Only one or two pump fakes in this game, Grant was much better in his 20 minutes.
A solid 9/4/2 and a +8 on 50/50% is all I need from him.
Just be confident and don’t overthink things and you’ll be golden.
Especially once things got out of hand in the 4th quarter, why not let him get some run?
Fortunately nothing bad happened injury-wise, I just don’t really get it.
We saw JD in this game!
I get he wasn’t great against MIL, but who cares?
Is he in Joe’s doghouse or something?
Was he maybe nursing an injury we don’t know about?
It doesn’t matter if it’s contested or not, the dude is a professional bucket getter.
Sure he can’t really defend, but if you need efficient buckets, Bogdanovic is your guy.
- Sadly, I have to put Al’s acting skills in this section.
There is NO chance he’s talking to anyone on that phone.
Classic fake phone call maneuver.
- This may be on me, but I had forgotten how much I hate Tony Brothers.
What an asshole that dude is.
Look, all I want is consistency.
If you want to be bad, be bad for both sides.
Either call it on both ends or don’t.
He clearly made things personal with Blake in this game and that’s everything wrong with Tony Brothers.
The Ugly
- Whatever the defensive gameplan was for the 3rd quarter, kindly throw it in the trash.
I found that to be extremely annoying.
- Honestly that was really it.
It’s hard to complain about a 20+ point win as you head into the break.
So now we wait.
The stretch run and then the playoffs are setting up to take multiple years off our collective lives.
That team plays in Boston, and it doesn’t look like that’s changing any time soon.
