That’s really all I feel at the moment.
We get up, we come back for more, and once again our brains are bashed in.
The Celts haven’t had a stretch like this since December 10-21st.
The good news is they then ripped off 13 wins in their next 15 games.
It’s the Celtics.
No no, that is not what this is.
Putting up that bang out of fight had most people feeling good, despite the loss.
They were playing much better than we’re seeing now.
It just isn’t.
By now you know, we don’t run from the pain.
We blog through it, turn the page, and move on.
Let’s dive in.
He played his dick off.
I’m talking 28/7.3/4.0/1.8 on 47.8/38% splits with 2.2 3PM a night.
His TOs are a little high at 3.2, but that comes with the high volume territory.
During this 3 game skid, Jaylen is putting up 30 a night on 50% shooting.
He’s given the Celts more than enough in his role to win these games.
I’m not sure how anyone could have too many complaints about Jaylen right now.
He’s doing his job.
- The same is true when it comes to Malcolm Brogdon on the offensive end.
There are some late clock issues that we’re going to get to, but overall?
- I actually thought for the most part, the Celtics had great ball movement in this game.
They had 26 against BKN, 27 against NYK, and 25 last night.
This is not a case where the Celts are playing like assholes and just going iso heavy.
They are actually moving the ball.
- OK, that’s enough.
Let’s get onto the real meat of this blog.
When they don’t, not only is it blatantly obvious, but it fucks everything up.
The clearest example of this is the current play offensively of Marcus Smart.
It’s all fucked up.
At the same time, I trust him to figure out that end of the floor.
Allow me to explain.
In these last 2 games, Smart has taken 30 FGA.
Of those 30, 22 have been 3PA.
Last night, that was not what happened.
It was more hero ball looks and poor quality shots.
We know that Smart is at his best when he attacks the rim/paint first and then shoots 3PA later.
But my issue with Smart goes further than just the shooting.
That’s maybe the first thing you learn not to do in Biddy Basketball.
What bothers me about this play is the situation.
The Cavs had started to make a run, starting the 4th on a 6-0 run.
LeVert had just his a 3, so making sure you get something good on the next possession.
A turnover like that, especially a live ball turnover there is just killer.
If that was bad, what happened in the final moments of the 4th was 100000x worse.
This is what I would call piss poor situational awareness.
You have to remember the situation here.
There is NO need for a shot like that in this moment, regardless if Smart was open.
You have to know the time/score/situation here.
If that still results in a 3PA from someone, fine.
To not even have an offensive possession here is just losing basketball.
When he’s good, the team is GREAT.
When he stinks, it outdoes pretty much all the good we see from everyone else.
- We’re currently navigating through a pretty brutal Derrick White offensive slump.
Over this stretch where the Celts have gone 1-4, Derrick is currently shooting 40/16% from the floor.
Over his last two, White’s shooting 9-26 (3-9).
That’s pretty tough.
The thing is, his struggles are different from Smart’s in that his process is still good.
This is not a case of White taking bad shots, he’s just missing looks he normally makes.
Well, let’s start with the OREB.
This was not a case of Jarrett Allen or Mobley dominating with their size against smaller players.
No, this was a case of a SF coming in and simply playing harder than everyone else.
Rebound the fucking basketball.
What good is getting stops if you might’t finish the possession clean with a rebound?
Again, this is losing basketball.
- OK, now the TOs.
Let me know if you see a common theme during this skid
Does this look familiar?
If the Celts are going to be careless with the ball, they’re fucked.
The way this team loses is if they miss all their 3PA and turn the ball over.
Let White handle it or something.
When you’re in a rut like this, small moments like that add up.
Just very weird for a guy who in theory should be calm and collected in those moments.
No, because timeouts aren’t some savior people think they are.
At the end of the day, it’s about the players executing.
All you had to do was not collapse.
You could have even played like shit and lost the quarter by like 10, and you still win.
But a 31-17 quarter, one that was the highest for the Cavs all night, is inexcusable.
- Of course, Grant’s FTs were the biggest story from this game.
In fact, I’m not sure Grant should have even made both.
Make the first, miss the second on purpose and boom, there’s your 0.8 seconds.
Making both would have allowed CLE to at least attempt a heave.
But come on man.
Just give me 1.
So now here we sit.
They have the talent, so I’m going to need the talent to start showing up.
If not, well then they have no one to blame but themselves for whatever happens.
