I like to see them get tested.
You look around the East and you’ll see some contenders feasting on the worst teams of the league.
In Philly, 10 of their 23 games have been against teams under .500.
In Milwaukee, 12 of their 24 are against teams under .500.
Given their recent history, I care about how they look against good teams on their own floor.
That’s right, 16 of their 23 games on the season have been against teams .500 or better.
If you’re looking for reasons to believe in this Celts group, maybe start there.
Coming off of their win against CLE on Tuesday, you knew there were going to be adjustments.
With such a quick turnaround, that’s why I say these little mini series are another playoff-lite situation.
If you watched these last two wins, you saw pretty much everything you love about Celtics basketball.
The bigger one comes with the next two games though.
No doubt about it, the Orlando Magic own this team right now.
On the season, Jaylen leads the Celts with 7.4 points on 55.6/42.9% splits in the first quarter.
That rotation pattern clearly works.
During this stretch, we’re seeing Jaylen play WAY more in control.
Over that 15 game stretch, he has 50 AST (106 potential) and 34 TOs.
He’s never going to be a Tatum-level creator, but he doesn’t have to be.
That’s not really the point.
The growth that we all wanted to see was pretty simple.
Could Jaylen cut down his TOs while also showing real signs of being an improved and more willing passer?
So far through 23 games, that’s exactly what he’s done.
For Jaylen, that means off ball cutting, getting to his spots, and defending his ass off.
The 3 AST don’t even really tell Tatum’s story as a facilitator in this game either.
I don’t really know how else to explain it.
Last night he snapped out of it at the perfect time and put this game on ice.
Great close from him.
That should not be ignored.
In previous years, we’d see them try and get that separation back by just spamming 3PA.
Now, they are hunkering down defensively and letting that generate their offense.
- Two really really strong performances from the starting backcourt.
That TS% is up to 62.5% over his last 5 games.
Over his last 10?
That 58.8% is right in line with where he lived as a Buck (58-59%).
That is a very, very big deal.
Not only that, he’s only averaging 2.0 TOs a game.
You get the sense that there is a more calming presence with this duo and much less chaos.
The way they locked in defensively in the 4th quarter is why they won this game.
That was great to see.
I’m talking under 30% over his last 6 games, and it hasn’t mattered one bit.
- You know who can shoot?
I’m working on a theory that Brad created Hauser in a lab specifically for Mazzulla Ball.
How is he real?
- Another solid performance from Joe.
Al is perfect and has fully recovered from his early season slump.
There’s no point in fighting it.
A total of 63 points, and really the 3rd quarter was the more problematic one.
LeVert had 15 by himself, meanwhile, no Celtic made more than 2 FGM in the entire quarter.
- It was weird seeing Derrick have multiple brain farts.
This is a guy who basically never makes a mistake, so when he does it feels bizarre.
I didn’t even know he was capable of it if we’re being honest.
Layups or dunks, that’s it for him.
The Ugly
- What even fits here?
Maybe the way Tatum kept going for the knockout 3PA instead of just attacing the rim in the 4th?
Maybe allowing 50 points in the paint?
That’s how you get into trouble and really get guys going.
It felt like Mitchell and LeVert got to wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
Pulling off back to back wins in the fashion the Celts did, it’s hard to really complain.
But like I said at the top of the blog now comes the real test.
Can this team finally beat the freaking Orlando Magic?
Can they say enough is enough and stop the bleeding?
Oh yeah, couldn’t end the blog without this nugget.
