I mean, since 11/18 the Celts own the 26th ranked offense in the entire NBA.
The only worse offenses have been POR, UTA, SA, and MEM.
Call me crazy, but that is not exactly a group you want to be lumped together with.
To me, there are a few ways to look at this.
That’s pretty self-explanatory.
The other way of course is to be encouraged.
Why would anyone be encouraged?
That is what pretty much everyone wanted last year right?
Enter last night against the Hawks.
That’s exactly what the Celts did.
They didn’t shoot all that well, in fact it was pretty brutal with 44/27% splits.
This win also moved the Celts to an NBA leading 9-3 against teams .500 or better.
To me, this sort of sums up their start.
The records are great, but the basketball being played still needs to get better.
That’s why a game and win like last night should feel encouraging.
Let’s talk about it.
He is most definitely not a slow starter.
But the 1st and 3rd quarters aren’t what I loved most about Jaylen’s night.
It wasn’t his passing or this ball security (1 TO) through 3 quarters.
We saw the exact opposite.
Suddenly it was Tatum to showed early signs of cooking in the final frame.
So what did Jaylen do?
He didn’t get in the way.
He didn’t force things offensively.
To me, this is the punch in of growth we should all love to see.
It also shouldn’t be ignored how Jaylen has been improving when it comes to his turnovers.
At just 2.4 TOs a game, Jaylen is averaging the fewest TOs a game since the 2019-20 season.
His 10.8% TOV% is his lowest since 2018-19.
Not bad for such a high usage player.
They were completely different players.
That’s his role.
Nothing spectacular, but dominant when he needed to be.
He played with the right effort and energy that helped set the tone.
Nothing really felt forced, and then the next thing you know you look down and he has 34.
That’s just a testament to his dominance.
After some early OREB issues, the Celts figured their shit out and won the rebounding battle 58-43.
They had 18 (!!!!)
OREB for 17 2nd chance points.
They finished 16-20 fromt he line and only turned it over 12 times.
When you clean things up around the margin, that’s how you have a wire to wire win.
The Celts never trailed, it was never tied, and their lead was as high as 20.
It’s honestly that simple.
Whatever the price is, pay it.
Not only is he not slowing down, but he’s playing like he’s 27.
Starting with Banton, he was fine in his 18 minutes.
What this decision also did was keep the bench in their normal rotations.
This is an example of Joe understanding his roster.
As a starter, Sam Hauser can’t make a shot to save his life.
Don’t ask me to explain it, it’s just how things are.
He’s shooting 22/17% as a starter this year (2 games).
Hauser is shooting 54/50% in 14 games.
You don’t think Joe knows this?
The production doesn’t lie.
None of this should be a surprise.
This is just who Sam Hauser has developed into.
Remember in the preseason where Queta had like a 30% OREB%?
It was unreal and unlike anything we’d seen a Celts center do not named Robert Williams.
Getting 7/10 in 15 minutes off the bench was house money.
- I don’t care how many times I’ve said it, I will continue to say it.
I get why you may want to do this with who the Celts had on the floor.
Horford, Queta, Kornet are not all what I would call “quick” on the perimeter.
That’s a mismatch for Trae every time.
Maybe the Celts just have a Trae Young problem or something.
- The early OREB/2nd chance points from ATL was very frustrating to watch.
I feel like it’s the same story every time the Celts play ATL.
They continue to give up OREB which lead to 3s.
It eventually got cleaned up, but to start this game?
- Then of course there was the whole 20 point lead getting trimmed down to 6.
Is that too much to ask?
The Ugly
- The 3rd quarters are a problem.
At this point I’m not even sure this is debatable.
The Celtis own the 29th offense in the 3rd quarter this season, with an ORTG of just 102.1.
That is so bad I can’t even believe it’s real.
Their TS% of 53.8% is 27h in the NBA.
That cannot happen.
What good is a halftime lead if you’re just going to immediately give it back after 12 minutes?
This isn’t a one time thing either, this has been an issue ALL YEAR.
It’s almost as if the entire roster gets collective basketball CTE.
It goes without saying that if the Celts continue to do this, it will ultimately be their demise.
Remember those big MIA 3rd quarters in the ECF?
Or the GS 3rd quarters in the Finals?
It changed everything about those games and those series.
For whatever reason, this team cannot stop playing like assholes for those 12 minutes.
It’s astonishing at this point.
Getting the first win of the homestand is big because things certainly don’t get any easier.
