With Embiid, without Embiid, it never matters.
As Joel Embiid famously said, this is not a rivalry, the Celts always kick their ass.
And listen, it’s not really the player’s fault.
It’s Daryl Morey’s fault.
If you’re free to’t guard the Jays, you stand no shot.
None of them do, which is why the 9 wins in a row isn’t all that shocking.
Your wing additions of Buddy Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr are guarding who exactly?
I think the sample size is large enough to come to that conclusion.
It’s their way of coping.
Quite frankly, he owns that franchise and that fanbase.
I’m sorry if that offends, but not really.
The Good
- Pretty obvious where we are starting today.
Just like Jaylen, Tatum got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it.
While he took more 3PA, the overall feel of his approach was pretty much the same.
No rim protection, no resistance on the perimeter so what did Tatum do?
For 85% of the game, Tatum played within the offense.
- The thing is, this is only part of the equation.
His life is incredible right now.
The space that the Jays provide him is unlike anything he’s ever had before in his career.
As a defense, what the hell are you supposed to do?
No matter where you look on the court, it’s a matchup nightmare.
- The Celts finish the month of February 9-1.
They have not lost a game in 27 days.
Can they still win?"
Well, the Celts shot just 5-22 from deep last night.
It’s their lowest 3PA total in like 3 years, and easily their lowest 3PM of the season.
The Celtics still scored 119 points and won by 18 points.
So no, this is not a 3pt merchant team.
They can beat you however the hell they need to given that specific game.
Compare that to last year’s 15-19, I’d say that’s a pretty substantial improvement.
The 2023-24 Celts can do that, and this game was what it looks like.
Embiid or no Embiid, holding an NBA team to under 100 points in 2024 is impressive.
I don’t care who it comes against.
- Remember how bad it felt like the Celts played in 3rd quarters, especially offensively?
In the month of February, that number is +7.1, which is good for 2nd in the NBA.
To me, the Celts figuring out how to be a devastating 3rd quarter team is the final piece.
The ones who are 10-3 in February?
- Nothing like a beautiful 17-0 run to effectively end a game.
like enjoy
- Not to be lost in the shuffle was the play of Jrue Holiday.
Same thing with Derrick too.
Not bad considering the Sixers as an entire team only had 5 blocks themselves.
- 34-37 from the FT line is the good shit.
My favorite part about this was seeing so many Sixers fans now complaining about fouls.
What is it they used to say when Embiid would take more FTA than an entire team?
Maybe stop fouling and the Celts won’t take 37 FTA.
When the Celts handle their shit in those areas, they never lose.
When they fuck around?
It sounds maybe too simple, but those are really the only things that can bury this team.
But to me, that’s the holy trinity when it comes to wins and losses.
Against Jrue/White, he was mostly ineffective, just a combined 3-9.
His damage came from getting Hauser and KP in space, where he was 6-10.
This matters because in a playoff series, it’s all about attacking mismatches.
That’s the consistency that we love from NBA officiating baby!
The Ugly
- You know the drill by now.
Until this team loses again, we avoid this section like the plague.
