Back in November, myself and Celtics fans everywhere collectively lost our shit.
We were mad online the same exact way Lakers fans are today.
I’ve lived through it and nobody felt sorry for me or the Celts for getting boned.
Welcome to life in the NBA in 2023.
The officiating is hot dogshit.
But let me ask you this.
Is it true the Lakers could have just not blown their 4th quarter lead?
Were those things they controlled or did the refs control that?
One last question if that’s alright with you.
Did the Lakers play in the same, or a different OT period last night than the Celts?
They still had the same 5 minutes to win the game right?
But they didn’t?
This is all very interesting.
Yes, it was a clear foul that 10000% should have been called.
It also isn’t why the Lakers lost.
The Lakers are why the Lakers lost.
Of course it does.
I’m old enough where Celtics/Lakers still means something.
They can go to hell.
Time to exhale a little bit.
A win is a win is a win and they found a way to stop the skid.
Let’s talk about it.
The Good
- In life, you don’t always get a redemption moment.
You might never get a chance to exercise those demons.
For Jaylen Brown, it took 1 day.
He came out in that first quarter and was aggressive.
You never know, sometimes mentally that can fuck with a player and put them in a funk.
That’s why it was so great to see Jaylen truly come alive in the 4th quarter and OT.
With the Celts trailing, the stars needed to step up and put the team on their backs.
This is Celtics/Lakers, at home.
you’ve got the option to’t lose to these bums.
Jaylen saw that challenge and responded with a 9 point 4th quarter on 4-6 shooting with 1 TO.
In the game’s biggest moment, he was presented with the exact situation he faced against the Knicks.
A true chance at redemption.
What the hell was up with that shit.
See Lakers fans, we had to deal with shady shit too.
The Celts just overcame it instead of crying about it.
Watching that FT go in made me immensly happy for Jaylen.
You know nobody was harder on him about that missed FT than himself.
Very cool moment for him and for all of us really.
Then in OT he had over half their points (11 of the 20).
Jaylen missed only 1 shot, hit a huge three, and then went 4-5 from the line.
A monster finish for a monster player.
Brogdon coming back to life is a big part of that.
- Very quietly, which is pretty fitting, Derrick White has been playing some very solid basketball.
His 35 minutes were the fewest of all starters.
He’s doing his job on both ends, that’s for damn sure.
That shows mental toughness that will be important when these games truly matter.
These are the reps that the regular season is good for.
Sometimes, like MIA and NYK, things don’t work out.
You don’t overreact, you learn from your mistakes and build on them.
Sometimes, like against GS and LAL, things work out.
You don’t overreact, you learn from what you did well and build on it.
These Tatum turnovers are legitimately ruining my life.
The late game rebounding is atrocious.
The Bad
- You may be wondering where Tatum was in that top section.
He seemed…off.
He played shitty, it’s OK.
Chances are he’s going to be really really awesome the next time they play.
Last night just wasn’t it.
- This was not exactly how I wanted to prove my point when it comes to Marcus Smart.
Watching this offense completely stall time and time again was very frustrating to watch.
Last night was the 5th game the Celtics have had under 19 assists in a game.
Guys standing around and hoping Jaylen or Tatum can do something is not offense.
We watched that shit in 2021 and it did not work.
Where are the off ball cuts?
Where are the drive and kicks?
I’m looking at Joe and I’m looking at the players.
This team should be able to survive offensively without the playmaking and decision making of Marcus Smart.
- I’ve had about enough of LeBron James terrorizing this team.
We get it, you’re one of the greatest ever.
I know he loves getting up to play the Celts but the dude is a billion years old.
I’ve never experienced anything like it, he just won’t go away.
That may as well have been 2012 Game 6 LeBron as far as I’m concerned.
Block the fuck out.
The Lakers had 24 2nd chance points in this game.
In the end, nothing is sweeter than beating this team and drinking the tears of their fans.
It’s one of the best parts of this rivalry.
