Celtics Play Fantastic Against Atlanta And By Fantastic I Mean Absolutely Pathetic
Before I get into last night, I need to get something off my chest quickly. It is absolutely ridiculous how impossible it was to listen to the Celtics game while driving not in Massachusetts. Want to stream it on Radio.com? HA! It cut out right as the pregame started. How about the Celtics app? Sure, but you need to be within 75 miles to stream it. Seems like the exact opposite reason of having an app but whatever. While streaming through the TNT app what I could make out while the picture was frozen didn’t seem good, and upon further review things were worse than I expected. Losers of three out of their last four, something just isn’t right. You would think the Celtics are trying to play their worst basketball possible just to get it on tape to know how to NOT play or something. I just don’t understand it. It’s as if they haven’t fully recovered from blowing that 18 point lead against Dallas, because this is in no way the Celtics team we know and love. I’ve said it from the beginning, don’t pay attention to the results, pay more attention to the process. Sadly, it’s the process of this game that has my panties in such a wad.
The Good
– There wasn’t much, but we did see Avery’s hot streak continue. He seemed to be the only Celtics starter who actually made the trip, and his 10-17 (four 3s) 25 points were the reason the Celts were able to even stay in it at times. I loved how he was getting his looks, coming off screens and shooting the ball with no hesitation. When Avery’s jumper is working, this style of offense is almost automatic. Since coming back from injury he’s averaged 21pts shooting 54% from the field and 58% from deep. Those numbers are fantastic, and while probably not sustainable, they are certainly a pleasant surprise. Brad has run more and more plays for him and he’s responded. It’s actually pretty impressive to see where he is offensively in Year 6 for a guy who was never considered an offensive player.
– We finally got our wish and saw some real RJ Hunter minutes. While defensively there is certainly room for improvement, offensively he performed as advertised. A career high 12 points on 5-6 shooting (two 3s, only 2,967 behind Ray). Returning to the state where he became a star, I hope this performance inspires Brad Stevens to keep his minutes around 20 per game. Look this team sucks at shooting the basketball, and RJ Hunter is our only hope at the moment for consistent shooting.
– While it didn’t matter in the end, I liked the resiliency we saw early from the Celts. Within the first 6 minutes they got down 16-6, and instead of just caving in, they ended up storming back to make it a game by the end of the first quarter. We’ve seen this a few times before, and it shows me that when they actually fucking try they can compete with teams.
The Bad
– Everything else. Again. Let’s start by talking about the defense, or lack thereof. I honestly have no idea what has happened to the Celtics defensively, but this is turning into a little bit of a situation. The Hawks shot 56% from the field as a team last night and 50% from deep. No this wasn’t shootaround, this was a real life actual NBA regular season game played by real NBA players. What. The. Fuck. Remember, the Celtics had been a top tier defense basically the entire season, and yet in their last three losses they have given up 106, 111, and 121 points. For the second straight game they could not defend the paint, this time giving up 50 points, and to me it just comes down to a lack of effort which is inexcusable. Their rotations are late, their body language on defense looks terrible. This team needs to get back to communicating on the defensive end, and you know, actually trying.
– Brutal stretch to end the half. After a nice 20 footer by Avery to cut the lead to 44-46, the Celtics seemed to have finally changed the momentum of the game. Instead, what followed was a 9-0 run over the last 3 minutes of the second quarter to push the lead back up to 9 to end the half. This was a huge missed opportunity in my mind for the Celts to head into the half feeling good, but what we got was basically an omen of what was about to come.
– Stop me if you’ve read this here before, but the Celts had another anemic night shooting the basketball. 41% as a team, and the starters certainly did not help. They would shoot 39% as a unit and dug the Celts into an early hole. We are at the point now where this is no longer just a problem, we are in a full blown disaster mode. They are missing bunnies, they are missing free throws, they are missing jumpers. You name it they can’t make it. Frankly I’m not even sure what the solution is because they are getting good looks. I’m at the point now where I am just sitting in my room with the lights off telling myself the law of averages will come into play….it has to.
The Ugly
– Presented without comment
– Whatever that fourth quarter was. Giving up 68% shooting and 40 points is the definition of ugly. They quit, plain and simple.
– For this Celtics team to be successful, they need to rely on their effort. They don’t have the talent to mail in games and still pull out a win. Coming off their three game win streak, considered me puzzled as to why this sudden effort issue is happening. This is what I mean when I say ignore the result and look at how it happened. The Celtics just seem disinterested, and they have dropped winnable games as if they aren’t important.
Here’s what you won’t find from me, and I urge you to do the same. My opinion of this team has and will not change. In fact, I’ll double down so fast on this group it’ll make your head spin. Brad Stevens is pissed, the team is taking accountability, and that’s all I could ask for in a situation like this. Atlanta is a good team, and since we already beat them at the Garden, you knew this game was going to be tough. That’s why I hated that Brooklyn loss. Thankfully, Philly is up next and that could be just what the doctor ordered. Once we get past Philly, things get a little bit tougher, but nothing too crazy
If anyone can right this ship its our fearless leader, so take this loss on the chin, deal with those who will say THIS is really who the Celtics are (even though it isn’t), and as we say after awful losses
