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The Celtics Win Their Fourth Straight By Scoring The Most Points In A Game Since 2004

Greenie
Greenie2/08/2016 5:28 PM

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There is just something about the Boston Celtics and Super Bowl Sunday. Does any other team in the NBA play on this day more consistently than them? I can’t think of a better way to lead into the Super Bowl. I was anxious to see just how the Celts would respond in their first game since the game winner. Would they relax because it was a lazy Sunday morning against a bad team, or would they continue to ride the momentum they’ve built up over the last two weeks.

What we got, was an interesting result. Offensively, they were unstoppable. Now credit this maybe 20% to their talents, and 80% to the worst defense in the NBA run by the Sacramento Kings. I mean it’s all sorts of bad. To be honest this game resembled a pick up game with your buddies. Nobody is really playing defense, you’re letting your friends try some cool moves to try and impress the babes sitting on the sidelines, first one to 200 wins type action.

On a day that Isaiah Thomas was celebrating his 27th birthday (sidenote: shit like this always makes me feel ridiculously depressed. He’s done all this by 27? The fuck have I done and I’m about to be 29) the Celtics moved into sole possession of the 3 seed in the East (nailed it!) and it was great to see them have a great day on the court, and then off.

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A couple things about this photo. First, I like how the Celtics still include their weird white guy in David Lee. This is organic inclusion. Take notes Lebron. Second, they even let the rookies come! Probably had to pay for it though. And third, STRIP by Strega is a bit overrated. Should have gone to Panza. Best bread in the city, this is not a debate.

Now there’s plenty to get to when looking deeper at this game, so let’s not waste anymore time.

The Good

– We can start with the birthday boy. Facing his old team, he came out firing. Thomas led the Celts in shot attempts (18), but he made eight of them, and had a rather respectable afternoon. A full line of 22/4/9/2 with just 1 turnover, I thought Thomas did a great job of setting the pace. The Tacoma connection was strong between him and Avery, especially in that first quarter. His 135 offensive rating was the second highest on the team, and he did all of this damage in just 28 minutes.

One thing I think we all sort of ignore though, is that Isaiah is definitely carrying the ball on his crossover. Listen I won’t complain about it, and this next play was absolutely nasty, but thats a carry. Twice.

 

However, the real reason I wanted to start with Isaiah, is how clutch he was for the Celtics down the stretch, when they needed to close this game out. I’m talking 11 of the final 13 points.  

– Next up, who else? Mr. First Quarter. Shooting something like 58% in the first three minutes of a game, it was as if Sacramento hadn’t watched one second of film. I mean Avery got to all of his spots with ease, took everything in control, and splashed. There were three of them in that first quarter, they basically all looked like this

 

That’s a layup for Avery. Now fast starts are nice, but with him not that impressive since he does it so much. What impressed me was that he didn’t completely disappear after that first 12 minutes.  His 25 points led the team, but his eight points in the fourth quarter were every bit as important as Isaiah’s performance. In fact, to me it made up for his kind of shitty third quarter. A nice follow up performance for the guy after such a thriller on Friday.

– I’m all in favor of the ovation that Rondo got. Admittedly I’m a huge Rondo guy. First class talent, and first class asshole, I understand that. He’s the best Celtics point guard I’ve ever seen in person and if you appreciate how the PG position is played, where it isn’t just about scoring, he’s impossible to hate. Never forget.

– I suppose we should talk a little about that start, since 46 points is a total I’d be happy with after two quarters, let alone one. The Celts shot 58% for the quarter (and 56% for the game) and it was as if they couldn’t miss. They caused six Kings turnovers and honestly it was as if they switched the game to Rookie Mode.

– How about Sully’s best game since Nov 6th? If you don’t think there’s some extra motivation going against Boogie than you must not believe Twitter rumors. In most cases, I wouldn’t love where he shot the ball from, but it basically set the tone for the day. If Sully is going to shoot 10-13 from the field by primarily taking jump shots, well, it just might be your day.

– Kelly Olynyk or Bill walton?

hi-res-d5497064c327b276c4e1ac9e9dbb42db_crop_north 

The big guy finally let his locks flow, and continue to show his progress. Kelly is truly becoming an inside/outside threat, and check his footwork towards the end of this clip. Thats some pretty sweet stuff. Dirk-Lite like ya read about.

Oh and it’s bullshit that Olynyk was passed up for the 3pt shootout in his HOMETOWN in favor of Chris Bosh. Who gives a fuck still about Chris Bosh? Throw the whole Canadian thing out, Olynyk is simply a better three point shooter. Fuckin NBA man.

– So with this win, it marks four in a row, 9 of their last 10, and 12 of their last 15. Safe to say they are playing some pretty amazing basketball. They’ve scored over 100 in all but one. Now don’t get too excited, really the only team in this streak that was a surprise win was Cleveland, everyone else is pretty bad. But that’s besides the point. The way they are playing right now, you almost hate to see the All Star break on the horizon.

– How mad is Tyler Zeller you think? All those DNPs and he knew that he could make an impact. Another 17/7 from him last night in just 21 minutes, he is giving Brad real solid minutes on both ends. We know about his ability to hit the midrange jumper, and his soft hands around the rim. What I think is a pleasant surprise to everyone, is his defensive awareness, just ask Darren Collison

 

– For the second game in a row the Celts dominated the paint. They won the rebounding battle 49-32, and points in the paint 62-56. I hope you notice the trend. When the Celtics take care of these two areas, they are wildly successful.

The Bad

– As good as their offense was, that’s how bad their defense was. In what world can you score 46 points in a quarter, and still be in a ballgame. Every time the Celts built up a lead, they let it get back down to around 8 or 9. A 21 point lead cut to six at one point. Shit, for the game the Kings shot 49.5%. It brings me back to my pick up analogy earlier. The Celtics just had no desire to play any defense in this game, I’m just happy it didn’t burn them, because this would have been a BAD loss.

– You can blame most of this bad defense on sloppy offense. Everyone that saw the floor yesterday had a turnover, and eight of the 10 who played had multiple. A total of 24 is just way way too high. Careless passes, lazy passes, call it whatever you want, it was repulsive.

– Their up and own play cost us GINO. I think this is the second or third time this has happened, and it’s simply inexcusable. The people want GINO. The people need GINO.

– Everyone who says DeMarcus Cousins would be a bad Celtic because of his attitude. I don’t want to hear it. In fact, I reject it. Who are the Celtics to turn away a Top 2 Talent at their respective position because he hates his life in a shitty NBA environment? What’s the point of having Brad Stevens and strong ownership if you can’t turn a guy like hm around? Yes, he pouts, yes he complains, BUT WHO CARES. He played like shit yesterday and still got 31/7/6.

People talk about how the Celtics need to find themselves a superstar, and whenever one is thrown around, people are lukewarm. I’ve heard it about Cousins, Ive heard it about Love, I’ve heard it about Horford. Who exactly would people be happy for the Celtics to get? If there is some cosmic prayer that enables the Celts to acquire Boogie we should welcome it with open arms. Period.

The Ugly

– In a game you sore 128 points, there isn’t much to choose from, so I’ll keep it simple. Stop trying to make these work, they are gross.

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You may not want to believe this, but as of this moment, the Celtics are playing the best basketball in the Eastern Conference. Now there is still PLENTY of season left, but so far, so good. I’m perfectly happy sliding under the radar because people won’t accept what the Celts are doing, and you should be too. I don’t know why I feel this way, and it’s 100% a long shot, but this team has ECF written all over it.

31 down 16 to go

 


Greenie
Greenie2/08/2016 5:28 PM