The Celtics Dropped Their Nuts On The Table With A Big Time Win Down In Miami

When the Celtics won 3 in a row after their 2-6 slide, I think we all wanted to believe that shit was over and they had officially turned a corner. For me, I wasn't ready to go that far, maybe it was the scars from last season, but I needed to see more before I put any real stock into a potential turnaround. I blogged before this Florida trip that this three game stretch would tell us a lot more about what this team is made of, two playoff teams, one high seed, and the other team has Zion. This is what I said after the nice Grizzlies win before the trip

What I am not going to do is say that this team has officially turned a corner from their 2-6 disaster stretch. Talk to me after this little three game road trip. If they are able to win in MIA who is 20-1 at home and come out of that trip 2-1 or even 3-0, well then I'll start entertaining the idea that they have turned this thing around.

Well, I am happy to report that the trip to Florida this season was about a billion times better than what we had last season. Remember that shit? Kyrie bitched out Gordon Hayward for not giving him the ball with the game on the line, Mook and Jaylen fought each other on the bench, it was a disaster. This time around they won both games in FL, and while they dropped the NO game because Zion is a fucking monster, a 2-1 trip is more than acceptable. I am feeling more confident with the idea that this team has made their way through that 2-6 shit storm. Guys missing, tough places to play, this team showed a lot of heart and a level of scrappiness that continues to resemble the 2017-18 Hospital Celtics. They are now up 2-0 H2H against MIA which is big, and if you look at how this team has performed against the top 4 seeds from each conference they stand at 8-3 with one of those losses coming in OT against the Clippers. Not bad. 

Just like after other big wins, I'll reiterate what I've always said. This win doesn't guarantee shit when it comes to the playoffs the same way a bad loss doesn't guarantee shit. All I wanted to see this trip was a team getting back to their defensive roots and play with the type of energy we saw in the first 35 games prior to the skid. They showed me that and a whole lot more last night, so let's talk about it.

The Good

- Gordon Hayward you 100% healthy, super aggressive beautiful bastard. It became pretty clear early on that Hayward was going to be the scapegoat for this team when they lost, no matter how they played. For whatever reason people refuse to look at the actual production and consistency and instead just regurgitate what they hear on sports talk radio as if it's fact. I can't tell you how many times I am tweeted that Hayward is not consistent or that he doesn't play well against good teams. It's almost like we are living in two different universes. Is he perfect? No. Has he had bad games against good teams? Sure has. But what we're seeing is that when Hayward looks like October Hayward, which he has for the majority of this month, it takes this team to a different level. Like last night

29/9/2 on 10-14 shooting in his 37 minutes. Right from the start of the game we saw a player who was aggressive, and his 10 FTA led the team by a wide margin. That's the one thing we really haven't seen Hayward improve on his is FTA, and honestly it's like the last infinity stone. He's already a midrange monster, he can already kill you from deep, but him getting 4-6 FTs a night would be huge for everyone. 

With Tatum out it was clear someone was going to have to step up offensively, and the best part about this is Hayward didn't even force anything! His 14 FGA were lower than both Jaylen and Kemba and just one more than Marcus Smart. He was able to be this effective within the flow of the offense and every time they played through him he responded well. What has really stood out to me the last few games is how much quicker his first step looks. That tells me not only is his foot feeling better which is a relief, but his mindset is getting back to that Utah Hayward or that October Hayward when honestly he was this team's best player. He was big in the fourth quarter, he came through for this team when they needed not only his production but his efficiency, and it has to make you excited as me move forward

Remember, there are real life people out there that want to trade this man for Steven Adams. Don't let them forget it.

- Jaylen Brown went into Jimmy Butler's house and out Jimmy Butler'd Jimmy Butler. I'm pretty sure that makes sense but even if it doesn't you know what I mean. To put it simply, Jaylen was everything I want him to be and more in this game

Just like Hayward he was uber aggressive right from the start. Just like Hayward he was efficient going 10-16 (4-8) and was a team best +13. This performance was a prime example of the type of growth we've seen in Jaylen's game. First, the outside shooting which is no longer a fluke but in fact a real weapon. He is making spot up threes, catch and shoot threes, from the corner, from the wing, it doesn't really matter. His form looks so much better and remember this was a big time weakness early in his career. 

Then we get to the patience he is displaying on offense. Now when he drives to the rim he is more under control, and he has the ability to absorb contact but still scan the floor for the right basketball play. By far Jaylen's biggest weakness in my opinion was always his playmaking, but look at that highlight. Look at the reads he's making. It may not seem like a lot, but for Jaylen to be making these plays more consistently this year it's allowed his game to come up a level. His 5 assists were the second most on the team, and it's an area of his game that really didn't exist before this season.

What's crazy is this is technically Jaylen's "down" month. He's shooting the worst he has of any month this season and is still averaging 18.4/5.8/2.2 with 1.8 3PM. He's notched at least 20 points in 4 straight and 19 in five. Of the 11 games he's played 6 of them have been over 20. Again, this is his "down" month. If that's what things look like when Jaylen is "slumping", I'll fucking take it.

- I think this may have been one of Grant's best games of his early career. He was HUGE for them in the third quarter, and he just seems to make the right plays pretty much every time. His rim protection appears to be legit which is certainly a surprise, and his 5/7 may not seem like a whole lot but for a team down a couple rotation bigs he filled a much needed role.

- We got the full Marcus Smart experience last night and then some. Starts off like he has so many times before, going 1-10 (1-8) from three and nothing looks even remotely close. His offense for a large portion of this game was killing his defensive impact. But like it so often does, things changed in an instant

While it may have become a little cliche to talk about Smart's "winning plays", it's the fucking truth. Just look at those highlights and that is Marcus Smart in a nutshell. It drives you absolutely insane that he refuses to take shots from deep despite missing everything, and that's even more true in the fourth quarter. You hate that confidence and love that confidence all at the same time. Then he makes a GIGANTIC late game three to pretty much ice it, and then unleashes an OREB that makes no goddamn sense in the final moments to secure the win. They do not win this game with Marcus Smart and how many players do you say that about when they shoot 3-13 from the field? 

But this is why we love him and we trust him. Even after all these years I'm still no where close to being prepared for the roller coaster that is Marcus Smart, but god dammit I wouldn't have it any other way.

- The Heat's biggest lead was 2 and there were only 4 lead changes all night. 

- I feel confident in saying Daniel Theis might be one of the most underrated players in the entire league. People don't recognize the name so they think he can't play or something, but night in and night out he gives this team exactly what they need and this game was no different

I don't think it's crazy to say this is one of Ainge's better undrafted findings in his entire tenure as GM of this team. Theis is legit and it's been that way since the first day of the season.

- Brad called a good timeout to prevent a MIA run early in this game. I know it happened because I saw it with my own eyes. I thought I blacked out for a second because I didn't even know he was capable of that but it was real and it was spectacular. 

- It's not complicated, when this team defends, they win. During the 3 game winning streak we saw them defend at a high level. Then they went to NO and gave up 123 and guess what they lost. Back at it again they held MIA to 101 on 37/24% shooting. Don't give me the B2B bullshit, they played at home on Monday night. This is more about the Celtics defense stepping up and stealing a game.

- Give Brad Stevens a shorthanded roster against a team that looks unbeatable at home and there is no human on the planet I would feel more confident in pulling out a win. The Brad Stevens Special is back baby.

- Very quietly Semi is starting to force his way into the rotation. His defense continues to be legit, but we're starting to see him do things offensively other than just stand in the corner. I feel like I've seen him dribble drive more in the last three games than I have in his entire Celtics career. The interesting part is he's seeing the floor well and doesn't just have tunnel vision. Brad is going to play him if he looks like this consistently, and it wouldn't surprise me if he cracks the playoff rotation.

The Bad

- One of those nights where the Celts really couldn't stop fouling. Here's an idea, stop getting baited on pump fakes. I feel like Dragic had what, 4 different pump fakes that led to fouls? The FTA difference looks closer at 31-24, but if you watched the game it wasn't really that close. The Celtics just couldn't stop fouling which I found to be rather annoying. Play smart and move your feet.

- Pretty sloppy night for Jaylen and Marcus in terms of ball security with the two of them combining for 9 of the 14 TOs. Smart's came early when things really weren't going his way, and Jaylen decided to save his for the fourth quarter which you absolutely cannot do. It didn't burn them in the end, but that doesn't mean we can ignore it and not call it out.

- Really thought Romeo was going to get some burn in this one, but Wanamaker was good enough to where Brad went with his trusted vets. Brutal considering Tatum will probably be back tomorrow.

- I found it rather concerning that the second the Heat unleashed that zone the Celtics were caught with their dick in their hands. For about 4 straight possessions they had no idea how to crack it. Nobody went to the middle of the zone at first and it's what allowed the Heat to get back into this game. They eventually figured it out with Jaylen/Hayward, but I feel like that should have been in the scouting report because it's something MIA often does. 

- Not the best shooting night for Kemba going just 5-19 and 3-13 from deep. Winning shorthanded and with an off night from Kemba is a bit of a prayer but I'll take it. I did appreciate how he was still able to make an impact as a distributor and he did have that big fourth quarter three so it's whatever. That's the beauty of this team, Kemba struggled and his teammates were there to cover for him. After the game, of course he did nothing but gush about his teammates

God do I love everything about this man.

The Ugly

- Imagine calling this foul on Marcus Smart

- I am not ashamed to admit that I believed in every single one of these big men. What, the Kool Aid is strong and I regret nothing

but holy shit does it put things into perspective of where things have been during Brad's tenure. What a collection of bigs we've seen during this era and this doesn't even include them all. Yikes.

The Celts now return home for a stretch where 4 of their next 5 will be played at the Garden. A stretch of GS/PHI/ATL/ORL/ATL provides an opportunity to build even more momentum before the HOU/LAC/MIN/LAL stretch in the middle of next month. This team has showed us a lot over the last week or two and while there are still a bunch of things they need to improve on, it was nice to seem them go into a tough place to play, put their nuts on the table, and remind themselves that this team is pretty fucking good whether they are healthy or not. I think we all needed to see that.