The Celtics Much Needed Blowout Win Was Exactly What The Doctor Ordered

Fernando Medina. Getty Images.

Thank you Jesus. At this point in the season, the Celts have pretty much entered must win territory, and that's especially true playing teams like Orlando. The problem is, we are all so traumatized by what this team has done against bad teams all year that none of these games can be assumed to be automatic wins. If there's one thing we truly know about the 2020-21 Celtics it's that we have no idea on a game to game basis what version of them we'll get. Even playing a team that barely has NBA talent, it's still no guarantee. May I remind you what happened against OKC. So no, I do not think that beating the lowly Magic means anything outside of the fact that it was a game the Celtics had to have in the quest to remain out of the play in and maybe in the 4/5 slot. That's it. Schedule help means jack shit if you don't take care of your own business. 

It hasn't been all that common to see the Celts win with that type of margin, so I appreciated the night off from the stress. I think we all needed a night like last night where we didn't have to ride the emotional rollercoaster. Who knows, playing a bad team like ORL and having this type of performance can be just the thing that helps guys get in a rhythm before the playoffs. That'd be nice. 

There is still a ton of work to do for this team to avoid disaster by the end of the regular season, but to do that you have to beat the teams you're supposed to beat. They finally did that and boy was it fun to watch.

The Good

- It's been frustrating at times, but it's pretty clear that the Celtics load management plan for Kemba is working. The entire goal of this plan was for him to be fresh and healthy at the finish line of the season and into the playoffs. That's the most important thing of all, and now that we're here, judge it for yourself

All season when talking about Kemba, the doomers out there always screamed SAMPLE SIZE whenever he played well, but were quick to call him washed/not a fit after only a 10 game sample to start the season. On the year, Kemba has now played 40 games, here is what he's done in his last 30

19.7 points / 4.1 rebounds / 5.1 assists / 43.8% FG% / 37% 3P% with 3.1 3PM

Is that a large enough sample? So while it's been annoying that this team couldn't beat dogshit opponents on B2Bs with no Kemba, this should have you pretty excited for the playoffs where Kemba will be playing every game. He's the same old Kemba that we just saw make an All Star team. Whether you want the production numbers or the eye test, this plan has worked. He's getting better as the season comes to an end. If you were to pair that down to his last 7 games since mid April, you see

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22.4/5.1/5.0 on 49/39% with 3.4 3PM

This is a very big deal if you want to talk about what the Celts might be able to do in a playoff run. A healthy Kemba changes who they are and what their ceiling can be. He just does. 

We all know the Magic can't defend for shit, but it was how Kemba scored that brought me joy. His pullup three was money, he was knocking down catch and shoot opportunities, and when it came time to get into his midrange, Kemba didn't hit the rim. He looked quick, he changed speeds, he was active defensively. He looked…..healthy. Healthy legs are important for how Kemba scores and it's starting to look like this entire plan was worth it.

- For much of the start of this game Jayson Tatum couldn't really buy a bucket. Then you look down and he had 27 goddamn points on 10-22 and had 4 3PM while completely taking over in the third quarter

add in a couple steals, leading the team in rebounding, and only taking 3 FTA that's pretty impressive. Heading into this game and looking at the Magic roster you expect Tatum to be able to have a night like this, and the best part was he only played 30 minutes. Probably could have been a little lower, but still a manageable number. He's playing like a guy that wants that supermax eligbility and he can have it if he keeps playing like this. It's Wyc's money, not mine. I mean look at this shit

That's Tatum since the deadline. A cool 29.8/8.3/4.4 on 48/41.5% splits with 3.5 3PM in 21 games. Celts are 14-7 in those games, pretty good. It's great to see him bust right through his little mini slump we saw at the end of April. He's been lights out for well over a month but remember, he's selfish apparently. 

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- I'm mostly relieved we did not see the Celts play with their food and dick around against a bad team. This game was tied once, there were a total of 0 lead changes and obviously, they got up by as much as 36. My soul needed one like this.

- As we all remain patient as Evan Fournier works his way back from dealing with covid, there are more and more signs that he's returning to the player he was before he had to miss all that time. In those two games prior we saw back to back solid efforts with him putting up 20/1/3 on 59/68% shooting with 5.5 3PM. He looked like he was finally getting comfortable. Then he missed the next 9 games, came back and really strugged post covid. These last two games? 19.5/5.0/3.5 on 66/58% splits with 3.5 3PM

Maybe it was playing in his old building, but this looks like the Fournier that we all hoped for and gives us hope that as he begins to feel better and work his way post covid, that he can be a very valuable piece. What impressed me about his night last night wasn't just the points, but that we saw him score in a variety of ways. He put the ball on the floor and attacked the rim, while finishing in the paint. The Celts will need him for his outside shooting to help create space, but this was one of the first times as a Celtic I saw Evan Fournier be the Evan Fournier that we always had to play against. Sure it helps playing a terrible defense, but at this stage it's all about getting him more confidence. 

Of his 14 FGA, a total of 9 of them came in the paint. He made 6. I'll take that every single day and twice on Sundays.

- Crazy what good ball movement can do huh. A total of 28 assists on 51 FGM, the Celts made 21 3PM and generally took good care of the basketball. This is how they have to play down the stretch. Marcus Smart was so much better in this game as a faciliator (9 assists 2 TOs) and he finished with more assists than FGA. He stayed within his role.

- I think we can all agree that Payton Pritchard has blown right through the rookie wall and it couldn't be happening at a better time of the season

We're at the point where I'm just expecting him to come in off the bench, give this team 14 points on 5-8 shooting with a couple of threes and generally look awesome. I saw this tweet the other day and found it pretty interesting

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+/-'s aren't the end all be all obviously, but it does help paint the picture of how fucking solid Pritchard has been as a rookie pretty much since the jump. What a pick.

- You know we couldn't end this section without the dominance of Tacko Fall. This was the perfect ending to a very much needed win. I'm not totally ruling out that he shouldn't get like 5-10 minutes in certain situations. Let the kid play

The Bad

- How do you even find things for this section in a blowout like this? Well I guess we can start with the fact that Mo Wagner did more in this game against the Celtics than he did in any of his games as an actual Celtic. Wasn't that some bullshit. Totally predictable, but what the hell. Where was this? He finished with 20/4 with 3 3PM and 4-8 shooting. At this point you just have to laugh. When he was a Celtic, he couldn't stop turning it over and was generally pretty brutal. Now that he's not a Celtic anymore, we get efficient 20 point games because of course.

- Not much from Smart offensively in terms of scoring with a 1-6 performance, he also didn't get to the line. He was more than fine as a facilitator and I'll take nights like this instead of him trying to force things as a shooter, but we still have to mention it because it wasn't exactly good.

- It was pretty annoying that with how well Aaron Nesmith is playing that we barely saw him touch the ball or even have anything run for him in his 20 minutes. Where was that one set we saw time and time again where he comes off a couple high screens at the top of the key? He only took 3 FGA in those 20 minutes and he was still active on the glass, I would have just liked to see them continue to run shit for him, especially in a blowout. Get him even more confidence, but that didn't happen.

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The Ugly

- On a night when basically the entire roster looked great, I cannot say that's true about Grant. First, it was the airballed floater from like 5 feet away. Then the turnovers showed up, he had 3 in his 8 minutes. Just a tough night for him all around for the most part. 

- It was extremely soft that the officials called a tech on Mo Bamba for talking shit after his incredible block on Tatum at the rim. You make that type of play, you should be allowed to talk whatever shit you want. The good news it sparked Tatum's 3rd quarter run, but come on, grow up NBA.

We now turn the page to tomorrow night against CHI. You know, the team that the Celts lost to a few weeks ago which is proving to be pretty costly. From what you hear it looks like both LaVine and Vucevic will be back so it's not going to be a layup. The Celts have to play well to win, and with the two games against MIA on the horizon they need all the momentum they can get.