The Celtics Not Only Ended Their Homestand On A High Note, They Also Blessed Us With An Iso Joe Moment That Was 20 Years In The Making

Omar Rawlings. Getty Images.

For the most part, the entire NBA is in this weird sort of survive and advance mode. I mean just look at how things are right now in terms of what rosters across the league look like

it's a bloodbath. At this point, nobody is really learning anything about their rosters since the majority of teams are missing so many normal rotation players. Right now it's simply about finding a way to stack wins with whoever you have available. Last night's Celtics/Cavs game was a perfect example. We didn't really learn anything about these two teams and how they compare. Sure the Celts officially won 2 of the 3 meetings and took the season series, but they didn't face the normal Cavs the same way the Cavs didn't face the normal Celts. Them not having guys like Jarrett Allen/Evan Mobley/Isaac Okoro are important to what they do the same way having Al Horford/Grant Williams/Josh Richardson is important for what the Celts want to do. That's the unfortunate reality of the NBA right now. Nobody has their squad, so you have to find a way to grind out wins anyway. 

For the Celts, that's extremely important. Just look at what this one game did for the Cavs. One loss dropped them from the 3 seed into a three way tie with MIL/MIA. The Celts are back to .500 and sit just 3 losses from a top 3 seed with 50 games to play, and they play that team on Christmas (MIL). Things are still so close basically with the 1-11 seeds that nobody really gives a shit if your team got killed with protocols. The wins and losses count all the same. 

That's why it was a relief to see this team end their 5 game homestand on a high note. A 3-2 record isn't bad, it's .600 basketball, but you could make the case they had a great opportunity to finish 4-1 had they not shit down their leg against the Sixers. Things don't get any easier as they finish the month with MIL/MIN/LAC/PHX, and if they want at least an 8-7 record in this brutal month of December, that means they need at least a 3-1 finish over those final four games. That's pretty tough, and something tells me Giannis will somehow be activated for Christmas, just watch. Last night's win was big because it gave the Celts the H2H tie breaker over CLE which could come in handy in a few months, and if they are able to win on Christmas that would give them the tiebreaker over the Bucks as well. With everyone so bunched together record-wise, that's important to have. 

I'm at the point now where I could not give two shits how the Celts manage to win a game. I'm long past the part of thumbing up my nose at ugly wins. I don't need it to be pretty, I don't need it to be easy, I just need them to win. 

Thankfully, they did, so let's talk about it.

The Good

- I think we were all getting a little antsy when this team was on the West Coast and we were all waiting for Jaylen's return. We got reports that he was "close" and that he "really ramped up his workout" only for him to be held out. As we know, the losses kept piling on and the frustration grew. The rational side of your brain knew that being cautious was the right approach, but the other side of your brain was trying to cope with blowing winnable games that he definitely could have helped. Well, now in his 5th game back, I think we can all agree that being overly cautious with Jaylen's return was absolutely the right idea after he came back too quickly the first time. Just look at him

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When people ask me how on earth I could possibly still believe in this team, this version of Jaylen is part of the reason why. Not only is the production there, but Jaylen is doing all this while shooting at a 45/43% clip with 4.0 3PM a night. He's back to his All Star self and one thing that is noticeably different is how he is approaching games as a passer. A much more willing playmaker it seems, he's managed to have an 18.8 AST% since returning. That's up from 12.2% from before he came back the second time. We know Jaylen can score and we know he can do it in an efficient manner. While both are important to the success of this team, it's his playmaking development that will truly elevate the ceiling of this team. 

It's also pretty damn clear that Jaylen is this team's best first quarter player. He had 16 in the first quarter last night, and it's been this way for the last like 3 seasons. He needs to be their #1 option to start off games if the Celts are looking to avoid slow starts. There should be no debate with that. 

- The more I watch Robert Williams play, the more he does shit on a basketball court that breaks my brain. The things he can do despite not being a traditional floor spacing center is fairly insane

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Obviously, in terms of matchups, this should have been a game Rob dominated. No Allen or Mobley in the lineup, there was no excuse for Rob to not have a massive impact on this game. I would say 21/11/7/2/2 on 10-12 shooting fits the bill. He's had some rebounding issues as of late so it was great to see him get back to owning the glass, but the passing is what truly stood out to me. I'm not saying he's Jokic or anything, but few centers see the floor and have both the talent and the balls to make some of the passes Rob makes. Ime even talked about it after the game

Being able to run offense through Rob from up top is such a weapon. You saw what can happen, especially when guys like Jaylen remember they are allowed to cut without the ball. Rob will find them the same way Al does. Then you add in his unreal athleticism (did you see that eurostep????) and last night was one of those nights where you look back on his extension and it looks like a steal. It's so clear that Rob is the straw that stirs the drink for this team, he impacts both ends at such a high level that it should be no surprise the team looks almost completely different when he plays. The numbers speak for themselves

- If you're going to talk about things that are obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain, we should talk about how at no point should Payton Pritchard fall out of the rotation again. Those days are over. He's back to playing with confidence because now he's getting real consistent minutes and look at what's happening! All of a sudden his threes are dropping, he's hunting that 15fter which is basically automatic, they are playing with great pace when he's on the floor. The list goes on and on. 

This is important because of what it could mean in terms of their guard rotations. If Pritchard is going to play at this level, I think it makes Brad more comfortable exploring Schroder deals. There is no denying the value he provides as a floor spacer, his defense honestly isn't all that much worse than what Schroder currently gives you, and you'll remember this is a team that desperately needs shooters. Maybe burying one of your best shooters on the bench isn't the greatest idea. 

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- I thought last night was also Romeo's best all around game of his season. Finally, we're seeing Ime not start Dennis and instead go with the additional wing in Romeo, and I'm having a hard time wondering why Ime never did this in the first place. For starters, Romeo's individual defense was incredible. Not just guarding the ball, but also what he was able to do in terms of post defense was so valuable. Then on the offensive end he was able to make an impact through timely cuts and driving to the rim. That's exactly what I want to see from him when he's on the floor

In his 30 minutes, Romeo finished with 11/9 with 2 steals on 5-8 shooting and was a +18. Considering we have no idea how long guys are going to be out, having Romeo fill that type of role is going to be pretty crucial. Nesmith was fine knocking down both his shots and he played with great energy, but Romeo is showing why he deserves that starting spot while guys are out. It starts with the defense and then anything else he gives you offensively is a bonus right now. 

- Despite his slow shooting start, I thought Jayson Tatum did a great job of staying engaged and finding ways to contribute until his shot eventually came around

6-19 (2-8) isn't great, but I'll take the 9 rebounds and 5 assists and just 2 TOs. Tatum was a team best +19 in his minutes and I thought for the most part his defense was sound. It was clear that Jaylen was the one who had it that night, so it was nice to see Tatum play that #2 role in this game. That's the beauty of having both of these guys and why I don't get the idea you should break them up. We've seen Tatum go in the tank when his offense doesn't show up early, but that's not what happened in this game and that was a relief. As long as Tatum is engaged, I can live with the off shooting nights.

- It was also a relief to finally get a mostly stress free night. The Celts led by as much as 23, their biggest deficit was 1 point and there were just 2 lead changes in this game. I think we all needed a night like this. They don't come around often so cherish it. They even didn't totally blow a massive lead in the fourth quarter! Imagine that.

- What else can we say about Joe Johnson other than it was absolutely surreal to see him play

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I get that fans of other teams or maybe even younger Celtics fans don't fully understand why this was such a cool and emotional moment. But if you're around my age, you know that Joe Johnson was the one that got away. Two decades filled with what could have been all came crashing back the second he set foot on the floor. The fact that he hit an iso pull up and we got the classic Gorman "got it" call was almost too much. You hear how the guys talk about him

and it's impossible for my heart to not explode with joy. 

Do I think he has a role outside of these end of game blowouts? Not really, at least on the floor. What I care about is what he can bring in the locker room and then if you need someone in a pinch it's pretty clear Iso Joe still has it. Plus who doesn't love nostalgia? It's awesome that he got to have that moment before the team hits the road. 

The Bad

- This team is still giving up wayyyyy too many offensive rebounds. The Cavs finished with 15 and this has been a trend for some time now. Part of those were the fact that Tacko is a giant, but even still this is an area they need to clean up. Giving teams extra possessions is not a successful blueprint. It's how you lose. Luckily the Cavs shot the ball like they were the Celtics (39/23%), but that will not be the case more often than not. Good teams will bury you, we've seen it time and time again this month. When old ass Kevin Love has 5 OREB, you're ending up in this section.

- I don't know why, but this is the worst fastbreak team in history. It just is. Sure they had that one nice Enes dunk, but I had at least 3 or 4 easy fastbreaks that were either turnovers or missed opportunities. Situations that I feel like 99.9% of NBA teams execute, the Celts can't seem to get out of their own way. It doesn't matter who runs them either! That's what is so maddening. Scoring for this team is hard enough, can we not blow every 2 on 1 break we get? There's a reason the Celts currently rank in the 13th percentile in transition offense.

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It's because they fucking suck at it.

- Whatever the plan was to limit Darius Garland, it once again did not work. I feel like he's killed this team in every game they've had against him, and if he does not make an All Star team this year that would be some bullshit. They did a good job of getting Garland to come off a high screen and into his floater which is pretty automatic, and Romeo who was his primary matchup had all sorts of problems with that, allowing him to go 3-3 from the floor. 

Smart was the next closest at 11 possessions, but he held him to just 3 points on 1-3 shooting. The problem was that P&R. Rob gave up 9 points on 3-4 shooting and Tatum 7 points on 3-3 shooting. That has to be cleaned up obviously.

- Rough night for the Ricky Rubio > Marcus Smart crowd. A solid 2-12 (1-5) with 4 TOs and a -20 in his 30 minutes. Can we put that idea to bed yet? I think so.

The Ugly

- Having said that, it was a pretty ugly offensive performance from both Smart and Dennis. They combined to go just 2-18 from the floor which last time I checked was pretty gross. They did finished with a combined 8 assists and 1 TO so that's good, but man were they tough when it came to shooting the ball.

With Marcus, it was the approach I hate. Of his 7 FGA, 4 of them were 3PA. That's not the balance I want to see. With Dennis, it was basically everything. He went 1-11, couldn't hit a jumper or a layup, and unlike Smart he had a rough time knowing when to maybe not shoot the ball. You can tell he's much more likely to force things offensively. Over his last 3 games he's now 

1-11

3-10

2-10

from the floor. That's brutal. This is where I need Ime to have a quick leash. If it's clear Dennis doesn't have it, play Pritchard. It's no surprise that when the Cavs started to trim the lead in the third quarter and things got down to around 10, the 1-5 Dennis performance in that frame was a big time factor.

- If I see Iso Joe pass the ball again there will be hell to pay. That is not why he is here. He's here to get buckets, not make the right basketball play. I thought we all were on the same page with that? I expect more from a veteran like Joe. He has the greenest of green lights whenever he's on the floor. He has 20 years to make up for, I don't need him passing the ball. 

So where do we go from here? Who knows. I can't tell you what team will show up on Christmas. I do know that it's an early game and historically the Celts suck ass in early games. Who knows if Giannis will be there or not. But what I do know is the Celts still have an opportunity to finish this month strong. They are still in the mix, and I am begging for any sign of consistency. Right now, the only consistent thing about them is that they are inconsistent, and that needs to change pretty quickly.