The Celtics Looked Fantastic In A Very Much Needed Ass Kicking Of The Miami Heat

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

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Full strength, injured, good team, bad team, I do not give a shittttttttttttt. You win by 30 in a real NBA game, that's impressive. Remember, the basketball world has been slobbing the knob of the Heat because they've been able to climb to first in the East despite never being healthy. That was supposed to be a strength and why they are so good. I ask you to also remember that the Celtics are never given the benefit of the doubt when they were missing key players in a loss. I am told no excuses, you still have to win. I will also ask you to remember that this very Celtics team already went into Miami and completely dominated a fully healthy Heat team, holding that group to just 78 points in a Celtics win. 

After the loss to the Hawks, I talked about how the Celts had pretty much failed each of their recent tests against good East teams. The Sixers loss, the home loss against the Hornets, and then that game against ATL. Essentially, with this little MIA/CHA back to back stretch this week, they needed to show us something. They needed to win one of these type of games, especially on their home floor. So to see this group come out right away and be focused, play with great energy and blow his version of the Heat out by 30 was such a welcomed sight I don't even know where to begin. If they are ever going to get out of this play in hell, these are games they have to win. That's also only part of the equation. Awesome, you beat the Heat. Good job. But you now have to build. Losing to the Hornets tomorrow basically does more damage than the progress you get by beating the Heat. 

But we can worry about that later. In the now, I think we all needed to see that the Celts were able to win a test like this, even if the Heat were not at full strength and were coming off a 3OT heartbreaker. Again, I do not care. You can cry about that to someone else. I care about this team playing well, and they've now won 9 of their last 13. Continue to trend in the right direction, and let's see where things go.

The Good

- We say it all the time and it remains true. This team will go as far as their two best players take them. When they stink, this team is cooked. When they are locked in and produce, they can beat anyone in the league. This matchup against the Heat wasn't just big for the team, it was big for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They had pretty much laid eggs in each one of these recent tests in the month of January

Not great! Can't play like that against good teams and think things are going to work out. So what did we get last night? Only the exact opposite

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Jaylen Brown: 29/4/2 on 11-19 (3-9)

Jayson Tatum: 20/12/5 on 7-15 (3-7)

All in all, 49 points on 52.9/37.4% splits. Much better! Each played around 30 minutes (31 for Tatum, 28 for Jaylen), and with Tatum specifically, I thought it was one of his better all around performances of the year. He finished a team best +30 in his 31 minutes, and with no Butler and no Tucker on the floor, there was not a single Heat player that could match up with an aggressive Tatum. That's how it should be. Better yet, the two combined for only 2 TOs. Crazy what a difference it makes when they stop turning the ball over and instead make shots. How weird that shit translates to wins! 

We can talk about Ime, we can talk about the bench, we can talk about Smart, but at the end of the day, everyone knows the deal. Everything ultimately comes down to these two. The good news is, they are both very good at the game of basketball, so that's not the worst thing in the world. The bad news is we're still working on the whole consistency thing, so there are going to be ups and downs. Last night was an up, just like the ATL game was a down. You hope to have more ups than downs, and we are at a point in the season where these two need to start pulling that off. Seems like they are well on their way to doing just that

- You'll never believe this but Marcus Smart once again played a fantastic game of basketball on both ends that proved to be extremely valuable and impactful on the result! 

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But please, tell me more about how Marcus Smart shouldn't or can't be the point guard for this team. Please, go ahead and regurgitate your outdated narrative about how he shoots too much or thinks he's Steph Curry when he should be passing to his teammates instead. Tell me more about how this man isn't a playmaker. Every time you do it you simply expose yourself for not seeing what is blatantly in front of your face, so knock yourself out. 

After back to back losses to the Hornets and Blazers which saw opposing backcourts shred this team to pieces, Marcus Smart returned to the lineup on January 23rd. The Celtics are 4-1 since, with Smart filling his role to perfection. Nice 9.8/3.6/6.8/1.8 averages on 51/38% splits and some of the best defense you will see in the entire league. Last night we saw him on multiple occasions handle Bam Adebayo in the post, with no help. That's the point guard. How many can you think of that are either A) willing to do that B) even capable? It's a short list. 

I'm just not sure what else people need to see. Smart is playing the exact way all of the anti Smart people screamed for him to play. He's facilitation, he's defending, he's playing with great pace, he's making his teammates better, his shot selection is in control. I would argue he's been their most consistent player since he returned to the lineup. 

- For nearly two years I've been given shit for being stubborn about the fact that when this team has their guys, they are actually pretty good. Let's check in on where things stand this season in that regard. The normal starting 5 has now played together in 17 games. They are 11-6 (.640) which is a 53 win pace for those not great at math. Here is how their production looks

209 minutes / 117.5 Ortg / 89.7 Drtg / +27.8 net rating / 62.1% AST%

Uh, that's fucking nails. This has always been my point. All I want to see is this team have their intended group of guys around the same amount as other teams in the East rather than being dead last with the fewest. If that were to happen, they can be pretty good! It's not that hard of a concept really. When this team has their good players available, they play better and win games. Crazy concept, I know but try and stay with me here. You can say this about basically any team, which is my point! 

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If they are able to put together a nice stretch of health and availability, the sky is the limit. That's a big if, but the proof is in the pudding.

- What a great collective effort by this team to completely take Bam out of this game. Did he even play? Didn't feel like it. Credit that shit to Al. He matched up with Bam on 30 possessions and held him to just 4 points on 2-6 shooting. That was vintage Al on that end of the floor. Then on the other end, we saw Al continue to knock down his open looks. I cannot stress how massive that is. A nice 14/9/2 on 4-9 (2-5) shooting is exactly what the doctor ordered.

In fact, over the last two weeks Al is up to 37.9% from three. If he's starting to find his jumper and that is getting back to his normal percentages, that would be a rather huge development that everyone should get behind. Especially if we're still going to get this type of elite defense to go with it. 

- After being no shows for the last few games, it was nice to finally get some actual bench production. JRich (11 points on 5-8) and 10 points from Grant (4-7) was nice to see. Probably easier to accomplish when there isn't a ton of pressure because of the blowout, but whatever. I just need to see them play well. It had been so long since the bench actually did anything remotely positive, so it came at a nice time.

- Would you look at that, the Celts shot 38% as a team from three….and they won! The theory continues. Just get to at least 34% which is slightly below league average and you become an unstoppable force. It's really that simple and why every fan of this team is begging Brad to bring us a shooter or two. You don't need a massive shakeup, you just need to address that one glaring issue. Like 70% of their losses are due to shooting under 30% from three. Fix that, the record looks better. 

- Largest lead was 32, game was only tied once and the Celts never trailed. They demolished the Heat in the paint 40-26, won the 2nd chance points battle 13-8, won the fastbreak battle 13-2, and only gave up one quarter over 30 points. Just an all around ass kicking at a time when they desperately needed one. Add in only turning over the ball 10 times and yeah, they looked great.

- Credit to Ime for having this team WAY MORE prepared for the Heat's zone. This has been an issue for them for a few seasons now, and they looked way better against it. They were patient and attacked it with confidence. That's really half the battle if we're being honest. As long as you don't let the zone dominate your brain and panic, you can beat it. You just have to take a deep breath and be patient. Thankfully, the Celts were. 

The Bad

- A little annoying that the 2nd best FT shooting team in the league somehow went 18-27 from the line. That stinks. It didn't matter because they blew this team out, but I don't care. Clean that shit up. Do that in a game that is close, you're going to lose. I would not like a habit to be formed of leaving that many points on the board against good teams, all because their good FT shooters couldn't stop missing FTs. It started early and spread like a virus to everyone on the roster. 

- I'm not sure what the scouting report said, but I'm thinking the Celts didn't follow the plan when it came to containing Max Strus. Hurt a little more seeing as how he was a Celtics prospect at one time, who the team let go so they could give Tacko his Two Way. That ended up not being all that great. Strus finished with 9 3PM and it honestly should have been more given how many open looks he had. They were much better on Herro and Robinson, but I'm not sure how they forgot about Strus. He's been lights out all year and a big reason why the Heat are where they are with everyone out. The Strus very much got loose last night and that stuff can't happen.

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- It's nitpicking, but I really wish in these blowouts we got to see the kids for longer stretches, not just when the game is out of hand in the last 4-5 minutes. Especially with how much of a burden the Jays and guys are carrying, finding games to give them even more rest is hard enough. Then we get those opportunities and the kids still barely play. It's not just about showcasing them or hoping they get confidence, it's also about letting your best players rest. Anything you can do to prevent burnout come the Spring should be encouraged, and so far we don't really see it. 

- It was very on brand for this team to build a nice first quarter lead only to immediately give it up in the 2nd quarter. That was not the greatest shift for Dennis/Grant who were a -13 in their 5:26 in that frame. I think we all got a little nervous once the Heat starting making their threes in that quarter, and it was another near 5 minute scoring drought. They have to find ways to avoid that shit. Stagger lineups, run easier sets, do something. Every night it seems like there will be a 4-5 min stretch of just not scoring the basketball, it's just a matter of finding out what quarter it happens in. 

The Ugly

- He's playing hurt so you can't be too harsh, but this was not exactly a great showing from Dennis. Just 4 points and 1 assist in his 17 minutes and a team worst -7. It was pretty shocking we didn't see Pritchard at all really given how brutal Dennis was, and I imagine his injury plus the inevitable trade is probably weighing on his brain. That's understandable and it sounds mean but if he's not going to produce he probably shouldn't play. Getting this type of tape out there is only hurting his trade value if we're being honest. That's what matters most right now and he's been in a valley for the last week or so. 

- I don't know why, but it really bothers me that the Celts don't wear their home whites in big games against good teams while playing at home. That's a me problem and I accept that, but I mean come on. It's the best jersey in the league, stop with the nonsense. 

We now move to tomorrow and the Hornets. Pretty much gotta have it. With a win, you guarantee at least a split in the season series, which could be very important. You can't lose both games at home to that team. I'm interested to see how they play because make no mistake, they got embarrassed the last time these two teams saw each other. Show us you're truly starting to play better and take care of business as we kick off a very important month of February. If you don't want to be in the play in, do something about it.