"I'll Accept The Fine At This Point. I Thought It Was Some Bullshit Tonight" - Jaylen Brown Did Not Hold Back While Once Again Calling Out The NBA's Horrendous Officiating

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Once again, we as fans find ourselves in a bit of a weird place.

On one hand, there is nothing to be ashamed about when it comes to losing to the Wemby Spurs on the 2nd night of a back to back. They're one of the best teams in the league, and B2Bs are tough. Celts were 5-1 on the year heading into last night, so in some ways, water found its level there.

On the other hand, this was another very winnable game that the Celtics simply were not good enough down the stretch in, and it was their own lack of execution on both ends of the floor that put them on the wrong side of the win column. I think we need to be VERY clear about that as we dive in. The Celtics lost this game because of their own caliber of play. Full stop. Were there factors that made things tougher? Sure, but their lack of offensive and defensive execution is once again what bit them in the ass.

When it comes to the top teams in the West, this is a bit of a recurring theme. While they haven't played OKC yet, this was pretty much the same situation as the MIN/DEN losses. We've seen the Celts lose by 4 points to the Wolves, 4 points to the Jokic-less Nuggets and now a 5 point loss to the Spurs. Pretty annoying!

But in a way, it's also somewhat encouraging given the fact that, ya know, Jayson Tatum has played a total of 0 seconds in those close losses.

Giphy Images.

So as a fan, it has you in a bit of a pickle. These close losses due to a lack of execution are extremely frustrating, and while the context around them makes it hurt a little less, at some point you have to get the job done. This is not a team that's floating around the Play In. The Celts are 24-14 and tied for the 2nd best record in the conference. They have one of the best point differentials and net ratings in the NBA. As such, they should be treated to the same standard and expectation as any other contender in my opinion, as is. In that case, then you can't be losing to all of these teams, especially when 3 of the 4 losses against the top of the West have come at home.

We have a lot to get to, so let's dive in

The Good

- When you only score 95 points, there isn't really a whole lot to choose from considering the majority of the roster really struggled, but someone who I think deserves all the praise in the world and the top spot in this blog is Baylor Scheierman

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For a guy who has barely played this month and hasn't had a game in which he's played more than 12 minutes since 12/26, Scheierman was awesome in his opportunity against one of the best teams and defenses in the NBA. For long stretches, he was really the only player who could make a shot, his defensive effort and energy made a real impact, and it's no surprise he was a team best +4 in a 5 point loss. 

I do wish he hit that wide open momentum 3 in the 4th after hitting one a few possessions earlier, but that's nitpicking. To finish 4-5 (2-3) with a couple rebounds, a steal and help provide that spark in his 26 minutes is exactly what he had to do with Sam Hauser out. The ability to stay ready like that and instantly produce when your number is called against an elite team despite basically being a DNP-CD for weeks, that deserves recognition and praise. 

- I'll say the same thing about Luka Garza. The run this guy on has my brain in a bit of a preztel. We watched him go blow for blow against Wemby…..and actually have some success? Another 11/6 on 4-6 (3-4) in his 25 minutes, the 3pt shooting is not starting to move me greatly

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Are we at the point where it's time to accept that 11/6 on good splits is now the norm for the Garza minutes? The sample continues to grow and it's hard to ignore this level of consistency since he was put back into the rotation

Since that 12/20 game, we're looking at an 11 game stretch of 10.1/5.7 and a +9.2 in his 21.8 minutes a game. Is that not idea back up center production? Add in the fact that of those 5.7 rebounds a total of 3.2 are coming on the offensive glass, and whatever the hell clicked for Garza has completely changed his season.

To start the year, he was honestly unplayable for large stretches. Now? He's a P&R monster ranking in the 94th percentile as a roll man, his rebounding is legit winning them games, and every night he plays his dick off. Of all the players on the roster, I don't think I've done a bigger 180 on anyone than I have with Garza. There is a real player in there who can make a real impact, even once Tatum is back. He's filling the Luke Kornet-Lite role perfectly, and it's been awesome to watch.

- OK, that's really it. We can move on.

The Bad

- After the game, Jaylen Brown certainly wasn't shy about his feelings towards the widely accepted NBA officiating problem. After just 3 FTA against the Nuggets a few days ago, Jaylen Brown did not take a single FTA last night, despite continuing to be aggressive and play through contact. As one can expect, he wasn't too pleased

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Here's the thing with this. I think two things can be true here.

1. Jaylen's whistle is legit horrendous for a player with his playstyle. This isn't a guy who doesn't attack the rim and takes 10 3PA a game. Far from it. You look around the league and you see the whistles players are getting with almost no contact and then you watch a Jaylen Brown game and the whistle he's getting, and it doens't make a whole lot of sense. The consistency he's talking about is a real issue, just look at his last few games

Against the Nuggets, he had 31 drives to the rim that resulted in 1 foul. Last night, it was 23 drives to the rim that resulted in 0 FTA. Sorry, that's not normal. Especially when we're seeing Jaylen get fouled on one end to no call, and then touch fouls be called on the other. That's where the frustration is. This isn't to say the Celtics never foul, but it is to say if something is a foul on one end, then it should be a foul on the other. Refs reward players all around the league for flopping and embellishing, but penalize players who don't do that and play through contact. That doesn't really feel like that's how it should be!

2. Jaylen also played like shit in the 4th quarter (1-9) which was more of a contributing factor to the loss than the whistle he was getting. Honestly, the entire second half was a bit of a dud, which as the #1 option can't happen against elite teams, and I would say the same is true in the Nuggets loss as well. He finished 11-28, and while some may suggest 5 or so of those FGA were fouls so it should have been more like 11-23, that's not really how it works unfortunately. The team still needed their top option to execute down the stretch (like the Spurs got with Wemby), and Jaylen unfortunately came up short holding up his part of the offensive load. It's OK to admit that.

So really, it's a bit of a mix of both. He's 100% right in his rant in terms of the inconsistency and how horrendous his whistle is, but it's also true that his own play down the stretch of the loss was not good enough, even outside of the no-calls. He'll eat the 50K fine and probably get a better whistle against the Pacers, kind of like how he called it out against the Nuggets and then was awarded 13 FTA in their next game against the Raptors. I found this interesting because the Raptors are just as aggressive in terms of physicality and ball pressure as SA, yet last night resulted in 0 FTA. OK. 

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- While we're on the topic of FTs, all you can do is laugh really

I think the annoying part about last night was the fact that the Celts drove more (54 vs 44), took more FGA off drives (30 vs 16) both teams took 44 3PA, both teams took virtually the same paint shots (38 vs 36), yet there was a 20-4 FTA difference. In a 5 point loss, that's definitely a contributing factor to the outcome.

On the season, the Spurs allow their opponents, on average, to shoot 21 FTA a game. That's good for 2nd in the NBA so this isn't to say they aren't an elite defense, but 21 FTA a game is not 4 FTA. Last night marked the fewest FTAs a team has taken all season across the entire NBA. OK, sure. 

- It's tough to beat elite teams when your #1 is going 11-28 and has 0 FTA, and then your #2 in Derrick White goes 11-26. I've never really been a big math guy, but 22-54 (40%) from your top two scoring options doesn't feel all that great.

To make matters worse, the Celts got virtually nothing from both Pritchard and Simons as well, who combined to shoot 4-17 (1-7).

Add that all up, and your top 4 scoring options went a brutal 26-71, which is 36%. To only lose by 5 is pretty impressive with that lack of production and no FTs, but it's also annoying as hell. Call it tired legs on a B2B if you want, but I'm going to call it not good enough. 

Add in an 0-5 for the role players in Hugo/Walsh and as you can see, it was really a lack of execution for everyone not named Baylor or Garza. THAT is much more of a reason for this loss than the whistle. 

- To only score 40 points in an entire half, well I mean what do you expect to happen?

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Jaylen with the same amount of TOs as FGM, Payton and Simons combining to make 1 FGM, another half of awful rebounding leading to an 8-0 difference in 2nd chance points, Derrick missing the majority of his looks, an inability to defend without fouling, no shit the Celts lost this game. Even though they've been playing well as of late, it feels like forever since we've had a true 48 minute performance. When you fuck around against elite teams, you aren't going to like what you find out.

- After the 4-1 road trip (3-1 on the West Coast) which had everyone feeling great, I can't lie that the 2-2 homestand where both the wins were against bad or undermanned teams and both the losses were against contending Western Conference teams doesn't sting. Especially when both of those losses were within 2 possessions. Of the Celts 7 losses at home, 4 of them have come by 5 or fewer. That's pretty annoying if you ask me, but brings us to my final point.

The Ugly

- For my money, there have been a few constants when it comes to certain areas the Celts have struggled with all season, that are directly impacting these losses.

1. Defensive rebounding

2. 3PT defense

3. Clutch Time defense

We saw what the lack of rebounding did in this loss, allowing the Spurs to have multiple possessions and stay attached solely due to 2nd chance points. While they didn't make their 3s which was a relief to see a team finally not make 20 3PM, the bigger issue was the third thing listed above

The Celtics are the worst clutch time defensive team in the NBA. That is fact, not opinion. I am not being hyperbolic. They rank 30th in the NBA (which is last), and last night was a perfect example of why they really have nobody to blame but themselves for how this game ended.

In clutch time last night, the Celts finished with a 145.5 DRTG. That's right, I said 145.5. I'm pretty sure the Spurs scored on 5 of their final 6 possessions to close out this game, and while part of that is Wemby's ability to just shoot over everyone, that doesn't really excuse the lack of execution on that end.

To me, this was a much bigger factor in the loss than the FTA, because even with that dogshit whistle, the Celts were still in a position to win this game. All it took was executing on both ends down the stretch. How did that look?

ORTG: 54.5

DRTG: 145.5

NET: -90.9

When it came time to execute on the offensive end, the Celts came up empty. When it came time to dig in and get stops down the stretch, they came up empty. That is why they lost. The Celts now move to 8-11 in clutch games, and you can point to their inability to defend in these high-leverage situations as the main reason why. 

So in the end, it was another blown loss against a quality opponent that really the Celts have nobody to blame but themselves for. B2Bs are tough, but this was a win they fumbled away due to their own quality of play. It's not the end of the world, but it's annoying for a team that has been playing some of the best basketball in the entire NBA for over a month now. The good news is we know this team immediately responds, but until they get back to executing at a much more acceptable level, these type of frustrating losses will continue.