Whether It's In Basketball Or In Life, Never Underestimate The Power Of The Slump Buster

Jaiden Tripi. Getty Images.

Coming off the gauntlet that was their 3 game road trip of CLE/SA/OKC and the fact that the Celts had dropped 3 of their last 5 overall and seen their lead in the 2 seed virtually cut in half, one could say they were in desperate need of a slump buster. We've all been there at some point in our lives, you just need something to get everything out of your system and to remind yourself that you're not a loser. Something to help you get your groove back if you will. Given this was the first time in months the Celts had lost consecutive games, it was very important that they reminded themselves of what it felt like to win. 

Enter the Washington Wizards. If you're someone who is curious what a slump buster looks like in the NBA, this is a pretty good example

Losers of 10 straight entering last night, this team has won just 2 games in over a month. This is obviously by design, and frankly I wish them the best on their quest to a top lottery pick. Last night was a situation where both sides could get what they wanted, and that's exactly what happened. The Wizards got a loss which is important to them, and the Celts got back to their winning ways, with solid performances from guys who really needed a bounce back game. 

At this point in the NBA calendar, when you find yourself in a seeding race, the only thing that really matters is stacking green Ws. Playing well but losing may help you cope, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. Playing kind of like shit but still winning may be annoying, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. 

That's exactly what last night was. The Celts going up 30 and thent rolling to only end up winning by 11 was pretty gross, but we saw what we needed to see. Guys bounced back, Tatum looks awesome, and they didn't drop a game against a horrific team at a time when they absolutely cannot drop games to bad teams.

Was it always beautiful basketball? Heavens no. But I am a firm believer in you never apologize for wins, so you're out of your damn mind if you think that's what I'm going to do.

Let's begin.

The Good

- Through his first 4 games this season, my initial thoughts on Jayson Tatum is that he does in fact…..look and play like Jayson Tatum. I am seeing a player on the court play the same exact way as he did pre-injury, only now he might be an even better passer? I don't see mental blocks. I don't see physical limitations. I don't see a player who is not willing to play the same way he did pre-injury. Again, this has only been 4 games to this point and the fact of the matter is if this is the worst Jayson Tatum will ever look, well then watch the fuck out

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Here's another little fun fact for you about that stat from Dick Lipe. In every instance throughout NBA history where someone put up that statline, nobody, not a single player, did it in fewer minutes than Tatum's 32 last night. 

Watching Tatum so far, it's pretty obvious the only thing we're waiting to come around is his basketball conditioning. It's very obvious watching him that he's not fully in NBA gameshape yet, and look what he's still able to accomplish. To me, it's why his jumper hasn't come around yet. His legs are cooked and he's sucking wind. Now that his minutes are starting to increase, it's only a matter of time before he gets into game shape, and then watch the fuck out.

If you look at pretty much everything Tatum is doing on the court, we're seeing the same guy he's always been

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The only real difference is the jump shooting, which we just talked about. The rebounding? The passing? The defense? The overall impact on how opposing teams defend him? 

All like he never missed a beat.

In this game specifically, I'd say this was probably the best he's looked in terms of driving hard to the rim. We saw flashes of it against the Cavs and Spurs, but to my eyes, this was the game where he looked more confident. I don't care about the missed layups, that's all timing/feel that'll come. What I care about is whether he still plays with the same aggressiveness/willingness to make the same moves he made while attacking the rim as he did pre-injury, and the answer so far is yes. 

The one thing I think we're still yet to see is Tatum going all out on both ends. He's clearly pacing himself. There are times where he's sort of watching things unfold compared to previous versions where if there was a loose ball rebound, he'd go for it, or maybe he's a little more active as an off ball defender etc. That will all come with time. But overall? He continues to stack forward progress, which is pretty much all we could ask for.

- After the very first possession of the game, I put out this tweet

Not only are the Wizards a team without legit size outside of Alex Sarr, which usually means that team will be one that Neemy dominates, but the Wizards are also among the worst teams in the league at defending the rim. It was very clear from the first P&R that the Wizards were not going to spend any time guarding Queta, and wouldn't you know it, Neemy feasted

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If anyone on the roster needed a bounce back performance, it was Queta. Objectively, he was pretty dogshit during the 3 game gauntlet, especially against SA/OKC. Virtually unplayable. So for him to use the Wizards as a get right game given how pathetic they are at guarding centers, that was nice to see. All he had to do was just catch the ball and dunk. That's it. Get out of screens quickly, keep your hands high, and dunk. Things don't always have to be complicated, and I thought everyone did a great job of recognizing the clear opportunities Neemy had and made sure to get him the ball.

Whenever you're playing a bad team like this, you don't need homerun plays to bury them. Just take the easy buckets and go on about your life. That's how I felt with Neemy's dominance. Nothing flashy, nothing crazy, just the team playing the right way and punishing an opponent through simple plays and simple passes. 

I will say though, the Neem The Dream Shake was pretty nasty. Love that he has that in his arsenal now. 

- It wasn't just Neemy either. The Wizards could not guard any Celtics big, as Garzilla came in and then immediately started dominating his minutes as well. I know Vuc is out for a month, but we're seeing what I would all Vuc-Lite with Garzilla. He's pretty much filling that exact role as a floor spacing 5 who feasts on the glass

Garzilla's ability to come into games and thrive in his role is something I continue to respect the hell out of. This is a guy who doesn't care about anything else but thriving in his role (whatever it might be on any given night) and contributing to winning. When the Celts made the Vuc trade, he could have pouted because at that time Garza was playing great. Instead, he went the opposite route. He stayed ready. He still plays as hard as ever, and in my opinion he's one of the best success stories of the entire roster.

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Is he perfect? No. But is he proving to be a rotation big on a title contender? Absofuckinglutely. From where we started the year to where we are now is such a testiment to his hard work and dedication to his craft, it's impossible to not be rooting for the Garzilla. You know exactly what he's going to bring every time he steps on the court, and his ability to fill in whenever his number is called has been crucial to the Celts frontcourt going from a disaster to more than passable, which is really all I was looking for. 

- A 55-38 rebounding advantage led by 19 OREB (17 2nd chance points), 29 AST on 41 FGM, you could make the case they should have been around 35+ AST had guys just made wide open jumpers, so overall I'd say the Celts were much better around the margins in this win.

They shot like shit, but when you rebound the way they do, you give yourself a chance to overcome it. Dominated the possession battle, dominated the shot margin, even guys who weren't able to put the ball in the basket like Baylor were still able to make a positive impact to winning (9 REB, 4 OREB). 

- I love the way Jaylen Brown is reading the floor these last few weeks, especially in the games we've seen since Tatum's return. Don't let his 3 AST fool you. Jaylen's floor game was great yesterday, his teammates just smoked every wide open look he generated for them. 

I never really felt like things were forced offenively for him (13 FGA), in fact I'd argue he passed up easy wide open paint FGA in favor of trying to get his teammates going. That one stretch in the 1st quarter where he kept getting the OREB and instead of going back up continued to pass out to the perimeter before DWhite made his 3PM stood out. Just a solid overall night of giving the game what it needed while on the floor. 

- Hopefully you made a note of it when I told you to around 6-7 games ago, but Derrick White's 3PT shooting is back. In my opinion, it's the best his shot has looked all season. My theory is lessening his on ball creation load with Tatum back has helped him slide back into his normal role, and his legs are fresher. I can't prove that, but that's how it feels. 

The Bad

- I'll never understand why the Celts are complete dogshit in 1st quarters while playing on their own floor. Every game it feels like they get off to 35/10% shooting starts, and yesterday it was more of the same shit. Wide open looks aren't even close to going in. Outside of Neemy dunks, it feels like they can't make shit to start every game, which has been going on long enough now to where I'm semi-concerned.

Even in the CLE/SA games we saw them fall down 11-3 early. I just don't think you can get away with these slow starts once the playoffs roll around, especially at home. It's easily one of the weirdest parts of the season.

- Speaking of dogshit shooting, I'd say this all qualifies

Derrick White: 3-11 (3-8)

Payton Pritchard: 2-11 (0-4)

Baylor Scheierman: 1-8 (1-7)

This was one of those nights where you're thankful to be playing the Wizards, because that stinks from 3 pretty important players. Especially while Tatum gets his legs under him and his efficiency is a bit of a disaster to start games. It's fine once he gets going, but you can't have those struggles while also dealing with a 0-5 or so start from Tatum. Shotmaking is important! 

- I also can't say I loved the Celts 3pt defense. Another case of playing with fire and hoping you don't get burned, the Wizards actually outshot the Celts 15-12 3PM. Something crazy like 7 of their first 8 FGM were 3PM, and these last few games we're starting to see the same type of 3pt defense exeuction that we saw in Dec/Jan when the team hit a bit of a snag. NBA players are NBA players, I don't care what team they are on. If you leave them open, they will make you pay. We're seeing too many teams live in the 15-20 3PM range, and that is not a recipe for success. Call it strategy if you want, I would just say that strategy leaves you open for frustrating losses. 

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- DNP-CD for Jordan Walsh in a game the Celts were up 30 felt….weird. Same thing with Hugo, only 9 minutes? Only 1:33 for Ron Harper Jr? Can't say I expected that.

The Ugly

- Obviously, being up 30 to then only win by 11 isn't exactly what I would call "good", and a lot of that is due to what we saw in the second half/4th quarter. 

No real defense (51/43% allowed) over the final 24 minutes, the Celts with 9 TOs and 41/25% splits, and then once we got to the 4th quarter….yikes

Joe having to go back to the starters in that quarter is what I would call the worst case scenario. That should have been an early rest quarter, but the bench mob killed that dream. I wouldn't say the starters even played that well once they re-entered the game, and overall it was another triggering 4th quarter, something we just saw cost them the game against OKC. This bullshit of going the first 4ish minutes of the 4th without a point is brutal. Scoring just 7 points in half a quarter while playing no defense? Also brutal.

This is where you probably feel a little gross after a win like this. For stretches they looked great, but the way they ended this game leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, because you could make the case from the second the Celts got up by 30, they were outplayed by the Wizards. That should never happen, regardless of who is on the floor. I suppose you could spinzone this as now Joe gets to rip into the team even in a win which is cool and all, but you know what else is cool?

Execution. Not missing every shot you take. Not playing like complete dickheads so that your starters, including Jayson Tatum, have to get back up and into the game. That's also pretty awesome.

But as I said, a win is a win, which is what matters. The Knicks schedule is pretty easy over the next handful of games, so the Celts really need a strong stretch (6-1) to maintain their top 2 seed. Don't let people now try and tell you seeding doesn't matter just because the Celts are at risk of dropping. That's bullshit. It absolutely does matter, especially when it comes to dropping below the 3 seed. Only 2 teams in NBA history have won a title as a non-Top 3 seed, so if that's what you want to see happen with the Celts this year, they need to continue to handle their shit.