After A Valiant Effort, The Celtics Fall Just Short Against Dallas
On paper, The Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks are pretty even. Heading into this matchup with similar records, their head to head split all time is a clean 35-35. They’ve both won titles this decade. They both are the home team of some of the most successful moguls around. They both employ goofy white 7 footers. And yet, things haven’t gone the Celtics way in a long, long time. For example, last night’s defeat now gave the Celtics a 1-11 recent record against the Mavs, with their last win coming on Dec 12, 2012, and that took double overtime. They just can’t beat em. I don’t know what it is, but the Celts always bring out the best in Dallas, and last night felt eerily similar to the mid November loss.
Despite all this, the Celts had every opportunity to win this game, and they blew it. Surprisingly I’m not that bummed about it, simply because I was always hoping for a 2-1 trip, and had this game circled as the one they probably drop, given their history. Tons to get to, let’s jump right in.
The Good
– Well let’s start with the obvious, the comeback. After letting the deficit grow to 17 with 3:53 remaining in the half, the Celts were on the ropes. All year we’ve talked about how resilient this team can be, but we had seen no indication that they were going to turn this around. But then that third quarter happened. The team we saw begin this run to open the second half was entirely different then that sorry group of players who started this game. They played Celtics basketball. The tide began to turn once Isaiah Thomas realized JJ Barea was guarding him. As a result, Isaiah took everything to the rim, and he couldn’t be stopped. His third quarter (12/4) was just the spark plug that this team needed, and as the tide started to turn, their defense tightened up. While it wouldn’t last, turning a 17 point deficit into a 6 point lead was one hell of a ride.
– Even though he struggled with his shot in his return to his old team, how about the testicles on Jae Crowder to calmly hit those three FTs at the end of the game to send it into OT. Ice cold blood. I was happy for him that he got to momentarily shake his dick on his former franchise, just wish they could have pulled it out for him.
– Since he became a starter 4 games ago, Jared Sullinger now has 2 double doubles in his last 3 games. He’s never going to be the 20/10 type player, but he’s shown that given his minutes, he can live somewhere in the 14/10ish range, which is fine by me. Shockingly, even though he looks heavier he is moving well, and we haven’t heard a peep of any sort of back issues. The way that Sully establishes position is so textbook, he should give Amir Johnson lessons.
– ThankGod the bench woke up. Between Smart and Olynyk, the second unit was crucial in this game. I know he gets shit for not being able to shoot, so please credit where credit is due. Marcus shot the ball great last night, and hit some pretty big shots down the stretch. Remember the kid is only 21 years old, be patient with him.
With Kelly, I loved how he played with little hesitation. Sure maybe he was a bit jazzed up to be facing the real Dirk, Kelly did a great job spacing the floor and knocking down the open 3. Something this team has struggled with recently.
– Speaking of giving credit, Evan Turner moved the ball beautifully last night. His8 assists in 25 minutes lead the team, and some of them were really spectacular. Personally I loved his two late in the second half to both Jerebko and Olynyk. Beautiful touch and they came at pretty big moments.
The Bad
– In all seriousness, I thought Deron Williams the basketball player was dead. As a person, alive, as a player, deader than dead. But then he plays the Celtics, and turns into 2010 Deron Williams. He absolutely killed the Celts last night, especially in OT where he had half of his 20 points. Those two 3s in OT were absolute dagger shots, and for a guy shooting 36% from deep, that’s tough to swallow.
– Really as a whole, the Celtics 3 point defense was tough to swallow. The Mavericks shot 47% from deep in this game, which is WAY higher than what the Celts give up on average (32% tied for 3rd in the L)
– There is something a bit deflating about being down 17, finally getting the lead back and up to 6, and then seeing it vanish in 3 straight possessions. Well, that’s exactly what happened. I don’t know what the Celts were thinking defensively, but once the score got to be 86-80 with 5 min left, the Mavs put Dirk pretty much right in the paint for 2 easy layups, then that fat fuck Raymond Felton made a bucket to tie up up, and sadly, all that hard work was for nothing.
– This is what I mean when I say the Celtics blew this game. With this comeback, to be up 6 points with 5 minutes left is a game you need to figure out how to win. Yeah, in the NBA that is a shit load of time, but DAL was on the ropes, and you dropped the ball.
– Speaking of dropping the ball, if you should win a game where you are up 6 with 5 min left, you DEF should figure out a way to pull it out while up 1 with 34 seconds left. Instead, we saw one of the dumbest plays of the year, and it cost them the game. Who was the culprit? What was the play? Do I even have to say it.
EVAN TURNER WHY ARE YOU FOULING DIRK NOWITZKI WHEN YOU ARE UP BY ONE AND HAVE BEEN IN THE BONUS FOR THE WHOLE QUARTER AND THERE IS 23 SECONDS LEFT. YOU IDIOT.
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I’m sorry for yelling.
– It was also disgusting to see that Sloth looking motherfucker ZaZa Pachulia absolutely manhandle the Celtics. He was just the tougher player. A historical thorn in the side of the Celtics, this performance reminded me a lot of what we used to see when he was with the Hawks during those prime Big 3 years. I don’t understand how he is able to make such an impact, but you could tell mentally he owned the Celts big men.
– Miss 5 FTs, lose by 5….nice
The Ugly
– I think it’s safe to say that starting a game 1-12 is ugly. That terrible first quarter was everything to not like about this Celtics team. Offensively, they were lazy and settled for outside jumper after outside jumper. Defensively they were even lazier, giving up 50% shooting and 62% on threes. Remember, Dallas played the night before, and the Celts were rested, so you can imagine this was not the start I was expecting.
– Speaking of bad defense, the Celtics need to figure out how to get back to defending without fouling. They seem to foul every posession. They were in the bonus with 9 MINUTES left in the 3rd quarter. What is that.
– Raymond Felton had 14 points on 6-13 shooting. Let that sink in.
While dropping another winnable game sucks (feels like I type that a lot..dammit) this trip can still be a success with a win Wednesday night in Toronto. Bad news is they are the hottest team in the East, winners of 5 straight and are 7-3 in their last 10. Even tough they are in our division, we’ve only played them once this year, in Game 2, and lost 113-103. Both teams are much different since that night, and the Celtics really need to steal one if they are going to continue to stay right in the thick of things.
Look, things could have been MUCH worse last night, especially after that first quarter. The Celts could have just mailed it in and lost by a billion. Instead they fought. So don’t waste much time on this, it’s on to the next one.
