And Just Like That The Celtics Got Back To Winning
That didn’t take very long now did it. After coming up short to end their streak in MIA, the Celtics returned home and FINALLY had one of those offensive performances that didn’t make you violently ill. If you ask me, this was just the type of win they needed, especially with another game tonight against a pretty hot IND team (won 5 in a row). The Magic are in a complete free fall after their hot start, so dropping this game, especially at home, would have caused a lot of extra noise. Perhaps I’m most thankful for this win in that regard. We don’t have to hear the bullshit about “Is this team as good as their record” or anything like that.
Instead, we can focus on some pretty impressive performances up and down this roster. That’s way more fun, so let’s get started.
The Good
– If you remember, we have a rule around here on this blog, and that is if you do something that’s pretty rare in Celtics history, something not done since a legend, we start with you. Well, welcome Kyrie Irving and his 30 points in 24 minutes. So what legend in Celtics history was this like? Kyrie’s 30/4/3 in under 25 minutes was the first time a Celtic had done something like that since Kevin McHale
As you can see, a few have come close, including Pierce and my dude Eddie House, but just two players can claim they’ve done what Kyrie did last night. I say we enjoy the show
There are two things I love most about this performance. First, if the efficiency, 9-15 is something I can get down with every day of the week, and it marked the 4th straight game Kyrie has finished with at least 50% shooting and 20 points. This little run now has Kyrie sitting with a FG% of 47%. It’s the highest he’s ever been at in his career. All hail our lord and savior Brad Stevens, but also credit Kyrie for figuring out how to pick his spots in this offense, and get over the early season inefficiency.
The second thing I loved about his night was he got to the line. 10 out of 10 FTs sure made up for missing those three against MIA, and this is important for Kyrie moving forward. To start his Celtics career, Kyrie really struggled at getting to the line, his FTA rate was the lowest of his career. He now sits at 26%, which is the highest mark he’s been at since the 2014 season, and more in lines of where he is for his career, after dipping below that the past two years. The way this team shoots the ball, it’s crucial that guys like Kyrie continue to get to the line at this rate.
– THIS was the Terry Rozier I lay awake late at night dreaming about. That’s not weird, stop trying to make this weird, it’s totally normal. You’re weird. Anyway, if there’s one thing we can all agree that this Celtics team desperately needed, it’s actual positive offensive production from their bench. I’d say career highs in points (23) and three pointers made (5) for Rozier fit the bill
I think it’s fair to say he won’t always shoot 8-11, but you have to love the confidence he had to even take these shots given his shooting has been Marcus Smart-esq so far this season. Rozier’s +16.1 net rating was the highest of any bench player last night, and it was great to see him finally break through. Last night was a Summer League Terry performance, and I’m looking forward to more of those now that I’ve seen him do it.
– The Celts have won at least 17 of their first 20 games 9 times. They made the Finals in 6 of the previous 8.
Too soon?
– It was a night of career highs at the Garden, next up coming by the way of Al Horford. You remember him right? I only ask because we haven’t really seen Al the last few games, but boy did he make his presence felt in this one. It’s true, he only had 5 points and took 5 shots, but as a team the Celtics had 27 assists, and Al had 10 of them. That’s your starting center getting 10 assists folks, that doesn’t happen every night. The second best +/- of any starter at +19, Horford only had 2 TOs which is big for him AND my sanity, and watching him pass the ball truly is a thing of beauty.
We will need Al to get back to his aggressive style of play moving forward, but if he isn’t, at least keep passing the ball like this.
– The rumors are true, I do in fact love the absolute shit out of Aron Baynes, and his 13/11 in 21 minutes plays a big role.
When the Celtics needed someone to stop the bleeding in that fourth quarter, it was Baynes who stepped up and made sure this wasn’t the worst loss of the season. I don’t want to get too carried away here, but this may have been Ainge’s best role player signing since James Posey/Eddie House.
– Here’s something weird, the Celtics actually lost the rebounding battle 51-46, but they did manage to keep it within 5, which is where they usually are when they lose a battle, but win the game.
– Yeah, Jayson Tatum may keep this efficiency up for the rest of his career. Currently has a higher career 3P% than Steph Curry. Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just relaying the facts. He’s now 28-56
– I can’t leave out the ball movement. Sooooooooo much better and a large part of that is this tends to happen when guys actually make shots. An ast% of 64%, the offense felt way more fluid than it has in the past, and it’s not surprising that with the good ball movement, came the made shots. That’s how the Basketball Gods work.
– I could watch Jaylen all damn day
– The Celtics were CLEARLY due for a great offensive start, and I would say 40 points on 68/58% splits fit the bill.
– Just 8 TOs for the game. Live look at me
The Bad
– Sit down for this one. I regret to inform you that no, Marcus Smart did not have the same offensive revelation that Terry Rozier had. Yup, he once again went 1-7, ALL of his FGs were from behind the arc, and somehow he was a +5. Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with this, I’ve long accepted Smart’s offensive limitations, but this one pissed me off for a couple reasons.
1. It meant less Yabu time. See, Smart had taken just 2 FGA through 3 quarters, and the Celtics were up by I dunno, like 500 points. I got my popcorn ready and was excited for a long Yabu run, and god dammit there he went taking 5 more threes and next thing you knew, that 500 point lead was down to like 12 or something like that, and Brad had to take Yabu out for Morris. Unacceptable
2. I’ve always said I’ll put up with Smart’s offense as long as he defends at a high level. Well, in that fourth quarter he had a Drtg of 152.1. In other words, as poor as his offense was, the defense was just as bad. I’m not down with that to say the least.
– At what point do we start to be a little concerned with how Semi shoots the ball? I get he’s not out there for his offense, his defense is ridiculous, but are we sure he isn’t just a 3/4 Marcus Smart? Currently has 31/26% splits and he is 2 for his last 13 from the field and 1 for his last 17 from behind the arc. He was way too good a shooter in college for this to be who he is offensively right? Right?
– How dare that official give Brad a tech. There’s no chance whatsoever he said anything out of bounds. I bet he didn’t even curse. Be more soft, you can’t.
– For the second game in a row, the Celtics had a hard time keeping a team out of the paint. Remember against the Heat where it felt like at least 50% of their points came in the paint? Same story here. ORL had 103 total points, and 48 of them came from the inside the paint.
The Ugly
– You may be shocked to be reading something in this section right now. Well, the rule is we only skip the Ugly section during a win streak, so be a little patient. In the meantime, how about the Celtics holding all the good teams in the NBA to under 100, and yet these teams that suck seem to break that mark no problem?
For example, the Magic had only broken 100 points once in their previous 4 games, and that was against MIN, who is horrid defensively. Naturally, when playing the team who plays the best defense in the NBA, they finish with 103. That’s annoying and mostly due to the fact that this team stopped really defending in the fourth quarter, but I have now become obsessed with holding teams to under 100.
– I don’t know how many more games the Celts will wear these all black jerseys, but whatever the number is, it’s not enough. Fire flames on fire flames.
So how long will the next Celtics streak be? Well if history is any indication, the Celtics may not lose again until around Christmas. After a little road trip tonight in IND, the Celts are then home for 5 straight for some good Eastern Conference measuring stick games like DET/PHI/MIL. Head to head matchups are going to be important come April/May, especially against a team like MIL, who they are currently split with.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. Enjoy this win for a few hours today, watch some highlights, light some candles, do whatever you gotta do before tip off tonight. In the meantime, say it with me
17 down 37 to go