The Celtics Haven't Lost In A Month, And Show No Signs Of Slowing Down
15 in a row. Think about that for a second. The Celtics have achieved something that 14 other franchises can only dream about. This is now the 5th longest win streak in franchise history, and the longest since the 08 team won 19 in a row. This streak shouldn’t be happening, as the Celtics have fallen behind by at least 16 points five separate times, and yet they remain undefeated. Call it luck, call it resiliency, call it the power of Brad Stevens, call it whatever you want. The best part is, while Brad may not think the streak is valid, I have to disagree. They’ve beaten both the worst and the best the league has to offer, and they’ve done it using the same formula. Defense and rebounding.
This ATL game presented itself as a classic trap game. Coming off riding high after dominating the GS Warriors, ATL is the perfect place where weird shit can happen that can get the best of you. In a sense that happened, but like we’ve seen so often during this streak, the Celtics took a punch, and then punched back 10 times harder.
Let’s talk about it
The Good
– It was close, perhaps the closest battle all season, but we’re starting with Kyrie Irving. A lot has rightfully been said about Kyrie’s efficiency so far on the offensive end this season, it certainly has left more to be desired. Well, I would say Kyrie answered that in his 10-12 (5-6 from deep) 30/4/5 performance in 31 minutes
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Kyrie apparently loves playing the Hawks, because he has two 30 point performances this year, and both are against ATL. I think it’s fair to say this was the best offensive performance from Kyrie has a Celtic so far this season, and while I certainly don’t expect him to go 10-12 every game, this is the kind of performance I want from my best player. The fact that he scored 12 of those points in the fourth is exactly what I mean. With this game in the balance the Celtics needed Kyrie to come in during the fourth, put his foot down and basically end the game. That’s what happened. He had 12 points and didn’t miss a shot.
I also want to talk about how Kyrie has been performing in the clutch this season, because to me, that’s been his biggest strength so far. We knew Kyrie was always an elite closer, but take a deeper look.
– Kyrie is 1st in the NBA in clutch points per game at 5.5 (Dame is 2nd with 5.0)
– Kyrie is 1st in the NBA in clutch FGM per game and is shooting 57.6%
– Kyrie has an Ortg of 132.2 and a Drtg of 114.9, resulting in a +17.4 Net rating
– He’s not just scoring in the clutch either. His 61.5% Ast% is 7th in the NBA during this time
– Kyrie has a usage rate of 52.9% in the clutch, with is 7th in the NBA
The Celtics have no problem keeping a game close down the stretch, because between Jaylen, Al, and Kyrie, they are flourishing in this situation.
– But make no mistake, Jaylen Brown was also incredible in this game. He finished with 27/4 on 10-13 shooting (4-6 from deep), and has been absolutely brilliant over his last two
What I loved about his performance was mostly his approach. The Celtics went to him what seemed like every possession to start the game, and it was the exact type of inside/outside approach that sets Jaylen up for success. Get him some early corner threes where he is shooting 40 and 42%, and then get him going to the basket where he is thriving as well. What we’re seeing out of Jaylen is his leap. He’s taking that jump to the next level right before our eyes, and here’s how I know it’s happening.
Last year, when Jaylen took many of these same shots, for the most part we were just hoping they went in. Like any outside shot production he gave us was a bonus. Now? I expect him to make it, and get annoyed when he misses open looks. To go from “hoping” to “expecting” says a lot.
This was also the first time in 95 career games that Jaylen has gone back to back with 20+, and I don’t know how you could watch him this year, realize he’s only 21, and not be giddy with excitement.
– This, this is insane
– If those two don’t get the blood flowing, may I interest you in 14/7/0/4/2 from a 19 year old?
He may seem soft spoken, but those were some big boy dunks last night by Jayson Tatum. That coast to coast with an inside/out move like that? Lord have mercy. I think one of the things I wasn’t really expecting from Tatum so early was how effective he was going to be able to use his length. It’s not even as if he has some freakish wingspan or anything, it’s just he knows how to use it to his advantage in a way I didn’t think would happen until his second or third year. We’ve seen him do that same type of steal after a miss a few times this season, and it gets my every time.
These guys man, Ainge really fucking nailed it.
– I talked about the winning formula during this streak being defense and rebounding. Well, here’s another team held to under 100 points, and the Celtics won the rebounding battle 41-35. Why is rebounding so important? If you remember last year, when this team couldn’t rebound, the Celtics were giving up thousands of second chance points. Now that they can, we see more performances like ATL’s, who had just 8. Holding teams to one possession not only keeps your defense fresh, but also allows you to get on the break, and this team is terrifying in the open court.
The rebounding in this game was more of a team effort, Tatum led with 7 but then seven other players had at least 4 rebounds. That’s the type of gang rebounding effort I enjoy.
– Finally, we got a decent offensive performance from Marcus Smart. His 10/4/2 is pretty normal, but the fact that he actually shot the ball, and it went in, is all I care about. Yeah he finished 3-8 which still isn’t great, but it’s sure as shit better than a 0-fer.
I thought a big reason why the Celtics were able to make their run in the second quarter was because of Marcus, who was a +13 in his 8:48 minutes played. In that second quarter, Smart had an Ortg of 108.7 and a Drtg of 44.4, leading to a net rating of +64.3. Look at that defense! If you’re an anti-Smart guy and you want to know why some of us are willing to let his offensive struggles slide, just watch this game.
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– Speaking of Marcus’, thank you Marcus Morris for giving this team the much needed offensive lift.
Your shot selection is still terrifying, I don’t really get why you prefer to have people in your face, but you know what after the performance against GS and then this last night, I’m not going to question it one bit. Morris led all Celtics with a +18, and credit for Ainge for finding a player to swap Avery’s salary for that not only fit this system, but also fits the direction of the smaller stretch four that’s so important in today’s NBA.
– I can’t help it, I’m a slut for beautiful ball movement and this right here, this is the Celtics ball movement I have dedicated my life to
– The Celtics finished the game with 47/47% splits and made 16 threes. Those are real things that happened which is encouraging for a team that right now cannot shoot for dick.
The Bad
– Not all great, for example their defense scared me a little to start, especially with their inability to not only guard the perimeter, but also prevent perimeter drives from getting into the paint at will. ATL is a weird place to play, and they usually tend to shoot lights out whenever the Celtics are in town, and that was really what we got through the first 24 minutes. It makes total sense they can shut GS down, but then keep allowing ATL to have the best offensive performances of this entire streak.
And it’s weird to type, but some of the biggest culprits were Kyrie and Al Horford. Two of the guys who have been MORE than solid defensively had a rough night, as they were the owners of the two highest Drtgs in this game. Schroder gave Kyrie problems and finished with 23 on 9-18, and the same struggles found Horford.
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– Unfortunately, Horford couldn’t replicate his first trip to ATL this season where he had 15/10/9, and instead was pretty quiet. He’s going through a rough patch shooting form behind the arc, just 1 for his last 9, and his 3-11 was by far the worst offensive showing he’s had since opening night. He did have 6 rebounds and 6 assists so he did still make an impact, but offensively we can just forget this performance ever happened. I’ll allow that.
– Look the shooting isn’t going to be great, I think we can all accept that. What we should accept is allowing a team like the Hawks to go on a 18-0 run. A team that’s 3-12 should never be allowed to do that I don’t care what’s happening. This was just a combination of poor shooting and lazy effort on the defensive end, and something that the Celtics can’t keep doing. It almost defies logic that they’ve been able to keep coming back so often from these types of deficits, and it’s playing with fire in my opinion. This is probably why Brad doesn’t feel this streak is valid.
– I’ll say it, I didn’t love Brad’s rotations to start this fourth quarter. Honestly he’s taking some risks lately with his lineup choices, and somehow he’s coming away unharmed. I thought he waited too long in the fourth quarter with that lineup, they clearly didn’t have it, and it surprised me he was willing to ride it so long, considering there was no real scorer out there in a close game.
The numbers are gross, as a unit, the bench went 6-26. Good thing they can play defense that’s for sure.
– I keep saying it after every game in ATL, but their combo of the PA announcer screaming and the hawk noise screeching HAS to be the worst thing in the NBA. If there are any ATL stoolies reading this, you couldn’t possibly like this right? It is HORRENDOUS. Thank God this was the last time this year we have to go to that terrible place.
– It makes me sad that it’s hard to find time for Daniel Theis, who played just 3 minutes.
The Ugly
– NO CHANCE. Again, you can’t prove to me that me skipping this section during this win streak is not playing a major role, so no shot, not doing it.
Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Celtics will be favored in every game until December 8th at SA. They play the worst team in the NBA on Monday in DAL (even though historically they’re a tough team for Cs to beat), and then its MIA/ORL/IND. There’s a real chance this team could be undefeated, tied with the franchise’s longest winning streak heading into that showdown with DET which also happens to be Avery’s homecoming. They’re the second best team, in the East right now, and I want that more than anything. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s just enjoy being the best team in the NBA right now, and say it together
15 down 39 to go.
P.S.
Oh baby