My Top 5 Celtics Plays From The Last Week

Man what a difference a week makes. This time last week we were depressed as Celtics fans, had just watched this team drop back to back games to MIA and ORL, teammates were fighting and guys were chirping each other to the media, the whole thing was a bit of a disaster. So the purpose of the blog was to distract us from the drama and remember the good things we saw over that 7 days. Well now we look at this team a little differently. They had a huge win over TOR and then backed that up by not doing what they always used to do and lose to bad teams. They even won a back to back on the road! Since this blog covers 1/14-1/19, we saw the Celtics go 3-1 over this stretch and average a cool 115 points a night. Remember when this team’s offense was a bottom 5 in the league offense? Me neither. So after reviewing the film, here’s where I netted out with my top 5 plays

5. Ball movement is a beautiful thing

Ah yes, ball movement. Some would argue it’s one of the biggest keys to the Celtics success and you won’t hear me argue. The numbers pretty much speak for themselves, you see this team mess around and get 30+ assists or close to it and they are incredibly tough to beat. This sequence against the Raptors is something that could not have brought me more joy. Look at the unselfish play, look at guys pass up good looks for better looks, and then finally ending with Smart who certainly could have taken that three, but instead knew how important this game was, saw Lowry on the ground and immediately attacked the basket. I mean this was basketball porn at it’s finest as every Celtic touched the ball. I agree with Scal, that was one of the best displays of ball movement from this team for the entire season.

4. The Celtics we know and love are back

Couple of things I loved about this play. First, Aron motherfucking Baynes. Boy did this team miss his presence down low while he recovered from his broken finger. You hear Brad and Al talk all the time about how he bails them out defensively and is their safety blanket of sorts and this was a great example of that. Terry got cooked on this play and immediately Baynes leaps into action and tosses that shit off the glass. No foul, just great timing and even better rim protection.

But that’s only half the story. The other half of this play is we saw Jaylen not fuck up in transition! Not only that, but he dunked it! As a cherry on top it was Terry that actually led the break and passed to his teammate at the right moment and didn’t turn it over! One of the weirdest things about Jaylen is how inconsistent he can be finishing in transition. You see him miss layups all the time and then also do stuff like this. Maybe just dunk it all the time? I dunno I’m just trying to help, but I feel like that’s the play.

3. Kyrie’s fancy huh

What a goddamn pass. Not only do you have to be impressed with Kyrie’s vision on this play, it really seemed like he was tracking Smart the whole way, but how about having the trust that Smart makes this shot as well? He hit nothing but net which was an omen for what was to come, but this was yet another example of the development of Kyrie Irving as a passer. When you think of Kyrie you obviously first think of his elite scoring ability, but don’t sleep on his passing. He can sometimes get in trouble with forcing things and passing at teammate’s feet, but he can also reach into his bad and do stuff like this. This was one of his 11 assists on the night, but none were more beautiful that’s for sure.

2. Jaylen got Jarrett Allen

I know, I know, the score. Big deal Jaylen dunked on someone down a billion. People hate that for some reason and I don’t get it. This is the same Jarrett Allen that has blocked the following people at the rim: LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis (2x), James Harden, Giannis, etc. Those are the best of the best in the league, so to see Jaylen finish strong right in the face of Allen who is one of the best shot blockers in the league, that’s a great play. Yeah it didn’t matter, the Celtics still lost, but don’t be such a Debby Downer. Take the dump out of your pants and enjoy a nice strong finish over someone who doesn’t get dunked on all that often.

1. Kyrie’s game sealing Fuck You Three

How could there be any other choice? One of the best Kyrie Fuck You Threes of the season right in the face of Kawhi Leonard. I don’t just love the balls he showed by taking it, I don’t just love the fact that he hit bottoms, part of the reason this play was so awesome was Mike Gorman’s call. So simple, so awesome. It’s calls like this that make him the best in the business. He didn’t overdo it just like he never does, and it was the perfect call for such a gigantic shot.

Given how important that game was and the fact that Kyrie literally put this team on his back once again to beat the Raptors, any other choice would have felt wrong. It was Kyrie’s week, we were all just living in it.

Honorable Mention: Kyrie slipping yet finishing with a hook shot, Kyrie’s deep threes vs ATL, clutch late Horford threes, Smart’s fight

That’s my list. It was a great week and we have another opportunity this week with three of the 5 games on this homestand of MIA/CLE/GS on the schedule. Hopefully next Monday we have the same sort of happiness as we do now. Feed me GS.