The Weekend Greenie Bag: Are The Celtics Spotting Dimes Or Eating Onions?
Alright the day is winding down, you’re home from another day of drinking trying to figure out ways to not be super hungover tomorrow at work. Well before the weekend came to a close I wanted to empty out the mailbag for this week and give you something to help keep those Sunday Scaries at bay before the night games start. As you can imagine things were more positive this time around given the Celtics actually looked like a basketball team who had played the sport before, and they’re starting to find their groove at the right time which is all we were looking for in the first place. As a reminder you can be a part of this weekly mailbag by tweeting me something with #GreenieBag or you can email greenieceltsbag@gmail.com. Either way, it’s there for you at all hours of the day whether you want to vent or are drunk off Kool Aid and are starting to think irrational thoughts.
With that said, your questions…
Greenie,
After 2 of the best wins of the year, I’m now baffled by this team. They remind me of a classic Seinfeld scene:
The Celtics were eating onions, now they’re spotting dimes, I don’t know what to believe!
Is what we’ve seen in California a sign of things to come or just a dead cat bounce? – Joshua
Pretty spot on analogy. That’s pretty much what they’ve been all season so you have every right to feel that way. With this stretch though I’m glad it’s been more spotting dimes. Their defense is still a disaster and that’s a real problem, but we all needed to see them come back home and keep the wins coming and that’s exactly what they did. Tomorrow night is huge in my opinion because DEN will be the best team they play on this homestand, and they are no joke. You win that game too and I’ll have no choice but to believe something special did in fact happen on that plane.
Greenie,
Who would you rather play in the playoffs? What’s your ideal matchup? – John
So it’s still a little too early to tell what seed I would prefer because there’s still a lot to be sorted out between BOS/PHI/IND. But I will say this. I have no problem playing PHI in round one, and everyone will obviously be down to play the Pacers given their lack of Oladipo. The question then becomes who between TOR/MIL would I rather matchup with, and that answer is MIL. Even if they have the best player, who knows what Malcolm Brogdon will look like after missing like 8 weeks. I think they matchup better, so that means you’re looking at the 4/5 matchup. Honestly as long as they have homecourt it doesn’t really matter who we play.
The thing is there’s no matchup that you would say “OK the Celts got this 100%” because that’s now how this works. They could lose to anybody and they could beat anybody in that first round, as long as it starts in Boston then it’s whatever to me.
Don’t worry. We’re due for at least 2 more “the sky is falling” losses before the season is over. You’ll be back to crying before you know it because that’s just what this team does. I can almost say with certainty they are going to lose a game they shouldn’t or lay another low energy egg. You can take that to the bank.
Sup Greenie
I would like to parallel this Celtics team with another favorite team of mine, Chelsea FC. We are the team whose keeper refused to come off the field 2 weeks ago. Since that time, we have exploded with positive results and dynamic play. I would like to think that creativity can be born of chaos in certain instances. I believe this Celtics team is no exception. The Kyrie and AD shit, Brad being questioned, Jaylen Brown and Terry being so very up and down, Mook in the media; all of this is chaotic. However, when least expected, Hayward decided to become Utah Jazz Hayward again in an almost no win situation against GSW. If he can build off of these last few games (buzzer beater), I believe this is the spark of creativity that we needed. Creativity born from a very chaotic situation. – Ryan
I used to follow the soccer when I worked for the Rapids back in 2010, but I can’t say I follow any soccer league all that much anymore. If you tell me that’s how things worked with Chelsea and it’s helped them and you can compare that to these Celtics and you’re telling me it’s also going to work out for them then I’ll buy it. Doesn’t take me all that much to buy in as long as it fits my narrative I’ll tell ya that right now. However if Chelsea crashes and burns or something then I reject this theory as utter trash.
Hey Greenie,
Why doesn’t Brad Stevens start Jaylen Brown? He’s playing so much better than Marcus Morris and has earned back that spot wouldn’t you say? – Greg
For a time I did. But the more I watched him play and do stuff like this
I’ve moved on from that. I don’t care that Jaylen doesn’t start because he’s closing which is what matters and his play has certainly responded to this role. Normally I would agree with you but at this point of the season where they just need to be playing well, I don’t want to mess with anything. There’s no doubt that Mook is hurting them at times on both ends, but Brad realizes that and doesn’t play him much when it matters most. Let his ego have the first 6 minutes of the first quarter as long as Jaylen gets 30 minutes a night and crunch time opportunities.
It’s pretty simple, if he defends, he’ll play.
Hey Greenie,
Who is one guy you would want the Celtics to draft this summer if they were to keep their picks? – Alex
Easy. Lu Dort
Yes, my ASU bias is showing, but think how cool it would be to have two Marcus Smarts. I think that would be pretty awesome.
Aight that’s it, thanks to everyone who wrote in for this week’s mailbag. I’ll see you all next week. Have a great rest of your lazy Sunday!