Celtics Continue To Shoot The Ball Like A Bunch Of Assholes, Drop Their Second In A Row

Greenie 1/8/2016 10:55 AM

First things first. I think it’s safe to say that my and all of Barstool’s thoughts and prayers are with Andrew Smith and his family as they continue his fight against cancer. If you didn’t hear the reason, Brad Stevens missed last night’s game to go visit his former player in the hospital. Keep fighting Andrew and as always, fuck cancer.

Now, the game. Little known fact, shooting 35% on the road against a 21-12 team is most likely not going to get it done. At this point, it is down right disgusting what we are forced to watch. I haven’t seen shooting this bad since a certain basketball tournament final. This would mark the second consecutive game in which the Celts shot below 38% and you guessed it, they’ve lost both. When you look at the Celtics struggles, it’s a combination of things. First, they cannot make a three to save their life over the last 5 games. I’m talking a pathetic clip

But that’s only half the story. This Celtics team is maybe the worst in the entire league at layups/shots within 3 feet. It’s astounding how terrible they are. No one is asking these guys to turn into Wilt Chamerblain or anything, but look at these percentages. On the surface they don’t look that bad, but then you realize these are mostly layups taken by players that are tall as shit and you know, in the NBA. If I were able to see these numbers over the last handful of games, it’d be a bloodbath. You want to find a reason, some sort of legitimate explanation for this….so far I have ¯\_(?)_/¯

If the Celtics could just be SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE at either shooting threes (26th in the league) or making a basket from 3-10 feet we are having a completely different conversation. Instead, they’ve been putrid. As a Celtics fan, what’s most frustrating is how all of the sudden it is. All of the sudden they can’t make a fucking shot. All of the sudden a great start is wasted, or a double digit lead blown.

That’s the thing. The Celtics didn’t actually play that bad. Look at the big picture. Coming off a game the night before, against a rested and red hot Chicago Bulls team, this type of performance is to be expected. Not making an excuse by any means but let’s be realistic. We are not sweeping the Bulls. Not happening. And with the Dec 9th win at the Garden, let’s just say this particular game is not giving me any reason for true panic, it just sucked. Let’s hit it

The Good

– What is becoming a consistent trend, the Celts got off to a solid start. A total of 9 assists on 11 baskets, they were super aggressive. Most notably, Kelly Olynyk. I said it yesterday, and I’ll say it again if you missed it. I love Aggressive Kelly Olynyk. This team is fun to watch when he is making his presence felt on a game, and that’s what we got to start last night. What I loved most was probably how balanced a quarter this was. The Celts did a good job playing inside/out, they moved the ball well and took what I would consider good shots.

Remember it wasn’t too long ago that the Celts would struggle to even score double figures to start games, so this shouldn’t be something to roll your eyes at.

– Anytime you hold Jimmy Butler to 5 first half points on 1-7 shooting, I’m going to chalk that up as a win. Personally Butler has reached a level where he is now giving me Kawhi Leonard like fear. When he gets going, he GETS GOING.

– Here’s a little tidbit I bet you didn’t think was true. The Celtics actually outscored the Bulls in the paint 44-38. And they suck at layups!

– I know his shot is struggling since coming back from his knee injury. I know he hasn’t yet shown in his NBA career that he can be a reliable consistent offensive player. Frankly, I don’t care. Marcus Smart will be a main reason this team continues to make progress because he makes winning plays. Whether it’s a big offensive rebound, or a hustle play, he makes a difference and that’s what we saw last night. In the fourth quarter he was 3-4 with 8 points (led team) and basically kept the Celts in it better than anyone else.

And remember, he is just 21 years old. This was his 81st game of his career. He hasn’t even played a full season yet! So pump the breaks writing him off as not only an offensive player, but as a player that could be a real piece moving forward. His defense is elite already, the rest you can teach. Just look at Avery.

– I might be a dick for saying it, but I didn’t miss David Lee. Second DNP for DLee, and the writing is on the wall. Time to flip his contract somehow. He’s clearly not in the rotation, and basically I don’t want his sour attitude in the locker room. Things are tense enough as it is.

– Shouts to Jae Crowder on his 17/4/4. I think this is where he is going to live for the most part moving forward. The guy is just on a roll, for a role player. See he isn’t lighting up the league, or even averaging a crazy amount of points per game, but he is quickly becoming the Celtics leader, and it’s that in which I care about. He is setting an example. High effort, high energy play, with consistency both offensively and defensively.

The Bad

– After being 11-1 when up by double digits, the Celts have now dropped their second in a row. Granted their double digit lead came early in the game, but I’m not sure that matters. In a game like this, you get up by double digits you need to find a way to hold onto that. Winning games is going to be hard enough for this team, I shouldn’t have to worry about blowing games like this.

– You could tell this team mentally just wasn’t there. They were like a baby looking for their blankey, and sadly, Stevens wasn’t there. I’m not sure how much of what we saw was due to coaching, but this team went right back to jump shot city, and once again, it failed them.

– Didn’t I tell you Valley Evan Turner was coming? Remember kids, pay attention.

– I will always hate how the Celtics do not have an answer for Pau Gasol. They haven’t his entire career as he’s averaged 18/10/3 against Boston. He is going to haunt me until the day he retires, this is just something I’ve accepted. Last night was no different. His 17/18 was just too much for the Celts to handle, especially in the second half. His 5 offensive rebounds were brutal because they were mostly tip ins. Sucks to see.

– Even though I just spent two paragraphs stroking him, Marcus Smart is not excused from bad play. While I can respect his heat check three that unfortunately did not come into contact with any part of the basket, it was simply a case of wrong play at the wrong time. Here he was, had just made some big time plays, was feeling good, and damn him he took a bad shot. Worst part? Very next possession Celtics fuck up on their rotations and Dougie McBuckets hit a dagger three. Pretty big turn of events because it was basically a 6 point swing. The Celtics had a chance to cut it to 84-80, and just like that it was 87-77. Woof.

– Those 8 turnovers in the 2nd quarter really did the Celts in. Completely changed the dynamic of the game and allowed the Bulls to not only come back, but take a halftime lead. The Celtics would never lead again.

The Ugly

– The shooting duh. We touched on it earlier, and basically you all saw it. It’s awful. I joke, but I really think if the Celtics could just shoot 42% they would be unstoppable. We are hanging with teams while we shoot in the mid 30s, hell we shot 7-32 in the 3rd quarter! How can you expect to win with that? You can’t.

– Another game, another instance where your good FT shooters are missing FTs. Four Wednesday from Isaiah, and then three last night from Jae. Are the Celtics just not practicing shooting or FTs during practice? Is that the smartest idea?

– Us. The Celtics are playing ugly ugly basketball. They’re in a rut, and it’s showing. They are playing some mentally weak basketball, and sadly, Isaiah even admitted so

 

Now look, things are less than ideal, I understand that. But you need to look at the bigger picture. NBA teams usually only win on the road on the second night of a back to back like 35% of the time. The Celtics are going to regress back to the mean in this department. Chicago was rested, and winners of 5 straight. They are playing great basketball. The Celts aren’t. This should not be the loss that sends you off the bandwagon.

Here’s why. Remember, this time last year the Celtics were 12-21. They didn’t win their 20th game until Feb 23rd. This Celtics team very well may win their 20th game on Jan 10th. At 19-16 this team is still on a 44 win pace, which is progress. Yes, you can be frustrated about this team’s recent performance, but relax. There’s a long way to go, and there is no reason to think this isn’t something the Celtics can’t snap out of. Keep the faith.

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