The Celtics Continue To Help Ease The Pain With Absolute Domination In DC
Listen, when you get back to back blowouts on the road, you miss out on one of the greatest Celtics traditions there is. Without further adieu…..GINO go nuts you crazy dancing son of a bitch!
Feels great to be able to play GINO again…seems like its been forever.
Back to back blowouts on the road in the NBA are very hard to do. Even if you are playing a high school varsity team in Philly and a Bradley Beal-less Wizards team. Add in weird travel due to a winter storm, and you have to give the Celtics credit. They have turned things around since losing their fourth in a row on Jan 12th, and what a 2 weeks its been. Winners in 6 of their last 8, they’ve been able to turn things around by getting back to playing Celtics defense.
Over their last 3, the Celts have held opponents to an average of 94.6 points per game. Well below their season avg of 100.4. Add in a 43.2% average from the floor. And while you might be quick to dismiss this, understand that Philly had the highest percentage (44.3%) of the three. The Celtics are playing aggressive defense, causing an average of 21 turnovers and 13 steals per game. These are ridiculous numbers.
When the Celtics play the way they did against Washington they are a tough team to beat. I want to say not having Beal is a major reason, but in the one game he missed the Celts only won by 2, and every game he’s played in has been a blowout sooooo I dunno. Best case scenario from here on out is that somehow Washington gets hot enough to sneak into the playoffs, maybe the Celts play them in the first round (pipedream) or maybe they upset Chicago and the Celtics see them down the road. For whatever reason, they LOVE playing Washington and the proof is in the pudding
So the final tally from the 4-game series is: Celtics 464, Wizards 384. Oof.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 26, 2016
The Good
– Last night was a nice reminder that even thought he’ll never get the respect he deserves, Isaiah Thomas is every bit the PG that the elite guards in this conference are. In the previous meetting, he matched John Wall’s 36 with a 32 of his own (and a W). There was no debate which guard had the better night last night, with IT4 completely dominating from the opening tip. The numbers look great: 8-14 (2 from deep) 23 points 4 rebounds 9 assists and just 2 turnovers. He set the tone with a great first quarter, and with the Wizards unable to keep him out of the paint, that was all she wrote.
But nah…not an All Star season…dummies
– How does 31 assists on 44 baskets for an assist percentage of 70% sound? Is that good? Did we break it? Unreal ball movement helped the Celtics shoot 48.9% which is outrageously high for them. If they are going to shoot and defend like that on a consistent basis, uh oh. The Celts have flirted with a percentage this high a few times before (Nov 20 and Dec 21) but appreciate it when you can
The nail in the coffin came in the 4th quarter, where the Celtics had 9 assists on 12 baskets and shot 50%, turning a 14 point lead into a rout.
– There is something to be said about having a balanced offense, and it was great to see the Celtics take that approach. Taking just 22 threes and winning the points in the paint battle 42-24 with 39 of your 90 shots coming from the paint are all positives.
– Overall, great contribution from the second unit. Accounting for over half their points, you could argue that the second unit was the better of the two. Feels like its been a while since the bench has really pulled its weight, so it was nice to see them respond. Especially on the second night of a back to back.
– Without Evan Turner’s performance, I’m not so sure that previous statement is possible. He played great. Efficient, smart, and in control. This was the Turner that rings you back in, and fuck it I’ll let it happen. I know he won’t play this way forever, but his ability to get to his spot 10-15 ft from the basket is pretty automatic. Makes you wonder why he even tries to do anything else.
– While he played a pretty complete game, I thought Marcus Smart’s best moment came with about 6:54 in the 4th, with the Celts up 94-78. Kelly missed a bunny and Marcus comes crashing in…ahh why tell you when I can just show you
This is what I call, a winning play. That rebound and kick out to Olynyk for 3 officially started the blowout and it’s plays like this that make Marcus so valuable.
– Shouts to Tyler Zeller for proving he is not yet a corpse. Solid minutes.
The Bad
– It’s pretty hard to find the negatives in what was at one time almost a 30 point lead, but it still bothers me how much this team fouls. They were in the bonus with 8:36 remaining in the 4th quarter. The Wizards took 30 FTs. I sound like a broken record, but if the Celtics can’t learn to defend without fouling, we’ll be in trouble.
– I have to say, I didn’t care for Marcus Smart’s 3PA immediately after Isaiah Thomas won his jump ball against John Wall. I mean run a play, give it back to Isaiah, try anything but a contested rushed 27 footer. Not the best decision making
The Ugly
– In an absolute blowout James Young only got 2:47 of action. Naturally he made both his shots including this beauty
And is now just 2,951 behind Ray. Come on Brad, play the kid already.
At 25-21 things feel much better around these parts. A look at the schedule has things feeling even better. But I caution you, we’ve been down this road before this season. I’ll admit, I’m getting a bit excited seeing them within striking distance of that 3rd seed. I know I shouldn’t think about that. It’s a ridiculous expectation that they certainly aren’t going to get, but at the same time I can’t completely talk myself out of it. Especially if they continue to play this way.
So if you’re still hurting from Sunday’s disaster, start paying attention to what the Celts are doing because things are trending in the right direction.
25 down 22 to go.
P.S.
It’s ridiculous that in their last 35 games when leading by 11+ the Celtics are now 32-3. Thats like some Warriors/Spurs type shit