Late Game Execution Continues To Haunt The Celtics
If we could go in the trust tree for a second, I have to come clean. Blowing these winnable games is really starting to make me angry. There are few things this team loves doing more than exchanging an actual victory for a moral victory, and that is pretty frustrating. Blah Blah Blah the Celtics suck, they don’t have a superstar blah blah blah. Save the trolling for a second and let’s have an actual discussion about this. Despite it being almost mid December, the feeling around this team reminds me a lot of like how people felt during the first week of the season. People are frustrated and rightfully so, and I can imagine why. Of the Celtics 11 losses, six of them have come by 6 points or less, and really since the SA loss, they’ve had a tough time holding on against good teams. A blown lead against DET while giving up 121 points, then the HOU game where they blew a lead to lose by 1, add in TOR from Friday where they blew another double digit lead, and then finally last night against OKC, another double digit lead blown.
Yes, not having a full lineup for the most recent two obviously makes an impact, but solely putting the blame on not having Isaiah really takes away from some of the issues this Celtics team has. Last night for example, their problem was rebounding, and defense. Those aren’t exactly things Isaiah is known for. While it would have helped to have him in that fourth quarter obviously not only from a scoring standpoint, but how he scores. What makes Isaiah such a valuable player is if you have a 6 point lead with under 5 minutes to go, he more often than not closes that out for you because of his ability to get to the line in the fourth quarter.
I talked a few weeks ago about how tough a stretch the Celts were about to start, and there is no other way to describe it other than a swift kick to the dick that they have played this well for 95% of games, yet come out with the L. No other way to sugarcoat that, it’s pathetic basketball to be throwing away these games that you will NEED when it comes down to playoff seeding. They know it, we know it, everybody knows it.
Having said that, let’s all take a collective breath. This team was 13-10 this time last year, and 19-19 through 38. There is still a shit ton of the season to get back on track, and until we see this full team together for like 20 games, we have no idea what they are. What we do know though, is what they currently are is pretty goddamn frustrating.
The Good
– When you go 2-11 in your previous game, and then have the performance that Jae had last night, you lead us off. After all of Celtics Twitter spent Friday night destroying Crowder, and how “pathetic” he is, what a bounce back effort. A strong 18 points on 7-9 (3-4) shooting, I don’t think I had a problem with a single shot attempt from Jae, which is a vast improvement from the TOR loss. Right off the bat he scored their first 7 points all by being aggressive. He cut to the basket for easy layups, he got on the block for a high percentage turnaround, and each of his threes came within the flow of the offense, usually off an extra pass. Picture perfect stuff. While I don’t think those shooting percentages are sustainable, the decision making absolutely is. We all know Jae loves to fall in love from deep, but it isn’t a coincidence that his strong night started by taking it to the basket.
– Why am I willing to put up with the shooting struggles of Marcus Smart? Well, a lot of it has to do with what he can do when he gets to fill the Marcus The Creator role. He becomes such a different player when he is asked to create for others rather than himself. The way Marcus was passing the ball might have been the best we’ve seen from him all season, and really shows this should be his true role when he’s on the floor. When he gets into trouble is when he’s asked to be a scorer instead of a facilitator, and Brad probably knows that. His 11/6/9 was quiet but impactful which really is the story of Smart’s career so far.
But you don’t care about any of this. You care about that last possession, so let’s discuss it. I have absolutely NO problem with how Smart handled that possession, and you shouldn’t either. First, here’s the play
Right off the bat, maybe he should have immediately passed to Avery, but after stumbling and regaining control, his head is completely turned the other way, and there is under 3 seconds. I also heard he should have passed the ball to Rozier instead. Well, there’s a chance he thought about it, but look at how OKC is positioned on Rozier here. This is with 1.6 seconds left. If Smart makes a pass at this point, it’s probably getting stolen.
So instead he keeps it, the defense sags into the paint for some reason, and he takes the open look. Smart had been 50% for the game at this point, and played pretty well so I have no problems with him taking the shot. Hindsight is 20/20 and people hated him taking the shot because he missed it. Had he made it, I don’t think we hear a peep from anyone.
– This past week has done wonders for the development of Jaylen Brown. His 10 points in 17 minutes might not seem like much, but it was when and how he scored them that mattered. He went a solid 4-4 in the fourth quarter, driving to the basket, hitting a three and if you haven’t guessed it, he scored all his points in this 8 minute stretch. Games like this, on the road, against a good team, is huge not only for his confidence, but the confidence Brad should have to play Jaylen in the fourth quarter. With Gerald Green getting a DNP-CD, I see a few more of those in his future if Jaylen keeps this up. We talked this summer about how his ability to get to the rim stood out, but we weren’t sure how it would translate. Well, we have our answer
– While he had another tough stretch late which we’ll discuss, this team gets blown out without the effort from Al Horford. Guys have to step up scoring without Isaiah, and Al has done just that. His 19/4/6 helped build the lead in the first place, and while you would love some more rebounds, he did spend the majority of the night on the perimeter knocking down shots. For a guy that couldn’t shoot threes for like 90% of his time in ATL, what we are seeing Horford do from beyond the arc is for sure better than I expected. When the ball moves and guys make that extra pass, they are resulting in wide open Horford looks, which I am 100% confident in him taking. On the season he has a career high 3P% at 36%, and he has three games this month with at least 3 made threes.
– On a night with a shitty ending, at least we had this porn to get us through it
– Hey, at least the Celtics covered!
– It’s probably forgotten, but the Celtics first half defense was pretty fucking good. The Celts held OKC to just 39 points on 41% shooting from the field. OKC didn’t make a three, and took only four FTs. The Thunder turned it over 9 times, and really outside of Westbrook/Kanter they didn’t really have much production from anyone else. Sadly, basketball is a 48 minute game.
The Bad
– Amir Johnson is still taking threes incase you wanted a reason to set your hair on fire.
– The story for me this game is one we seem to talk about all the time. Rebounding. OKC’s 15 offensive rebounds led to 14 second chance points, and the Celts cannot win if they allow this type of shit to happen. Steven Adams had a brutal one towards the end of the game, and really this is what prevented the Celts from really pushing the lead out in the first place. I see all this talk about how they need to trade for a superstar, and while I’d love that, really they just need to find a big oaf who can rebound the damn basketball. I truly think someone like Bogut makes a HUGE impact, and doesn’t require you to give up much.
– Listen I love Jae Crowder for a lot of reasons, but one thing I do not love is how frequently he fouls about 50 miles away from the basket. I’d say it was frustrating that on one of his best games of the season, he couldn’t stay on the floor. He played just 10 second half minutes, and 9:32 of that came in the third quarter. His 23 seconds of fourth quarter action probably has something to do with blowing a fourth quarter lead, but I’m just a blogger so I dunno. Some were perhaps iffy calls, but you’re playing on the road, you have to expect things don’t go your way. Why even put yourself in those positions is what I have a problem with.
– I’m not sure why the Celtics didn’t make it ABUNDANTLY clear to foul at the end of the game. I guess Rozier “tried” to foul but the ref let it go. They still waited way too long before even attempting to trap/foul. Late game execution brain fart.
– Kelly Olynyk had a real rough time trying to guard Enes Kanter. When I say rough time I mean he had absolutely no shot whatsoever.
– Not a great showing from my friend Jonas, who virtually did nothing in his 11 minutes.
The Ugly
– Speaking of late game execution issues, it’s time to discuss where the Celts struggled most. After a Smart layup tied to score at 94, there was 1:09 to play. Here is how they finished the game
Steven Adams blocks Horford’s 4ft shot (1:06). Al Horford passes the ball out of bounds (:39). Celtics don’t ever pass the ball and Avery Bradley forces a tough one-on-one drive that misses (:22) after a Westbrook bucket. Celtics don’t foul and give up a wide open dunk (:14).
This now marks the second time Horford has had an opportunity at the end of the game to make a play, and it has turned out to be a complete disaster. Granted with a healthy Isaiah, he’s the one with the ball at the end, not Horford, but I won’t sit here and lie and say how he’s finished games isn’t annoying. I care more about the turnover than the blocked shot, and despite all the ways he helps you, he needs to be better down the stretch. It’s that simple. For me it has nothing to do with how much money he makes or any of that bullshit. I expect him to be better in key situations because he is a really smart fucking basketball player who just so happened to make a bad play.
Good news is we get to play the Spurs in SA to snap out of this funk. They played each other close over Thanksgiving, and surprisingly they are a little bit worse at home than on the road. All signs are telling us Isaiah will be back, which I cannot be more thankful for. It’s clear how much this team needs him, and I would bet pulling out a in on Wednesday would do wonders for this teams confidence.
All in all, just add this one to the list of frustrating losses and forget about it. Plenty more games to go.
