There's Nothing Like Being Consistently Inconsistent
We know a few things about the 2017 Boston Celtics now that they’ve played 80% of the season. We know that they are one of the poorest rebounding teams in the league, we know that they move the ball better than any team not names GS, we know they are pretty good when they have a full roster, we know they are capable of playing with the best teams in the league, and yet we also know they can’t beat a bad team to save their life.
The Celtics woke up today in the 3rd seed, meaning their two game lead had been blown, for the first time in a long time. I don’t really care if this was the Celts 5th game in 8 days. They were rested, and haven’t had a B2B since the Clipper game. There is a big difference in ending this long West Coast trip 3-2 instead of 2-3, and isn’t it fitting that the 2-3 came because they Celtics couldn’t beat teams well below .500. Why are they in the 3 seed? Well partly because WSH has gone on the exact same West Coast trip, only is taking care of business. Wins against PHX/DEN/SAC on their current trips, are all teams the Celtics lost to. There’s no benefit of having the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA if you’re not going to beat the teams you are supposed to beat. Remaining inconsistent is going to come back to bite you, last year is a PRIME example.
Last night was a chance to ride the momentum from the best win of the year, and take it out on a 29 win team. A similar situation as to what the Celts did against the Lakers. Instead, it was PHX level effort all over again. Not even close to the team we saw play just a few days earlier. That consistently continues to piss me off.
At the end of the day, we made our bed and now we have to lie in it. Fortunately, the Celtics only hit the road twice more for the rest of the month of March. Today is a day for anger, not panic.
The Good
– Spinzone: At least the Celtics won’t have to face the Nuggets in the playoffs!!
– In all honesty, there wasn’t a lot to like in an effort like this, usually when you lose to bad teams there isn’t, so this won’t take much time to get through. Normally when nobody really plays well and Isaiah throws up a modest 21/5 on 50% shooting we’d start with him, but in a night filled with shit, I want to go in a little different of a direction. Let’s start with the young pup Jaylen.
In 22 minutes Jaylen turned in another solid 14 points on 5-8 shooting (2-5 from deep), and above all else, it was how he got there that I enjoyed most. Early in the game we saw him be aggressive and take it to the basket and finish. Importance on the finish part. His jumper looks so much better than it did to start the year, and I think part of that is confidence, but the other is normal development of a 20 year old kid. Not only is Jaylen shooting 53% for the month of March, but he’s also made 4 of his last 8 three point attempts. If this glimpse into the future doesn’t give you a little chubby Scalabrine in your pants, nothing will.
– Aside from Isaiah, the only other starter who shot the ball well was Horford. His 15 points on 7-11 shooting were nice to see considering he was slumping just a few short weeks ago, and this shouldn’t come as a surprise considering how much better the Celtics have been about getting Al the ball in areas he succeeds in. When you have a player as smart of Al he gives your offense unlimited options, and one of my favorite wrinkles of the Celts offense lately is how much more committed they are to cutting when Horford has the ball
If you cut, Horford will find you. That’s just a fact. For the Celtics, it’s important that they consistently incorporate that into their offense because of what it then opens up individually for Al. After a few possessions like the above, the next time Al catches the ball in the post and turns in face, he’s at an immediate advantage. It makes shots like this a whole lot easier when your defender has to be prepared for multiple options.
– I don’t even want to know how bad things get if not for the shooting from Avery early, especially from the outside. The Celtics only have one more B2B all season in early April, so we should be seeing Avery on a consistent basis moving forward. He played 29 minutes which was the lowest of any starter not named Amir Johnson, but after playing 30 against GS, this is a good sign for his health, and a better sign for the rest of us.
– It was an abysmal shooting night, in no means one of his better performances, but Jesus Christ is Marcus Smart a fucking monster. The way you see him move people around in the post, how he overpowered DEN bigs on the offensive glass, his effort was relentless. Now you have to convert at the end of the day, but the effort was there.
The Bad
– When the Celtics played the Nuggets on November 6th, the Nuggets scored 123 points and shot 53% from the field and 47% from three. This was the beginning of us learning that the November Celtics would suck dick. In that game from early November, it was basically decided in the first quarter. The Celtics came out flat as hell, and the Nuggets did not miss a shot (68/50% splits), the Celts turned it over 5 times and were down double digits in an instant.
Fast forward to last night. The Nuggets scored 119 points and shot 52.9% from the field. In the first quarter the Celtics came out flat as hell, and the Nuggets couldn’t miss (56.5/37.5% splits), the Celts turned it over 5 times and once again the Celtics found themselves down double digits after the first 12 minutes. Spooky to say the least. How many times have we seen this team combine a lack of defense with careless basketball and it work out in their favor? Maybe like three at best? Take a look at the team that started the CLE/GS game, and then look at the team that started the PHX/DEN games. You try and tell me that’s the same group and I’ll call you a liar.
– So why is Denver a team that the Celtics can’t beat? Well believe it or not, last night was not about the defense from the backcourt, but instead how badly the DEN frontcourt outplayed Boston’s. Gallo, Wilson Chandler, and Jokic all scored over 20 points. Two of them shot 50% from the field while making three triples, while the other shot 80% and made one of his own. The Denver starting frontcourt at the end of the day outscored the C’s 64-26. Add in Plumlee’s 8 points on 4-4 shooting and you get the point.
What makes this a tough matchup is how Denver starts Chandler at the four and Jokic at the 5, and it’s the main reason you didn’t see much Amir in the second half. Al Horford is a more than capable defender, but asking him to defense Wilson Chandler just isn’t the right move.
– Always great when Olynyk follows up his 17/5/5 +29 with a solid 0/2/2 – 11. Consistently inconsistent like you read about.
– It’s so obvious when the Celtics are giving a less than optimal effort. They get killed in almost every effort category. Rebounds? 49-33. Second Chance Points? 15-10. Fast Break Points? 11-9. Turnovers? 18. Biggest lead for the Celtics? Zero. Goose egg. Not even one point.
– No joke, I had 50 missed layups. Wide open ones too. The NBA better pray the Celtics don’t figure out how to make those, because right now that’s the only thing holding them back from being undefeated. True story.
– Isaiah played half of the fourth quarter, and took one shot. I’m just a blogger, but even I know that is not a winning formula. In fact, the Celtics only made 5 shots in the entire quarter while putting up a fitting 35/16% shooting performance. The Nuggets on the other hand, they went for 60/50% in the final frame. They turned it over 7 times and it was almost as if the Celtics were like “nah it’s OK, you probably didn’t mean to, we won’t make you pay for it”. That’s bullshit.
The Ugly
– A defense that held GS in check for a full 48 minutes, did not play 48 seconds of defense in this game. Layup after layup it was as if the Nuggets were plating tissue paper, there was absolutely no resistance. Not to mention the few times the Celtics actually were in a position to make a run, instead of getting that important stop and putting pressure on DEN, they gave up a three. This happened time and time again, and why the Celtics could never get under that 8 point threshold. After the first quarter they played DEN relatively even, but by that time the damage was done.
When the Celtics don’t show up, this is how they defend, and this is why they keep losing to these bullshit teams. You’d think that this being the 6th or so time this has happened that they would have learned they need the same energy against DEN that they have against GS/CLE. When they don’t they can’t compete, because it takes them away from what makes them successful in the first place. For the Celtics to be successful they need to be a pest, they need to make teams hate to play against them. They’ve shown they have the talent to do that, but they have not shown the willingness to show the right amount of effort on a consistent basis. That is why this team is so goddamn frustrating, and why they have nobody else to blame but themselves for the position they are in. CLE is dropping games left and right, the Celtics should at the very least be tied for the #1 seed, but now they have bigger fish to fry.
– Jonas, Kelly, and Rozier played a total of 30 minutes combined. They had zero points.
This is why you can’t overreact to any given win. After the GS win I had people writing in talking about how this team can probably beat CLE in a series. That’s crazy. After the PHX loss I had people writing in talking about how this team will never beat anyone. That’s just as crazy. The truth is none of us know what this team is going to do on a nightly basis, and that is a big concerning. They have a prime opportunity to find a groove and play some consistent basketball heading into the playoffs. That and health are what’s most important right now. With Chicago up tomorrow, a team with their own wide variety of issues, it will be interesting to see how the Celts come out. Not only is this a game they need to win to keep pace with WSH now, but CHI also beat this team right before the break on some bullshit, and could potentially be a playoff opponent.
Time to turn the page and move on.
