Post Game Thread - vs Orlando Magic, Away

[bobheckler]

A great game.  For us.  They were on the 2nd game of a back-to-back and it showed in the 2nd half.  However, we have a track record of taking our foot off the pedal (or off their throats, as the case may be) of our intended victims, so I am glad we didn't do that.  Could that be indications of developing maturity?

Bradley single-handedly dismantled the Magic in the 3rd quarter.  He had 12 points on 4-8 in the first half but had all of his 23 points by the end of the 3rd on 7-13.  That's 3-5 in the 3rd, 2-3 from 3.  I don't talk about Bradley so much, but that's because he is usually so dependable.  Last night he really stepped up.  His man, Eric Fournier, had a good start to the game, 10 points at halftime on 3-7.  He ended the game with 14 points on 4-14.  That's 4 points on 1-7 in the 2nd half and that was with Bradley on him much of the time.  GREAT game by Bradley.  Now trade him (just kidding!).

Rozier has come a long, long way.  He looks very comfortable out there.  I love the way he attacks the rim, probably the only player on our team that does that regularly besides IT.  He set Aaron Gordon up by making him take a step back as the clock was running down and then calmly hit a 16'er.  His confidence is skyrocketing, even as he rockets down court on breaks.  His rebounding isn't bad neither.  Kudos, once again, to NYCelt for touting his pick on draft day last year when the rest of us were wondering if Danny had lost his mind.  

Smart with a good game too.  Why?  Because he did what he's good at but did not press his offense.  13 points on 5-7 but only 1-2 from 3.  Most of his points were in or near the paint.  He was posting up DJ Augustin, he was making difficult floaters in the lane.  What he wasn't doing was chucking up bricks from beyond his effective range.  Stir in his usual tough defense and improving half court floor generalship and you've got yourself a helluva player.  

Adam Himmelsbach
@AdamHimmelsbach yesterday
Magic coach Frank Vogel on Celtics' second-half run: "They have three pitbulls on the perimeter...those guys really got into us."

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43% fg% at the half, 51% at the end.  The ball movement was phenomenal.  29 assists on 43fgm for a healthy 67%.  It rarely stuck to anybody's hands.  Yes, what does that say about 42.5% ME-baller Isaiah Thomas indeed?  7 players in double-digits, all 5 starters, and Kelly had 9.

We outrebounded them 49-37.  It is much easier to score the ball, and prevent them from scoring, if you have the ball.


A couple good games by Jaylen Brown.  It was so rockin' he made a grown man, Nikola Vucevic, cry out there (ok, maybe he got hit in the eye).




Mark Murphy
@Murf56 yesterday
Brown on that circus dunk over Vucevic: "When it happened, I was just as surprised as everybody else."

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That's the way it should be.  You shouldn't be thinking about it, it should just come out of you.  Remember the famous picture of MJ, when he was throwing everything in and even he couldn't explain it?  That's what I'm talking about.


Kelly started out icy, 0-3 from 3, then he started moving without the ball.  He ended up shooting 4-5 after that.  There was one sequence where Jae stole the ball, passed it up without a dribble to Horford on the run, who passed it without a dribble to a streaking Olynyk for the two-hand flush.  Our bigs outrunning everybody down the floor.  Love that, absolutely love it.  Really, is there anything sweeter than seeing a 7'er ahead of everybody on offense?

Crowder 17 and 10.  It was all working last night.

Jackson with 2 assists and Mickey with 4 points and 3 offensive boards in 2 minutes of garbage time.  It was ALL working last night.


In 3rd place 1.5 back from Toronto, who is up next.  IT is unlikely to play that game it is said today.


Final word: the next time I see someone talk about Smart's haircut I'm going to say only one word, "Elfriid".


bob


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[bobheckler]

MY NOTE:  Worcester, I hope you don't mind I carried your observations about last night's game, which you attended, to the Post Game thread.


by worcester Yesterday at 11:22 pm

Terry should replace IT who should be traded while still quite valuable. I was at tonight's game in Orlando, and it was SO obvious the offense as a whole ran better with Marcus and Terry at point rather than Isaiah who dribbles ten seconds off the clock most possessions. Although we were 1-17 on threes in the first half we were only 1 point down because we would make 3 or 4 passes and then score and had a good interior game. On D we were much better than with IT on the court.

Amir played great. Terry, Avery, and Marcus played great. And it was a joy to watch Jalen, both before and during the game. I was lucky to get a VIP tour of the Amway Center and got to watch the 5 to 6 p.m. pre-pre-game warmup, and Jalen stood out as the preeminent athlete on the entire floor, Celts and Magic combined. I have treated several world class athletes and Jalen belongs in their ranks. We should never trade him, well at least not in the next ten years. He is very smart, very quick, and also quick to recover from his rookie mistakes. His monster dunk in the game was but one of his great plays, many of which were on defense. Again a joy to watch, a joy to behold.



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[bobheckler]

bob



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[dboss]

Last night me and my wife were watching the game. I commented to her that the Celtics look pretty good without IT.  I told her that the ball movement and ball distribution was excellent and that Smart starting also resulted in improved defense.

Rozier and Brown had impressive games on the same night.  Rozier was very good.  I have been trying to figure out who he reminds me of.

I figured it out.  Terry Rozier has some movements that remind me of Michael Jordan.  I'm not kidding.

Brown has struggled to find a way to be productive.  Last night he got his sea legs under him and just went out and played a very fine basketball game at both ends.

I am still not ready to trade AB however because I believe that our 4 guard rotation is a strength.  

One game does not make for a season so it may be well not to get it twisted over the performance of the rooks.  IT is great player and as we have seen all year long, he is the only player on the Celtics that can manufacture points when all else fails.

The future looks bright for the Celtics.

dboss

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