POST GAME - PHX SUNS - AWAY

Ulis hits 3 at buzzer, Suns beat Celtics 109-106 in wild finish

CSNNE

In this week's "Celtics Talk Podcast" with A. Sherrod Blakely and Kyle Draper, we react to a big wins against the Cavs, and how injuries around the league will affect the postseason. Also, Sam Amick from USA Today is our special guest.

PHOENIX - Rookie Tyler Ulis threw in a 3-pointer at the buzzer after a Boston turnover and the Phoenix Suns came away with a wild 109-106 victory over the Celtics on Sunday.

The Suns' Eric Bledsoe it at 106 with a reverse layup with four seconds to play.

Isaiah Thomas, who scored 35 points but missed a free throw with 11.9 seconds left, took the inbounds pass and the Suns' Marquese Chriss knocked the ball away. Ulis grabbed it and tossed it up as the buzzer sounded.

Ulis scored a career-best 20 points. Bledsoe had 28 for the Suns, who have won three in a row for the first time this season

The Celtics were without usual starters Al Horford (right elbow sprain) and Avery Bradley (right hamstring strain).

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NO BRADLEY...NO HORFORD...............NO EXCUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forget IT turnover.....KO ..................ZERO, ZIP, NADA POINTS IN 21 + MINUTES!!!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  HE DID NOT EVEN GET TO THE LINE WHICH TELLS ME HE PLAYED A SOFT GAME!  THIS IS BS....MOST INCONSISTENT GUY IN THE NBA.  I MEAN OK IF YOU ARE HAVING A BAD SHOOTING NIGHT AT LEAST DRIVE TO THE HOOP AND DRAW A FOUL!

That is where the game was lost!

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Shot like shit, played like shit. What a surprise, the ending was shit.

Rozier kept us in the game with his shooting and defense. 5-9 for 14 points, 4-5 from 3, 4 boards. Best all-round game by him by far in weeks.

Some Tommy Point plays by Smart. 1-5 from the field but he got to the line and went to the floor for big plays.

Brown tried to shoulder the absence of shooting on his shoulders. He was 4-8 for 14 points and 6 boards but was 5-10 from the line, including a big clutch miss from the line at the end. That would have made it 4 and would have given us the victory.

IT came on strong in the 4th with 14 points. He was 6-18 after 3 and 10-25 for the game, so that's 4-7 in the 4th, but he missed a clutch frito too that would have made it 3 points and put the heat on the Suns (sorry).

Marquise Chriss is a helluva shotblocker. 5.

We shot 38% and should have won this game just on ftm, if we had made them.

Our front court, combined, was 5-23. 22%. The 5 fgm were from Amir. Kelly couldn't buy a basket, Zeller no, Mickey was 0-2 and was getting outmuscled and Jerebko was 0-4.

Crowder showed up to play, 6-10 for 16 points and 10 boards. Brown showed up to play, but mostly in the 2nd half, his first half was, shall we say, Ingram-esque? Gerald Green was 1-5. Well, when you shoot 38% on the game as a team there are going to be a lot of bad fg%.

25-10 fast break points, Phoenix running on us. They beat us 52-32 points in the paint.

We shot 29-40 from the line, 72.5%. We are shooting 81.1% from the line for the season. That's 3 points, right there.


A lot of woulda, coulda, shouldas in this game. They worked hard, Chriss and especially rookie Tyler Ulis with his 20 points off the bench vs IT, made big impacts.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400900324

If there is one person on this board who is smiling today it's TJ, because this Suns victory puts another half game between 2nd and 3rd place for the Lakers.


bob

Glimmer Jaylen got to the line 10 times, he messed up, only hitting 5. When was the last time KO got to the line 10 times? I forgot, he sucks....well we had this one and it slipped away. Gotta hit our fritos and especially in the 4th of a tight game- thats it.

KO is the King Of inconsistency. I don't want to overpay to resign him.

worcester wrote:KO is the King Of inconsistency. I don't want to overpay to resign him.

one of the things I also noticed was some big Williams, who I never heard of killing us with 15 rebounds, the game is too physical for KO.

ouch!

Hate to see the Celts lose a winnable game.

The lack of frontline productions from our 4/5 is quite revealing.  Amir however played well.

Here is what I think may happen over the summer.  The Celtics will bring over both stashes and let Jonas and Zeller walk. $13, million off the books.  The stashes should make around $1.6 and $1.2 mill 2017-2018 so the net saving is around $10 million..like!

Next Boston is likely to make a qualifying offer to KO but I think it will be just a year contract for around $4.279 million

Amir has a $12 miilion contract expiring.  I think paying him the the MLE range to stay may be a good idea.  Net saving $6 million.

If Boston also dips into free agency or the trade market for a big, look for Mickey to also get cut otherwise they will bring him back for $1,276 million

With the emergence of Jalen Brown look for Young to be gone $1.825 million savings.  If Boston drafts another PG look for them to move Jackson along with their 2nd round picks for a future 1st rounder.

In July both IT and AB will be eligible for contract extensions and if Boston does not offer them extensions they will become unrestricted free agents after the 2017-2018 season.  We could use a hometown discount.  I am thinking mirror offers of $17-20 million each.  If Boston gets a deal like that done it will add $25 million to the teams 2017-18 payroll.  Both of these players deserves new deals.  In anticipation that probably one of them will not be resigned the Celtics are very likely to draft another guard this year.

Not a lot of options to sign a free agent that is not already playing for Boston.  

I think the # 1 focus must be focused on our frontline.

dboss

dBoss

Like the following > Jonas and Zeller - Let them walk & Jackson - Trade or let him walk

Disagree with you on the following

Amir - Let him walk

KO - Sign & Trade or just let him walk

Mickey - Release

Jackson - Trade or let him walk

New Recruits Replacements

Guerschon Yabusele, PF, France

Ante Zizic, C, Croatia

Abdel Nader - Possible signing for minium ( Currently in D League)

Free Agent Needs

1) Center
2) Power Forward
3) Shooter - Either SG or SF

Trade Bradley in a package for any of the above that you were not able to fill in free agency.  He is starting to break down.

Draft

IF > Point guard - either Fultz or Ball
IF > Forward - Josh Jackson

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cowens/oldschool wrote:Glimmer Jaylen got to the line 10 times, he messed up, only hitting 5. When was the last time KO got to the line 10 times? I forgot, he sucks....well we had this one and it slipped away. Gotta hit our fritos and especially in the 4th of a tight game- thats it.

Compared to Bradley - Olynyk lives at the free throw line.

Per 36 minutes - Career average free throw attempts per game.

Bradley - 1.8
Olynyk - 3.2

swish