Post Game Thread - vs Philadelphia Sixers, Away

Just gave back that game Washington gave us last night.

Another offensive stinker from Smart.  He ended up 3-12 but was 0-8 until the last few minutes.  Scal said "you cannot have two non-shooters starting".  Well, until we say farewell to Amir this summer Marcus Smart should not be starting (or Amir, but then our front court defense would suffer greatly).  Brad needs to send him back to the bench, IT or no IT.

A great game by Horford.  27 points on 11-16, 8 boards, 6 assists and only 1 TO and 2 blocks.  He completely dominated Okafor and everybody else Brett Brown put against him.  His problem was that only, of all the starters, Bradley with 13 points on 6-14 gave him any help.

Smart and Brown were a combined 4-18.  Ever since that yelling match they have BOTH stunk.

Rozier with 14.  He was 4-12 but the last few shots were desperation shots.  10 rebounds.  10 rebounds for a 6'2" guard.

Crowder 3-13.  Yuck.

Saric is SO good.  Nobody could stop him.  You'd think Jerebko would be made to play a Saric-like player but he was ineffective also.  It's amazing that Philly got him for Elfriid Payton.

Their swings, Covington and Holmes, are both very good.

Our defense was weak.  We repeatedly failed to get back in transition and we overstacked the strong side, leaving a wide-open 3pt shooter on the weak side. 21 fast break points for them. They also had 52 points in the paint. That's especially horrible when you consider Embiid didn't play and Okafor only had 4 points in 12 minutes. Interior points given up, MANY to Saric.

In a game where we were struggling offensively Kelly Olynyk only played 11 minutes.  That would make sense if we were seeing the Bad Kelly, but he had 12 points on 3-4.  He was 6-7 from the line.  So, we needed someone who could get to the line in IT's absence, Kelly is getting that done this game, and Brad sits him?  I know about his defense, I mentioned how good Covington and Holmes are, but we shot 40% on the game.  When you've got a player shooting over 50%, he's your lifeline.

Nobody set any picks for Gerald Green.  They set picks for Bradley and IT (when he plays) to free up their shooting hand and maybe get some separation from a defender but they haven't been, and didn't this game, do it for Green.  Not good play calling by Brad.

17 TOs, 10 by the starting trio of Crowder, Smart and Bradley.  Rozier is another Smart in that he shows you a little something and you think he's turning a corner, and then takes it away.  He is aggressive and penetrates so well but finishes poorly and doesn't dish well.  My point here is that without IT we have no real point guard.  Smart's inability to hit shots makes him not only a pass-first point guard but a pass-only point guard.  Rozier isn't getting that job done neither.  At least Terry Rozier is only in his 2nd year.

We had 5 players in double digits and another with 8.  They had 3 players in double digits but 4 off the bench with 8 or 9.  45 points off their bench on 15-33.  Our bench had 34 points on 10-29.  Kelly with an efficient 12, Rozier with an inefficient 14 but Jerebko, Brown and Green 3-13.

Nobody was stopping Saric.  Nobody.  So why not put in a scorer to take some of the sting out of his production, Brad?  Green and Kelly were scoring and we were shooting 40% as a team!  For the first time in a while Kelly was actually getting whistles, why not leave him in until they figure out how to stop him without fouling him?  Not sure I'm a fan of Brad's game today.

This makes the game tomorrow vs Washington MUCH bigger.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400900432



bob


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Opportunity lost.

When your top scorer is out other players must step up.  No way I am starting Marcus Smart.  He is a great defender but his offense kills thus team.

Jaylen Brown seems to have lost his swag.  Can't help but wonder if the Smart incident in some way is a contributing factor.

The Celtics wasted a great game by AH.

TR played well.  KO was playing well on offense.  Not so good on defense but we really needed his offense.  Wish that Brad played him more.

Jerebko continues to contribute very little.  Brad' s fixation with perimeter shooting is the only reason why he  is still part of the rotation.  There is no way around the reality that Jonas is not a very good basketball player. One point and one rebound in 16 minutes is pathetic.  He is averaging 2.9 ppg in March and 2.5 in February.  He is the biggest offensive liability on the team.

I have him at the top of my who needs to go list.

IT better be ready to play against Washington.

dboss

The bad news is that the Celtics are being exposed for the faults the team has. Number 1 is Brad's idea of how basketball should be played. He is so attached to his concept that he seemingly fails to realize that the personnel he has is not ideally suited to that system. For some reason the statistical analysis he relies on doesn't seem to show that letting poor shooters like Marus have free reign hurts the team more than it helps. TR was playing very well in the beginning of the season and carrying over the confidence he had from his outstanding SL. He had a couple of bad games, got benched, and hasn't been the same since. He is a good player with a solid all around game. I would start him the next time IT can't start. Terry is much more of a pg than Smart is. Marcus is more of a facilitator than a distributor of the ball. He can pass well and he sees the court but he really doesn't have the skill set to run the offense. He will do in a pinch but as a glue guy he really needs to stick his shots. Since he can't, he needs to come off the bench where his fresh aggressive energy can make a difference on defense where he is elite.

I think that it is clear that Brown has been negatively impacted by Smart. That is a shame because it hurts the team but I fully expect him to get his swagger back and hopefully it will be tomorrow, with or without IT. In the end. this will benefit both players if they learn the lessons each were presented.

We've got warts and they are showing. The players are expected to play in a fashion that they are learning, but one where expectations exceed their skill levels. The key to future long term success in the NBA is the ability to play every style of ball necessary to win. Brad is coaching an offensive scheme that will dominate if he does just a few minor adjustments. This is a good passing team and one that shows that a good pass often leads to an assist. But there needs to be more substance to the motion offense. Substance that translates into more plays designed to affect a positive possession. Brown'st emerging ability to shoot off the catch and take it to the rim with authority needs to be exploited more. Marcus will truly better his shooting percentage when he puts the ball in Jaylen's hands and let him go to work.

Hopefully IT returns tomorrow and we have no more injuries. We all know how good they look when they are playing the right way. If he doesn't come back then we have to hope Brad makes the right changes and in game decisions. When the good KO shows up he has to play. As frustrating as his game can be due to inconsistency he does a number of things well, even on D.

These last games are the ones that the tuff teams win. We should be able to beat Philly even without IT, handily. The fact that they lost will propel this team. They really need their A game or it will be another funeral. I take comfort in knowing that this roster will soon be upgraded for next season.