Post Game Thread - vs Heat, Away 1/28/20

[bobheckler]

A very nice bounce back signature win after that lackluster loss to Nwalins.  I don't know if this was a "must win" game, but it was close.  We can still end up 2nd in the EC but we have to stay close to Miami and Toronto and have them lose one or two.  This win tonight accomplished that.  We're now in 4th place in the EC, but just 1/2 game behind Miami and 1 game in the loss column behind Toronto.  It's that packed.  And, by winning last night, we now are up 2-0 vs Miami this season so far.  We play them 2 more times, one in Boston and one in Miami.  If we win just one of them we own the tiebreaker against them, should the playoff seeding come down to that, and it could.  It's that packed.

Brad with the playoff roster last night, only playing 8 players.  Some of that was by necessity with Jayson and Kanter out and maybe some of it was because he really, really wanted to win this one (and doesn't trust his bench to do it for him?).

Miami uses a 2-3 zone a lot.  If we had Kanter that zone would be busted because there'd be nobody manning up on him to keep him off the boards.

Hayward and Brown were great, Smart and Kemba not.  Gordon and Jaylen were a combined 20-30, 5-10 from 3, 12 rebounds, 54 points.  That's half our 109 points right there, on highly efficient scoring.  Smart and Kemba were a combined 8-32, 6-21 from 3, 12 rebounds, 27 points.

Great game by OG.  He just goes where he wants to go.  It really is amazing to watch, in a league of uber athletes he just keeps getting to the rim or to his spot and gets open shot after open shot despite not having a comparable level of athleticism, which just goes to show what people have been saying since Larry Joe Bird came into the league is true.  Basketball isn't a game about jumping high and running fast, it's a game of being in the right place at the right time and finishing when you're there.  A good example is at about 8:35 of the highlight film provided below.  Hayward just forces his way, not particularly quickly nor athletically, and then stops for his daylight.  A big game last night and nobody came up bigger than Gordon Hayward.

Jaylen too.  Playing against his mentor, Jimmy Butler, he showed up and outplayed him.  The student became the master.  He's shooting 49.5% on the season.  That is remarkable for a guard.

Marcus Smart needs to know when to stop shooting.  He hit some big 3s in the 4th, because that's what he does in winning moments, he makes winning plays, but he was 2-11 or so going into the 4th.  Other than that, though, he was doing Smarty things all night.  Taking charges and just ripping the ball out of drivers' hands.  3 blocks.  He might have made a game-icing tap out of a Celtic miss that gave us the extra possession and extra fritos when they had no choice but to foul us.

A. Sherrod Blakely @ASherrodblakely
yesterday
"He makes me want to compete, just like him." - #Celtics Kemba Walker on teammate Marcus Smart coming up with a slew of clutch plays at both ends of the floor.

Credit to Kemba for 8 assists.  5-19 from the floor, 3-13 from 3, but he moved the ball around.

Theis with a double-double.  2 blocks.  Very solid couple of games from him this week.  Every time you start thinking he's not big enough or heavy enough or whatever he just goes out there and has a nice game.

One of the best games of the year by both Semi Ojelaye and Grant Williams.  Semi attacked the rim, using his strength to good use.  He took a charge from Dion Waiters when, as the announcer pointed out, Waiters probably couldn't knock Semi down if he had a full head of steam, but Semi WAS in position for the charge and he did make sure the refs couldn't miss it.  What was great about that is that Dion Waiters has such a weak mind that questionable call affected his play for the next few minutes as he let it get to him mentally.  Grant had a relatively unimpressive box score, but had an impactful game.  7 rebounds in 23 minutes, but 3 were offensive.  At the 7 minute mark of the highlight film provided below you see GWill getting a very tough traffic rebound and getting it to Wanny for the 3 with us up 77-76 and < 4 seconds left in the 3rd.  I'm up and down on this young man, I'm concerned his size makes him a tweener and I've always had a blind spot for tweeners (I never expected Chris Mullin, Kelly Tripucka or Corliss Williamson to have anywhere near the type of careers they actually did have).  So, I'll just recognize this weakness in myself and give GWill credit for this game and keep watching him.  Both he and Semi made big differences last night.

Wanny with some good play last night too.  2-2 from 3, but more importantly he ended up guarding Jimmy Butler for a lot of his game, and Jimmy did not go off like he often does.  

Butler was 5-14 on the night.  20 points, but that was because he was 10-12 from the line.  Jimmy Butler is this year's James Harden.  You can't look at him without a whistle.  They had 31 ftas, while we had 24, but our last 6 ftas came in the last 1:27, as they intentionally fouled us.  That means that, in the regular flow of a game, through 46 1/2 minutes, the frito comparison was 31-18.  I'm looking forward to reading the Comments From The Other Side thread later today.  Let's see if the Heat fans complain about the refs.

Miami now has their 3rd home loss of the season.   The Lakers, the Clippers and now the Celtics without Tatum and Kanter.  21-2, now 21-3.  I'm not afraid.

4 of our next 5 games are at home, including one against Philly.  A nice opportunity to rack up some wins and hope Toronto and Miami lose one.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401161343




bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

Really nice win, great to see with an off shooting night from Kemba and Smart, we could still win without 2 key players Tatum and Kantor. Jaylen is so athletic and fast and fun to watch, hit a slew of 3’s and had a breathtaking finger roll. GH just keeps coming thru for us and really carried us last night with so many big baskets, just has a knack as bob said for getting his shot off in traffic and in the lane, rebounds, defends, does everything. GWill with some timely offensive rebounding, I would love to see this become a staple of his as he keeps developing.

I like the way we match up with the Heat, they can get hot from outside, but their main shooters, Hero and Robinson are toothpicks that cannot defend our wings, and Butler has never been a consistent shooter. Jaylen looks so much smoother, faster and more athletic than Jimmy Butler, which shows how uber athletic Jaylen is, because most would consider Butler a very athletic wing. Also much props to Theis with another good game, battling, playing his very good brand of defense and scoring whenever the opportunity was there.

[mrkleen09]

I loved this game. Great team effort against a good team, on the road, without two big pieces (Tatum and Enes)

I really liked how they picked on Robinson down the stretch. With hand off, picks that forced him to guard GH, JB and Kemba. I think the Celtics are so athletic, they sometimes feel the can take their man no matter who it is. But this finding the weakness and forcing the other team to adjust is something they need to do more of.

[dboss]

This was a gut check game.  

It was a signature game because it was on the road against a team that is ahead of us and we were short handed again.

[dbrown4]

Announcers mentioned we are 2nd in the league in 4th quarter scoring only to MIL. Interesting. I'm not saying that makes up for all the 1st quarter lapses, but games are determined after the 4th quarter horn goes off and then who has more points.

db

[dboss]

The value of Gordon Hayward was once again put to the test.

Remember some of my comments about his efficiency and the fact that he really does not get enough shots based on his ability to put the ball in the hole?  He went 10-14 last night, 8-10 from the line and he had 9 rebounds.

Other unsung heroes include Daniel Theis who put up a double double.

And Marcus Smart who hit that back breaking 3 and followed it up with an amazing tip out to retain possession and the 3 guys off a shortened bench rotation, grant, Semi and Brad.  All of whom made solid contributions to secure the big win.

Our other top gun on the floor was Jaylen Brown who led the team with 41 minutes and shot 10-16 and 4-8 from deep.

As Bob mentioned we are 2-0 vs the Heat for the season.  We are 2-1 vs the Raptors.  I am quite convinced that the Celtics are superior to those teams but this season is shaping up as a horse race to the finish line.  We just need to win by a nose.

Overall 2-1 on the road is a successful trip.

I cannot wait for this team to get healthy.

[dboss]

The Heat, 11-12 on the road play 8 out of their next 10 games on the road including an eye popping 6 straight road game.

Boston will play 5 at home and 5 on the road.  Clear advantage Celtics, 13-10 on the road.  However we really need to get healthy.

Getting Brad to coach the all-star team is still mathematically possible.

[BingBang!]

I was impressed with how Kemba tried to make up for his off shooting and sub-par court generalship by playing some courageous and gritty D! One of the announcers said that was coached into him at Connecticut by Calhoun. Regardless, to me that's Celtics basketball!

[wideclyde]

Here is a very important statement that very well determine the Cs total success this season (from Bob's post).


"Brad with the playoff roster last night, only playing 8 players.  Some of that was by necessity with Jayson and Kanter out and maybe some of it was because he really, really wanted to win this one (and doesn't trust his bench to do it for him?)."


I think that Stevens does a great job every season with developing players throughout the season, but when he needs a win (like last night) most of the 'developing' players may still be a year away.  In my opinion, this means that if the Cs plan to really contend for a championship this year that it will be up to Ainge to further fortify the bench with either a hired gun shooter or a top level middle defender/rebounder either by trade or on the buyout rack.

[dboss]

Wyde

Playoff rotations tend to get shortened.

But to go deep in the playoffs you do need a strong bench.  

I do not think Danny makes a move at this.  I think he is comfortable with the team provided they can play with a full deck.  I do not see any trades to be made that move the needle for us.  Core guys are not going anywhere and the rest limit trades for a quality addition because of salaries.

The biggest surprise that I have is that Brad has little to no confidence in playing VP even though Kanter and R Williams are unavailable.

But what can you get for him in a trade.  He makes around $2.5 million.

[dboss]

I think Green would have played last night but he got injured in the nola game

[wideclyde]

dboss,

I think that Stevens much prefers playing Williams at center over Poirier any and every time that the team is not in garbage time situations.

Obviously, I have never seen the team practice, but there is no question in my mind that Williams would also play over Poirier if you only could go by what you see in games. Williams is short, but Poirier is just not an NBA player yet.

It is now a little more than half way through the season and Poirier has only shown me that he was a poor signing at best. At least he does not take up too much salary cap space.

[jrleftfoot]

I was at the game, the first one I have attended in person since the infamous Mook shoves Jaylen for pouting instead of getting back on defense, and Hayward hobbles around like a wounded turkey, contest.What a difference a season and a point guard who is willing to defer to his teammates, on ocassion, makes.You guys have pretty much covered things, but I was really impressed with Semi's ability to move his feet on D, something that isn't necessarily obvious on television. I would still like to see more bench scoring, but Semi and Grant are two guys who I appreciate more from seeing them in person. Ojele even attacked the basket a few times .

[dboss]

I was at the game, the first one I have attended in person since the infamous Mook shoves Jaylen for pouting instead of getting back on defense, and Hayward hobbles around like a wounded turkey, contest.What a difference a season and a point guard who is willing to defer to his teammates, on ocassion, makes.You guys have pretty much covered  things, but I was really impressed with Semi's ability to move his feet on D, something that isn't necessarily obvious on television. I  would still like to see more bench scoring, but Semi and Grant are two guys who I appreciate more from seeing them in person. Ojele even attacked the basket a few times .

I definitely agree. Semi and Grant are both improving. Neither is a big time scorer but they both bring a physicsl presence to the game. I gravitate to hard nose players like them. From my observation Grant is very good as a help defender and he rotates well. Semi is very solid on the ball.

[jrleftfoot]

Yep--- what do I know? I used to gripe that Marcus Smart didn't shoot well enough to stay in the league---lol. Now, he's my favorite player. The Celtics are pretty good at player development.It wouln't shock me to see Edwards come around, eventually, and be that bench sharpshooter. He needs a big dose of confidence balm.

[worcester]

Semi also really impressed me last night on O and D. Good passes too.

[gyso]

Yep--- what do I know? I used to gripe that Marcus Smart didn't shoot well enough to stay in the league---lol.  Now, he's my favorite player. The Celtics are pretty good at player development.It wouln't shock me to see Edwards come around, eventually, and be that bench sharpshooter. He needs a big dose of confidence  balm.

I'm with you on Edwards. I think with time he will come around.

[dbrown4]

Another myth which can now be dispelled/cat out of the bag. Even without a full deck (which infers even better with a full deck), Boston can come out in the 1st Quarter against quality competition (which infers even better against lesser competition) and match or exceed opposing effort/scoring/defense, etc.

Looking real good.

db

[dboss]

Another myth which can now be dispelled/cat out of the bag.  Even without a full deck (which infers even better with a full deck), Boston can come out in the 1st Quarter against quality competition (which infers even better against lesser competition) and match or exceed opposing effort/scoring/defense, etc.

Looking real good.  

db

dbrown 

Yes it looks good until it doesn't look good and fans will forget that the Celtics have been playing uphill most of the year due to injuries.

I am still waiting to witness an extended run of games with all hands on deck then we should really have a more complete picture of the team.

[dbrown4]

I'm with you there. But strangely (or really this shouldn't be a surprise), this team mirrors its coach. Brad thrives in the underdog role or in this case taking a team that is loaded talent-wise but always hobbling with injuries. Still makes you an underdog. The Butler past/mentality cannot be put under a bushel.

db

[BingBang!]

Grant right now strikes me as somewhat akin to a poor man's Draymond Green. I think he also has a little Don Nelson mid range game in him and will develop into a reliable offensive player. 2 of his 3 college years he averaged well over 30% on 3s which showed he's got plenty of range for the current iteration of the modern game; when he was bricking everything, much like a lot of newbies he was just nervous.

[dbrown4]

On to tonight's game, I can't get the "Let's not lay an egg" taste out of my mouth or keep it from being compelled to say it yet.  GSW gave us a run early in the season.  They've gotten better and we've had to handle constant significant injuries since then.  So anything goes tonight, albeit Vegas/betting public sees it as a rout at BOS -12.5!

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Boston!  Follow the line!  

db

P.S. Get this one behind us. Something big is on the horizon.

[BingBang!]

Combining some of the Heat post game, Warriors pre game and Kobe thread ideas, I really want to see Jaylen and Jason embrace Mamba mentality - which I believe will be one of Kobe's enduring legacies. Show me a truly great NBA player and you're going to see an obsessive trying to master his game - and they're most often not very nice to be around during that process because mastery is hard, hard work. Kobe, Michael, Larry, Magic (he was nice, exception to the rule), the Big O, Mr. Russell, Kareem. I remember Kobe discussing why he always wanted the last shot and he said because he knew he was the guy on the team who worked hardest the prior summer adding new things to his game and preparing for these moments. Larry and Magic said the same thing about each other.

[tardust]

The Heat, 11-12 on the road play 8 out of their next 10 games on the road including an eye popping 6 straight road game.

Boston will play 5 at home and 5 on the road.  Clear advantage Celtics, 13-10 on the road.  However we really need to get healthy.

Getting Brad to coach the all-star team is still mathematically possible.

Dboss,  with just looking at the schedules of who each team is playing,  it appears like the Celtics have a lot tougher schedule than Toronto or Miami.  Just looking at the good teams each plays.  Hopefully we can work thru that. Not looking at home and away.

[dboss]

The Heat, 11-12 on the road play 8 out of their next 10 games on the road including an eye popping 6 straight road game.

Boston will play 5 at home and 5 on the road.  Clear advantage Celtics, 13-10 on the road.  However we really need to get healthy.

Getting Brad to coach the all-star team is still mathematically possible.

Dboss,  with just looking at the schedules of who each team is playing,  it appears like the Celtics have a lot tougher schedule than Toronto or Miami.  Just looking at the good teams each plays.  Hopefully we can work thru that.  Not looking at home and away.

Tardust

No easy lift, that's for sure but the character of this team and their mental toughness goes a long way through the dog days of this season.

It is hard to believe that this season is going so fast.  46 games on the books already.  Guess maybe I am getting old because days fly by like weeks.

The level of competition in the East is top notch.  It's a real meat grinder.  The talent level of our wings is the best in the NBA but I just hope we can stay healthy and our bigs can hold their own.  They are not dominant bigs but they just need to hold their own.  If they can do that we can stay in the mix.  Kemba is still a top PG in the NBA and Marcus is an all purpose guy and one of the very best all around defensive players in the entire NBA.  Grant and Semi along with Brad and Javonte are becoming more comfortable with their roles.  While those role are not leading characters, they just need to do their jobs and do them well.

Brad has been coaching with a few cards missing from the deck but has managed to keep this team in the right place.  

I would want to avoid this team.

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