Post Game Thread vs 76ers 2/1/20

[cowens/oldschool]

Our defense carried us, along with 2 J’s, Jaylen put on a scintillating show inside the 3 point line, had 2 moves that were almost indescribable that I never saw before, the second one leading to a dunk right by Embid. No Kemba and GH just off and 2 J’s totally carried us. Jayson kept on getting treatment during game and kept on playing....timely key plays by GWill and Semi, we were small at times, but still very physical, gotta love that. Even though he put up good numbers later in the game, one of keys was us getting the lead in 1st quarter and a lot of that was because of many turnovers caused by Smart in his match up with Ben Simmons. I don’t know how he is a 2 time all star with no jumper at all and Jaylen, the most athletic wing in the league, is not....????

[BingBang!]

Simmons shrunk at the end of the game but is a multi talented player with a hybrid skill set. All Star sure; winner not yet. Semi and GWill are relatively short for the 4 or 5 but played big because they are each strong as an ox, well coached, move well and compete hard. great win!

[cowens/oldschool]

Simmons shrunk at the end of the game but is a multi talented player with a hybrid skill set. All Star sure; winner not yet

True and he was huge vs Lakers recently without Embid.

I’d take Jaylen over him anytime any day....

[BingBang!]

He had a good first half but kind of quit. Looked afraid to take on the defense which is his big strength. He’s a bigger Rondo; I’d take a younger Rondo over him as Rondo was a proven winner.

[sinus007]

Hi,
It was a very solid win. And a very needed win. Now, if they meet in playoffs Celtics know how to get past 76'rs.
The game ball surely goes to JB. I was really surprised when I looked at the box score: JB had 32 points and 1-10 from 3pt!
Also, loved how Smart was teasing Horford all game long.

AK

[jrleftfoot]

Beautiful game. I don't know if Bret Brown can't coach or his players are uncoachable. Simmons won't learn to shoot. Horford looks like he is checked out. They never run any plays , and don't really take advantage of their length in the post and they can't win on the road. The, by necessity, short rotation worked beautifully. Wannamaker, Semi, and especially Williams torched Philly's bench AND starters.

[bobheckler]

I didn't agree with the opinion, pre-game, that this was a "must win game".  We are well up on the Sixers in the standings, they had already won our head-to-heads 0-3 with just this game left and we were missing key pieces that we would presumably have should we meet in the playoffs (although, with this team's injury history that's not a lock).  Having said all that this was still a Statement Win, if not a Signature Win (splitting hairs, perhaps).  We just whipped a team that should match up very well against us by 21 points and we did it at home.  Why does "at home" matter?  Because this season they are a shitty road team so, if/when we do meet in the playoffs, we're in their heads that being on the road in Boston will not be fun for them.

Speaking of being in their heads, we all know we are renting some space in Joel Embiid's head.  I said after we cooked them in 5 in the playoffs 2 years ago and then beat them during the next season that it was a 3-bedroom flat.  After last night I'm thinking we've expanded our lease and are now occupying an entire floor, the 21st would make sense, of the Embiid Hilton.  1-11?  With 2 straight misses from point blank?  That was 2 of his 4 offensive rebounds.  If we had boxed him out he would only have had 3 rebounds in 23 minutes.  We double teamed him almost immediately and it was very effective.  For the biggest guy on the court (Tacko didn't come in until well after Embiid took his final seat) to only have 5 rebounds is awful.  Al Horford left the Celtics to the Sixers for two reasons:  they threw a ton of money at the old man and because he was tired of playing against Embiid.  Maybe Embiid will start thinking like that and come here.  Probably not, but his frustration level must be approaching, if not at, clinically dangerous levels.  Theis was the defender on Embiid virtually all game.  I know he was helped by double teams but he did a very good job of keeping Embiid from establishing position in the paint before the double could come and that's what made the doubles so effective.  Doubling someone when they can almost dunk it doesn't work well.  Doubling them when they are still outside the blocks can.

Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 11 hours ago
Celtics defensive rating with Daniel Theis on the floor tonight: Team-best 79.6 in 26+ minutes. And the Celtics deployed Theis every time Embiid was on the floor.

Embiid's 1-11 was matched by Gordon Hayward's 1-11.  He just couldn't hit anything.  So, when Sixer fans will inevitably claim they would have beaten us if Embiid had showed up we can make the same claim about the player that has been on the floor for either team for the previous few games before this one.

What can you say about Jaylen Brown?  What a performance.  He was 13-23, but 1-10 from 3.  His 3pt shooting says good shooting confidence but poor shot discipline, however, if you take his 3pt shooting out of it he was 12-13 from 2.  He missed one shot inside the arc.  He was guarded by 6'9" All-Star Ben Simmons, their rookie defensive specialist Matisse Thybulle and took it to their big front court of 5X All-Star Al Horford and All-Star starter Joel Embiid and he only missed one shot.  Let's just pause for a moment and let that sink in, because it is truly remarkable.  He showed skill and power.  On one play he put Thybulle into a blender (7:05 of the highlight film).  I have not seen Jaylen with that kind of handle and moves before, they were new.  On another he 2-hand dunked so emphatically that Embiid didn't even try to challenge it (7:27 of the film).  At 6:30 of the highlight film he put moves on Simmons inside.  Simmons is 3", or more, taller and it didn't matter.  A spectacular performance by Jaylen Brown.  I don't give a shit about All-Star games but I know that players feel honored by being named to them.  I don't wish injuries on players, and I like the idea of players taking a few days off to rest their bodies and get themselves ready for the push to, and through, the playoffs but there's a part of me that's hoping a player on the East squad comes down with the flu, nothing serious or lasting, so that Jaylen gets his due.  But, in the end, I think that Jaylen has his head screwed on just right (as usual):

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
yesterday
Jaylen Brown on missing out on All-Star selection: "Getting ready to head into the playoffs is what my mind is on right now...because that's it, you know what I mean? That's the stage you want to be on. I think some people have it backwards."

Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
yesterday
First thing Jaylen Brown says after looking at the box score: “I was 1-for-10 from 3... shit”

His partner in crime did pretty well too.  25 points on 7-19 by Tatum.  Some pretty slick stuff, as well as a 3 in Horford's face.

Bottom line:  No All-Star starter Kemba Walker, no double-double machine Enes Kanter, no Gordon Hayward to speak of, no problem.

Another excellent game by the unlikely tag-team twins Semi Ojelaye and Grant Williams.  They're figuring out how to make it work.  Semi has been much more aggressive offensively, taking it to the rim and has been getting rewarded with fritos.  Last night he was 6-6 from the line.  Grant Williams' box score is nothing to look at but during one possession he got 2 offensive rebounds and would have gotten a 3rd if he hadn't been fouled (which got him to the line).  He gets rookie whistles, to be expected, but he is playing a very non-rookie smart game.

Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Brad Stevens on Semi-Grant: “That’s been a good combination the last few weeks.” Pointed out the defensive versatility when the Celtics play with those guys and long wings.

Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
yesterday
Brad Stevens: “The Semi-Grant 4-5 is not traditional but it’s very strong.”

Wanny with one of his best games as a Celtic.  He dunked in transition, with Embiid trying to chase him down, and got T'd up for it.  I'm not even sure he looked at Embiid, the replay showed he didn't say anything.  Brad Wannadunker.  Brad went with the short bench again, so the performance by the bench players he does put in is a big deal and Wanny stepped up in a game that had a playoff feel and possible playoff implications.  

Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
yesterday
In the last 12 days, the Celtics have now beaten four playoff teams, the Lakers, Grizzlies, Heat and Sixers...by a combined 85 points.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 1 hour ago
The #Celtics have the best defense in the NBA (102.6 points allowed per 100 possessions) since their all-defense film session two weeks ago. They have gone 6-1 in that stretch with a net rating of 13.8 (1st in NBA)

Winning Cures All Ills and good chemistry begets winning.

A. Sherrod Blakely @ASherrodblakely
about 11 hours ago
So I'm talking to Grant Williams about his offensive rebounding and Jayson Tatum chimes in, "get three offensive rebounds and now he thinks he's Dennis Rodman!" Grant responds, "Hey look ... he makes his first All-Star game and he thinks he's Michael Jordan!" #everybodygotjokes

Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
During Marcus Smart’s press conference, Daniel Theis called out that nobody wants to hear from Smart. Smart replied that he was in the media scrum and nobody was talking to Theis.

They're having fun, we're having fun, it's all good.

Carsen Edwards has been recalled from Maine for the Atlanta game.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401161374




bob



.

[cowens/oldschool]

Bob great post as always, as far as I’m concerned Jaylen is the best 2 in the East and really should be starting, he can play both ends, can overpower or go over 2’s at will, those 2’s are kind of at his mercy. The only reason he doesn’t put up really big numbers is because we share the ball and have so much talent, which is a blessing. Its almost an unfair match up because he’s really a wing or 3, talented and fast enough to play the 2. I also loved the way he was covering Horford, even on the block, no problem. If anyone can think of a better 2 in the East, please let me know?

[bobheckler]

Check out GWill's positioning on the shots and rebounds.  A lot of rebounding is instinct (i.e. where will the ball come off?) and desire.  Fighting for position, fighting to hold your position and/or improve upon it and then taking control of it no matter who else wants it.  Grant showed all of those.




bob


.

[bobheckler]

Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
5 for 5

It's the 5th anniversary of the Patriots’ Super Bowl 49 win, the Malcolm Butler interception vs. Seattle.

Earlier that day, a home loss to Miami dropped the Celtics to 16-30, 41-87 under Brad Stevens.

In the 5 years since, the Boston has the 5th best record in the NBA.




bob


.

[dboss]

This was a very important game as are all games vs the top EC teams.  But this one was different.  The game of basketball from the neck up often determines who wins.  The last thing we wanted to see is for Philly to beat us at home and go up 4-0 this year.  The Celtics do not want them or any team to feel comfortable.  We may meet them in the playoffs.

Jaylen Brown is clearly not happy.  Last night he took his disappointment out on the Sixers.  It was not just his aggressiveness but his physicality was on another level.  He abused them.

Speaking of abuse, Jason Tatum's throw down on Big Al was quite impressive.

With no Kemba Walker and an arctic cold shooting night from GH, the Celtics crushed Philly.  Credit Marcus and a strong contribution off the bench from Wannamaker and the increasingly effective tag team of Semi and Grant.

[dbrown4]

Perhaps I was a little over zealous in my stating this was a must win, but it's still pretty close to the truth. That was a dominating performance. It may not have been a must win game but the Celtics played like in was a must win. Notice the great 1st quarter as well.

By winning this game going away, PHI has to go back to the three games they won against us and scratch their heads. They'll have to look at what 5 of ours started, how things got so screwed up in this game, etc. they will analyze themselves to death.

Got to love GWill's enthusiasm! Semi's straight up defense. Just a great game by the bench in this one. Cat's out of the bag on another myth. Our bench can score.

I also thought GH had 100 rebounds. Every time I looked, he was grabbing a defensive rebound. Always in the right place at the right time. Must have been taking notes on Kanter. All were very opportune.

What I like is they are winning with what they've got. We've just about seen every combination. Now we just have to avoid the letdowns going into the next game and laying an egg. Can't afford to with MIA and TOR continuing to win along with us. Someone is going to blink first from those three and head south to 4th or 5th. In other words, the excuses are little or none. Winning covers a lot of stumps.

Maybe PHI will help us tomorrow night and knock off MIA. But we have to watch out for a desperate ATL team in ATL and not give anything back. Not much breathing room for the 2nd spot in the East. Looks like TOR isn't giving up any ground and pulled away from CHI this afternoon.

db

[steve3344]

https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-boston-celtics-nba-atlanta-hawks-20200202.html

[dboss]

Toronto is 7-12 against .500 and above teams.  They are not as good as Boston.

The Heat are a solid team but Bostons's talent is superior.

Believe it or not the team that is flying under the radar are the Pacers.  As VO gets back into the swing of things they will be a tough out for everyone.  Boston still has more talent than they do and we have a secret weapon...Marcus Smart.

[jrleftfoot]

That sequence with Grant Williams was outstanding. A couple of funny locker room comments. Jayson: He gets three offensive rebounds and thinks he's Dennis Rodman. Grant: He gets one all star invite and thinks he's Michael Jordan. These guys seem very comfortable with each other.

[mrkleen09]

Remember at the beginning of the season when Tatum was missing all those finishes at the rim?

Jayson looks bigger than he did at the beginning of the season, stronger, more confident, and unlike Ben Simmons -always rises up in the big games.

He is in my estimation already the best all around player in his draft class and has the most potential upside. I see no indication that he cannot become a superstar. He is 100% on the same track as Paul George or Kawaii Leonard

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