Post Game Thread - First Round Playoffs, Game 2 vs Sixers

[bobheckler]

Just starting this off, will come back to it more tomorrow.  Jump in.


I can't wait to see the Comments From The Other Side tomorrow.  Last one they tried to say they would have beaten us if they had Simmons.  No Hayward, no problem.  We even spotted them a 14 point game in the 1st quarter.  Brett Brown is gone.  Not because of anything he did wrong but his team has quit.  It's cheaper, and easier, to fire the coach than to crowdfund a bunch of hearts for half the team.


Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
about 1 hour ago
Mike Gorman: “What do you do if you’re Brett Brown?” Brian Scalabrine: “Start looking for a new job.”

Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
about 1 hour ago
Can’t tell if the Sixers have quit or they’re just this bad not on purpose

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Chris Grenham
Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 1 hour ago
Celtics just look so much faster than Philly right now. Sixers look defeated and tired.


Tatum is in The Kobe Zone, and he's only 22.  33 points in 31 minutes.  12-20 and 8-12 from 3.

Kemba and Jaylen had 20+ points each, and you barely noticed.

We shot > 50% and almost matched them 38-40 in the paint.  So much for "their size".

Turnovers killed them last game, they had 18, but tonight they only had 9, so that excuse evaporated too.

A very good game for Grant, in my opinion.  One stupid foul but a whole lotta good stuff.  9 points on 2-2 from 3 and 3-4 from the line and 6 rebounds.  I was particularly impressed with his defensive switching and rotations.  His BBIQ is far, far beyond his years and experience.

Kanter killed them in the 2nd half on the offensive boards.  We're setting high pick-and-pops and when we come around the screen Embiid comes up to stop the ball and that turns Kanter loose underneath.  That's what he'd been doing all season, but it looked like he lost it a bit recently.  Not tonight.

I'm not a fan of the +/- stat but Romeo was a +24 in 23 minutes.  He looked ok.  Not great, but for a rookie who didn't play much all year, he looked ok.

20 points for their bench in an extended garbage time game.  Our bench, which has been so maligned, 41 points.

We shot 44% from 3.  NOBODY can beat us when we shoot like that.  We have a top 5 defense and when we shoot like that we are extremely tough to beat.

Jay King @ByJayKing
2 minutes ago
Brad Stevens just called Jayson Tatum 6-foot-10.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
4 minutes ago
Brad Stevens on Romeo Langford: "We feel very confident in his shot."

Steve Bulpett @SteveBHoop
about 8 minutes ago
Be honest... Back in March, who among you had Tacko getting into Game 2 of the playoffs? . . . . . . . Liar.


Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
about 34 minutes ago
MOST 3'S - CELTICS PLAYOFF GAME 9 - Ray Allen, 2009 G6 vs. Chicago 8 - Paul Pierce, 2002 G5 vs. Philadelphia 8 - Ray Allen 2011 G3 vs. New York 8 - Ray Allen 2008 G6 vs. LA Lakers 8 - JAYSON TATUM, 2020 G2 vs. Philadelphia


Greg Dickerson @gregdickerson13
1 hour ago
How do I say this gently and delicately....al horford absolutely blows now.



https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401236269


bob


.

[wideclyde]

Of course, I have not seen Al Horford play in months until Monday night, but it surely looks like he is having a very difficult time in a Philly uniform. He is looking kind of like I thought he would in the 2022 season, but it is only 2020.

I liked him when he was in Boston, but I am glad that he (and his huge contract) is now in Philadelphia.

[cowens/oldschool]

Me thinks Sixers are in big trouble, we won with a scintillating performance by Jayson. My childhood friend who now lives in LA for last 35 years and has seen it all who I’ve been texting with a lot recently, just said Tatum has more talent than Kobe and is a much better 3 point shooter. He worships Kobe and was shocked he said this!! Guess this franchise is headed in the right direction.

We won so big without GH, and Jaylen having an average game for him. Kemba so clever, moving so well to open spots, hitting jumpers over and over. Our bench showed up, Kantor getting a lot of key offensive boards, Romeo getting on floor with some very good defense. GWill always making the right play, doing all the good little things and hitting his shots, hope we see more of him, he battles. Wanny steady
and hitting open jumpers when they were there, knows his role. Smart with his usual impactful defense, finally found his stroke late, the percentages say he should have some more efficient shooting games coming up, after this dry spell.

Poor Philly....they will have to rebuild again after this series. That roster sucks. They had no clue how to stop our high pick and roll, then the zone totally confused them. Either they were very unprepared or great coaching job by Brad!!

[cowens/oldschool]

Of course, I have not seen Al Horford play in months until Monday night, but it surely looks like he is having a very difficult time in a Philly uniform.  He is looking kind of like I thought he would in the 2022 season, but it is only 2020.

I liked him when he was in Boston, but I am glad that he (and his huge contract) is now in Philadelphia.

Did he play?

[dboss]

The Celtics played extremely well from top to bottom.

Tonight it felt like they ripped the heart out of the Sixers.  The message sent was crystal clear...you cannot win.  

JT is no longer just an allstar.  He is now an elite player.

[worcester]

This is an elite team.

[sinus007]

Hi,
A couple observations.
When Grant is 2-2 from 3pt game is over - Taco time.
Danny should keep Taco as a mental weapon: Taco's playing = resistance is futile
On a serious note, I think the series is over. I don't know what would happened if Simmons was playing, but currently Phily don't have anyone who can put the team on his back and carry it. They desperately need such player. Embiid is trying but he's not quite there.
My main concern now is that Celtics may relax or get cocky. Must keep pedal to the metal and keep focus.

AK

[worcester]

This team can focus.

[dboss]

The Celtics started slow but fully regained their composure by the end of the 1st QTR on a deep deep off the glass 3 pointer from Jayson Tatum.  That made the score 33-27.  The Celtics took the lead 37-36 on a Brad Wanamaker shot with 9:11 left in the 2nd QTR.  From there the Celtics continue to build their lead and went into halftime with a 65-57 lead.

Midway through the 3rd, Boston was up 18 and the Sixers looked like road kill waiting for the sanitation truck to come and scoop them up.

Brad had a completely different rotation from game one.  Semi came off the bench at the 7:09 mark of the 1st, followed by Grant Williams at 5:57.  Grant got a wide open look from a Kemba pass and knocked down his first 3 pointer.

Marcus Smart's defensive presence and leadership has no matching counterpart on the other bench.  

Brent Brown promised to get Joel more looks and he did just that.  Embid went 11-21 with 34 points and 10 rebounds.

Imagine that.  Your best player gives you an A game and you still get the living snot beat out of you to the tune of 27 points.

Simmons is gone but their roster still has 3 max players on it.  

I am so glad that Al Horford flew the coup because he was on the downside for several years and now he resembles an old photograph that is fading away.  Harris is a good player but he must have left his game in the regular season.  

The problems that Philly is having remains unchanged from the 2018 matchup won by the Celtics 4-1.  They cannot check our guys off the bounce.  What has changed for the Celtics is that both Jayson and Jaylen are better.  Much, much better.

The Celtics need to close the deal by coming to play on Friday and shutting the door on Sunday.

[dbrown4]

I had a flood of thoughts last night watching the game. In typical db fashion, I started writing them down on any piece of paper I could find so I wouldn't forget! So forgive me if this goes on a bit. But like I tell my kids, I'd cut things, but everything is important!

1. First thing I noticed that surprised me was the line for last night's game. It had BOS -5. 5 points in an NBA line is pretty close to a blowout or might as well be. I was expecting with Hayward out we would be in trouble. These guys are typically not wrong for a reason. What this line was telling me was that there is no respect for PHI, the remaining BOS team would cover this spread and that Gordon Hayward, while an integral part of our team with yet another untimely injury and critical to our chances of winning the Big One this year, he was icing on a very good cake. Turns out, knowing the outcome of last night's game, they were spot on. Now granted, GH is the best damn butter cream icing on your all time favorite cake, but we can survive pretty well without him (14-6) while he heals and has a baby that we knew was coming anyway. If there is perfect timing for an injury, this would be it.

2. This was a total team victory and statement game. Wow! Everybody came to play. Bench in particular. Kanter was dazzling. Even the 3 he shot with time running out on shot clock looked effortless and natural. Maybe something for him to work on after the season. GWill did great as well. Hit some 3's.

3. B-Squared can start packing. I like the guy. He's just in a shitty situation. He will be unceremoniously dumped after their playoff season ends, which for us we hope is sooner rather than later. PHI team is going to be butchered as well. Don't laugh, but how would BS look in green? Great defender. Can give you a 3D. Shot will need work obviously. Somebody's leaving PHI soon and it ain't Al Horford. We'd probably have to give up GH for him. Nah, forget it.

4. This has been a huge problem for us but what does it take for us (J&J) to get an And 1?!! These two must just be quicker than everyone else. They mix it up so well you don't know whether to get up on them at the 3 or let them blow by you in the open court. I noticed the uncontested shots they got last night. There were several. But there were also some contested shots that were not called. Oh well.

5. Marcus Smart - this guy has probably defined his own role with little or no input from Brad because it is perfect. Brad said, "Marcus, you just be you." He's not trying to do something he's not capable of, he's not trying to be a starter although he has upon occasion. His picture will be in the Celtic Hall of Fame under consummate Celtic Team Player. You can tell he wants and will get a title with the Celtics, probably several. Which brings me to my next point.

6. For the first time, the thought of multiple titles in the very near future entered my head. Nuff said.

7. If I heard one more lopsided commentary about Ben Simmons missing and not mentioned Gordon Hayward in the same breath, I was going to throw a brick through the TV. Yes, this series would have been a lot closer with Ben in there, but he ain't making up 27 points.

8. PHI looks like us after Game 1 vs. MIL in last year playoffs. I think we know the outcome.

9. We can check off the box about applying what we learned this season when one of our best players goes down and how to handle that situation with relative ease. That was brilliant.

10. Gotta love Kemba and his smile...Priceless. I'd be smiling my ass off now that I'd gotten some help coming out of Charlotte. He was amazing last night.

Dang, I didn't even mention J-Sqaured! They were squared in their efforts. Raised to the power of at least 2, probably 3.

Game 3 is just as important. No rest for the weary. We can have that in 3 days. We have them cornered. Charles Barkley probably shouldn't have taken the spread for PHI last night.

db

[worcester]

Enjoyable, insightful commentary DB. That Davidson education did not go to waste.

[dbrown4]

Thank you, worcester. Strangely, when it came down to choosing between an Economic major and Math major, I chose math because I didn't want to have to write a 30-page Senior Session economics paper to graduate! I could prove why 1+1=2 with relative ease and a lot less wasted paper!

db

P.S. I did Master in Econ after that at NC State. Didn't have to write a paper but was grilled for 3 hours by 3 professors in Investment Portfolio Theory, Statistics and Economics. I was so worn out after that, I went home turned on the TV and 12 hours later woke up in my bed upstairs. I had no recollection of how or when I went upstairs that night!

[worcester]

Pretty impressive.

[bobheckler]

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 13 minutes ago
Brad Stevens on Marcus Smart's shooting: "I look at one stat with Marcus: Win or loss."


Jay King @ByJayKing
about 14 minutes ago
Brad Stevens said the Celtics were “really fortunate” to win Game 2. He said he thought they were fortunate to stay in the game before they took control.
MY NOTE:  We were down 14, in a playoff game.  That's "staying in the game"?  Then we have plenty of firepower and defense to win any game.  But as far as "really fortunate" goes that's just coach-speak for "let's not get complacent now".


Marc D'Amico @celtics
about 10 minutes ago
Brad Stevens: “This game is all about being able to stay in the moment, doing your job as well as you can. And for us, we have a very specific formula to play in order to be successful.”

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Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 9 minutes ago
Brad Stevens singled out hustle play where Kemba Walker got blocked at rim and hustled back to strip ball at other end (leading to Jaylen’s 360 dunk) “That was everything we want to be about … it was cool that it was Kemba."


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

I had a flood of thoughts last night watching the game.  In typical db fashion, I started writing them down on any piece of paper I could find so I wouldn't forget!  So forgive me if this goes on a bit.  But like I tell my kids, I'd cut things, but everything is important!

1.  First thing I noticed that surprised me was the line for last night's game.  It had BOS -5.  5 points in an NBA line is pretty close to a blowout or might as well be.  I was expecting with Hayward out we would be in trouble.  These guys are typically not wrong for a reason.  What this line was telling me was that there is no respect for PHI, the remaining BOS team would cover this spread and that Gordon Hayward, while an integral part of our team with yet another untimely injury and critical to our chances of winning the Big One this year, he was icing on a very good cake.  Turns out, knowing the outcome of last night's game, they were spot on.  Now granted, GH is the best damn butter cream icing on your all time favorite cake, but we can survive pretty well without him (14-6) while he heals and has a baby that we knew was coming anyway.  If there is perfect timing for an injury, this would be it.

2.  This was a total team victory and statement game.  Wow!  Everybody came to play.  Bench in particular.  Kanter was dazzling.  Even the 3 he shot with time running out on shot clock looked effortless and natural.  Maybe something for him to work on after the season.  GWill did great as well.  Hit some 3's.  

3.  B-Squared can start packing.  I like the guy.  He's just in a shitty situation.  He will be unceremoniously dumped after their playoff season ends, which for us we hope is sooner rather than later.  PHI team is going to be butchered as well.  Don't laugh, but how would BS look in green?  Great defender.  Can give you a 3D.  Shot will need work obviously.  Somebody's leaving PHI soon and it ain't Al Horford. We'd probably have to give up GH for him.  Nah, forget it.  

4.  This has been a huge problem for us but what does it take for us (J&J) to get an And 1?!!  These two must just be quicker than everyone else.  They mix it up so well you don't know whether to get up on them at the 3 or let them blow by you in the open court.  I noticed the uncontested shots they got last night.  There were several.  But there were also some contested shots that were not called.  Oh well.  

5.  Marcus Smart - this guy has probably defined his own role with little or no input from Brad because it is perfect.  Brad said, "Marcus, you just be you."  He's not trying to do something he's not capable of, he's not trying to be a starter although he has upon occasion.  His picture will be in the Celtic Hall of Fame under consummate Celtic Team Player.  You can tell he wants and will get a title with the Celtics, probably several.  Which brings me to my next point.

6.  For the first time, the thought of multiple titles in the very near future entered my head.  Nuff said.

7.  If I heard one more lopsided commentary about Ben Simmons missing and not mentioned Gordon Hayward in the same breath, I was going to throw a brick through the TV.  Yes, this series would have been a lot closer with Ben in there, but he ain't making up 27 points.  

8.  PHI looks like us after Game 1 vs. MIL in last year playoffs.  I think we know the outcome.  

9.  We can check off the box about applying what we learned this season when one of our best players goes down and how to handle that situation with relative ease.  That was brilliant.  

10. Gotta love Kemba and his smile...Priceless.  I'd be smiling my ass off now that I'd gotten some help coming out of Charlotte.  He was amazing last night.  

Dang, I didn't even mention J-Sqaured!  They were squared in their efforts.  Raised to the power of at least 2, probably 3.  

Game 3 is just as important.  No rest for the weary.  We can have that in 3 days.  We have them cornered.  Charles Barkley probably shouldn't have taken the spread for PHI last night.  

db

 

Who is BB? and BS?

[worcester]

Bret Brown
Brad Stevens

[cowens/oldschool]

Bret Brown
Brad Stevens

I think BS was Ben Simmons and for his pricetag, we don’t need him, too many holes in his game for that price.

[dboss]

DB

Spot on comments.  

After the season Philly will need to make a big change.  The AH contract has become the Philadelphia Experiment...he keeps fading in and out until he just disappears.

Would Philly dare break up the Simmons/Embid duo?  Can they move Harris and get equal value?

It seems Philly is destined to make yet another mistake. If they weren't so arrogant, I could almost feel sorry for them....then again, good I am glad they suck.

[worcester]

Duh. Of course Ben Simmons.

[willjr]

[quote="dboss"]DB

After the season Philly will need to make a big change.  The AH contract has become the Philadelphia Experiment...he keeps fading in and out until he just disappears.


Lol, great movie reference from a underrated  fave of my youth. Also belated congrats on that handsome bundle of joy you and your family have been blessed with!

[cowens/oldschool]

I think we should give some praise/love to Brad Stevens, the first game was close and we pulled out a tight game. Brad made all the right moves, those kind of games you have to earn it with execution and poise are good for a young team. Then he made even better moves, some great black door cuts, Kemba high pick and roll, zone defense. We totally had their number, they couldn’t counter anything. Right before our eyes I’m noticing Tatum dominating, but also doing some great passing too, that is great for him to expand on and makes us much better and more dangerous. Way to go Bad Brad!!!!

[worcester]

Somebody else can comment. I dare not.

Bad Brad?

[cowens/oldschool]

Somebody else can comment. I dare not.

Bad Brad?

I was trying to compliment Brad for Tatum’s amazing overall development and now he’s making some great passes, but I hear you lol.

[worcester]

I'm slow Cow. Yes, Brad has done a great job coaching these young'uns.

Here's a serious question: Do you think by next year Jayson will be better than Kobe ever was?

I know Kobe won 5 rings. Jayson will have to start winning rings to be truly compared to Kobe, but look at their stats.
Kobe's best numbers in a year/lifetime:
3 pt % - .383/.329   FT % - .868/.837   RB - 6.9/5.2  AST 6.3/4.7  PPG 35.4/25.0- - Rings - Five

Jayson's best/lifetime (3 seasons) averages:
3 pt - .434/.401, FT% - .855/.829 RB - 7.0/6.0  AST - 3.0/2.2 PPG - 23.4/17.3  Rings - none yet

Jayson clearly needs to boost up his assists and PPG, but man, he has had quite the impressive start to his career.

And Jaylen is no slouch either!

[cowens/oldschool]

Even though Jayson went to college for one year, I think a better way to look at it is by comparing their first 3 years worce. I mentioned on another thread my childhood friend who lives in LA and is in the movie business and has met Kobe and is his biggest fan said Tatum has more talent. I look at Tatum as a bigger version of Kobe, 6’6” vs Tatum at 6’9” or 6’10”? I always marveled at how easily Kobe could get his shot off anyone, my friend says Tatum does this better. He already has established he’s better from 3 than Kobe. He can play and defend anywhere on 1-4 at an all defensive level. Kobe more a 2-3, Tatum a 3-4 that too easily destroys 2’s. Is it too early to make these proclamations? Tatum is definitely heading in the right direction, I sure didn’t see him getting to this level and dominating the playoffs like he has in the first 2 games at beginning of the season. He’s playing at a Larry Legend of 86 level after 2 playoff games, well maybe not quite as Bird was such a ferocious rebounder and dynamic passer. If Tatum can improve his passing which he is right now, triple doubles will start coming more and more.

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