Post Game Thread - vs Bulls, Away 1/25/21

[bobheckler]

Two easy wins in a row.  No, they're not really indicative of anything in the bigger picture, except that they provided minutes and confidence to end-of-benchers.

Tatum is definitely back.  Smooth and easy.



Brown missed a few shots in a row and people thought he was off his feed.  To be fair, he was 4-11 at the half.  He ended up 10-21, just like Tatum, for a 26 quiet points.  A 6-9 3rd quarter including a pull up 3 from, what had to be, 30'.  14 points in the 3rd quarter alone.  We're spoiled now.  Really, really spoiled.  I had the Bulls broadcast team last night.  They talked about Brown's 33-in-19 night against Cleveland and Stacey King, no offensive slouch himself, practically wet himself in ecstasy talking about Jaylen.  The lightbulbs are coming on around the league, and jaws are dropping, because they're now starting to wonder if Jayson Tatum really is the undisputed best player on this Celtic team.  Brown, making his argument.



Theis can say what he wants about his role with Thompson on the team, but his production has gotten much better this year.  He was always underrated in my opinion, his boxscores never truly showed his value to the team, but they have recently.  Another 19 points on 8-12.  His fg% season-to-date is 63.4%.  He only shoots 33% from 3, did that last season too, but if he can up that to around 35-36% he'll be one of the more effective 4s in the league.  You think you're a 5 but this isn't Berlin, Daniel.


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 8 hours ago
Daniel Theis is averaging 11.2 ppg in January while shooting 71 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range.



10 rebounds in 17 minutes and ZERO fgas for Thompson.  Not shooting well?  No problem.  I'll just stop shooting and do what I do well.



Smart with 13 points and 11 assists.  The best part is only 3 of his 6 fgas were 3s.  When he's driving and finishing, or driving and dishing, he's at his offensive best.  Defensively, he was the only man back on a 3-on-1 Bulls fast break and he singlehandedly broke it up.

3Smith starting to feel comfortable.  You can see his release is much more fluid, much less thinking.  He's catching-and-shooting, his forte, and it's starting to work.  3-5, all 3s, for 9 points.  He hustles, gotta give him that.  Questions about his athleticism aside he's always moving, never gives up on plays.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Aaron Nesmith talking about his preparation: "Whenever I come in, it's like I haven't even sat out at all."

Steve Bulpett @SteveBHoop
about 6 minutes ago
I'm sure Aaron Nesmith is happy to be finding a groove with his shot, but it's his effort on defense that may go an even longer way toward the coaches trusting him with more important minutes... Though no doubt Brad also likes seeing those no-hesitation 3's find the strings.


Carsen Edwards getting some run time too.  He still does too many 1-on-3 drives to the basket but he's obviously more comfortable, and effective, than at any time in his career-to-date.  A solid 12 minutes last night.

Same with Javonte.  A solid 18 minutes.  I feel like he could do more but Brad's system wants players waiting out at the arc for a pass out.  Green should be slashing, all the time.  Dragging the defense down with him, attacking the rim.  He is SO athletic it's a waste not to exploit it to the max, especially since he's not a great 3pt shooter.  You don't see him making many unforced errors, and coaches like that from bench players.  "Do no harm".


Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
2 minutes ago
Edwards, Nesmith and Javonte have combined for 21 points for the Celtics. Helpful boost.


Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
about 7 hours ago
28 hours in Celtics Nation... Sunday - 38-point win vs. Cleveland. Biggest win since December 2018...a span of 143 games. Monday - 16-point win at Chicago. Biggest road win since December 2019..a span of 25 games. Celtics go from 13th to 7th in scoring margin and net rating.


Marc D'Amico @celtics
yesterday
"We've been waiting for this day for a long time," Daniel Theis says of us likely having our full starting five available Wednesday night for the first time this season.

Think about that.  This deep into the season, however long it is, and this will be the first time we'll have our starting 5.  With all the verbal Sturm und Drang (that's for Berlin!) that has been voiced on this board about how our team is doing and we're in 2nd place in the east at 10-6, only 1 game behind Philly.  We lost two games vs them last week, in part because we didn't have Tatum and Kemba was on a minutes restriction.  If we were healthy and even split that series we'd be tied for 1st.  We got splashed, we're not sinking.  Let's see how Philly and Milwaukee fare if/when Embiid and/or Giannis have to miss 3-4 games with COVID contact tracing.  There are only 2 teams in the EC that are .500 or better on the road.  One is Indy at 4-2.  We're the other at 5-4.  Two of our losses were those Philly losses without Tatum, but still, 9 road games with a winning record.  Will Indy still have a winning road record when they play 9?

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267422


Bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

If this young bench jells/improves, lookout!! Great to see 3Smith, CE, Javonte all hitting shots, making contributions. Love seeing CE attack, he’s a tough jacked kid, the more skill sets, the better. 3Smith with a great hustling play to stop a FG attempt. Javonte developing his 3 point game, GWill hitting some 3’s. RWill will still make his mark and give us some good big minutes down the road, it’s coming....

2 J’s just routinely great, they attack efficiently and dynamically from all 3 levels and they defend all over the floor. I never thought the one that would remind me more of Jordan would be Jaylen, but seeing that burst and how easy he gets off his midrange is pure MJ. If this young bench goes off, hitting open looks further from 2 J’s, we can be contending this year. Right now look at our bench, then look at Nets, look at Bucks, it’s great to have young guys that can make the jump. Nets have questionable depth at best now, Bucks have no defenders at wing, their wing defenders too small. Really happy for CE and so glad 3Smith is starting to hit shots!!

[dbrown4]

Also, JB's and JaT's shots are barely touching the net going through! You really have to look to see if the ball actually went through the nets!!

Boston, please blow out SAS next and then LAL on Saturday!!

CE is just a guy you want to cheer for! I don't know why or how, he just makes you want to cheer for his success. I'm guessing I have visions in the back of my head of V"M"J II dancing in the back of my head! (And that preseason rookie game he had where he went apeshit! It's in him!!)

3Smith's shots looking almost if not smoother than JB's!

db

[NYCelt]

Especially considering how long Tatum was out with that virus and unable to work out, he looked great.

Nice article about him in this week's Sports Illustrated.

[Shamrock1000]

Tatum becoming a better passer. Interestingly, his passes look like his overall game - smooth and easy. It could be huge if he continues to improve that aspect of his game.

[sinus007]

Hi,
I hope AN will continue the trend and earns and keeps this new moniker 3Smith.

AK

[dboss]

It was great to see the youngsters get extended run. Blow out games open opportunities to go deep into the bench.

JT did not look like he missed a game. Daniel Theis has been shooting extremely well from deep and he is knocking down those wonderful midrange shots.

It will be interesting to see if Brad will go to a deep rotation guy when the team is not blowing out an opponent.

Also now that kemba and Jayson get a chance to play together for the first time this year, what will the starting lineup look like? I was not initially impressed with the 2 Big pairing but I can see that it is a pairing that Brad may rely on. The key for it to work is DT. Will it be situational or a steady diet? Should Marcus stay in the lineup? He has been playing really good.

This team has a lot of potential and can do a lot of different things with their lineups.

[Berlin-T]

I'd like to put in a good word for G Williams.
He played a hell of a 4th quarter.
First his defense was pretty good. Then he set 4 picks for Tatum who converted on three of them, two for 3 points, so 8 points in total. This was a big part of our 14-2 run which gave us a nice cushion just as the Bulls were inching ever closer.
Later when the Bulls were starting again to pull closer he started hitting his 3s and crashing the boards.
Although his scoreboard stats at the end of play were pretty good, his impact on the game was even greater.
I know he's not an All-Star but I think he can be very valuable for us, especially if he keeps improving.

Berlin-T

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