POST GAME WASHINGTON - HOME

Celtics Wrap: Boston Drops To .500 After Ugly Loss To Wizards
The Celtics now are .500 on the season


NESN by Dakota Randall


It officially is time to worry about the Celtics.

Boston on Sunday suffered an embarrassing 104-91 loss to the Washington Wizards, who entered the game with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second worst in the NBA. The defeat dropped the Celtics to .500 for the first time since Jan. 1.

Boson was led by Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown, who both scored 25 points, respectively. Nobody else did anything of note, though Robert Williams and Semi Ojeleye both played despite recent injuries.

Jayson Tatum scored just six points while playing listless defense in one of the worst games of his career.

The Wizards got a huge performance from NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal, who poured in 35 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Russell Westbrook messed around and just missed a triple double, racking up 13 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.


The Celtics fell to 13-13 with the loss while the Wizards improved to 7-17 with the victory.

Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Semi Ojeleye
C: Daniel Theis

MORE UNINSPIRING BASKETBALL
The Celtics in the first quarter very much looked like a tired, struggling team playing a Sunday afternoon game on the road. Boston played a boring, uninspired brand of basketball, reflected by the scoreboard.

As a team, the Celtics shot 40.9 percent from the field, missed three free throws and turned the ball over seven times. They looked better toward the end of the frame, but the Wizards still entered the second quarter with a 29-22 advantage.

Brown led the way for the Celtics with 11 points while Walker chipped in with seven. Tatum scored zero points as his first-quarter struggles continued.


Washington was paced by Beal’s 11 points.

Really, it was plays like this that summed up for the first quarter for Boston:


The Celtics as a team managed just three assists in the first frame.

WASHINGTON DOMINATES
Not good.

The Celtics continued to play ugly basketball unworthy of your attention. Boston entered the game knowing full well that stopping Beal was the key to victory, but the Celtics nevertheless allowed the Wizards star to do whatever he wanted while scoring 18 first-half points.


Rui Hachimura also had a solid first half for Washington, scoring nine points while pulling down four rebounds. Westbrook, despite clearly not being as explosive as he once was, still racked up six points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Walker was a bright spot for Boston in the first half, scoring 15 points including two 3-pointers. Tatum finished his not-good-enough first half with four points.


Payton Pritchard also scored four points for the visitors, who closed the half with a 12-point deficit.

REALLY BAD… THEN KINDA GOOD… THEN REALLY BAD
The Celtics were disgraceful for much of the third quarter, with the Wizards at one point opening up a 24-point lead.

This awful showing from Tatum was the low point:


Boston showed renewed energy after mid-quarter timeout, narrowing Washington’s lead to 14 points. But the Wizards, largely thanks to Beal (14 points in the quarter) surged back to finish the frame with a 22-point advantage.

The bright spots? Walker had a season-high 25 points through just three quarters and, more or less, looked like Kemba Walker. Brown entered the fourth quarter with 23 points and six rebounds, once again performing like Boston’s best all-around player.

Tatum didn’t score a point in the third.

PUNCHLESS FINISH
The Celtics largely played out the string in a fourth quarter that served as little more than a means to an end for the Wizards. Not to make excuses for them, but the Celtics just looked tired.

Hey, at least Tatum scored.


Brad Stevens emptied bench with just under six minutes remaining. The reserves made the final score look somewhat more respectable.

Some final stats:

The Celtics as a team shot 35.6 percent from the field and 25.7 percent from 3-point range. They had just 14 assists and turned the ball over 17 times.


UP NEXT
The Celtics will be back at TD Garden on Tuesday night when they host the Denver Nuggets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

112288

HAVE THE CELTICS TIRED OF BRAD STEVENS?

I just had to post this.  I am wondering if the Celtic players have tired of Brads overall coaching strategy and thoughts on the game to the point of quitting on him.  

I mean, the Celtics played as though they were on sedatives!  Back to back losses to two of the worst teams in the league, come on man, you cannot blame these losses on injuries.

Now I know some will say, if Smart were in the game with his defense we would win.  Well he was not, but that begs the question, is Brad preaching defense or offense in his overall basketball strategy. If you drill the team in having a tight defensive core of players, the absence  of Smart should not make a difference.

I can tell you one thing, watching the Knicks.......Thibs has them playing old style Boston Celtic basketball! Defense, defense   defense.   Hit the glass for rebounds, box out and run the ball.  There is a noticeable difference between both teams.

I am not liking what I see, and the chemistry is just not there.  Is it Stevens, or does the team need a big shake out and fresh blood on the court?

Maybe it is both!

HAPPY ST. VALENTINE DAY TO ALL!

112288

Paging Mr. Ainge!   Paging Mr. Ainge!!!  Anyone?!!  Bueller?  You're up for your 1st Round #14 Draft Pick.  

If this continues, which I see no signs of things changing even with Marcus coming back, we are going to have to start facing the fact that we experience the above scenario (at best) and all that it implies.  

db

Well, the starting five is OK though not the best in the league. The bench is weak. The Js are having growing pains, really Tatum since Jaylen’s playing at his level and is more consistent. They didn’t look like a team today at all. That could be on Brad but in pro sports it’s always on the players unless the coach is completely incompetent and/or dbag, which really doesn’t describe Steven’s.

112288

The question I was thinking has already been asked by you.

Has Brad lost this team?  It is a tough question but a legitimate one to ponder.  

Over a long period of time players tune out some coaches.  It seems Jayson Tatum has already hit that mark.  Exhibit A would be the candid and revealing interview that Tatum did a while back where he was asked to describe his two coaches (Coach K and Steven)  Jayson said flat out that Coach K is the type of coach that you want to run through a wall for.  He described Stevens as an X's & O's coach.  

Stevens is so focused on the X's and O' while his team is looking at the A, B's and C's.  It is just not enough to master the X's and O's of the game.  You have to be able to motivate a team.  Tatum said that coach K was a leader.  That is a candid statement.  Brad is a highly intelligent coach but he is no leader.  He cannot seem to lead them out of their funk.  They will not defend, they will not move the ball and they are starting to look more and more like an average team.

Yes they have had their fair share of injuries, a tough schedule and new boys on the block but there is clearly something missing here.  

So is it time to make a change?  How far can Brad take this team.  Does he have the profile of a championship level coach and leader?  Can Danny simply fiddle around in the back yard changing out piece after piece?  Brad was badly outcoached last year by both Nick Nurse and Erik Spoelstra.  In my opinion the clock has been ticking on Brad's tenure as coach of the Boston Celtics.  Way better Celtics coaches have been let go. So keep that in perspective when you consider a change at the helm.

The longer Danny waits to take action, the bigger that action has to be.  Danny could have made some easier, smaller decisions early on but passed on them.  As things fester or whatever it is that has gotten our goat, the subsequent action must over compensate for lack of decision or action earlier on.

Paging Mr. Ainge...!

dboss, you are correct as our record speaks for itself that we are an average team right now.  As a matter of fact, BS called Boston a .500 team in his pregame interview today.
I'm not saying the action is to fire Brad mid-season, either.  There are three pieces.  The players, the coach, and the GM.  Something's coming to either one, some or all of those 3 pieces...and it won't be just a tweaking.  Those days have now passed.     

db

The Celtics two best players are 22 and 24 old. Not a championship recipe. Ainge knows - he constructed the team. I wonder if Danny ever thought this year's team is a contender. Could be a building year in his mind.

All NBA coaches have a great understanding of the X's and O's. But what makes a coach special are all the intangibles inside a coaches DNA.

Brad can use a little dose of Bobby Knight and less the oh shucks mid western charm.

Question, was Doc that special coach that you would go to war for, or was it KG that made players go to war for him?

112288

I asked the same question on the Game On, the great Larry Bird said he was only going to coach for a few years, he said after about 3 years the players tune you out. Our offense stinks, we don’t do anything that no other team is already doing. I think at this point our offense is so bland and predictable teams are just jamming us and loading up on Tatum and Brown. Once a team takes something away we have no counters, Tatum, Theis and Semi all being ice cold sure didn’t help. Our defense also seems to have lost its identity and energy.

Has anyone seen the schedule? Day off tomorrow, then right into another back to back, night off, then another game. Never seen so many 3 games in 4 nights and this team has no depth all of a sudden. We’re just another team that lives and dies with the 3. Clippers seem to be winning without PG, we shouldn’t be this bad without Smart. We look good when Semi, GWill, PP are hitting their shots, but as we have also seen, these guys have off games too and when they do if a J is off, then it’s a recipe disaster.

On another thread we were debating the Russell years and his greatness, we’ll hope you can appreciate it more, see how hard it is to win in this League? One bad draft, a few bad FA signings an injury or two and other up and coming teams are right there with you. Winning is not easy. This is exactly what I was afraid of, 2 J’s playing hard, flashing their skills/talent, but not enough to carry this team night in and night out. Hard to rely on two kids 22 and 24 to play hard/good and know how to win at their ages. Even before our recent downward spiral, we were losing enough winnable games in the 4th. I wish we could get healthy and get our energy back, right now other teams are playing smarter and with more energy than us.

I think they are all mentally and physically fatigued.  Yes, I know every team is in the same boat but this is the price of youth, mental weakness.

Happy Valentine's Day everybody.





Bob


.

I can't help but wonder if Tatum is still suffering from the aftereffects of Covid? On my Browns, Myles Garrett an edge rusher was having a great season. Then he got the virus and was never the same thereafter. Always fatigued. The horrible scheduling of the NBA certainly is not helping, but I wonder if in Tatum's case there is more to it than that?
As far as the rest of the team goes, I have no answer aside from fatigue and youth.
And Bob, thanks for thr Al Capone photo. The game last night wasn't quite as bad as that, but it felt like it at times.

Berlin-T

The Celtics have been showing up with less than required energy, focus and urgency.

I have to point to the coach. No I am not calling for him to be fired. But he does need to light a fire under their asses to get them moving. Most coaches will be terminated. It is just a matter of time. Whatever he is telling them, they aint listening. Hoping Smart gets back soon.

dboss wrote:The Celtics  have been showing up with less than required energy, focus and urgency.

I have to point to the coach.  No I am not  calling for him to be fired.  But he does need to light a fire under their asses to get them moving.    Most coaches will be terminated.  It is just a matter of time. Whatever he is telling them, they aint listening.  Hoping Smart gets back soon.

He came across as an amateur and an arrogant one last year in the bubble. We lost the Heat series from the after effects of a grueling 7 game series with the Raptors. We were something like .4 seconds from a 3-0 lead which would have led to a sweep or 5 game series at worst, we know what happened. Then when media was questioning that play, he still stuck with his story that a zone was the best defense, what an utter moron. I ripped him then and from a confident young bunch that could have built off a sweep or 5 game series win, in an instant all that was taken away as we became an inexperienced team that couldn’t close games the rest of playoffs. Leading to dogfights and exhaustion that took a further toll in the next series which we lost.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:The Celtics  have been showing up with less than required energy, focus and urgency.

I have to point to the coach.  No I am not  calling for him to be fired.  But he does need to light a fire under their asses to get them moving.    Most coaches will be terminated.  It is just a matter of time. Whatever he is telling them, they aint listening.  Hoping Smart gets back soon.

He came across as an amateur and an arrogant one last year in the bubble. We lost the Heat series from the after effects of a grueling 7 game series with the Raptors. We were something like .4 seconds from a 3-0 lead which would have led to a sweep or 5 game series at worst, we know what happened. Then when media was questioning that play, he still stuck with his story that a zone was the best defense, what an utter moron. I ripped him then and from a confident young bunch that could have built off a sweep or 5 game series win, in an instant all that was taken away as we became an inexperienced team that couldn’t close games the rest of playoffs. Leading to dogfights and exhaustion that took a further toll in the next series which we lost.

I was going to post something very similar so I have to agree with cowens here 100%. I was afraid that Brad might have lost the team in the playoffs last year, specifically after that botched game 3. It was notable how young, despite being in a lot of playoff games already, our guys still are. They started to break down on a regular basis late in games and seemed either completely deaf to whatever Stevens was trying or he is just not that coach, that motivator, which is a very very important quality in a coach at such high level. Was hoping they could ALL learn from that and move on, be better together for having seen that deficiency and work on it. Alas, it seems they are either loosing their faith in themselves or in Brad or both. Particularly notable to see for Tatum and Walker in my opinion. Jaylen is just such a great personality that you can never know with him - he does the right things, says the right things you can only assume he always has the right mindset as well. He did sound mentally fatigued as well in that post-game after losing vs Detroit though .

I was confident they were going in the right direction earlier when Brad Stevens said himself he sat with all the players and set clear roles, that there will be no "pecking order" issues for this team this year. I still believe this is the case. The big issue seems to me that the players are loosing confidence specifically in late game situations that they themselves and Brad's system and leadership can get the job done, get them over the hump, win the game... I hope I am wrong but other people coming to similar conclusions does not bode well imo.

That bone headed defensive call by Stevens cost us a trip to the Finals, where if we had remained confident and motivated, we match up better vs Lakers just because we have 2 guys that can go at Lebron both ends making him work. While we were struggling with Raptors, Heat had like 5-6 days off to rest and recover, stay sharp and plan their strategy. In the Heat series, they dictated the pace, seemed we were always playing catch up to them, as Stevens was always behind the 8 ball.

Shamrock1000 wrote:The Celtics two best players are 22 and 24 old. Not a championship recipe. Ainge knows - he constructed the team. I wonder if Danny ever thought this year's team is a contender. Could be a building year in his mind.

some sanity amongst the wringing of hands in Celtic land!!

many of said this was .500 team early...which we are.

look there are a re a legit FIVE NBA starters on this team.

Tatum
Brown
Kemba
Smart
Thompson

everyone else is a NBA back up at best, with only 1 or 2 that can really be considered rotational NBA pieces right now:

Theis

maybe Prichard (if he holds up the year).

Teague WAS a legit starter at one time and Rotational player last year, So far he is nothing here.

the rest are NOT even marginal NBA rotational pieces right now. I know Fans of teams always see their teams back ups as future stars....but sometimes we have to get real.


as for Stevens being fired...name that coach that's gonna replace him do anything with this group of NBA back ups and end of benchers?

Gordon ditched this crew for a reason and it probably wasn't because he doesn't like or tuned out the coach. Hayward went back into the bubble, missed the birth of his child, and still opted to go elsewhere; was Gordon's issue with the surrounding talent, attitude? who knows I don't? Jaylen has filled some of the void he left and Jason hasn't. These two young second tier NBA stars (first tier stars are James, Davis, Durant, Harden, Lillard, Doncic, etc.) are what they are...Pierce and A. Walker couldn't carry a team to the promised land either. Danny is not stupid he tried for Durant and Davis but settled for Al, Kemba, Gordon because that's what he could get. Danny has assembled a pretty thin team this year as noted just above. As I wrote elsewhere if Kemba looks healed up, there could be a trade market for him and maybe that's the right move...again I don't know. I'm not in love with the coach but this coach bashing seems....like something a 22 or 24 year olds might engage in....

While all the concerns above are legit, there is still a silver lining...The East! Assuming PHI will not survive @ Jazz tonight, we will still be in 5th place but only 3 GB in the loss column!

This is the first time I can legitimately say everyone in the East is beating up on each other. Look at the standings. 12th Place has 15 losses. That's pretty tight. Of course we are at 13 losses and we are precariously in 5th. Weather the storm? Big move by GM or above? Team has a closed door come to Jesus meeting sans coaches?! Something is coming!!

db

112288 wrote:HAVE THE CELTICS TIRED OF BRAD STEVENS?

I just had to post this.  I am wondering if the Celtic players have tired of Brads overall coaching strategy and thoughts on the game to the point of quitting on him.  

I mean, the Celtics played as though they were on sedatives!  Back to back losses to two of the worst teams in the league, come on man, you cannot blame these losses on injuries.

Now I know some will say, if Smart were in the game with his defense we would win.  Well he was not, but that begs the question, is Brad preaching defense or offense in his overall basketball strategy. If you drill the team in having a tight defensive core of players, the absence  of Smart should not make a difference.

I can tell you one thing, watching the Knicks.......Thibs has them playing old style Boston Celtic basketball! Defense, defense   defense.   Hit the glass for rebounds, box out and run the ball.  There is a noticeable difference between both teams.

I am not liking what I see, and the chemistry is just not there.  Is it Stevens, or does the team need a big shake out and fresh blood on the court?

Maybe it is both!

HAPPY ST. VALENTINE DAY TO ALL!

112288

. BOTH

who ya hiring?

I'll keep asking those who think Stevens needs to go.

I have yet to hear an answer.

“Just changing faces doesn’t always change things, but it may have to come to that.” - Trader Danny, after the Washington loss.


Bob


.

agree with all that.

also I think we need to start looking at Tatum here. An NBA "super star" does not show up for games like he does at times. playing an entire half with no energy, no passion, no heart and no pride and then coming out the second half EXACTLY THE SAME is troubling to me.

that said he'll likely score 35 against the Nuggets, but that does not excurse the $hitpiles he still lays from time to time. TRUE NBA star players do not turn in those types of performances.

Now I know Tatum is almost considered Bird like by most Celtics fans now, but I'll tell you this IF he's still doing this next season it might be time to move him for a vet star and keep Smart here.

Prove me wrong Tatum...get off your passive bull4hit and play like your idol Kobe..who would have DEMANDED the ball every time down the court in the second half against a $hitty Washington team Sunday.

You guys can balme everyone else all you want. but if you watched the game you all Know Tatum played yet another game like a third rate wanna be...maybe that new contract has him resting on his past championships..oh yeah, he's won nothing, I forgot.

He wants to be considered one of the best, but $hits himself way too much right now, where was his pride Sunday?

One point that hasn't been brought up is our fritos.  We went 18-30, 60%.  That, too, has nothing to do with the coach, or rotations, or substitutions.  That, in my opinion, is lack of mental focus brought on by fatigue.

Jaylen Brown, 1-3
Carsen Edwards, 1-2
Tristan Thompson, 0-2
Robert Williams, 3-5
Jayson Tatum, 0-1
Aaron Nesmith, 2-3

There's 16 of our 30 ftas right there.  We shot 7-16 on them.  We can expect poor frito shooters like Thompson to tank the numbers, but shooters like Nesmith and Tatum and Edwards and Brown?  What may be most disturbing about this is that the Js, combined, only took one more fta than Nesmith and one frito less than RWill.  That's the bigger problem.  Those guys need to get to the line a lot more than that, obviously.  Tatum is averaging 4.5ftas/game and Brown is averaging 4.9ftas/game.  Yesterday was 5.4 ftas under their combined averages.

And consider that Jayson Tatum is averaging fewer ftas/game than Jaylen Brown even though Tatum is playing more minutes/game.  Tatum has fallen in love with the 3 too much in my opinion.  When was the last time you saw Jayson Tatum contest an offensive rebound?  Brown is averaging 5.4 rpg, 1.3 offensive/game, so roughly 25%.  Tatum is 7.1 rpg but only .6 offensive/game.  30% more rebounds but getting only half the offensive rebounds in 2:06 more minutes/game.  The rebound practically has to fall into his hands.

Defensive rebounding is about positioning.  Offensive rebounding is about ganas.  Effort, desire and outworking the other guy.  How much do you want it?  Tatum doesn't want to work for hard rebounds.

18-30 vs 31-36.  There's 13 more points for Washington.  We lost by 13 points.  Would we still have lost because they got 6 more ftas?  Maybe, but the game is very different when there's 3-4 minutes left and you're only 1-2 possessions away than if you're 5 possessions away.  And you have to hit the ones you do get.

We shot < 36% and this was still a winnable game.  We just failed at the line, both in volume and efficiency.


Bob


.

As I Continue to watch this team, i too at times pick up the pitcher of green Kool-aide, swig it down and convince myself that we are one of the best organizations with some of the best coaching and players in the league. There are also times when I pick up the pitcher and dump it in the toilet and say. “What the hell have I been thinking? I love this team and organization but I have to be honest. I believe that we are in serious trouble. Oh i hope I’m dead wrong come June/July and that I’m sick to my stomach on green Kool aide but somehow I doubt it.
Brad is a good coach but I used to think he was a great coach. Still, he is better than most coaches in this league. However, right now I think this good coach is doing a pretty poor job. His rotations are baffling and I believe some of his players that are in the regular rotation including the starters are wondering what the hell is going on.
We have one starter out, one recovering from a bad knee and another from Covid. Factors no doubt but certainly no reason to lose to Washington and Detroit and the manner that we did. Scheduling, injuries and lack of depth all play into this. Let’s not forget effort. Too many times I’m not seeing that and that is on the player BUT, everything starts at the top. I’ll get to Dan in a minute.
If your players are not giving effort, especially on the defensive end, are confused as to what the head coach is doing with rotations and hears their name in trade rumors...well.
One other thing concerning Brad, yesterday Jalen got fouled going to the basket and literally got hammered and hammered hard across the nostril causing his nose to bleed. Did anyone see Brad get up and protect his star player in that moment? I don’t know if that is challengeable or not but the refs even had the nerve not to even take a look at it. I don’t recall Brad protesting even a little bit. Correct me if I’m wrong but I saw nothing. If you’re Brown, what are you thinking?
As far as minutes go, some here think its okay that our 2.stars sit 1/3 of the game and I am too- if its a game that we are clearly in control of and can afford to have them sit. Otherwise, if they need to play 40 on some nights ( and it looks like there have been 2-3 this year) then play em 40! They’re young. Havlicek played all 48 during the playoffs one year averaged Over 40 for 5 consecutive seasons. He was 31 the year he averaged 45 minutes per game.(won a title in one) and averaged 36 over his 16 yr career.
Let’s face it, these are the 2 stars and the rest outside of Smart and maybe walker are average and/or suspect or rookies. We don’t have much of a choice. How wide do we think this championship window is with the 2 J’s?
We are down to starting Semi, Edwards etc. Nesmith with perpetual DNPCD’s shows up in DC and gets close to 20 minutes? Isn’t that supposed to be a game when you are resting Brown or one of your stars? Not here! I don’t get it. Maybe someone on here can help me out.
Danny Ainge: Great job getting KG, Allen and then Tatum, Smart, Brown. Since then you suck! You suck so bad. Wyc should be oiling up your skates as we speak. 1 title in 20 years might be good enough in Atlanta but in Boston AND with good owners is totally unacceptable. You blew it with IT, Kyrie, Horford and Hayward. I know all different circumstances but you are in charge you have to see what’s coming or may be coming. You blew it. You blew it and everyone in Boston knows it. The scary part is, what have you blown that we don’t know about? IT STARTS AT THE TOP. That’s why we are where we are.
Just saw this and thought I should add to it:

Ainge’s Nov/Dec 2020 comedy of errors:
1. Drafted Nesmith over Quickley, Bey, Anthony, Maxey
2. Drafted but traded Bane
3. Held out for Warren/Oladipo instead of just accepting Turner and McDermott.
3. Signed Teague
4. Didn’t re-sign Wanamaker
5. Traded Kanter
6. Signed Thompson

So instead of Turner, McDermott, Quickley, Bey, Wanamaker, Bane and Kanter, we have Nesmith, Teague and Thompson.
Now I am hearing Austin River’s name coming up. Yay.

I hope all this comes back in my face come summer, we are in the finals (with Jeff Teague) and I end up looking like an entire fool. Somehow i doubt it.

Mark Murphy @Murf56
3 minutes ago
Danny Ainge puts responsibility for this slide on himself and the players, but not Brad Stevens


Bob


.