Post Game Kings Home/Celts win 128-75

With 4:35 remaining in the 4th QTR last night the Kings finally reached 66 points on the night, equaling the combined scoring of Tatum and Brown 66 points.  Another way to look at it, the Jays outscored them for 43.4 minutes of a 48 minute game.  But Jaylen only played 24 minutes and Jayson just 31.

The next time we crap out just remember, at least we are not the Sacrificial Kings.  Kyle Draper said they are not sellers.    Whaaaaaat?

We had a chance to tie or set a record for our most lopsided win ever.

The rumor mill has been all over the possibility that Marcus Smart may be moved.

You have to believe if his name is in the mix, Brad or Ime or both have told him about it.  The other day he tells us that he told each of his teammates how much he loves them.  In the last two games he looks like a different Marcus.  Going out of his way to not shoot the ball and becoming an ultimate facilitator.  He went 0-3 last night including 0-1 from deep.  He turned the ball over 3 times but also had 7 assists.  Against Washington he had 6 assists and 4 turnovers.  The thing that stands out is that the turnovers were the result of him trying to get his teammates the ball.  We can live with that effort.  Marcus clearly does not want to be traded.  I think this team can live comfortably with his defense and more limited shot attempts.  The issue is clear.  He has been one of the worse shooting PG in the NBA since he entered the league but that has never stopped him from launching 3 point shots.  This team needs a guy to run the offense and that is problematic for a point guard who shoots poorly but still insists on launching 3 pointers.  Has an alarm went off in his head?  Last night he passed up shots that he normally takes.  This version of Marcus Smart is the one that most compliments the Jays and the team as a whole.

Did you know that Tatum now has 15 double doubles?  Last year he also recorded 15 double doubles but it happened in 64 games.  Tatum has played in 45 games this year.  Jayson Tatum has not regressed as some have surmised.  He has struggled shooting the ball efficiently.  His overall game however has improved.

Did you know that Jaylen Brown is 15th in scoring in the NBA at 24 PPG?  Among all SG's he is ranked at #4 and only 1.5 PPG behind Donovan Mitchell.  He is putting up allstar numbers.  A total of 24 players will be on the allstar rosters.  I think being 15th in scoring locks him in.

Tatum by the way is 8th in scoring in the NBA.  That's allstar numbers as well.

Last night up and coming star Robert Williams had 17 rebounds which was a career night.  He also recorded his 14 double double, just 1 behind Tatum. Rob has played in 38 games vs Tatum playing in 45 games.

Lots of love going around.  Last night in his post game interview Tatum was explicitly heaping praise on Robert Williams and yes he said I love Rob.  Rob had a great game last night.  He scored 13 points while making his customary 6-8 opportunities.  He had 7 offensive rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and zero turnovers.  I say again!  Can they get him a few more FGA?  

Back to the game.  It never hurts to play a scrimmage that actually counts in the standings.

dboss wrote: It never hurts to play a scrimmage that actually counts in the standings.

That's a great one-line summary right there.

Also, let's make it Quote Of The Day.

Smart is playing much smarter. Maybe watching Schroder and Tatum failing as floor generals showed him that he doesn't need to score. But, unlike DS and JT, he does need to push the ball up the floor and get it moving. He's not my ideal of a floor general yet but he's much closer than he was at the beginning of the season.

dboss wrote:With 4:35 remaining in the 4th QTR last night the Kings finally reached 66 points on the night, equaling the combined scoring of Tatum and Brown 66 points.  Another way to look at it, the Jays outscored them for 43.4 minutes of a 48 minute game.  But Jaylen only played 24 minutes and Jayson just 31.

The next time we crap out just remember, at least we are not the Sacrificial Kings.  Kyle Draper said they are not sellers.    Whaaaaaat?

We had a chance to tie or set a record for our most lopsided win ever.

The rumor mill has been all over the possibility that Marcus Smart may be moved.

You have to believe if his name is in the mix, Brad or Ime or both have told him about it.  The other day he tells us that he told each of his teammates how much he loves them.  In the last two games he looks like a different Marcus.  Going out of his way to not shoot the ball and becoming an ultimate facilitator.  He went 0-3 last night including 0-1 from deep.  He turned the ball over 3 times but also had 7 assists.  Against Washington he had 6 assists and 4 turnovers.  The thing that stands out is that the turnovers were the result of him trying to get his teammates the ball.  We can live with that effort.  Marcus clearly does not want to be traded.  I think this team can live comfortably with his defense and more limited shot attempts.  The issue is clear.  He has been one of the worse shooting PG in the NBA since he entered the league but that has never stopped him from launching 3 point shots.  This team needs a guy to run the offense and that is problematic for a point guard who shoots poorly but still insists on launching 3 pointers.  Has an alarm went off in his head?  Last night he passed up shots that he normally takes.  This version of Marcus Smart is the one that most compliments the Jays and the team as a whole.

Did you know that Tatum now has 15 double doubles?  Last year he also recorded 15 double doubles but it happened in 64 games.  Tatum has played in 45 games this year.  Jayson Tatum has not regressed as some have surmised.  He has struggled shooting the ball efficiently.  His overall game however has improved.

Did you know that Jaylen Brown is 15th in scoring in the NBA at 24 PPG?  Among all SG's he is ranked at #4 and only 1.5 PPG behind Donovan Mitchell.  He is putting up allstar numbers.  A total of 24 players will be on the allstar rosters.  I think being 15th in scoring locks him in.

Tatum by the way is 8th in scoring in the NBA.  That's allstar numbers as well.

Last night up and coming star Robert Williams had 17 rebounds which was a career night.  He also recorded his 14 double double, just 1 behind Tatum. Rob has played in 38 games vs Tatum playing in 45 games.

Lots of love going around.  Last night in his post game interview Tatum was explicitly heaping praise on Robert Williams and yes he said I love Rob.  Rob had a great game last night.  He scored 13 points while making his customary 6-8 opportunities.  He had 7 offensive rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and zero turnovers.  I say again!  Can they get him a few more FGA?  

Back to the game.  It never hurts to play a scrimmage that actually counts in the standings.

Draper was only referring to Fox and Halliburton.

Well, if you're going to beat one of the worst teams in the league, then you should beat the crap out of them like the Celtics just did.  The Celtics showed no mercy.  Basically, they saw blood and devoured.  That is all good and a great sign.  

What has become the temporary Big 3, the 2 J's and RWIII, all three showed up in spades.  We needed MS to do exactly what he did and that is facilitate, much like Rondo did back in 2007-08.  His scoring wasn't needed.  His assisting and defense was and was invaluable.

The bench showed up as well.  Richardson.  Nice.  PP.  Nice.  GWill.  Nice.  Nesmith.  Nice.  Menace.  Not so nice.

I think JT has slightly changed his shot.  He's squaring up much better and he's confident as hell.  That's bad news for the competition.  The league may be very close to having to reset their general game plan(s) vs. the Celtics.  When the ball is moving and everyone is sharing at +60% Assists/FGM, it's curtains for the opposition.  Plus the shots fall much easier because for the most part you're wide open and it's like practice.  

Great show of strength.  Clearly a game we should have won.  But the way they did it is very interesting.  I don't want to call this a fully operational death star just yet but if the next 11 games up to the All-Star break have this same look, then we might have something.  This still doesn't change my scorecard.  If this is indeed for real, these 12 games leading up to the break need to look a lot like 9-3 or better.  Anything less and this is just another rabbit hole.  Up to this point, we've been burnt to a crisp this season and last hoping for the best.

All this said and it brings us once again to a very familiar territory over the last two seasons...the glass ceiling.  We've won two games in a row yet again and we're coming up on a B2B Friday and Saturday.  And the question is up once again...Is this the time where we finally break through and go on what dboss has affectionately referred to as a 10-game winning streak or better.  

Since we have been burned so many times at this  juncture over the past two seasons, skepticism still runs rampant even for the best of loyal fans.  We can't get any better record than our first two games of this 12-game zeroing in.  2-0.  So, is this it?

As mentioned above in the thread, the trade deadline is looming and we still need an old Rondo-like point guard and a back-up Big to help contain the defensive sieve.    

So, a lot is going on.  But the need for "the move" is now upon us.  It's Saturday at the Masters.  It's moving day.  

db

dbrown4 wrote:  It's Saturday at the Masters.  It's moving day.  

db

Great analogy.

For baseball fans I’d add it’s Truck Day in Boston. Problem there is that if something doesn’t change real fast, those trucks got nowhere to move the gear.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:With 4:35 remaining in the 4th QTR last night the Kings finally reached 66 points on the night, equaling the combined scoring of Tatum and Brown 66 points.  Another way to look at it, the Jays outscored them for 43.4 minutes of a 48 minute game.  But Jaylen only played 24 minutes and Jayson just 31.

The next time we crap out just remember, at least we are not the Sacrificial Kings.  Kyle Draper said they are not sellers.    Whaaaaaat?

We had a chance to tie or set a record for our most lopsided win ever.

The rumor mill has been all over the possibility that Marcus Smart may be moved.

You have to believe if his name is in the mix, Brad or Ime or both have told him about it.  The other day he tells us that he told each of his teammates how much he loves them.  In the last two games he looks like a different Marcus.  Going out of his way to not shoot the ball and becoming an ultimate facilitator.  He went 0-3 last night including 0-1 from deep.  He turned the ball over 3 times but also had 7 assists.  Against Washington he had 6 assists and 4 turnovers.  The thing that stands out is that the turnovers were the result of him trying to get his teammates the ball.  We can live with that effort.  Marcus clearly does not want to be traded.  I think this team can live comfortably with his defense and more limited shot attempts.  The issue is clear.  He has been one of the worse shooting PG in the NBA since he entered the league but that has never stopped him from launching 3 point shots.  This team needs a guy to run the offense and that is problematic for a point guard who shoots poorly but still insists on launching 3 pointers.  Has an alarm went off in his head?  Last night he passed up shots that he normally takes.  This version of Marcus Smart is the one that most compliments the Jays and the team as a whole.

Did you know that Tatum now has 15 double doubles?  Last year he also recorded 15 double doubles but it happened in 64 games.  Tatum has played in 45 games this year.  Jayson Tatum has not regressed as some have surmised.  He has struggled shooting the ball efficiently.  His overall game however has improved.

Did you know that Jaylen Brown is 15th in scoring in the NBA at 24 PPG?  Among all SG's he is ranked at #4 and only 1.5 PPG behind Donovan Mitchell.  He is putting up allstar numbers.  A total of 24 players will be on the allstar rosters.  I think being 15th in scoring locks him in.

Tatum by the way is 8th in scoring in the NBA.  That's allstar numbers as well.

Last night up and coming star Robert Williams had 17 rebounds which was a career night.  He also recorded his 14 double double, just 1 behind Tatum. Rob has played in 38 games vs Tatum playing in 45 games.

Lots of love going around.  Last night in his post game interview Tatum was explicitly heaping praise on Robert Williams and yes he said I love Rob.  Rob had a great game last night.  He scored 13 points while making his customary 6-8 opportunities.  He had 7 offensive rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and zero turnovers.  I say again!  Can they get him a few more FGA?  

Back to the game.  It never hurts to play a scrimmage that actually counts in the standings.

Good post. As much impact and intangibles that Smart has, he constantly has way too many 1-7, 3-11 type of games. The best thing he could do is spread the ball around more, giving more scoring opportunities for the 2 J’s. Smart adds enough as a flawed PG, so that J’s don’t have to get everyone else all their shots, they are better as scorers first from all 3 levels, seems like when they score big, we win. We need to get them going first, which brings us to the super athletic RWill, you can’t just tell him to take more shots, he is reliant on others, needs everything spoon fed; which is why I make comparisons with Rodman, super athletic defender/rebounder with no offense at all. This is why it has been hard to facilitate for the J’s , we are an inconsistent shooting team and the only 2 that can actually create their own shot are the 2 J’s. Spoon feeding/lobbing to Rob can be spectacular, but give me an old school post big like Valenciunus, he can score and create for others because he can score, just feed him the ball.

hello Cow

Marcus Smart is the ultimate enigma on the Celtics.  If there is one word to describe who he is, I think that tenacious encapsulates all of it..  That is what Celtics fans love about him and why the rest of the league despises him.  Yet every team in the NBA would love to have him on their roster.

Marcus can maximize what he does best by not trying to do more than his skills permit. He is a PG.  He is not a particularly adept ball handler and he is not quick enough with the ball in his hands to blow by opponents.  He can play in the halfcourt and score in the paint by using his strength.  His FG percentage has always been below 40% except for one year.  Now in year 8 his career shooting percentage is 37.7%.  Some fans make the argument that we can live with his poor shooting because he is great on defense.  I totally disagree with that premise.  There is a breaking point where his offense is so bad that his defense cannot balance the negative.  To me it is not so much about his lack of shooting efficiency.  It has more to do with his decision making and his appetite to take more shots than he can make at an acceptable percentage. He has to stop trying to be someone that he is not.  Marcus can best help this team by facilitating the offense while  maintaining a laser like focus on defending.  Marcus should refrain for trying be Magic Johnson.  Locate the open man within the flow of the offense and just make the simple pass.  He's got two killer wings to feed and a center who  converts 70+% of his shots.

Marcus should really be up in the 8-10 assists per game category if he accepts and excels in his role as a pass first PG.  He knows the playbook.  It will be interesting to see if his PG play as of late represents a real change in his mindset.

Rumor has it that the Celtics have elevated Robert Williams onto the untouchable list. He belongs there.  For a lot of reasons.

Considering the time he spent watching from the bench due to injury and lack of development he is having a breakout year for this team.  His ascension coincides with the Celtics blue print to build this team around their dual pillars.  

He is right on the cusp of being a double digit scorer and rebounder.  He has become our long sought after rim protector.  His fit in our switch everything defense is amazing because he can defend away from the basket.  He's directing the defense more and more and has become much more vocal with his teammates.  His offense game is limited more by opportunity than ability.  When he plays in the high post as a facilitator he has displays high end skills in both setting screens and making passes to open teammates.  His next step in the high post actions will be to add another option.  When they sag off of him he has to look at the basket and shoot the midrange shot.  

I have been closely following his free throw shooting because that distance is in range of where he can become effective in our offense.  As I have mentioned before he has solid mechanics in his shooting stroke.  I think that is an area he has improved on.  He is now shooting 69.4% from the line and if the current trends continue he will become a solid free throw shooter,  In January he has gone 13-14 from the line or 92.9%.

His next step to become a better and more diverse offensive player will come from diligent repetition, confidence and new opportunities to display those skills.

That level of added value will be forged during the offseason.  In the interim however, the Celtics must look to him and get him more scoring opportunities.  

As I look at where he was as a rookie 3 years ago and where he is now I am very pleased with his progress.  I am however taking a contrary view on how he should be developed.  What he needs most is to #1 develop his ball handling skill and #2 his shooting skills from the outside.  He does NOT need a bigman coach, per say, for that. He should workout with a guard/wing coach and some of his teammates like Jayson Tatum.  Once he is comfortable in putting the ball on the floor it will be much easier to develop some low post moves and maybe some off the bounce action.