Mavs @ Celtics pregame thoughts

If the Celtics can be more than a possession up at the end of the game, we may not have to concern ourselves with getting beat again by a last second 3 pointer from Doncic.

Jaylen Brown has been struggling to make his share of 3 point shots.  He has done a good job getting to the rim and scoring in transition but the shooting from deep is really, really bad.  He went 1-8 in each of his last 2 games and his free throw shooting also looks suspect.  The game vs the Pistons would have been a blow out if Jaylen scored efficiently.  I expect him to get back on track.

The Celtics will play Celtics basketball.  Dallas plays a lot of zone defenses but Ime has his team well prepared to take apart junk defenses.

We should be able to dominate on the glass and get out in transition.  This game is on the big screen this afternoon.  This is a big stage for Jayson Tatum to be the best player on the court.  As he is without a doubt, the best player on this team,  Jaylen Brown in particular needs to accept that reality and be willing to defer a bit more to him.  There is a clear #1 on this team.  Within that context, our two pillars push one another to greater heights.  The need for #2 to be the best player on the court in some games remains a reality.  The pecking order is a natural development that has already been established.

I go back to my phrase that pays describing this part of the season...In Spite Of.  We find ways to win...In Spite Of....

So far, opponents have not been able to crack this code, mainly because the defense is so distracting, so smothering, so suffocating that you don't have time to figure it because you are out in the middle of the ocean with an anchor tied around your waste and nothing on which to hold.  You're fighting for your proverbial life just to stay above water with gravity pulling heavily against you. You know the storm is coming.  

Prior to "the turn", if JT had a bad game, we lost.  Or JB had a bad game, we lost.  Or the bench had a bad game, we lost.   Or RWIII was out, we lost.    

We've found ways to win now In Spite Of...(Fill in the blank.)  Does that mean we will never lose again?  No, though that would be VERY comforting.  But it is a significant turning point in this season and in the life cycle of any upward trending team and in particular this upward trending team.

MIA was MIA again last night bringing the spread down to 3 games in the loss column in the East.  CHI won again although I wasn't really expecting them to lose.  They have some games coming up vs. @Jazz, @ Suns, vs. Raptors, @ Bucks that should do them in.  Unfortunately our West Coast run starts this week with @ GSW where MIL had their a$$e$ handed to them by GSW sans Draymond.  Again, no breathing room if moving up is our goal.

So @ GSW, @ SAC @ Nuggets, @ OKC.  Not too bad of a run but doable without losing ground.  Slight gap developing between us and CLE for 5th/6th.  Then the treacherous last three games of the season @ Bulls, @ Bucks and @ Grizzlies.  Unless we get some real help, 4th may be the safest bet, maybe 3rd if we get VERY lucky.  While 1st is not out of the question, it's a long shot at this point.  The 4/5 slot is also the safest slot to avoid BKN in the first round.  

I think everyone up top is looking at and trying to figure out where the unpinned hand grenade Nets will finish up.  Whoever gets that draw, that will be the best game of the first round and potentially the most disastrous and detrimental to that top seed.  It should be PHI.  I'll watch everyone of those.  But no way to tell at this point.

Who's going to make it to the 2nd round in the East?  Who will those 4 teams be?  That's a tough bet to make.  I'm going with the Uninvited, Ugly Step Child, Celtics being one of them.  Still working on the other three!  

db