POST GAME - PHILLY - AWAY

NEXT AND FINAL SEASON GAME - WEDNESDAY - HOME - WASHINGTON - 7:30PM

Rapid Reaction: 76ers 113, C's 108

PM ET

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The Boston Celtics reverted to familiar ways on Monday, making things interesting late in the game but unable to produce the necessary plays to keep their winning streak going while falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 113-108 at the Wells Fargo Center:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rookie Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 28 points, while Jeff Green (27 points) and Avery Bradley (23) joined him in the 20+ club. Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double while putting up eight points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds over 42:25. Michael Carter-Williams scored 21 points, while Tony Wroten added 20 points to pace the 76ers. The 76ers shot 54.4 percent overall from the field while fending off Boston's second-half rally.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics led by 10 early, then fell behind by as much as 19 early in the second half. Boston surged within two heading to the fourth quarter, but could never get over the hump despite sticking close much of the final frame. The Celtics got a last gasp after a head-shaking turnover by the 76ers with 15.8 seconds to play. But in a microcosm of Boston's season, rookie Chris Johnson stepped on the sideline before launching what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining (and it was upheld on one of roughly 3,472 video reviews over the final two minutes of the game).

LOOSE BALLS
Even with just one game left in the season, Celtics fans held their breath when Rondo got hit with a stray elbow in the first quarter and dropped to the ground. He returned later in the frame. ... The Celtics were playing with nine available bodies as Jared Sullinger (ankle), Jerryd Bayless (knee), and Kris Humphries (knee) sat out (and all three remain uncertain for the season finale). ... The Celtics turned the ball over 19 times, including three times in the final 88 seconds. ... Philly won the season series, 3-1.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (25-56) had a two-game winning streak snapped. Boston, at least for the moment, owns the fifth worst record in basketball, but that hinges on the Lakers-Jazz game out west (a loss by the Lakers would force a three-way tie for the fourth worst record). The Celtics wrap up the 2013-14 season on Wednesday night with a visit from the Washington Wizards.
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BACK TO THEIR LOSING WAYS: CELTICS FALL TO 76ERS

WEEI  
 
The Celtics dropped their second-to-last game of the 2013-14 season, falling to the lowly 76ers in Philadelphia by a 113-108 count. Though Chris Johnson appeared to hit a game-tying 3-pointer near the end of regulation, the forward was ruled to have stepped out of bounds for a turnover. The 76ers added a pair of free throws to create the game’s final margin.

Kelly Olynyk continued his scoring surge in defeat, with the center dropping in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Jeff Green added 27, Avery Bradley scored 23 (though he shot just 9-of-22) and Rajon Rondo fell a bucket shy of a triple-double, scoring eight points, claiming 11 boards and distributing 14 assists.

The Celtics wrapped up the year with a 9-32 road record. All that remains between the Celtics and the end of the season is a home contest against Washington on Wednesday. The Celtics currently possess the fifth-worst record in the NBA; with one game remaining, they could finish with as “low” as the fourth-worst record and as “high” as the sixth-worst record.


112288

The 26ers wanted to win tonight eh?

At least Boston's offense put up some points. The downside, the defense has not existed for a good while now.



KJ

We started off strong, were up by 8 halfway through the 1st.  In the last 6:28 of the 1st they surged back on a 24-16 run.  We both had 33 point quarters, so not much defense to be found anywhere.  Then they surged way the hell up.  Not satisfied with giving up a 33 point quarter, we gave up a 34 point second quarter.  67 points for Philly at the half on 60% shooting with 46 of those 67 points in the paint.  Yuck.  Their bench outscored ours 38-5 at the half.  Yuck again.  Philly might not be able to spell defense, but they sure got the uptempo game down pat.  That was our problem, they're just better at that than we are.  

The reffing sucked.  A clean block by Joel Anthony (even Sixers announcer Malik Rose said so) called a foul, another clean block by Bass called a foul and a 3pt fga that was ruled a 2 (despite the replay showing it was a 3 and it was reviewed by the refs and they stuck with the 2) were game changers at critical times.  I give credit to the refs for doing the reviewing and wanting to get the calls right but the shot call on Kelly was wrong before and it was wrong after.  The foul calls were not reviewable.

1.  And then Rondo turned into a pumpkin.  The last 15.5 seconds of the game was one of the worst examples of hero-ball and poor floor generalship I've seen in a very long time.  I just cannot believe Brad Stevens called that in the huddle.  The reason why I say that is because the play was so incoherent I can't believe any coach would say "just go out there and run around".  Whatever he called, wasn't that.  Rondo fiddled and diddled for 9-10 seconds, ran into the corner and was trapped and gave the ball to Chris Johnson who threw up a 3 that went in with .9 seconds left, but his foot was on the line.  The Philly announcers were going crazy about how "Rondo is dribbling out the clock!  Rondo is dribbling out the clock!".  At least with all the Pierce isos we've seen over the years he would get a shot off.  Yeah, I know he had 11 rebounds and 14 assists, but playoff games are won or lost with execution in the clutch and what we saw last night with the game on the line was an abomination.  I can just hear the phone call after the game.

(Phone rings, it's Danny's number):
Brad:  Hi, Danny.
Danny:  Hi, Brad.  Tough loss.  What happened out there?
Brad:  Our transition defense didn't get back.  We didn't help out Kelly enough on defense when he was guarding Thaddeus Young, we
Danny:  Yeah, I know, I saw all that, but what happened with that last possession?
Brad:  Well, I thought the players knew what they were supposed to do.  
Danny:  Yeah, well, I know what to do.  Thanks.  Bye.

2.  The conversation about what this season has shown us, in a "closure" type of way will begin soon, probably Thursday after the last game, but Kelly has shown something since February.  After tying his career high on Sunday he set a new record last night.  Back-to-back 25+ point games, both on very efficient scoring, is a big positive on a team whose offense has struggled (to put it nicely) all year.  10-19 last night for a game high 28 points he was also 2-3 from 3.  He ran the floor, he hit from outside and he has shown he is quite effective dribbling down the left side of the lane.  Defensively, he had a bunch of problems, especially in the first half, against Thaddeus Young and Brandon Davies.  I can understand against Young, he really is way too quick for Kelly but Davies, as well as the rest of the Philly bench did a number on us.  Ok, so maybe he really is Dirk 2.0, including the defense.  I can live with that, I can absolutely live with that.  If this season was about player development, and it was, Kelly Olynyk is getting a seat at the table.  

3.  Not good nights for Bass and Bradley to have off nights.  Not that there are any good nights.  3-11 for Bass and 9-22 for Bradley including an ugly 2-11 from 3.  He has been so hot from 3 this season I probably should just accept this game as being "one of those days".

4.  Jeff Green started out hot, going north-south of course, and then disappeared and then re-appeared in the 2nd half.  In the 4th quarter, when we were clawing our way back, he was everywhere.  Overall, I thought Jeff played a very good game, with a few "brain dead" errors at painfully critical times late in the 4th.  One was a foul on a 3pt shot, which surrendered 3ftm; and the second was a 5 second call on an inbounds he was tasked with making.  We had a time out for him to use but he didn't.  Otherwise, he shot well and he defended pretty well.  He made a fantastic block in the paint on the bigger Henry Sims.  His 3 rebounds, with us being so thin up front, is a little too light for me but ok, let's move on.  Finishing out this past week, Jeff Green has been solid and, shooting 10-16 last night and only one game left to play, can probably stop worrying about .399.

5.  Phil Pressey with 3 assists and 4 TOs.  The difference between Pressey and Rondo, in this aspect of the game, seems to be that Pressey's turnovers tend to be brain farts while Rondo's are often the result of over-aggressiveness.  Rondo tries to thread the needle and make the hard pass too much.  Pressey has shown flashes of what he can do, I'm hopeful he'll "outgrow" these usually unforced errors (I'd be happy if he grows in any way) but last night was not one of his more sterling moments.

6.  Chris Johnson, who was 0-1 at the half came on strong in the 3rd and went 5-6 in the 2nd half.  His heel was on the line on that final shot, I have no problem with the call, but even though the bucket was correctly waved off it did go in.  That took focus in a very difficult situation because he wasn't wide open either.  I'll take the lesson learned, hitting a buzzer beater, as a moral victory.  I know, it's not a W, but CJ showed he can hit them and that's big for the future.  CJ, who has been pretty cold from 3 since is explosion onto the Celtic scene, was 2-4 last night from 3 and would have been a BIG 3-5 but for his Achilles Heel.

6.  Tony Wroten is fearless.  He has found a home there, like I think Jerryd Bayless has found one here.  He can score in buckets off the bench, 20 for him last night in 28 minutes.  What I have a problem is that all of his fgm were at or near the rim, in the paint.  That should NOT have happened.

64 points in the paint for Philly.  23 fast break points for Philly.  For a team that truly sucks, that was intentionally gutted by their GM, I have to give it to them.  They have our number.

One more game and then the next date that matters to Celtic fans is April 27th, just 12 days from today.  That's the deadline for early entry eligibility for the draft.  That might not matter much for our first pick but it might for the 2nd (which will be Brooklyn's).  The next date after that of importance, much more so than April 27th, is May 20th.  That is lottery day, when we find out exactly what draft pick we will be.  Then the games really begin and Danny turns into David Copperfield (I hope).

Final games that matter, for all you Panzer Commanders, take place on Wednesday:  

Utah @ Minny, LAL @ Spurs, Wizards @ Boston.  If all 3 lose, we're in 5th.  If Utah wins and we lose, we're tied for 4th.  If we win and the Lakers lose, we're tied for 5th instead of owning it outright.

Sam popped in on the Game On thread for a while from Paris.  You shoulda been there to say hi.  Or bonjour or voulez-vous couchez avec moi or however far your french will take you.  Pour moi, merci beaucoup, sam.  Salud!


bob


.

Bob,

Actually, before the game (when it was well into the evening here), we went to a show called, "How to Become a Parisian in One Hour."  It was a one-man show—a very funny sendup of both the French and the tourists (especially Americans and, naturally, the Germans).  Most of it was in English  Now we know how to dress, shop, make love, avoid sidewalk excrement, eat, take a taxi, swear, ride the Métro and socialize like Parisians. So we've got that going for us.

On the bad side, I lost my phone this morning and have spent all day trying to get arrangements for a replacement to be expressed here  Fortunately, my wife has her phone.

A toute a l'heure.

Sam

Another start for Rondo = another loss for the Celtics. Ho-hum.

Berlin-T wrote:Another start for Rondo = another loss for the Celtics. Ho-hum.

I highly doubt Rondo was solely responsible for the 113 points given up.

The Celtics don't have the surrounding pieces to win night-in, night-out. It's really that simple. There isn't really a go-to shooter on the team for late game situations, and there hasn't been one since last season.



KJ

Seems some fans like to scapegoat one player after a loss.

k_j_88 wrote:

Berlin-T wrote:Another start for Rondo = another loss for the Celtics. Ho-hum.

I highly doubt Rondo was solely responsible for the 113 points given up.

The Celtics don't have the surrounding pieces to win night-in, night-out. It's really that simple. There isn't really a go-to shooter on the team for late game situations, and there hasn't been one since last season.

KJ

dboss wrote:

Seems some fans like to scapegoat one player after a loss

dboss

Seems some fans cannot stop making excuses for a favorite player.

Berlin-T

Berlin-T wrote:
Seems some fans cannot stop making excuses for a favorite player.

Berlin-T

Precisely what did I say that even resembles making excuses for Rondo? I was making an inference about how the team's defense was nonexistent (as it has been for a while). I made no case whatsoever about how I felt about Rondo's play.

Are you willing to state that basketball is now just a one-man show? That there is truly no team involved when it comes to this game? Bearing the entire brunt of the misfortunes of one player is suggesting that very thing. So again, how was Rondo fully responsible for the other team scoring 113 points on 54.4% FG?

But anyway...

Let's ignore the fact that Rondo was 2 points away from a triple-double. Let's also ignore the fact that this team is void of any great ballhandlers in the primary scoring positions. I love Bradley and Green but their handle is certainly not a strong point for either of them. That matters a great deal in the closing seconds of a game. This year, the team has lacked a consistent go-to scorer at the end of games. Rondo has never been a great shooter or scorer, though his outside shooting is coming around. However, it'd be unrealistic to expect Rondo to hit the big shot at the end, since that was never has game in the first place. I'm not saying that Rondo is a perfect player that can do no wrong, I wouldn't even dream of suggesting that. But laying the blame solely on him means that every other deficiency on the team that factors into their struggles is being discounted, and that's not exactly productive.

How about the lack of movement collectively? Half the time, the other 4 on the court aren't moving enough to force the defense to shift. And if they are open, it's around the arc for a bad 3 point attempt.

The lack of defense is a huge problem as well. Have you noticed the decline in defense since Wallace has been absent? Perhaps I am overstating his impact, but he was a pretty good perimeter defender and he was able to guard multiple positions. Also, I'd venture to say that Sullinger, who has been gutting the year out against the odds, is getting worn down playing against guys he really shouldn't have to match up with on a nightly basis.

In addition to an intimidator in the low post, the Celtics need a go-to guy. Execution will always be a problem even if you have a great PG if there are no go-to scorers that have the confidence to take and make those shots. Who does Brad want to take those shots?



KJ

Statistically, Rondo had a damn good game. As KG points out, he was a bucket away from a triple-double.

Those last 15.5 seconds, though, will be burned into my corneal film for months. Crunch time requires crunch time players and that was an example of anything but...


bob


.

bobheckler wrote:Statistically, Rondo had a damn good game.  As KG points out, he was a bucket away from a triple-double.

Those last 15.5 seconds, though, will be burned into my corneal film for months.  Crunch time requires crunch time players and that was an example of anything but...


bob


.

Then Danny needs to hire more guns.



KJ

k_j_88 wrote:

bobheckler wrote:Statistically, Rondo had a damn good game.  As KG points out, he was a bucket away from a triple-double.

Those last 15.5 seconds, though, will be burned into my corneal film for months.  Crunch time requires crunch time players and that was an example of anything but...


bob


.

Then Danny needs to hire more guns.



KJ

KJ,

Or convince Mr. Stubborn to take some of the stick'em off his hands.

Or both.


bob


.

BobH,

Consider the entire year, not just the time Rondo has played. There has never been one consistently clutch player that the Celtics could look to this year to hit "the shot." We all know Jeff isn't that guy, and after him, the pickings are more than slim.

Rondo can't just hand the ball off to Pierce and trust that he's got a very good chance at sealing the deal. By the way, I saw that Rondo played 42 minutes, about 8-9 minutes more than he should be playing. Brad's gotta keep him fresher.



KJ

Consider this as to why 113 points................perhaps players don't give a SHXT!  They are not going to take a charge that could result in a major injury to themselves and jeopardize their career in a meaningless game #81 in a lost season!

112288

k_j_88 wrote:

Let's ignore the fact that Rondo was 2 points away from a triple-double. Let's also ignore the fact that this team is void of any great ballhandlers in the primary scoring positions. I love Bradley and Green but their handle is certainly not a strong point for either of them. That matters a great deal in the closing seconds of a game. This year, the team has lacked a consistent go-to scorer at the end of games. Rondo has never been a great shooter or scorer, though his outside shooting is coming around. However, it'd be unrealistic to expect Rondo to hit the big shot at the end, since that was never has game in the first place. I'm not saying that Rondo is a perfect player that can do no wrong, I wouldn't even dream of suggesting that. But laying the blame solely on him means that every other deficiency on the team that factors into their struggles is being discounted, and that's not exactly productive.

How about the lack of movement collectively? Half the time, the other 4 on the court aren't moving enough to force the defense to shift. And if they are open, it's around the arc for a bad 3 point attempt.

The lack of defense is a huge problem as well. Have you noticed the decline in defense since Wallace has been absent? Perhaps I am overstating his impact, but he was a pretty good perimeter defender and he was able to guard multiple positions. Also, I'd venture to say that Sullinger, who has been gutting the year out against the odds, is getting worn down playing against guys he really shouldn't have to match up with on a nightly basis.

In addition to an intimidator in the low post, the Celtics need a go-to guy. Execution will always be a problem even if you have a great PG if there are no go-to scorers that have the confidence to take and make those shots. Who does Brad want to take those shots?



KJ

+1

Great insight by kj.

Dude, you sure you're only 25?  I'm catching at least, let's say, 45 years of wisdom from you on a regular basis.

No offense to anyone else intended.