POST GAME MEMPHIS - AWAY

STUDS AND DUDS: CELTICS BLOW 21-POINT LEAD, FALL TO GRIZZLIES

WEEI

By Sam Packard

The Grizzlies overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Celtics 101-98 on Sunday night in Memphis.

After a Tony Allen 3-pointer opened the game, the C’s took the lead on a 19-1 run. The starting unit moved the basketball from side to side with great success and finished the quarter with a 34-16 lead. In what is becoming a disturbing pattern, the Celtics took their foot off the gas in the second half and allowed Memphis to creep into the game. The C’s ball movement from the first quarter disappeared, as they settled for contested jumper after contested jumper.

The Grizzlies took advantage of the Celtics‘ lack of size, dominating in the paint and on the offensivee glass. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 25 points and 13 rebounds off the bench, while Marc Gasol finished with 11 boards and 11 points, nine of which came in the second half.

The loss marks the third straight — and fifth in the last six games — for the Celtics (19-18). The C’s will attempt to halt their losing streak when they travel to New York to play the Knicks on Tuesday.

For a complete box score, click here. To go beyond the box, read on.


STUD OF THE NIGHT Isaiah Thomas.

After struggling from the field against the Pistons and Bulls, Thomas found his shooting stroke. In the first quarter, he scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc on catch-and-shoot opportunities. Thomas also dominated a stretch late in the third quarter to answer a 9-0 Grizzlies run. He responded with a pull-up three in transition and two key assists to extend the lead. I.T. finished with 35 points and eight assists.

DUD OF THE NIGHT David Lee.

If Lee thinks he’ll earn more minutes by forcing shots, he’s sadly mistaken — especially if those shots don’t come anywhere close to going into the basket. The Celtics were a minus-12 in his 16 minutes. Lee also turned in this atrocious shot chart.
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Smart, Celtics get 'punked' by Grizzlies

Stars, studs and duds: Celtics 'find ways to lose'

CSNE

JIMMY TOSCANO

Celtics blow 21-point lead, lose to Grizzlies, 101-98
The Celtics continue to falter in the second half of games, and this time it cost them in a 101-98 loss to the Grizzlies.


Tony Allen, formerly of the Boston Celtics, has made himself quite a home in Memphis.

The guard is known as one of if not the best on-ball defenders in the NBA. Celtics fans know that about him from his time spent in Boston, but he's gotten even better in Memphis, and really helped change the identity and culture of that organization into one of the toughest around.

Allen is just one in a bunch of Grizzlies players that live by the "grit and grind" philosophy in Memphis - essentially the in-your-face, disruptive defense and all-around toughness on both sides of the ball.

And on Sunday, the Celtics fell victim to it.

Despite a scorching start in which the Celtics scored 36 points in the first quarter, the Grizzlies did not roll over. Instead, they fought back in the second half and played the way they wanted to play. And the Celtics allowed it.

"We let them punk us. That was it," Marcus Smart told reporters after the game. "They just became the more aggressor. Offensive rebounds and getting what they wanted."

Offensive rebounds are certainly telling in this one. The Grizzlies had a whopping 21 of them, the most allowed by the Celtics this season.

And it was in the second half of the game - when the Grizzlies erased a 21-point deficit - that 15 of those offensive rebounds came. Zach Randolph had eight offensive rebounds himself.

"We let them punk us and push us wherever they wanted to go," Smart said.

The Grizzlies got to the line 40 times during the game, too, 26 of which came in the second half. They also doubled the Celtics up on fast break points in the second half, 14-7, including a pair of back-to-back viscous dunks by Vince Carter and Allen.

"We turned it over too much and it led to fast break points," Stevens told reporters. "Gave up a couple of leak outs anyways without turnovers off shots. And then they crushed us on the offensive glass in the second half. They had 15 offensive rebounds in the second half. We didn't score enough to keep them at bay nor did we get in there and get enough balls.

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http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/frustration-shows-celtics-latest-loss

Marcus is 6 for 30 his last three games. Yikes.

Now a shockingly bad 31.4% on the season. 20 for 79 his last ten games. 4 for 32 on threes. That's hard to do.

Love his defense but my God, he's brutal offensively.

not a real surprise, though he is in a shooting slump for sure.

I am sometimes amazed at how close dratfnet gets with SOME of its draft profiles:

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/marcus-smart

NBA Comparison: Dwyane Wade
Strengths: Strong, heady point guard with great size and instincts…Uses his mixture of quickness, strength, instincts, and aggressiveness to get to the rim, then uses his big frame and excellent body control to finish through contact…In addition to his scoring ability, Smart doubles as an excellent passer and playmaker. He has great court vision and is willing to make the unselfish play to set up his teammates. Averaged 5.8 assists per 40 minutes last season...Very sound perimeter defender who has the length (6'8" wingspan), the strength, and the lateral quickness to keep his man in front of him. Plays hard and harasses ball handlers into making bad decisions…Draws multiple defenders on his drives, then has the alertness to kick it out to an open teammate for a 3…Ball-hawking defender who averaged around 3 SPG throughout his college career. Once again, his big wingspan helps him terrorize the passing lanes...His aggression and power allow him to get to the line at an excellent rate. Shot over 8 free throws per game last season in just over 32 MPG…Great rebounding point guard due to his size and strength. Averaged nearly 6 rebound a game last season…His height and his strength also allow him to post up smaller point guards and finish inside...Loves to get out in transition and has the vision and finishing ability to make him elite at running the fast break…Can play with guard position and can also defend multiple positions due to his size/quickness combo…Has a nose for the ball. Will dive on the floor to get loose balls and will rip it out of the offensive player's hands from time to time...Shows flashes of greatness in the pick-and-roll as both a scorer and a passer…Outside shot can be effective when Smart is on his game, making him a great inside-outside weapon...Makes winning plays. His decision-making is excellent and he is great at balancing setting up teammates and making a scoring play himself…Raised his PPG (18.0 to 19.9) nearly 2 points per game in games against ranked opponents last season...Great motor and energy. Puts it all on the line every minute of every game and always plays with intensity and competitiveness…Has that other-worldliness, always-in-control, do-what-it-takes-to-win, elite factor that a select few point guards (Kemba Walker, Trey Burke) in recent drafts have exhibited…

Weaknesses: Not a great outside shooter. Only made 29% from distance last season. Needs to polish his mechanics and hit on a more consistent basis. Struggles mightily on jumpers when guarded. Release slowed by bringing the ball down to his knees before rising up and releasing. Simply needs to be more consistent with his shot mechanics…Opponents will find it easier to stay in front of Smart because they don't have to guard him as tight and respect his jumper…Not a very efficient scorer. Needs to take smarter jump shots and not settle for pull-up threes…Could stand to be more patient and unselfish rather than forcing it and becoming dead-set on taking a shot at times…His assist/turnover ratio of 1.78 is not great. Could certainly cut down on turnovers and be more patient on offense. His aggression can sometimes be a weakness. It also leads to offensive fouls on occasion…Mediocre ballhandler, another source of his turnover problems…Uses his physical gifts well, but ultimately doesn't have great athleticism...Free throw percentage dropped from 78% to 73% between his freshman and sophomore seasons...Interestingly enough, Smart's knack for making winning plays did not generally carry over to crunch time. In 7 Cowboys games that Smart played in this season that were decided by 3 or fewer points or in overtime, Smart shot a mere 3/14 (21%) from the field in the final two minutes and overtime of those games. He also missed several free throws in that span…Can be a bit of a "flopper"…Smart's teams have lost in their first game in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years, despite being expected to win both times. The Cowboys also went on a big-time skid to end the Big 12 regular season, due, in part, to Smart's suspension and inability to right the ship as the team point guard and star player...NBA scouts will have the Texas Tech incident fresh in their minds, when Smart lost his cool and shoved a fan, earning him a three-game suspension. Smart doesn't always maintain his composure, which can force him to make bad decisions both in and out of gameplay, and doesn't always have a grey attitude or body language on the court. This incident could have scared away a few teams at the top of the draft…

Notes: Second-team All-American his freshman season…Pre-season All-American prior to this season…All-Big 12 as a sophomore…

Overall: Smart is an excellent combination of strength, size, length, instinct, and competitiveness that will not be found in any other player in this draft. His shooting stroke is subpar and his intensity can sometimes get the best of him, but Smart has a good chance at being a top-6 pick in this draft, holding his own with this year's crop of super-freshmen and Aussie phenom Dante Exum…

CHOKE.  I don't know how else to say it.  We CHOKED.  We were up by 21 two minutes into the 3rd and we CHOKED.  This might be a season-to-date low light for me.

WHY did we choke?  We outshot them 42% to 37%.  We outshot them from range with 7 3pt fgm and 32% vs 4 and 25% for them.  We had more assists, 22 to 12, than them.  We had 17 steals vs 8 for them.  We had 16 TOs vs 21 for them.  How did this happen?  Well, for one thing, we made a lot of dumb, brain dead mistakes.  We gave up 40 ftas.  40.  Mario Chalmers was 11-13.  Chalmers isn't that good that he should earn that many trips to the stripe.  They had 9 blocks, 3 by the ancient Vince Carter.  In the 2nd half, every time we went to the hoop there were at least 2, if not 3, Griz smothering the ball, and that's where their blocks were coming from.  Their defense got MUCH stiffer for most of the 3rd and all of the 4th and we didn't respond.

Then there were the refs.  I know every fan bitches about the refs, but in all the years I have been watching NBA basketball I have not seen a general level of incompetence like we have today.  3 men, assigned to watch 10 men, and they can't do it even though it is not unusual for 2-4 of those 10 men to be away from the ball, the rebound and the action.  A replay showed Zack Randolph putting two hands on Jae Crowder's chest and pushing him away for an offensive rebound.  No call, Zebo gets the bucket.  Sully drove into the lane and was getting bounced around, and it is not easy to bounce him around, and no call.  JaMychal (gee, thanks mom and dad!) Green puts his hand through the rim and into the net to deflect a shot and no call, should have been defensive goal tending.  I know bad calls go both ways, and the Memphis crowd was not happy with the referreeing in the first half, but man oh man.  When a hand goes up and the rim and net are moving and the ball isn't there, something happened.  If the ref underneath was watching the body contact and the shot, what were the other two refs watching?  When a player turns 90 degrees and puts two hands on a player's chest and suddenly he's all alone under the basket, something happened.  I watch Celtic games, obviously, and I watch some GSW games.  I don't watch that much of the rest of the NBA anymore because the referreeing taints the brand.

1.  Isaiah Thomas has gotten over his slump.  He may be a low % shooter overall, but last night he was 11-19 for 35, 4-8 from 3 and 8 assists with only 2 TOs.  His two TOs, though, were his usual, live TOs that result in a fast break for the other team.  Jeez, Isaiah, you're 5'9".  DO NOT dribble into a corner with a player on you and a double coming quickly.  DO NOT dribble to a sideline or a baseline with a double team on you.  Sidelines and baselines are like having additional defenders hemming you in.  Still, you cannot hang this one on Mighty Mite.  Don't worry, there are plenty of other culprits to blame.

2.  David Lee was awful.  I'm not just talking about all the times he got stuffed at the rim, I'm talking about all the shots he took where he didn't get stuffed and still couldn't hit them even though he was 8' or less from the rim.  2-12?  Why didn't Brad sit him down after, oh, say, 1-8?  Yeah, you earned yourself a lot of minutes with last night's performance, Lee.  You're making me wonder, Brad.

3.  Candidate #1 for the Brain Dead Dumbass Award is, in my opinion, Evan Turnover.  We make a steal.  We have two, TWO!, Celtics ahead of the field.  The correct pass is made to Turner who is in front, NOBODY near him.  The ball hits his hands and he loses it out of bounds.  Thinking about what kind of spectacular dunk he was going to do, I suppose.  There's 2 SURE points lost right there.  Another time he has the ball baseline and a defender is coming to challenge him.  Instead of going up strong he tries a dipsy doo reverse layup and blows it.  Another missed opportunity which should have earned us at least 1 ftm on the unavoidable foul if he just went straight up for the two handed dunk.  There's our 3 pt loss margin, folks.  0-2 for 0 points, 3 assists and 3 TOs and 2 rebs.  Why was he in there for 21 minutes and in clutch time?  You're making me wonder, Brad.

4.  I love Marcus Smart's defense.  He is active and has great instincts.  He made two steals just by cheating a bit and then reaching into the passing lane.  5 steals last night.  5.  We threw up 2 airballs, one was a buzzerbeater, and he was at the weak side of the rim for the attempted putback (one was a 24 second shot violation and the other he was fouled).  That's a good sense for whether a shot has a chance of going in, is going to bounce off the rim out front or, like in this case, just sail over the rim and fall to whomever is smart (Smart) enough to be there waiting for it.  He's a tiger on defense.  On offense, he's just a paper tiger.  His offense is killing us.  2-9 last night.  He is a horrible, horrible shooter.  I know I'm a broken record on his shooting motion but what does everybody else think?  Has anybody else noticed how many times his shots hit the back of the rim and bounce out high and hard?  No "shooter's bounce".  Watch his upper arm and how far over his head he brings the ball.  Watch his forearm and how far back on his head he brings the ball.  Now watch the follow through.  That is a lot of movement.  It's hard to have the control and soft touch you need to get a shooter's bounce when you have that many things moving that much.  Too much range of motion in his shot mechanics. You're making $3.4M this year, Mahcus, hire a shooting coach.  He'll break your shot down and fix it.  Last night, Smart committed one of those brain dead plays.  There were :39 seconds left, we were down by 1.  He drove baseline, getting past Barnes and went up for the layup.  3 Griz met him at the rim and Barnes gets credit for recovering and blocking his shot.  He thought he got fouled.  It wasn't obvious to me, but considering the way the refs were blowing it isn't inconceivable.  The ball goes out to Chalmers at mid-court and Smart commits a frustration foul.  Chalmers goes to the line and hits both.  Now, we're down 3 with :33 left.  Getting blocked is one thing, losing your cool and committing a foul on a good frito shooter so he can put us deeper into the hole was stupid and brain dead.  

5.  Amir with a solid night.  He is such an understated player.  No flash in the man, none, but he's there on defense, grabbing rebounds in traffic, and scoring on hook shots inside.  We all shook our heads when Danny signed him this summer, and for $12M!, but I think we're all seeing it now.  A smart, hard-working blue collar team player.  My type of player.

6.  Kelly is still suffering from Avery Bradley Syndrome.  He's starting off the game really well and then fades as the game goes on.  Not bad, just invisible.  Then again, to be fair, we, as a team, have faded quarter after quarter for the past few games.  Kelly's performance is perfectly consistent with the rest of the team's, and that's not good.

7.  Zebo won the Mastodon Mambo last night hands down.  Every time he went up against Sully I could feel the earth move out here in California.  Can't blame Sully's conditioning or lack of athleticism because Randolph can barely get up onto his toes.  Despite that, he had 25 points on 8-17 and 13 boards, 8 of them offensive.  Sully had 11 and 4 boards.  Where Zebo was going to the iron, and carrying Celtics on his back if need be, Sully was taking turnaround fadeaway jumpers.  Yeah he was hitting them, but look at the difference in the games.  Randolph played bigger than he is and Sully played smaller.  Sully had 5 fouls while Randolph only had 2, but that's because the refs can't see the widest man in the building throwing guys around like rag dolls, they can only see ticky-tack shit.  Speaking of brain dead screwups, Sully got the ball off a Crowder steal with 1:59 left in the game and the Celtics up by 1, and dribbled it up.  Instead of finding a guard, especially IT, he kept it and got fouled.  It was obviously a fouling situation and Sullinger, at 60% or so, is the obvious player to foul.  He hit 1 of 2.  It's little brain dead stuff like that.  God Forbid your ego take a back seat and you put the ball in the hands of a player who was 9-9 from the line last night and red hot and is shooting 89% on the year from the line.  As Dirty Harry said "A man's got to know his limitations".  Sullinger's, this year, is his frito shooting.  He likes to show off his BBIQ.  Well, this was a failing grade.  He should have given the ball up, but he had to play hero ball.  The way Thomas was shooting that's probably another point we coulda/shoulda had.

8.  I cannot count the number of times the Griz color commentator, Brevin Knight, mentioned that Bradley was "one of, if not THE, best on-the-ball defender in the NBA".  He was very complimentary of Bradley's game.  Bradley had a good one too.  Pretty solid.  2 steals.

9.  Not a great game by Crowder, but not too bad neither.  His shooting wasn't good, 4-11, but his defense on Jeff Green was.  It was Jeff Green for Tayshaun Prince and then Tayshaun Prince for Gigi and Jonas.  The net is we gave up Jeff Green for Jonas Jerebko.  After watching Jeff Green last night, I'm happy with that trade despite Gigi not sticking with the team and Jonas having a bad shooting year.  Green was 2-11.  Even David Lee, for all his problems last night, outplayed him.  

A lot of jumpshooting in the 2nd half.  As games, and the season, go on legs get tired and jumpshots don't drop as much.  I'll give the Griz credit for their swarming defense at the rim, they didn't get their 9 blocks out on the perimeter, but we made it easy for them too.  I've said we are "not a team of good finishers".  There's finishing and finishing. There's finishing at the rim on a shot or through contact, and there's finishing a quarter strong and there's finishing off an opponent when you have them down. Take your pick, we are still a team of lousy finishers. Last night we had a 34 point 1st quarter, but then it was 19, 23, 22.  It is not unusual anymore for our fg% to go south like a duck in winter in the 2nd half. Memphis, on the other hand, scored 63 points in the 2nd half.  That's more points in 2 quarter than we scored in 3.  Our late game failures to execute are the problem.

Danny needs to start dialing-for-dollars.  At this point I think we know what we got and what we got isn't going to get us to where we want to go.  Trade David Lee for a box of Krispy Kremes.  You only gave up Gerald Wallace for him, as long as you get a nice assortment the donuts are still a good deal.  Or buy him out and play Mickey. Hell, at this point, after the ugly losses to the Lakers and Brooklyn and last night, he could gut the entire team and I'd wave a fond farewell to them from the edge of the pier as they sail off into some other team's sunset. I know this is just frustration talking, but damn, it is frustrating! Those were 3 wins we should have had, easily.

5 weeks to the trade deadline.  The phone lines are going to start heating up soon anyway and I'm ready for it.  (phone lines?  What century am I living in?).


bob


.

Bob,

All you need to know are 2 things why we lost.

1) Out rebounded 58 Mem. to 39 Boston
2) Free Throw Attempts 40 Mem. to 23 Boston

I know how ref's can be but when it is one sided such as above it tells me we have a breakdown on defense and we were beaten to the position to defend.

Listen, the team is just not good and is at best +5 or -5 from 41 & 41.  Some of the signings I am still scratching my head on like Jonas Jerebko or Amir Johnson but if you take the position that they could be fillers to round out a trade........maybe I'll buy into it..........maybe!

So we wait and see who blinks first as we approach the trade deadline in February.....OTHER TEAMS OR DANNY!

Of note, Danny has to begin to be careful not to get caught with so many rookies or draft choices as they will become stale and loss value immediately.  BUT KEEP BROOKLYN'S PICKS...THEY ARE GOLD!

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anytime someone quotes Dirty Harry, I make sure to listen and take note.

The good news is almost the entire team is tradable.