Post Game Thread - vs Oklahoma City Thunder, Away

[bobheckler]

We scored 2 points in the last 2:27.  Our missed shots during that 2:27 included two blown layups by Bradley and two by Smart.  If you want to expand that a bit, we scored a total of four points in the last 6:00.  Two baskets, in half a quarter.  

This is not going into Brad's scrapbook.  His set up on the jump ball between Westbrook and Smart was incomprehensible.  As Scal mentioned there was nowhere for Smart to tap the ball to.  So, when Westbrook skied over Smart and slapped the ball into our back court there weren't any Celtics there to get it.  We were all trapped under their basket.  That failure cost us two fritos and that made Smart's 3pt buzzer beating heave a requirement.

Speaking of Smart, he is turning into a nice half court point guard.  He is, as Tommy would say, "nifty".  9 assists and only 2 TOs.  He also shot 5-11 with 1-4 from 3, which makes me very happy especially since it wouldn't be fair to hold that 3pt shot against him since that is not a shot most players would take if they didn't need to.  His defense, and 5-10 and 1-3 from 3?  I could definitely live with that.  He's pretty good at looking up court and making the long pass for a fast break.  Where he is weak is that he is not a fast dribbler up court.  So, if there isn't someone streaking, we have no fast break.  Nevertheless, a very good game by Smart.

Kelly with 8 boards in 22 minutes.  That's the 2nd game in a row where he rebounded great (Amir tied him for Celtic high rebounder, but Amir played 29 minutes).  He also played very good defense against Sabonis.  There was one defensive stand where he deterred an entry pass to Sabonis who was in the paint, then did a 1/2-3/4 front when Sabonis reset to deter another entry pass and then, when they got it to Sabonis in the blocks outside the paint (because Kelly denied them the angle in the paint) Kelly made it into a tough shot for Sabonis, who missed, and then Kelly got the board.  Who are you, and what have you done with Kelly Olynyk?  He is in a shooting slump but, interestingly and ironically, he is doing all the other stuff we complain about him not doing.  Unfortunately, that possession I described won't be in any highlight film because it resulted in a missed shot and not a steal or block or some quantifiable stat.

Bradley with a good game but his four TOs (at least 2 in the last 6 minutes) hurt.  That's one of the last parts of his game that is below par, his passing.

How can Terry Rozier look so good while shooting 3-12?  Brad had him in during crunch time.  That's a confidence builder for the young man, although winning would have made it even more so.

8 ftas.  Total.  I'm really trying to not blame the refs but we really do not go to the line much except for IT.  Do they not "sell" it well?  What's up?  We shouldn't get fritos if Brad's offense is getting us open looks but we went inside quite a bit and got nothing.  Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, loves to put his left elbow out where it can make contact with people's throats and faces, and he gets the whistle because, well, he's Russell Westbrook.  12 ftas for Russell is more than our entire team.  

Another good game by Brown.  Is that 3 in a row?  Maybe the light bulb has come on and is staying on?


They have a go to guy.  When the chips are down they give it to Russell Westbrook and he will get them points, directly with a shot or indirectly with a pass.  Without IT we have nobody.  Smart and Bradley's missed layups, and Horford's seemingly inconsistent play in crunch time, makes us a one-trick 5'9" pony.  Will OKC be hurting if/when Westbrook gets injured?  Yep, just like we are now and that's Danny's challenge.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400899799






bob


.

[dboss]

This was a very frustrating game to watch.

Once again Boston had a great chance of winning just like in Houston and once again we managed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

This team is missing something called mental toughness.  It the ability to play under pressure when the game is on the line and just execute.  

Bradley played very well but his turnovers are killing us.  Plus they are the exact same type of turnovers.  On the pick and role he tries to make bounce passes and they are getting stolen or he tries to pass the ball over the defender's head to his teammate and the ball is being stolen.    Big Al only had one turnover but it was huge.  

Ya think we missed IT last night? You bet.

Off the bench both Brown and Rozier played competitively and continue to gain valuable experience.

Zeller logged a DNP and has not been used much over the past 5 games.  KO is a guy still in search of his shot.  Surprisingly he has rebounded well the past two games but in this year 4 of his career there is no meaningful improvement in his overall game.  Jerebko went scoreless last night in limited action.  Amir continues to give us nothing!

Crowder shot well but did little on the glass and he also had 3 turnovers.

Last but not least we have Marcus Smart.  He went 1-4 from behind the arc and is shooting a very unacceptable 29% for the year.  He averages 4.8 three point shots per game out of 9.9 shots per game.  He is a horrible 3 point shooter who lacks the discipline to understand that he does not help his team by taking the.

Next up is the Spurs and I think one should expect another loss.

No signature win yet.

24 games in.  58 games remaining and The Celtics need to post a 37-21 record to reach the 50 win plateau

dboss

[112288]

Bottom line, the Celtics worked hard to gain a lead only to be out gunned at the end.

The team needs a multi player infusion of talent beyond what we presently have. Most of the players are inconsistent beyond Bradley, IT, Horford and Crowder.

A shake-up is needed before February trade deadline.

MAKE THE CELTICS GREAT AGAIN!

112288

[swish]

Bottom line,  the Celtics worked hard to gain a lead only to be out gunned at the end.

The team needs a multi player infusion of talent beyond what we presently have.  Most of the players are inconsistent beyond Bradley, IT, Horford and Crowder.

A shake-up is needed before February trade deadline.

MAKE THE CELTICS GREAT AGAIN!

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"MAKE THE CELTICS GREAT AGAIN!"

It's going to be hard to trump your above request.

swish

[international]

This game was lost due too bad coaching by Brad Stevens.Marcus Smarts was doing a great job defending Westbrook,but Stevens put Avery Bradley on Westbrook and he scored easily against Avery,Jalen Brown was playing very well but Stevens benched him the last part of the game,and for the second time Al Horford commited costly turnovers.We are going nowhere without a natural center and that is the reality,Steven Adams killed us in the paint too easy.

[cowens/oldschool]

This game was lost due too bad coaching by Brad Stevens.Marcus Smarts was doing a great job defending Westbrook,but Stevens put Avery Bradley on Westbrook and he scored easily against Avery,Jalen Brown was playing very well but Stevens benched him the last part of the game,and for the second time Al Horford commited costly turnovers.We are going nowhere without a natural center and that is the reality,Steven Adams killed us in the paint too easy.

agreed I thought he should have had Brown in there at the end instead of Rozier, I also thought the team defense collapsed at the end on Westbrook.


bob I told you Smart was capable of way more offensive responsibility than Tony Allen, no comparison to their offensive game. I'd like to see his mid range and post up game be incorporated more in the offense as he can overpower most points.

[bobheckler]

This game was lost due too bad coaching by Brad Stevens.Marcus Smarts was doing a great job defending Westbrook,but Stevens put Avery Bradley on Westbrook and he scored easily against Avery,Jalen Brown was playing very well but Stevens benched him the last part of the game,and for the second time Al Horford commited costly turnovers.We are going nowhere without a natural center and that is the reality,Steven Adams killed us in the paint too easy.

agreed I thought he should have had Brown in there at the end instead of Rozier, I also thought the team defense collapsed at the end on Westbrook.


bob I told you Smart was capable of way more offensive responsibility than Tony Allen, no comparison to their offensive game. I'd like to see his mid range and post up game be incorporated more in the offense as he can overpower most points.

Cow,

Post up?  Absolutely.  In fact, if I were Brad, I would have him in the post and move Horford to the arc.  That would drag Horford's man out and create more space for Smart and, if they switch so their big doesn't have to go out to the arc and defend Horford, then he can kick it out to Horford who is a MUCH better shooter from almost anywhere than Smart and he'll have a mismatch.  

Mid-range?  I don't know about that.  He appears to be good at floaters as he is going to the rim, although he did blow two key, clutch layups in crunch time in the OKC game, but catch-and-shoot?  Haven't seen it yet.  Not at all.  8' is not "mid-range".  To me, "mid-range" is 15' (the free throw line) to the arc.  If you want to move it in a foot or two to 13'-14', ok.  12', ok.  If you are within a few feet of the dotted-line restricted area (the top of the dotted semi-circle is 3' from the middle of the basket, which makes it about 4' from the backboard) that is NOT mid-range.

He appears to be a 2/3 on defense and a 1 on offense.  As a SG he is a disaster since he is not a good shooter from outside 10'.


bob


.

[112288]

We miss Evan Turner. He had size at 6'7" to post up or drive in the paint. Could play multiple positions well. So why settle for mediocrity. Currently the team is half empty with a lot of redundant players who cannot measure up. As I said we need a 3-4 personnel move/trade ASAP to bring in better talent around the core players. Turner was that type of player.

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