POST GAME WASHINGTON - HOME - MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AT SAM'S CELTIC FORUM

[112288]

Celtics Wrap: Bradley Beal, John Wall Lead Wizards Past Boston 111-103

NESN by Logan Mullen on Mon, Dec 25, 2017 at 7:58PM 2,894

The Boston Celtics didn’t have too jolly of a Christmas evening on Monday. In their first matchup against the Washington Wizards since the contentious Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, Boston dropped the Christmas Day tilt, 111-103 at TD Garden. The Celtics struggled to string together enough quality possessions to overtake the Wizards, who sat in the driver’s seat most of the night. Boston had its hands full with Wizards guards Bradley Beal and John Wall, who dropped 25 and 21 points, respectively. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring with 20 points. Terry Rozier (16), Al Horford (12), Daniel Theis (12) and Marcus Smart (10) also scored in double figures. The Celtics fell to 27-10 with the win, while the Wizards climbed to 19-15. Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Al Horford C: Aron Baynes

TURNOVERS CAUSE SLOW START The Celtics didn’t do themselves many favors to start the game, turning the ball over four times in the first, allowing Washington to finish the frame with a 30-24 lead. Shooting was an issue, with each Celtics player visibly struggling to find a rhythm. Because of shots not falling, most Celtics kept putting up less than ideal shots in hopes of building some offensive momentum. But as they kept missing, shot selection continued to get worse out of desperation. Irving did, however, start to find his shot as the period drew on, posting a team-high eight points by quarter’s end. Marcus Morris made his first appearance in eight games after nursing a knee injury.

BENCH HELPS KEEP BOSTON IN ARM’S REACH Boston began to fight back after the Wizards set the tempo in the first quarter. The Celtics took their first lead of the game in the final minute of the quarter. Horford was a key contributor in helping keep the Celtics within striking distance, posting 10 first half points, seven coming in the second quarter. He finished the half as the only Celtics player in double figures. Meanwhile, Boston continued to struggle with turnovers, turning the ball over five additional times in the quarter. Marcus Smart was the biggest culprit, turning the ball over three times alone, mainly off of careless passes. With few players for Boston really taking control of the game, the bench became a huge contributing factor. Led by Terry Rozier with seven points, the C’s finished the half with 21 points off the bench, while trailing by just two.

WIZARDS START SECOND HALF HOT Washington quickly opened up a 13-4 run over three minutes to begin the third. But after some timely shooting, the Celtics began to cut down a Washington lead that grew to as big as 11 in the quarter. The Celtics went scoreless in five consecutive possessions toward the end of the period, and never were able to secure a consistent enough run to build momentum and retake the lead. But they did just enough, however, to keep themselves close enough to strike. Rozier finished the period by hitting a 3-pointer to bring the Celtics within four, and the hit was a visible momentum-builder heading into the final frame.

EARLY BURST FROM BOSTON SQUANDERED The Celtics again kept chipping and chipping in the fourth quarter. And with the game knotted at 89, things finally felt like they were beginning to swing into Boston’s favor upon Rozier hitting a 3-pointer with 7:18 to play, giving the Celtics a 92-89 lead. But the lead didn’t hold for long. Kelly Oubre Jr. pulled the Wizards within one with 5:16 to play, and the hit a 3-pointer to give Washington the 97-95 lead at 4:34. Once Oubre Jr. hit the 3-pointer, Washington didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the game. The Celtics battled back after falling down by nine in the final two minutes, but their efforts were unfruitful by game’s end.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT Rozier has put together a pretty nice dunking highlight reel this season. UP NEXT The Celtics will hit the road and take on the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Tip from Spectrum Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
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Wizards spoil Celtics Christmas by rallying for 111-103 victory

NESN  By A. Sherrod Blakely December 25, 2017 8:15 PM


BOSTON – The high-level intensity and overall disdain we’ve come to expect when Boston and Washington play was nowhere to be found on Monday.

It was as if players for both teams were doing their best to make sure they were not on Santa’s naughty list.

That certainly worked out for the Celtics.

But the game itself?

Not so much, as the Wizards used a fourth-quarter surge fueled by multiple Celtics defensive breakdowns to pull out a 111-103 victory for a rare win in Boston.

Including the playoffs last season, Washington had lost nine in a row at the TD Garden prior to the Christmas Day win, the first time the Celtics have ever hosted a Christmas game.

Still, the Celtics kept things interesting, especially after a Terry Rozier 3-pointer with 1:02 to play cut Washington’s lead to 108-103.

But Boston’s inability to make a key defensive stop or finish off the play by grabbing the rebound proved to ultimately be its undoing.

And after Rozier’s 3, Bradley Beal missed a jumper only to have Otto Porter Jr. swoop in for the offensive rebound, which essentially ended any shot at a Celtics rally.

Beal had 25 points in leading the Wizards (19-15) while his backcourt mate John Wall had 21 points and 14 assists.

For Boston, Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum each had 20 points with Rozier (16 points) and Daniel Theis (12) each having a good game off the bench.

After spending most of the game playing from behind, the Celtics seemed to have found their groove early in the fourth.

Boston pulled ahead 95-90 following a 3-pointer by Irving, only to have the Wizards respond with a 12-0 run, capped by a Beal dunk that put Washington ahead 102-95 with 3:48 to play.

From there, the Celtics never strung together enough plays to gain any much-needed traction to make it a closer game.

Washington opened with a quick 5-0 spurt. Boston to respond by scoring 12 of the game’s next 18 points to trail, 13-12.

Boston continued to play close, but-not-close-enough basketball for the rest of the first quarter which ended with the Wizards on top, 30-24.

The Celtics have been a little too nice in the second quarter of games, allowing opponents to get pretty much anything and everything they want at both ends of the floor.

But on Monday, the Celtics were more Grinch-like in doing a better job of limiting the Wizards compared to the first quarter.

The Celtics took a short-lived lead on a Jayson Tatum driving lay-up that only to have the half to end with a Kelly Oubre Jr. basket and a short jumper by Bradley Beal that gave the Wizards a 52-50 advantage at intermission.
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Beal's 25 points carries Wizards by Celtics 111-103

ESPN BOSTON

BOSTON -- Bradley Beal scored 25 points, John Wall had 21 points and 14 assists, and the Washington Wizards beat Boston 111-103 on Monday in the Celtics' first Christmas Day home game in franchise history.

Otto Porter Jr. added 20 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 16, helping Washington take the first meeting between the teams since Boston's Game 7 victory at home in the second round of the playoffs last spring.
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Eastern Conference-leading Boston lost for the third time in four games. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum each scored 20 points for the Celtics, and Terry Rozier had 16.

Boston opened a 95-90 lead on Irving's 3-pointer with 6:18 left, but the Wizards responded with a 12-0 run. Beal capped the spurt with a three-point play and a breakaway dunk off a turnover.

Wall added a layup and two free throws down the stretch to help Washington hold on

Last season, the teams had a testy rivalry with lots of trash-talking and a few games filled with hard fouls. It was more civil on Monday, just a tight defensive game with numerous contested shots and a few hard screens.

The Wizards led by two at halftime and opened the third quarter by scoring 13 of the first 17 points, pulling ahead 65-54 on Marcin Gortat's three-point play. Gortat had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

TIP-INS

Wizards: It was Gortat's ninth double-double this season. ... Wall was scoreless in the opening quarter.

Celtics: F Marcus Morris returned after missing 10 of the last 11 games with a sore left knee. ... Reserve F Semi Ojeleye missed the game with a sore back after he tested it during pregame warmups.

FIRST NOEL

The Celtics played for the 31st time on Christmas, with 28 of the previous games on the road and the other two at neutral sites before Monday.

"As much fun as it is to be with family, this is what our family does," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "We've been in gyms for most Christmases of our lives, so it's really fun to get a chance to compete on Christmas Day."

GRONK SIGHTING

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was seated courtside wearing a Santa hat. He got a huge ovation when he was shown on the videoboard.

FAMILY TIME

Morris brothers Marcus (Boston) and Markieff (Wizards) were matched up against each other a few times. At one point, it looked as if they were both smiling when Marcus missed a jumper over his brother.

WARM WELCOMING

Injured forward Gordon Hayward walked out to center court before the game and wished the fans a merry Christmas and happy holidays on behalf of the Celtics' organization.

UP NEXT

Wizards: At the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Celtics: At the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. Boston won the previous game between the teams on Nov. 10 at home.

Check out the team sites for the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics for more game coverage.


112288

[worcester]

Ouch.

[112288]

As Doris Burke said correctly................Celtic problems are defensive rebounds and mental lapses on defense.

Once Irving went into his iso play with a little less then 7 minutes to go and the Celtics up, it all went to the crapper. Rozier tried to duplicate Irving with a 1 on 1 and that resulted in a turnover.

They did not learn that how they got the lead was through run and gun offense and ball movement.

The Washington game was a good measure to where the team is .......which is middle of the road and nothing special.

Defense and Rebounding Please ..............Noel Noel.................and the fans did sing.................and I am not singing any Christmas song!

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[worcester]

Wizards got too many offensive rebounds: 14 to 8 and 47 TRB to our 37. End of story.

[112288]

worcester

Correct! That is the biggest problem facing the Celtic. During the winning streak we lead the league or close to leading the league in rebounds.

112288

[bobheckler]

Brown was seen leaving the Garden with a crutch under his left arm.  His status for the game on Wednesday vs Charlotte is unclear.

More as we know it.


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

Brown was seen leaving the Garden with a crutch under his left arm.  His status for the game on Wednesday vs Charlotte is unclear.

More as we know it.


bob


.

Shit, not good

[wideclyde]

Rebounding is and always has been far more of a mental thing than a physical one. If a player wants to rebound better, he can.

There is no good reason why the Cs have gone from one of the better rebounding teams in the league to not being one. There has been no roster changes, and the other teams are not bigger than they were earlier in the season, etc, etc. This is a team mental issue that needs to be fixed immediately.

[worcester]

I suggest that Brad take the entire team to see The Darkest Hour about Winston Churchill and the spirit which infused the British people to overcome Nazism. We need a bit more of that Horatio at the Bridge attitude on the boards to start winning again regularly.

[worcester]

Well perhaps not the entire team. Maybe Theis could be excused from seeing it.

[bobheckler]

Well perhaps not the entire team. Maybe Theis could be excused from seeing it.

Yeah, he might go in the opposite direction and invade Yabusele's locker.


bob


.

[worcester]

For which Yabu, being French, would put up no resistance.

[NYCelt]

Rebounding is and always has been far more of a mental thing than a physical one.  If a player wants to rebound better, he can.

There is no good reason why the Cs have gone from one of the better rebounding teams in the league to not being one.  There has been no roster changes, and the other teams are not bigger than they were earlier in the season, etc, etc.  This is a team mental issue that needs to be fixed immediately.

True. Wanting the ball and positioning.

Height, reach & other physical factors come after.

[bobheckler]

We just could not get stops.  Nobody stayed in front of Wall, which created opportunities for everybody else.  14 assists for Wall.  3 Wizard starters with 20+ points.  We can't even claim that it was one guy like Russell Westbrook or Devin Booker or Kevin Durant that did us in.  And they only shot 6-26 from 3, 67 of their 93 fgas were 2s.  Old school.

We only had 81 fgas.  That is anemic.  We had 16 TO and they had 6 steals, not good but not bad enough to explain it.  They did, however, have 16 fast break points to only 9 for us.  For the 5th youngest team in the NBA we sure don't run much, do we?  81 fgas and only 9 fast break points?  Where's the "Pace", Brad?

Marcus Morris was 1-7.  I know he wanted to play his twin, but not like that.

Theis moving up on the depth chart.  Baynes started but only played 10 minutes and was 0-3 for 0 points.  Theis played 18 and had 12 on 4-6, 1-1 from 3 and 4 boards.  Theis is playing very well.  He's playing quick, he's rolling well and fights under the boards.  At the start of the season Baynes looked like the answer to Cowens' dreams.  Kendrick Perkins with soft hands, a mid-range and a very physical presence.  He was an animal on the boards.  He stood in the lane and let guys run into him and they'd bounce.  The last few weeks or a month, though, he has looked slow and oafish.  He isn't rotating quickly enough to get in position, he's committing stupid fouls and he isn't rebounding the same.  He isn't the same player, I don't know why, but he isn't.  Fatigue?  Possible given our schedule, for everybody for that matter.  Banged up from having all those players running into him?  Also very possible.  Nevertheless, Daniel Theis has been doing everything right.  Who is that masked man?

Our bench scoring was pretty good.  We got the good TRo, the dumb Smart and ubermensch Theis.  Rozier had 16 points on 6-9 and 4-6 from 3, 7 rebounds.  Smart had 10 on 4-9 (very acceptable from him) but some really, really dumb turnovers.  Theis, as I said, was effective and efficient.  Morris ME-balled his way into a forgettable game.  Overall, however, our usually unproductive bench scored 43 points on 16-34 (47%), 19 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 TOs (3 by Smart, 2 by Theis).  They played a total of 95 minutes.  In a regulation 240 minute game that's 39.5% of the total minutes.  They scored almost 42% of the points, grabbed 42% of the rebounds.  So, on a /minute basis they more than held their own.  Our problem was our starters.

Jaylen Brown 8 points on 3-9.  He had 9 rebounds, to his credit, but 3-9 and 8 points?  He has to do better.  0-5 from 3 and 2-5 from the line.  He is very inconsistent.  Some games he looks like he's a future perennial all-star and then we get games like this.  The only thing that is consistent about him is his frito shooting, and that's not a good thing.

One of the downsides to Brad's idea that "3s are the future" is that we aren't getting to the line much.  Washington got 28 ftas because they took a lot of 2s and went inside.  We don't.

One big bright spot for us was Jayson Tatum.  He is going to be a BIG star in the league in very few years, sooner than most players achieve stardom.  He tied Kyrie with 20 points but on a very efficient 7-9.  He and Bradley Beal go way back, they consider each other brothers, and Beal is a HUGE fan of Tatum's.  


Jay King @ByJayKing

yesterday

Bradley Beal believes Jayson Tatum will be "special," urges Celtics rookie to evolve into "straight-up killer" masslive.com/celtics/index.…
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If that ever happens, if Jayson Tatum ever develops the mentality to become a "straight up killer", we will have a player that will make Cowens forget about Paul Pierce (obviously a very, very high bar to clear, and not just for Cowens).  Seriously, Tatum is looking more and more like a franchise player in the making and we haven't drafted one of those since, well, Paul Pierce.  Even Pierce's rookie year wasn't as good as Tatum's in most categories.  Nor was Pierce's rookie team as good as this one.  He was "The Savior" and had a lot of pressure on him to shoot and score and turn the team around.  Tatum isn't expected to be that.  He can afford to be more choosy about his shots.

/36mpg in ()
Rookie Year..........mpg.....fga/game...........fg%.......3ptfgas.......3ptfg%.....fta.............ft%.......reb................ast.............ppg
Pierce.................34.0.....13.5(14.3).........43.9.......4.3(4.5)......41.2........4.1(4.3).....71.3......6.4(6.eight).....2.4(2.5).....16.5(17.4)
Tatum.................30.7.....9.2(10.eight).....51.5.......3.0(3.5)......50.0........3.7(4.3).....82.4......5.6(6.6)..........1.4(1.7).....14.0(16.4)

My conclusion?  Tatum needs more fgas.  Duh, huh?  His efficiency is off the charts.  Pierce only scored 2.5 ppg more than Tatum is despite taking 4+ more fgas/game and more fritos and Pierce was the premier shooter on that team, with 'Toine filling up the boxscore with chucks.  Tatum is not the #1 scoring option on this one, but he should be the #2 scoring option and my prediction is that by April he will be.

In the end, though, it was their second chance shots that croaked us.  14 offensive rebounds.  Porter, Gortat and Oubre with 3 each.  That's just poor rebounding by us.  No effort.  Some of their offensive rebounds were created by someone like Gortat slapping the ball out to the mid-court line.  That's poor boxing out.  You need to put a body on him and keep him away from the ball.  We didn't.  For the first 18 games of the season we were the #1 defensive rebounding team in the NBA.  We have been 28th over the last 19 games.

We are 5-6 in our last 11 games.  I know the schedule has been crazy and we've had injuries but that's not good.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400974447



bob


.

[swish]

Report on Brown injury.

http://www.espn.com/nba/injuries

swish

[112288]

I suggest that Brad take the entire team to see The Darkest Hour about Winston Churchill and the spirit which infused the British people to overcome Nazism. We need a bit more of that Horatio at the Bridge attitude on the boards to start winning again regularly.

Seeing the movie this afternoon!

As far as rebounding..............have Brad find you tube..................google RED ON ROUND BALL.........BILL RUSSELL ON REBOUNDING! A great short filmed with Russell demonstrating the 'ART OF REBOUNDING" !

It all has to do with boxing out and body position that most of the Celtics are not doing now.

112288

[worcester]

So true 112288.

You will really enjoy Winston.

[bobheckler]

Jay King @ByJayKing

about 12 minutes ago

Since the day the winning streak ended, the Celtics have essentially morphed into last season's team. 2016-17: ORtg 108.6, DRtg 105.5, Reb% 48.5. Since Nov. 23: ORtg 108.6, DRtg 105.9, Reb% 47.5.
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bob


.

[worcester]

Scata!

[atcross]

They look tired. They're a half step slow and a little sloppy. Hopefully after the trip to London they'll have a chance to catch their breath. A lot of rookies are getting big minutes. There's a price for that.

[cowens/oldschool]

Enjoy the journey, even during winning streak I didn’t think this was our year, this year is about development to me, I don’t even want Hayward to come back, we need him for next year....next year is the start of a new reign of terror.

[mrkleen09]

Enjoy the journey, even during winning streak I didn’t think this was our year, this year is about development to me, I don’t even want Hayward to come back, we need him for next year....next year is the start of a new reign of terror.

Agree 100% and have said this many times out here.

This team is NOT the best team in the East, more like a 3 or 4 seed at best. All of this season is house money. Tatum, Brown, Theis, Semi - are learning by fire. Rozier, Smart, Baynes and Morris - are auditioning for a longer term role. Lots of these players will not be part of the next Boston championship team.

That in no way excuses a lack of intensity, hustle or effort - nor does it mean that DA should not keep looking for that exemption signing or a veteran down the stretch. But in terms of picking players apart night after night, I dont see the point.

[112288]

I agree with MRKLEEN about the players.

We are not the 2008 team..........however we are getting closer.

At this point, it is not so much the players, although a better center and shooter off the bench would help. No, it is the system breakdown that is causing the failure. The players executed the system early on to give them the long winning streak..........I think its more on the coaching staff to adjust the system and player personnel that will right the ship.

112288

[steve3344]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/m/92234d58-9500-3f31-8429-14b20cf5e98d/ss_jaylen-brown-and-semi-ojeleye.html

[dboss]

Games are won and loss based on how well a team executes in all key areas.

What stands out for me is the 81 FGA for Boston compared to 93 for Washington.  What was behind those numbers?  You can start with turnovers where Boston produced 16 during the game and Washington only had 8.  The Wizards also had 16 fast break points compared to only 9 for the Celtics.  The Celtics with only 2 steals and the Wizards had 6.  Rebounding was pretty even.

The Celtics outshot them in all areas.

In the end it comes down to pace.  The fundamentals of what creates pace were poor.  When you persist in turning the ball over to a good team you are likely to lose.  When you do not turn them over you are likely to lose.  When you don't get out and run you are likely to lose even when you shoot better than they did.  Players are responsible for what they do on the court and the coach is responsible for not coaching the team up.  So much of this is mental, not physical.

dboss

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