Post Game Thread - Celts vs. Clippers 2-13-2020

[worcester]

I'll leave this to the professionals to elaborate, but first I've just got to say, for me this was the best game of the year. So many clutch plays by so many Celtics against an excellent Clippers team.
Jayson was stellar, as was Marcus, on offense and defense. Gordon stepped up BIG TIME when needed in the 2nd half and overtimes, on both on offense and defense as well. Kemba was off with his shot but still scored 19, grabbed 9 clutch rb's, and dished out 7 assists.

Daniel was a key contributor until he fouled out. Enes not so much, and then he limped off. Grant's game didn't really show up on the stat sheet,but he made some huge plays that helped us win. Without his heads up play near the basket we probable lose. Wanamaker was - how many times have we said this? - solid.

We are a damn good basketball team, and we play as a team. This game was a nail biting joy to watch. Go CELTS.

Now let's let the really good writers tell us what happened.

[cowens/oldschool]

Jayson Tatum coming out party against the best player in the game!!!!

What a grinding exhausting playoff intense like game, we hung in there, Tatum made so many great plays both ends, took the great Kawhi out of the game in 2nd overtime defensively....amazing. Any words might not do justice in describing the incredible play of the next franchise superstar....did it inside, outside, midrange all under most intense situations with the game on the line.

[worcester]

And he is only 21 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a performance Jayson. What a great player.

[tardust]

I doubt Max Kellerman will even mention Leonard tomorrow on First Take. He goes on and on about Leonard being the best player in the league.

Marcus played very well. He got us started in the first quarter big time. Brown does that a lot for us. Then Tatum comes on like gang busters.

Tatum was 5-7 from the field in first quarter then Brad iced him. Pulled him out while he was hot and sit him for right at 6 minutes of the second quarter. He got one shot and one point the second quarter.

Walker hits some big shots a lot for us, but unlike someone else that use to play here he trusts our other players and it pays off. I wish he would change shoes, I can't believe how many times he slipped while making moves. He may want to talk with the manufacturer about it.

When one of our three 20 point scorers like Brown tonight, it hurts us because we don't get a lot of bench points. We usually have to have someone step up like Smart tonight and Tatum going on a binge. We could have used Brown's 20 points tonight. I sure wish he had someone like Lou Williams coming in with a scorers mentality.

Hard to complain since we got the win. All these TV experts always talk about other teams having key guys injured. I bet we are right up there with games missed by a team for injuries this year, it just doesn't get mentioned a lot.

I get frustrated about our defense, especially when we let guards from the other team go off on us, but here we are one of the top defenses in the league.

Like Smart said we don't get a lot of respect from the officials. I think LA was the benefit of a lot of questionable calls tonight just like they were the first time we played them. Those traveling call drive me nuts, along with the palming of the ball. I see so much of that every nite I watch a game that goes uncalled.

[kdp59]

playoff level game for sure, great for our young team to get this experience. Even better to come away with the win, without one of our key players no less.

Stevens may not trust Langford in these big games yet, it would seem. But I hope by the time the playoffs start he moves ahead of Semi on the depth chart ( not a cut on Semi, he does what he does for sure).

[dbrown4]

tardust,

I'll drive my car off a 1,000 ft cliff if Boston is not #1 in injuries to key players by a wide margin.  Clips also lost George so we will call it a wash and maybe an advantage to the Clips since George still hasn't found himself/fit in in Clipperville yet.  It would be interesting to know though.  

Gutsy win.  That's all i can say.  Interesting comment Worcester with Kemba had an off-night (but damn near got a 3D!)  He has to feel a great amount of relief and pride when we win games like this.  In Charlotte, they would have lost this game by 40.  You can still win and have an "off" night.

Marcus Smart again doing whatever it takes.  Not going to lose on my account is essentially what he said last night.  OG either.  He had a gritty night.  But did it in such a smooth, Gordon-like fashion...until the end when he stole the Clips inbound pass and got fouled. then youlook back and say, "Dang! This guy played a helluva game!"  

Should have tossed Clips Williams with all his jawing with the refs.  If that was Marcus Smart doing that, he'd be watching the game from the locker room.

I like the way Marcus Morris, Sr. thought he was all that when he sunk that three late. It's going to take a little more than that my friend.  

I think Doc and LeBron have the same mother.  Dang, I've never seen somebody whine so much about nothing.  Doc, check your bank account and "grab a Coke and a smile and shut the eff up!"  (Can't claim this one.  Anyone know where this quote came from?!)

Again, this is all I'm asking for...show me something.  This team is doing this now on a nightly basis and better than I'm expecting.  Brilliant.  Still don't know what happened in Houston.  We should have clobbered those clowns.

db

[mrkleen09]

Was Doc this annoying when he was here? Guess I only notice when it is on the other bench, but he was pain in the ass last night - and clearly never knows when enough it enough. His team got a TON of beneficial calls, yet you would never know that from his incessant bitching.

Not sure I was the first one to say it, but I have said it early and often. Jayson Tatum is borderline unstoppable already and is a superstar in the making. Top 10 player in the NBA - probably the best two way player in the league. Absolute Monster. Sign him to a 500 million dollar 10 year deal now.

Loved watching them take the best of the Clippers and rip their hearts out in 2OT. Great great great win.

[wideclyde]

Great game to watch! So, much better team to watch and follow this year.

[worcester]

Celts current injury list - Jaylen Brown, Rob Williams, Enes Kanter.
Those are three significant players!

As great as Jayson's offense was last night, and many nights before, what amazes me is how terrific his defense has become. This is one smart, gritty, determined, hard working uber athletic superstar in the making right before our very eyes. And Jaylen Brown is damn good too!

An overlooked fine player - Daniel Theis. He has done so much for our team on such a small paycheck.

[sinus007]

Hi,
Great win, no doubt.
Everybody contributed. In their own ways: JT loudly, GH quietly. Kind of pedestrian output from Kemba. And no JB.
Speaking of which. I looked up after 54 games: 68 missed game for our core 6 (KW, MS, JB, GH, JT and DT), 11 missed games for each on average. I wonder if other top teams are in the same boat?

AK

[bobheckler]

I was a washed-out dish rag by the end of this, completely emotionally spent.  Being Thursday I was at Ozumas.  I kept getting yelled at to move because I kept jumping up and pacing and, because I was sitting at the sushi bar, I kept getting between the TV and the rest of the patrons (the TV is behind the bar).  Everybody knows my name now, that's for sure.  Good news, bad news.

141 is the most number of points the Celtics have scored in a game since November 1992.

I wouldn't be shoveling dirt onto Kawhi quite yet if I were you.  He had 28 points and 11 rebounds.  On any other night that'd be Sportcenter stuff.  And he didn't need to carry them, Lou Williams was doing that for them.  33fgas by Williams.  33 out of 110.  That's crazy.  Put the two of them together and you've got 60 out of 110 fgas accounted for.  That would have been different if PG hadn't left the game, they had to shoulder a bigger load, but still, damn, that's a lot of shots.

Montrezl Harrell was in full-blown beast mode.  24 points on 7-12, 10-13 from the line, 13 rebounds, 6 of them offensive and 3 blocks.  I don't know if that's the best game he's ever played but it has to be up there.  Theis fouled out trying to stop him, Kanter was useless too.  Williams tried but was almost chalk outlined for his efforts with that dunk by Harrell in 2OT.  Not that Kanter was too awful, he had 8 points and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes, he just couldn't contain Harrell.  Grant also did a good job, especially on defensive rotations, after Theis fouled out.  5 personal fouls, unimpressive box score, but he made good challenges.  I've been saying Grant shouldn't be playing 5 as much, he should be playing his more natural position of 4.  Watching him being used as Montrezl Harrell's chewy toy last night is making me reconsider this.

But the best player on the floor last night, for either team, was Boston's very own newest superstar, Jayson Tatum.  What I liked the most about his game is that he took 23 fgas but only 10 of them were 3s.  That means that 13 out of 23 were 2s.  He also was the defender on Kawhi's last few fgas, the ones that missed and gave us the chance to win.  He leaves to go to his first All-Star game ascendant.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
Kawhi Leonard went 1-of-6 against the #Celtics in OT. Jayson Tatum was the primary defender on all of those shot attempts in the midst of a 39-point performance.

Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
about 8 hours ago
Jayson Tatum’s last five games 29.0 PPG 50 percent from field 44.7 percent from 3 (9.4 attempts per game) 7.2 FTAs per game (just 66.7 percent, which is weird) 8.2 REBs 3.4 ASTs


Another Celtic that came up big was Marcus Smart.  Not only was he playing his usual mad dog defense he also scored 31 points.  31 points on 50% shooting by a guy who is averaging 12.5 ppg on 38% shooting is huge. And 4 steals.  Stellar defense on Kawhi.  Marcus Smart is a big-game player who makes winning basketball plays and who, last night, out-defended a 2X DPOY.  

Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
2 hours ago
Marcus Smart guarded Kawhi Leonard for a team-high 26.9 partial possessions last night, per the NBA’s matchup data. He held him to four points on 1-of-6 FG.

Awful game by Gordon Hayward.  Couldn't throw the ball in the ocean from the shore.  Gave up an unbelievably dumb foul to Shamet that almost cost us the game on a 3+1.  Awful.  Until.  He made 3 big plays in a row in 2OT that won it for us.  With 1:52 left in 2OT and the score 134-132, he hits a 3 from the corner.  Then, with :55 left, he blocks Lou Williams' layup and it's still a 5-point game.  We come down and with :35 left Gordon misses a 3 but gets his own rebound (on what, I seem to remember, was a great tap out by Grant) and gets fouled by Williams.  Harrell fouls Hayward again, resulting in fritos and that pretty much iced it.  So, to sum up, Gordon Hayward with an offensive rebound, a block and 7 points in the last 1:36.  In fact, there were only 10 points scored, total by both teams, adding Harrell's dunk on Grant Williams at 1:52 in the last 2 minutes.  10 points in the last 2 minutes, and Gordon owns 7 of them.  The Harrell dunk and a meaningless frito by a Clipper end-of-bencher after it was all over account for the other 3 points.  ALL of our scoring in those 2 minutes were Gordon's.  All is forgiven.

I expect to read Clipper fans, on the Comments From The Other Side thread later today, to talk about how things would have been different if PG had played the whole game.  Well, that's true, but they got 15 minutes more from him than we got from Jaylen Brown.  PG is averaging just under 30mpg this season and 21.7 ppg.  Jaylen is averaging 33.6mpg and 20.2 ppg.  So, the difference between those two players is minimal in terms of minutes played and points delivered.  Jaylen's scoring is much more efficient.  His eFG% is 56%, PG's 52.4%.  PG had 4 points on 2-7 when he left after 15 minutes played.  Could he have turned it on after halftime?  Sure, but that would also have meant fewer touches for Kawhi and Williams.  The addition of Brown would have meant fewer shots by Gordon, who was 6-21, and Kemba who was 5-17.  Fewer shots by killers like Kawhi and Williams is bad.  Fewer shots by 2 players who were a combined 11-28 and have some of those fgas be taken by a high percentage scorer, good.  I don't expect Clipper fans to see this.

One of these days Theis will get some respect from the refs.  Last night wasn't it.

Leave it to Brad Stevens to maintain an even strain:
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Brad Stevens not taking too much from this win: “If you want to beat a good team, you have to beat other good teams. And if you want to be a championship team, you have to beat them four times in two weeks.”

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401161460






bob



.

[dboss]

The Celtics could have finished this one off in regulation if they showed a bit more discipline.

Saw a lot of great shots and a lot of bad ones too.

You could pretty much make a highlight reel on Tatum from this one magnificent game.  I really thought he was going to  be good and then I thought he had definite all-star potential.

Now the conversation has to change to him becoming an elite talent.  He is in fact becoming an elite player right in front of our eyes.

A lot of guys played well last night.  

best feelings I had was

winning the game
not letting Morris be the hero
GH coming through in the clutch despite him being dogged out
The puppy dog sad face from doc
A thumb in the eye of the TNT Celtics haters
Reaffirmation that the Celtics are contenders.

[Shamrock1000]

Couple of thoughts. 1) This team has a lot of poise. Especially considering their youth. Time and time again they have shown the ability to execute down the stretch against good teams in high pressure situations. Brad definitely gets some credit here, but the players must still execute, and they have. 2) Similarly, with very few exceptions, we are in almost every game. With so many guys who can get buckets, we keep chugging along even when a player or two has an off night like Kemba and Gordon did last night. It's not just KW, JT, JB, & GH - Enes the menace can put the ball in the hoop, and Marcus has scoring explosions. This is why we have such a good overall point differential - even if individual players lack consistency, the overall team is consistent.

[dboss]

I hope that Romeo gets to play more after the all-star break.  I think you have to accept that young 19 year olds will have ups and downs but I do believe that he can help this team right now.  

The Celtics may get a boost from the return of Robert Williams.

[cowens/oldschool]

Tatum showed superstardom level, you know Larry Legend level. He showed the last game vs Clippers when he led both teams in scoring with 30, was no fluke. He is playing the best basketball of his career, has the step back 3, the Kobe/Durant midrange game where he just hits extended jumpers in your face, with that reach impossible to block, has some McHale like up and under post moves, has great drives with either hand. On the break as a finisher has the Worthy like extension and burst, can defend, as he’s fast and getting stronger and stronger with phenomenal length....shutdown the great Kawhi when he had to.

Marcus Smart showed up and showed he can get up for big games and be a force with all his hard nosed play and improved shooting and he’s got great handle and vision to go with the dirty work we love, the corner 3 was riveting!!! GH doing good things late, hey better late then never in a crucial part of the game, he stuck with it, played thru a cold spell and made huge winning plays. Kemba also off, but competed, played hard and still hit some crucial shots....great entertaining exhausting playoff type game.

[Shamrock1000]

Tatum showed superstardom level, you know Larry Legend level. He showed the last game vs Clippers when he led both teams in scoring with 30, was no fluke. He is playing the best basketball of his career, has the step back 3, the Kobe/Durant midrange game where he just hits extended jumpers in your face, with that reach impossible to block, has some McHale like up and under post moves, has great drives with either hand. On the break as a finisher has the Worthy like extension and burst, can defend, as he’s fast and getting stronger and stronger with phenomenal length....shutdown the great Kawhi when he had to.

+1

Would also like to note that while he occasionally gets criticized here and elsewhere for his efficiency this year, his numbers have pretty much returned to the high levels they were at his first couple of years. So, the argument that he is somehow a Kobe-esque "volume scorer" is becoming more and more untenable.

[bobheckler]

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
2 hours ago
L2M report rules that the carry call in late 4Q on Kawhi was wrong and the push off on Jayson Tatum in late 2OT was also wrong. No other errors.


Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
about 1 hour ago
Per the NBA’s L2M report, the officials made the correct call waving off Lou Williams’ near and-one last night late in the first OT. Hayward fouled him before his upward shooting motion.



bob


.

[worcester]

"Playing the best basketball of his career..."

Ah yes, his long, long 29 month career in the NBA.

KIDDING ASIDE, Jaylen is a monster on the court now.

[tardust]

Hi,
Great win, no doubt.
Everybody contributed. In their own ways: JT loudly, GH quietly. Kind of pedestrian output from Kemba. And no JB.
Speaking of which. I looked up after 54 games: 68 missed game for our core 6 (KW, MS, JB, GH, JT and DT), 11 missed games for each on average. I wonder if other top teams are in the same boat?

AK

There have been quite a few games where multiple players were out and we won. Maybe 3 starters at one time in some games.

[tardust]

I hope that Romeo gets to play more after the all-star break.  I think you have to accept that young 19 year olds will have ups and downs but I do believe that he can help this team right now.  

The Celtics may get a boost from the return of Robert Williams.

I agree 100%. He just needs to get regular time each game. He is uncanny finishing around the basket and his defense will improve as he get time. I really like him a lot.

[cowens/oldschool]

I hope that Romeo gets to play more after the all-star break.  I think you have to accept that young 19 year olds will have ups and downs but I do believe that he can help this team right now.  

The Celtics may get a boost from the return of Robert Williams.

I agree 100%.   He just needs to get regular time each game.  He is uncanny finishing around the basket and his defense will improve as he get time.  I really like him a lot.

Right I’m looking forward to see how good our defense can be with young Robert Williams, the other pieces sure are good that he’s going to be playing with again, that’s why we lead the league in deflections. If I was a center, and I always wished I could be Dave Cowens, playing with Smart, Brown, Tatum would be so much fun, those are 3 all defensive athletes/talents that will go after you and chase you down and Gordon has made huge defensive plays too. So now if this athletic talent can stay healthy and just play, with the way he can jump at his height with these other high end pieces, boy could that be a dynamic defense to say the least. This defense is still so young and growing, like the games of 2 J’s, we obviously haven’t seen the best of this defense or this team. Jaylen had some great games too right before he hurt both ankles. He had a game with 12-13 FG from 2, then in his last game, playing on a bad ankle he still shot 4-8 from 3. So Jaylen gonna be crashing this bandwagon further too. If RW can stay healthy he can add a lot to this team.

[dbrown4]

We're going to need everyone showing up for all the remaining games. TOR won't be getting any worse or falling off. 1st place is no longer available unless MIL actually has an significant injury this season. PHI thinks they have something but if everyone is winning at the same clip, the scene doesn't change. It's really the battle for 2nd place. It's ours to win or lose.

db

[bobheckler]

I hope that Romeo gets to play more after the all-star break.  I think you have to accept that young 19 year olds will have ups and downs but I do believe that he can help this team right now.  

The Celtics may get a boost from the return of Robert Williams.

I agree 100%.   He just needs to get regular time each game.  He is uncanny finishing around the basket and his defense will improve as he get time.  I really like him a lot.

Right I’m looking forward to see how good our defense can be with young Robert Williams, the other pieces sure are good that he’s going to be playing with again, that’s why we lead the league in deflections. If I was a center, and I always wished I could be Dave Cowens, playing with Smart, Brown, Tatum would be so much fun, those are 3 all defensive athletes/talents that will go after you and chase you down and Gordon has made huge defensive plays too. So now if this athletic talent can stay healthy and just play, with the way he can jump at his height with these other high end pieces, boy could that be a dynamic defense to say the least. This defense is still so young and growing, like the games of 2 J’s, we obviously haven’t seen the best of this defense or this team. Jaylen had some great games too right before he hurt both ankles. He had a game with 12-13 FG from 2, then in his last game, playing on a bad ankle he still shot 4-8 from 3. So Jaylen gonna be crashing this bandwagon further too. If RW can stay healthy he can add a lot to this team.

Cow,

We all know some people were born ahead of their time. Dave Cowens was 50 years ahead of his time. He was an undersized, highly mobile and athletic 2020 NBA center, who could shoot from range. He could swarm on defense, block shots, run the floor and shoot from as far as the game required him to do at the time. Is there any doubt he could have added a few extra feet onto his range if there was a 3pt line that had it make sense (The NBA started the 3pt shot in the '79-80 season. Cowens' last full season was '79-80. He took 2 years off and came back with Milwaukee at age 34 for half a season and then realized his ankles wouldn't let him play the way he wanted to and he retired for good)?


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

Bob I agree with all that, Cowens did as well against the big centers in his era as humanly possible, leading his team to 2 titles and with a little luck could have easily been 4 titles, he could have played in any era. I loved watching him defend and attack the boards....but my point was the other pieces on this team that don’t play the 5 are extremely gifted/talented defensively. I believe we are the 3rd ranked team defensively and lead the league in deflections as was pointed out during the Clippers game. Tatum as we know has taken a huge leap, never saw anyone stop Kawhi like that, well actually Jaylen had some great D on him last Clipper game too. We might have the best combination of defenders in the league in Smart, Brown and Tatum, and on another note Beverly, Kawhi and PG is also very good, and some might consider that trio the best, but for whatever reason our defensive rankings and my eye test tells me our defense is a lot better than Clippers.

[dboss]

I do believe that we should be mindful of comparing Jayson to Larry.

That comparison will be more palatable when Jayson becomes a better play maker.  Larry was not just a really good passer, he was a great passer and play maker.  He was also a double digit rebounder.  

I think the guy he can be compared to the most right now is Paul Pierce.

At age 21 Jayson Tatum is actually better than Paul Pierce was.  

Larry Bird played at a time when a 3 point shot was not the norm.  PP however fired away.  Different eras

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