Post Game Miami - PRESEASON - Away, 10/15/21

I only watched the first half (and am absolutely AMAZED that Berlin regularly does that!  I was so jazzed I couldn't just fall to sleep.  I had to try, though).  So all my personal observations are from that half.

It was preseason for the refs too.  The difference was that we let them get into our heads and Miami didn't.  That's the value of post-season play experience.  It toughens your mind.  If Jaylen and/or Horford had been there I don't know if that would have happened.  Ime said he didn't want players yapping at refs, that was his job, and disciplinarian Ime Udoka made his feelings known.  Grant got sat for complaining.  Ime proving, again, that he is not one to be trifled with.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Ime Udoka said the Celtics were "crying too much" about not getting calls & losing their composure getting back on defense. He pulled Grant Williams because he was complaining & cause he picked up his fourth foul on Bam Adebayo cause he was late getting back after complaining.


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
yesterday
Dennis Schroder: "We have to leave the refs alone and focus on our game."


Brian Robb
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
yesterday
Ime Udoka on benching Grant Williams for complaining to refs: "You can’t get caught up in that. You have to play through it just like they did."

Tatum with 23, but 2-8 from 3.  I think he was 3-10 in the 1st half, scored 11 of his total 23 in the 3rd quarter.  I'm not concerned, he hasn't played much.  This will work itself out pretty quickly if he stays healthy.

Schroder looked very good.  He hasn't lost a drop of his feistiness.  It caused a stupid flagrant foul, but it was partially justified because Jimmy Butler stepped on his foot and kept his foot on top of Schroder's for a lot longer than necessary and Schroder kicked out at him.  The refs reviewed the tape, blew the foul on Schroder and gave Butler a pass.  Should have been a double foul but Butler's an All-Star and Schroder has a reputation for being a bit of a hot head who needs occasional cooling down.  Still, Schroder with 6 assists and 13 points on 6-11.  26 minutes, so not that effective minute-for-minute but not bad.  The almost unanimous consensus is that signing Schroder for the money Brad got him for was a coup.  The bad news is that his contract isn't big enough to be a major factor in any high profile trade (I'm not thinking about anybody in particular but for some reason the initials "BB" keep creeping into my head).

Grant was playing well.  He was matched up with Bam in the 1st half because he did a good job defending Bam in college.  At halftime I think both had 4 points and 3 rebounds, so good job by Grant there.  I don't know what happened in the 2nd half but if Grant can do that against Bam regularly we might have another "Semi Ojelaye, Giannis Killer" here but for Bam and Miami.  Miami will be right there battling us for a playoff seed, wherever that ends up, so winning our head-to-heads against them is important.

Romeo is looking so much better.  It's like night-and-day.  He's always been an above average defender but his offense is flowing now.  I wouldn't go so far as to say "he's a shooter" but I'm not cringing as much when he shoots anymore.  18 points on 7-9, 4-6 from 3 (NOT a typo!), 2 steals.  He is 9-14, 64%, from 3 for the preseason.  Watch the highlight film I am providing below.  Watch how unconscious and free his shot is.  A healthy Romeo Langford, which we haven't really seen much in the last few years, is a weapon.  Has Indiana Mr. Basketball 2018 finally arrived?  

Marc D'Amico @celtics
yesterday
Romeo Langford: "I feel like when I have my confidence, I can do just about anything I want on the court. I'm just able to play freely."




Robert Williams was a last second scratch due to right knee tendinopathy.  Healthline describes teninopathy as a "breakdown of collagen in a tendon".  Doesn't sound good long-term, but I'm not a healthcare professional.

Marc D'Amico @celtics
yesterday
#NEBHInjuryReport update: Coach Udoka says Rob Williams felt a little soreness in his knee before tonight’s game, so he was sidelined just to be safe. Udoka adds, “He’ll be ready to go (Opening Night) against New York.”


Hernangomez's feet are still slow on defense.  19 minutes of almost nothing on offense and defense.

Nesmith with a very mediocre night.  A little inconsistency here, but I'll wait and see.  He's still a kid.

Richardson with a solid effort.  12 points.

The final score doesn't matter.  It's preseason and we're missing a bunch of key players (Jaylen, Al and Payton) and they were only down Oladipo.  What's concerting is the lack of scoring in the 2nd half.  We scored 45, while giving up 62.

Ime says he's kept it "semi-vanilla, offensively and defensively, but it's time to start adding a little more to our toolbox". If you haven't listened to an Ime presser yet it's interesting to hear the difference between Brad, who never said a negative thing about anybody for any reason, and the straight talk express man. He's not brutally honest, if you know what I mean, but he isn't fluff neither.




https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401365950




Bob


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All very good points bobh. Final score doesn't matter. It's pre-season.

I know the sample space of n=4 is small. I hope Ime saw everything he needed to see over these 4 games to set up for season opener coming up next week.

Lots of jumbled line ups, a suspension via team violation (to the same person), more player COVID, several minor injuries and a .500 record. Not being an ass, but that sounds a lot like Lather. Rinse. Repeat.. from last season, doesn't it?! I know...n=4. I'm just sayin'!

Let's make a statement that this season starts off this new look season and blast the Knicks in NY this week to get things going in the right direction.

Udoka managed to give a lot of guys playing time during the preseason.

A couple of things stood out for me.

Dennis Schroder is lightning quick off the bounce and he looks very natural at the point. He is more of a scorer than a shooter, his defense looks good and I think he provides just what we need.

Romeo Langford is shooting with a great deal of confidence. But there is a noticeable difference with his jumpers. It was tough trying to isolate his release point but was was able to freeze some frames and his release point looks to be at least a foot higher than what I observed last year. If you recall, he had a bad habit of shooting off of his forehead. His shoot was flat and very unpredictable.

Preseason is like a dress rehearsal...a mere walkthrough. The short handed Celtics played the Heat tough. With 56 seconds remaining in the 3rd QTR we were down by 1 point at 82-81. The Heat played all of their starters and rotation guys with the exception of Victor Olidipo who is still out with a knee injury. I saw enough to give me a strong belief that we can play with them.

Overall the Celtics are just scratching the surface of who they can become. With multiple players missing games the chemistry that is needed to play consistent basketball is something that will take some time to achieve.