2022 - 2023 POST GAME PHOENIX SUNS - AWAY

Celtics Wrap: Boston Destroys Suns In Impressive Blowout Win
The Celtics led by as many as 45 points


NESN by Greg Dudek

The Boston Celtics left absolutely no doubt who was the better team on the floor Wednesday night as they dismantled the Phoenix Suns, 125-98, at Footprint Center.

With the blowout win, the Celtics improved their NBA-best record to 21-5 while the Suns, who came into the contest tied atop the Western Conference, dropped to 16-9.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The game was billed as the two best teams in their respective conferences, which should have resulted in a competitive affair. But it was anything but that with the Celtics turning it into an eye-popping rout.

Boston held a 69-42 halftime advantage and that lead only ballooned in the third quarter as the Celtics continued to pile on to go up by as much as 45 points in the frame.

The Celtics did everything practically right in the outstanding performance. Their offense continued to function on another level while Boston’s defense looks to be returning to the form it displayed last season by forcing 18 turnovers and holding the Suns to 25% (8-for-32) from deep. The Celtics were so dominant that it looked like the Suns quit in the second half.

Joe Mazzulla’s toughest effort now will be keeping the Celtics motivated for the balance of the season. Mazzulla will have to find plenty of sand castle pictures because the Celtics feel ready for the playoffs now.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring with 25 points as he hit nine of his 19 shots. The superstar also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

— Grant Williams had a perfect shooting night, hitting all six of his attempts from the floor for 14 points. He also grabbed six rebounds to be a key contributor for the Celtics.

— Malcolm Brogdon somewhat ignited Boston’s blowout when he sparked a 10-2 run late in the first quarter — scoring eight of those points — to turn a four-point lead late into a permanent double-digit advantage. Brogdon finished with 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting and dished out five assists.


WAGER WATCH
Blake Griffin earned the start with Al Horford out due to health and safety protocols and some defensive play from the longtime veteran was good news for bettors. DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of Griffin recording a block at +225, which he notched in the first half. A $100 wager on this prop bet would have yielded a total of $225.

UP NEXT
The Celtics play the fourth contest of their six-game road trip Saturday and it’s a rematch of this past June’s NBA Finals. The Celtics and Warriors meet for the first time since Golden State won the NBA crown as tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center.

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NEXT!

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This is starting to feel a little crazy.  Can we possibly be this good?  The Suns were the #3 team in the league after the Celtics and Bucks.  They were the #1 team in the west, now 1/2 game behind New Orleans.  They had the best home record in the league at 12-1 and still, at 12-2, are #2 behind Cleveland's 11-1.  Monte Williams cleared his bench with 5 minutes left in the 3rd. and the Celtics up 42.  I love games where we dominate so thoroughly the other team starts questioning their own existence.  We've seen that in some of the Comments From The Other Side threads, where the fans start off feeling really good about themselves but by the end of the game are thinking that they need to make some major trades because they just are not competitive.  It's like thinking you're a stud and then sobering up and looking at yourself in the mirror and realizing "I'm ugly".  The Russell Celtics were great at this, they were great at not just winning but cutting other teams' hearts out and that's what Joe's Celtics are doing now.  Opponents play us and then come off in their post-game pressers as gobsmacked.


Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
about 22 minutes ago
#Suns were a 1pt favorite on @betonline_ag


This was only the 2nd time all season we've been betting underdogs.  The first time was last game vs Toronto and look at what we did to them in Toronto without Al and Brogdon.

93 fgas with the Js taking 43 of them and shooting a combined 18-43, 41.9% on them.  Not particularly efficient, but the rest of the team made up for them @ 31-50, 62%.  And that's despite only scoring 21 points in the 4th quarter because Joe sent in everybody including the towel boy.

Jaylen started out 1-7 and ended up 9-24, but there was a stretch in the 3rd quarter where he was just killing Booker on drives to the hoop.  Booker's a great offensive talent, we've been on the receiving end of that, but he's mediocre on defense at best and Jaylen just tuned him up in what looked like an homage to '80s bully ball (which is just fine by me and Cowens).  He had 3 assists and 1 turnover, so his streak of games without a turnover is over but 3:1 is a more than satisfactory ratio.

Tatum a much more efficient 9-19.


Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
about 2 hours ago
The Celtics have now won 8 of 9, and during that span the best NBA offense in the history of ever, also has the league's 4th best defense. In 15 days, the Boston defense has jumped from 16th to 9th in the NBA.

We have the #1 offense in points/possession in NBA history @ 1.199 points/possession.  #2 were the 2021 Nets @ 1.183.

I don't know where he got that 9th best defense from.  @ 112.0ppg given up we look like 12th.  Even so I'll take 12th considering it wasn't too long ago we were in the mid-20s.  Our defense is really starting to look more like what it did last year, especially over that 9 game stretch Grande was referring to.  What's really impressive about this is that we're not only doing it without The Time Lord we've also done it without Al for a couple of games because of b2bs and now because of Health & Safety Protocols. Al's played in 20 games out of 25. That means we've been playing with just our 3rd and 4th centers for 5 games, and we've only lost 5 games all season. Maybe Brad and Joe are good at their jobs.

14 steals for us in this game.  14.  When have you seen a boxscore with one team with that many?

Which brings me to our front court.  I opined before this game that our centers were going to have a difficult night because we were down Al and we were playing DeAndre Ayton.  Oy ye of little faith, I really have to start respecting our depth at center and Brad Stevens more.  Our 3rd and 4th centers outplayed their centers.  Crazy.  

Blake got the start and was 9 and 9 in 22 minutes.  3-4 from 3?  We've spent years talking about how Al Horford has improved his shooting to become a very good 3pt shooter as he got older, but Blake Griffin?  The guy whose offense all came within 10' for most of his career, whose career 3pt fg% is 32.9%?  He's shooting 46.7% from 3 this year.  Only 15 3pt fgas, so a small number, but not his usual low .300s.  I am so impressed at how he has taken to his role on this team and on how well he has been doing it.  His Offensive Rating is 132 and his Defensive Rating is 112, for a Net Rating of +20.  Crazy.

And the player who is easily the #1 biggest surprise this year, and new fan favorite?  Luke had 12 points on 6-6 and 4 boards in 26 minutes.  He also had 3 assists and zero turnovers.  2 steals.

Compare the above to Ayton's 8 points, 7 boards and 4 turnovers in 26 minutes.  Luke Kornet and Blake Griffin, both, outplayed #1 pick DeAndre Ayton.


The rumors are that Miami is targeting Grant Williams.  There are trade proposals that make no sense to me (e.g. Grant, Derrick and RWill for Bam) but there's also talk among Heat bloggers that they'll make a run at him in free agency this summer.  He deserves the attention.  He fired us up this game going 3-3 for 7 points in the 1st and was a perfect 6-6 for 14 points for the game.  The part that impressed me most, however, was that Joe had him guarding Booker out at the arc and that Grant did a great job with that assignment.  We know about RWill's defensive capabilities, as well as Smart's of course, but Grant is one of the most versatile defenders on this team.  I don't know what it'd take to keep him but Brad needs to think about it.  Grant has played in all 25 games this season, has started in 12 of them, and we're 20-5.

Malcolm with 8 first quarter points.  Him and Grant got us up 10 in the 1st when neither J were playing well.

The Phoenix fans will complain that that we pushed off a lot and they didn't whistles, like losing fans always do, but they took 19 ftas vs 13 for us, so STFU.



Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
2 hours ago
Heading into the Finals rematch on Saturday... NBA - +/- LEADERS 1. TATUM, BOS +245 2. WHITE, BOS +188 3. Holiday, Mil +180 4. Jokic, Den +169 5. Osman, Cle +165 6. CURRY, GSW +154 7. GREEN, GSW +151 10. SMART, BOS +138 11. BROWN, BOS +137 15. HAUSER, BOS +127


Sean Grande
Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
3 hours ago
Celtics currently have four of the NBA's top 10 3-point shooters, plus a Kelly O sighting... NBA - 3-POINT SHOOTING 1. BROGDON, BOS 2. Lee, Phx 3. G. WILLIAMS, BOS 4. Ingram, NO 5. HORFORD, BOS 6. Grant, Por 7. Caldwell-Pope, Den 7. Kispert, Was 9. Olynyk, Utah 10. HAUSER, BOS


Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
4 hours ago
Tatum: "None of this means anything if we don't hang a banner."


https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401468528


Bob


.

Celtics are just a juggernaut right now. It's a long season so there will be some bumps in the road, but right now this is beautiful to watch. Blake played great again. He hit a couple threes, set good screens, played solid d, and rebounded well. He gave us exactly what Horford usually does. Between Blake and Kornet we were solid at the 5 last night. Kornet continues to get the job done. Got to admit I'm shocked how well he is playing, I was definitely wrong about him.

Neither J was scintillating, it didn’t matter. As a team we were getting open look after open look, when we didn’t get that it was fun watching Jaylen doing his bully ball drives and floaters and seeing Tatum doing his spin moves and finishes and step backs. Poor Chris Paul, he comes back and we decide to put Jaylen on him. Had a couple plays early, then couldn’t do a thing against us all game.

Was this a statement game? How could it be not? Two best records in the conference. Our team is so deep, plays unselfish, plays both ends, but did not see this magnitude of a beatdown coming. Once J’s score a few, they can score in bunches, fast. Now they have learned to also get others going while they are in midst of hot stretch. I’m seeing J’s and whole team get easy looks for each other, wide open looks for shooters or finishers at the rim. Coach Joe has really got the offense humming with player movement and ball movement and other teams, the Suns were literally defenseless to get a clue how to stop it. I thought Bridges was supposed to be a top defender? Our defense took out Paul, Booker, Ayton. Poor Suns I would hate to be on that end of a game.

How did we get this good? I know nobody expected this. Coach Joe has to be given a lot of credit and Bad Brad did an outstanding job acquiring Brogden, Luke, Hauser and White. Right now they should be top on the list for CoY and EoY.

Hats off to Grant Williams who came out in the first half and ignited a spark that became a roaring forest fire.

Also Blake 'moth ball' Griffin with his 2nd straight start once again stepped to the plate with AH being out.  A 9+9 showing in 22 minutes was very significant.

This was a team win.  So many contributors.  Even on an average night you get 25 each from Tatum and Brown to go along with 5 and 7 boards and very solid defense.  Was that Jaylen out there picking up at 3/4 court on defense and going into beast mode off the bounce.

Smart, Brogdon and White took turns running the offense to perfection.

Sam did not shoot well but he was solid on defense and he collected 6 rebounds.

Luke Kornet matched Grant's perfect from them field 6 for 6 night.  That reverse layup off of a Brogdon drive and pass was impressive.

So there you have it.  The Celtics are now 3-0 on their current road trip.  Does anybody out there have a feeling that a 6-0 trip is there for the taking? I do.

The Celtics are the best team in the NBA.  They visit GS on Saturday.  This should be a big challenge with GSW licking their wounds after losing at home to the Pacers and then dropping a one point game to the Jazz last night.

Fun fact

The Celtics are now 7-0 vs the Western Conference.

Last year on December 7th the Celtics were 13-12. They were also on a Western swing and finished 1-4. Remember we lost to Utah, beat Portland and then loss to the Lakers, Clippers and Suns.

There are just 10 games remaining this year. After 3 more games on the road they return home for an extended 7 game road stand. Wow (Magic, Magic, Pacers, Timberwolves, Bucks, Rockets and Clippers)

I just saw a tweet, Magic Johnson called us the best team in the league.

This is getting good

I still can’t believe how good we are

db

This game may be more important to win for GSW.  GSW are playing .500 ball (Average) and their showing vs .500+ teams is only 6-9 (below Average)

Win or lose this games does not define us.  A win or even a loss does not alter our projectory.  The Celtics are playing .808 ball.  They are #1 on the road at 10-3.  They are #1 when matched against .500/ plus teams at 10-2.  They do not give the slugs around the league any consideration (11-3 vs below .500 teams)

I like our chances on Saturday especially with Wiggins out (groin).

After that we head to LA for a game with the Clippers who will be coming off of a 4 game road trip and then we play another B2B vs the Lakers who will also be coming back from an extended 6 game road trip.

The Celtics record in B2B games is 5-0  (total of 10 wins)

Impressive

I saw this and thought I'd post it for a laugh.  Some idiot thought to make a YouTube video of a "huge" Phoenix 3 with 5:07 left in the 3rd that "cut the lead to 42".

Good job.  Now you just need to hit 14 more like that while shutting the Celtics out in the final 17:07 minutes.




Bob


.

That’s funny

Utter dominance, numbers are what they are.

The Western Conderence looks weaker than I’ve ever seen, is that me or do you guys agree? The Suns are soft and weak, can score a little. Clippers are done, the great Kawhi, until proven otherwise is a part time 20 minute a game player. If AD and Lebron can get and stay healthy, they might still make a run as there is still a lot of time left. and the West is so weak. Pelicans, let’s see if Zion can make it thru a whole season first?

cowens/oldschool wrote:That’s funny

Utter dominance, numbers are what they are.

The Western Conderence looks weaker than I’ve ever seen, is that me or do you guys agree? The Suns are soft and weak, can score a little. Clippers are done, the great Kawhi, until proven otherwise is a part time 20 minute a game player. If AD and Lebron can get and stay healthy, they might still make a run as there is still a lot of time left. and the West is so weak. Pelicans, let’s see if Zion can make it thru a whole season first?

Cow

I do think that the Western Conference is weaker relative to the Eastern Conference.  However I think there are more competitive teams out there.  The spread between 1 to 10 is only 4 games so there remain a lot of teams that can move up or down and still be in the mix.

In the East, Boston is already 9 games up on 10th place Miami.   The Celtics and the Bucks have been  the two best teams in the NBA.

Last year NOLA was showing signs of becoming a good team.  Now they have leap frogged the Suns (with our help) to hold the top spot our West.  The Suns are @ NOLA tonight and are road favorites at -1.5  Ingram is still out.

NOLA has to be healthy.  The main focus is on Zion.

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:That’s funny

Utter dominance, numbers are what they are.

The Western Conderence looks weaker than I’ve ever seen, is that me or do you guys agree? The Suns are soft and weak, can score a little. Clippers are done, the great Kawhi, until proven otherwise is a part time 20 minute a game player. If AD and Lebron can get and stay healthy, they might still make a run as there is still a lot of time left. and the West is so weak. Pelicans, let’s see if Zion can make it thru a whole season first?

Cow

I do think that the Western Conference is weaker relative to the Eastern Conference.  However I think there are more competitive teams out there.  The spread between 1 to 10 is only 4 games so there remain a lot of teams that can move up or down and still be in the mix.

In the East, Boston is already 9 games up on 10th place Miami.   The Celtics and the Bucks have been  the two best teams in the NBA.

Last year NOLA was showing signs of becoming a good team.  Now they have leap frogged the Suns (with our help) to hold the top spot our West.  The Suns are @ NOLA tonight and are road favorites at -1.5  Ingram is still out.

NOLA has to be healthy.  The main focus is on Zion.

NOLA has shown when healthy they are a very dangerous team and Ingram actually also has his own durability issues for quite awhile. The playoffs is intensity personified, don’t know what to expect out of a team with no history before. I actually think this may be a down year for the entire league. Right now there’s only 2 great teams, us and Milwaukee IMHO. Heat are in disarray, as are the Hawks. Cleveland is strong, but overall not a lot of great teams this year in the NBA. Rebuilding teams like the Jazz and Pacers are right in the thick of the playoffs when they were trying to tank/rebuild.