New Celtics find an ‘Answer’ in Isaiah Thomas & Co.

New Celtics find an ‘Answer’ in Isaiah Thomas & Co.





Photo by: Christopher Evans
DRIVE TIME: Guard Isaiah Thomas splits the New York defense on his way to the basket during the Celtics’ win over the Knicks last night at the Garden.

Thursday, February 26, 2015 PrintEmail2 CommentsPhoto Gallery
By:  Mark Murphy




Allen Iverson would probably approve of this team.

The Celtics practice about as often as the former Sixers superstar, though they probably have more of an excuse.

“We haven’t had a practice, and we don’t practice tomorrow,” said coach Brad Stevens. “I don’t know when we’re going to practice again. We’ve had some great shootarounds, and we ate dinner next to each other one night. We text occasionally. With walk-throughs, shootarounds and games, that’s when we get together.”

So maybe Iverson was right in his famous aversion. The Celtics haven’t had a full, brain and body-taxing practice since they traded for Isaiah Thomas, Jonas Jerebko and Gigi Datome last week.

And yet Thomas (19 points, seven assists) and Jerebko (20) were their highest scorers, while coming off the bench, in the Celtics’ 115-94 victory over a fading Knicks team last night.

Jae Crowder, another somewhat recent addition who hasn’t had much opportunity to blend in the traditional way, added 18 points in addition to six rebounds and four assists, off the bench.

The trio shot a combined 9-for-17 from 3-point range, including four treys from Jerebko in his first serious minutes as a Celtic. This traditional power forward also played the very uncharacteristic role of center in the second half.

Thomas, who seems to put up similar numbers wherever he plays, has averaged 20 points in his first three games as a Celtic, and has shot a combined 23-for-25 from the line over that stretch. The Celtics often don’t reach that kind of free throw total as a team on a given night, and certainly not with that kind of efficiency.

So regardless of practice, perhaps this team, and especially the free-flowing second unit, is better off not over-thinking the job. Maybe they’re better off not running too much in the way of playbook stuff.

Evan Turner, who turned in his first career triple-double with 10 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds, was asked that question.

“I think when we get on a run we’re tough to guard. Of course when you’re hitting shots you can jump the gun and say anything,” he said. “When we go small we create a lot of mismatches. The biggest thing tonight is the ball kept moving. That’s when our team’s at its best.

“Even in losses we’ve really been able to compete and have that unity,” he said. “We had to learn it. We did it sometimes, but the biggest thing is doing it consistently.”

But without practice?

“That’s the easiest thing because then you just go out and play,” said Turner.

The lack of prep time does indeed seem counter-intuitive.

“Just talk them through it as much as possible without the practice,” Crowder said of how the newest players are being brought along.

Though the team is not having a formal practice today, a special session has been planned strictly for the new players. That will have to work for now, considering that the Celtics don’t have more than a day off between games between now and April 5.

“For the whole (recently completed) road trip we tried to just talk them through,” said Crowder. “They asked a lot of questions. There was just a lot of talking between us and the new guys.”

That newly formed reserve unit was on the floor for much of last night’s pivotal run, a 25-2 burst that extended from the last 2:43 of the third quarter through the first 4:15 of the fourth.

Starting with two Marcus Smart 3-pointers in the first 1:11 of the fourth, five different Celtics buried eight 3-pointers in the fourth. Smart, Crowder and Jerebko each hit two during that stretch.

But, as Stevens often notes, it’s easy when you’re hitting shots. Couple that with a demoralized Knicks team that has lost Carmelo Anthony for the season and bought out Amar’e Stoudemire, and conditions are ripe for a major run.

It’s a good time to experiment.

“We’re throwing darts,” Stevens said of his small-ball lineups. “Like today, we found a lineup that nobody ever thought would have played together in an NBA game because of the lack of a 4 or a 5. And they played great together.”



bob
MY NOTE:  Ok, in the interest of full and fair disclosure, I've always felt that Allen Iverson was 'The Answer' if the question was 'who was one of the greatest ME-ballers in NBA history?".  Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'd like to point out to those who think Brad is doing a poor job that he is struggling under the same practice constraints the players are working under.  If they don't know all the plays, if they don't know much about their teammates' preferences then he doesn't know much about them and how they'll fit in and what he's going to get if/when he puts them in.  Someday (hopefully, presumably) Danny will be done doing more than just tinkering around the edges with the roster and we can get some continuity and chemistry going.  Brad and the players begged for that before the trade deadline, because they see the value too.





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For the first time this season (and probably two seasons), the Celtics have formed an identity around which they can rally.  It's not a traditional identity such as an uptempo team or a half court team or a power team or a veteran team.

In the absence of any traditional descriptors, and given the dearth of practices, the Celtics have amazingly quickly morphed into a team of opportunists.  In each game, and in most possessions, this team has become a bunch of reactionaries.  Give them an opening, and they'll cruise right through it....at either end of the floor.  Challenge them and they're got enough weapons to compete.  Yes, even on the defensive end, where they're turning into a bunch of scramblers who obviously lack the height to defend bigs in a traditional manner but are trapping and doubling tall opponents to death on defense, wearing them out on offense, and—when all seems lost—may be biting them in the kneecaps for all I know.  And lately, theyr'e also doing a better job of defending the perimeter and pick-and-rolls on the strength of greatly improved defensive rotations.

What's more, if they're not handed an opportunity, they've become pretty adept at creating them.  A team with Smart, Bradley and Crowder is going to provide opponents with plenty of headaches on a fairly consistent basis.  And, since energy is at the heart of their opportunistic ways, they have the ability to meet difficulties by throwing more wood on the fire and just plain outworking the enemy.

Moreover, energy can be infectious, especially when the nucleus of only 7 or possibly 8 (if Jerebko works out) players are being subbed in and out so they're very likely to appear fresher than opponents down the stretch.

One thing that's being overlooked in this process is that a a nucleus of relatively young guys is rapidly becoming a crew of young veterans in a hurry.  They're becoming infused with the kind of confidence born of having been through it all before, having faced the baptism of fire, and having learned first how to survive and then how to succeed in a lot of different circumstances.

Yes, I know I've presented a pretty rosy picture, an energy and an opportunistic bent will take a team only so far in this league.  And, as I've had to live with all my life, short is short.  And, yes, if the opponent of the day has one or more assassins down low or beyond the arc and gets on a roll, it can be lights out in a hurry.  Which is why this team, at its current stage of development, will go only as far as they can keep opponents from getting on a roll. Some nights they will.  Some nights they won't.  Some nights they'll appear to be failing but will mount a feisty comeback.

But, even on the nights when they fall short (pun intended), they're honing their reactionary skills and strengthening their opportunistic identity so that they'll have a positive atmosphere with which to welcome reinforcements when Danny can provide them.

This development (in virtually any sense of the word) is a primary reason why my focus this season, more than ever, is on the team's growth and ability to come together in a remarkably short time span.  Payoffs would be nice, especially as a reward for their efforts, but they're not essential.  On the other hand, I can't stand reading even veiled sentiments that it would be nice to lose enough games so they can perhaps be in seat number 8 instead of seat number 9 during the entertainment form known as the annual NBA Crap Shoot.

This team's not thinking about losses and how to avoid them, and neither should I as a rabid fan.  They're not actuaries, calculating the implications of losing rather than winning, and neither am I.  They're all in to win, and so am I.

I recognize and respect the right of others to feel differently.  But personally, all I can feel and say is, "Go Celtics!"  I think they deserve that.

Sam