Post-Game Thread, Pacers - Away

[bobheckler]

This is/was one of the hottest teams in the league we cooled off last night.  They were 9-1 in their previous 10 heading in and are now 8-2.  There are a few teams in the NBA that are 8-2 in their last 10, and none that are better than 8-2:  Atlanta, Indiana, Golden State, New Orleans (3 game win streak), Utah (5 game win streak).  What do all these teams have in common?  We've played them all in the past month (Atlanta was our last game before the all-star break).  Our record against these red hot teams over the past month?  4-1.  We have beaten 4 of the top 5 hottest teams in the league, including the #2 best team in the league overall, over the past month.  That's pretty impressive, if you ask me.

The team we beat, on the road, in their house, on the second game of a back-to-back, after an emotionally draining payback win against Orlando, was 18-14 at home.  They won in OT, at home, against Milwaukee on Thursday and had a day of rest, which we did not.  They were healthy, we were without our leading scorer and one of (if the THE) top 4th quarter scorers in the league.  In short, we were primed for a loss.  Fortunately, nobody told Brad and the players.

I don't know about anybody else, but last night I had the Indy feed with former Celtic Quinn Buckner doing the color.  He really knows his stuff (he was a very heady player) and was generally quite complimentary towards the Celtics last night.  

A wise man said "There are better shooting teams than the Celtics.  There are better defensive teams by the Celtics.  There are taller teams, more muscular teams, et.c, etc., etc.  But there's no better grinder team than the Celtics."  That wise man was our own Sam on the Game On thread last night.  Brad's even demeanor is turning a team of brash youth, reclamation projects and throwaways into a night-in-night-out wood chipper machine.

1.  The "Next Man Up", Phil Pressey, took over the game for a stretch last night.  For a while his defense and pace were gutting the Pacers like fish.  It's amazing how good a defender he is given the difference in height between him and IT is the thickness of a piece of paper.  IT wreaks havoc in the half court, breaking his man down off the dribble or coming off a pic or hitting the jumper.  Phil isn't the shooter IT is, but he is MUCH more of a full court threat.  He'd get the ball and just rocket down the court last night.  When he turned the corner on a pick he was at the rim so fast Quinn Buckner's head was spinning.  Quinn, to me, was a bigger version of Phil, he was a defender and pass-first PG with limited offensive skills.  He was appreciating Phil last night.  The boxscore only shows Phil with 4 assists and 1 TO and 7 points on 3-7 but his impact was much, much bigger.  He got everybody energized.

2.  I think Danny should buy tickets so Tyler Zeller's parents can attend every game.  His folks were in the crowd last night and Tyler had the best game in a long time.  8-10 for 18 points and 7 boards.  Considering he was going against 7'2", 290# Roy Hibbert, that was quite a feat.  Hibbert ended up with 5 points, 7 boards and a whole lot of "where's Hibbert tonight?".  Hibbert was 2-6 because he was being pushed a foot or two further away from his sweet spot.  Great game by Zeller who played 26 minutes, more than Brad has been giving him.

3.  Evan Turnbacked into a pumpkin.  7 assists and 3 TOs but otherwise uneventful.  

4.  Marcus Smart needs a shooting coach, it is/has become a problem.  He is not shooting well.  He does other things well but not that.  Last night he had 7 rebounds, 3 steals but offensively he is a liability.

5.  Bradley's 14 first half points kept us in it but he struggled with George Hill defensively.  In fact, the only reason why this wasn't a Celtic blow out is because of George Hill, who scored 30 on 11-18 and had 8 assists.  Quite a show by Hill.  Take him out of it, though, and Indy is shooting 34% for the game.

6.  Gigi Jerebko played a combined 23 minutes and didn't add much.  They've cooled off a bit, but they still do the little things.

7.  Big glue game by Crowder.  Brad's game plan seems to be start who he wants to start but then play the bench heavy.  Zeller hasn't been getting a lot of minutes but Crowder and IT have.  33 minutes by Jae last night and he used them well.  16 points on 5-11 and 4-4 from the line (including two clutch ones with :22 left and Indy was fouling everybody and hoping we'd miss our freebies) and 7 boards.  His versatility is quite impressive.  He's a bit of a Swiss army knife.  It was mentioned on the Game On thread that Mike and Max said that the first 10 players on the Celtics are interchangeable.  That's an overstatement but we do have a lot of versatile players.  Crowder, Jerebko, Bass and Bass are all capable of playing multiple positions and going inside and outside.

8.  Happily Celtic-killer Luis Scola, the man his agent calls "the best player under-the-rim in the NBA" never got going.  

9.  We are the first team to shoot over 40% against the Indy defense in a while.  Once again, we had fewer turnovers than our opponents (11 vs 14).  We began the game with 16fgm on 16 assists.  We outrebounded (47-42) AND OUT-SHOT BLOCKED (4-3) a team with a 7'2" 290# and 6'11", 250# center.  We destroyed them in assists (28-16).  28 assists on 35fgm for 80%.  That's really sharing the ball.  7 steals for us (3 by the previously maligned Marcus Smart) vs 4 for them.  32 points in the paint for us vs 30 for them.  11 fast break points for us vs 9 for them.  In short, we out played them in virtually ever statistical category.  It was only 30 points by an unconscious George Hill that prevented this from being a laugher.

Buckner talked a lot about how we played Orlando and what we did to win that game in specific detail.  He obviously watched the game.  If Quinn Buckner watched the game I think it is very reasonable to assume Frank Vogel and maybe a player or two watched some film on it too on their day off.  We're not surprising teams anymore, we're just beating them, and some pretty good ones at that.  


We are now tied with Miami for 9th place and one game in the loss column behind both Charlotte (8th) and Indy (7th).

Indy gets to host Toronto Monday, the 2nd game of a back-to-back for Toronto after having to play the tough Portland Trailblazers tonight in the first game.  Miami hosts Cleveland in the 2nd game of a back-to-back for the Cavs on Monday, the Cavs play tonight against Orlando.  Charlotte is in Utah on Monday while we host the 15ers.  A big day, Monday is.  By Tuesday morning, with some help from the Raptors, Cleveland and Utah and good focus by us in our game and we could be in 8th place, at worst, or 7th place if we have the tie-breaker against Indy.

Isn't it so much more fun when every game against every opponent matters?  For that to be so, you need to be relevant and to be relevant you need to win.  That's why winning is fun (aside from the fact that losing just flat-out sucks).



bob



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[Sam]

Bob, thanks for the quote.

Actually, Turner had a game of sevens.  Seven assists, seven rebounds and seven shots (with one make).

Pressey is finally getting the kind of minutes it takes to reveal a player's true ability.  And he's definitely making the most of them.  I imagine he might be wondering what it will take to keep him around as a valuable, ready-when-you-need-me resource who can galvanize the team on the offensive end and more than hold his own on defense.

By "interchangeable," Mike and Max meant that you can take one out and put in another with a loss of talent.  They didn't mean that all the Celtics have similar skills.

Nice summary.

Sam

[sinus007]

Hi,
If I had to describe Celtics game last night with one word I'd use solid.
I have nothing to add to Bobh's summary about the game and players. Just my observation of the announcers. This game was on NBATV. I don't know if they used their own or Indy's crew but can tell you that Mike and Scal (Tommy, of course, during home games) is head and shoulder above it. Also, instead of gruffy voice of Jeremiah (court side reporter) I'd rather listen to upbeat voice and watch cute face of Abigail.

AK

[bobheckler]

btw, this also makes us 9-5 in the 2nd game of back-to-backs.


bob


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[Sloopjohnb]

The color guy was Quinn Buckner who I liked a lot. The first time Stuckey got backdoored, Buckner said that was one of his problems since he gets caught taking a peak at where the ball is and loses his man. Apparently Stuckey isn't the only Indy player with this problem. There were at least three Boston backdoor layups, including the big one by Bradley that locked up the game.

Great win by the Celtics. They had played the night before and were facing an Indy team that had won seven straight.

[beat]

Fun is in winning....

Marcus made the comment they play like they are in College again. And really what real veterans do we have? Bass?? Bradley?? A lot of these guys would still be in college had they stayed 4 years. Most came fro winning or at least good college programs. Our "veteran" players seem to have been shown the door in some cases. This leaves Brad where he seems to excel coaching a young team to exceed expectations.

The last "backdoor" by Bradley..... even he said it wasn't a set play. Crowder from the sideline and Bradley in the far corner saw his man looking away and cut hard to the hoop. Stevens may have plays set but the players also know they are free to adjust when the opportunity shows itself.

I believe we have had 13-14 different players lead this team in scoring at one time or another. Some of those are gone now but those that replaced them have just taken over.

Indy was close most of the second half. I got the distinct impression they felt with 3-4 good minutes the game was there for the taking..........well perhaps that is true, but the problem was they never had that 3-4 minutes in the 4th when they needed it.

Confidence has to be at an all time high. I know moves will be coming and some of these guys are going to be gone. Regardless the core will still be here and the future looks good, lottery or no lottery. NJ first rounder next season will be very very good I believe. And so will some others in the coming years.

beat

[Sloopjohnb]

"The last "backdoor" by Bradley..... even he said it wasn't a set play."

They seldom are. They're usually based on split second timing based on an opportunistic read on the part of the cutter and excellent court awareness by the passer.

Jeff Van Gundy has said that Bradley is especially adept at making the right cuts.

[gyso]

Hi,
If I had to describe Celtics game last night with one word I'd use solid.
I have nothing to add to Bobh's summary about the game and players. Just my observation of the announcers. This game was on NBATV. I don't know if they used their own or Indy's crew but can tell you that Mike and Scal (Tommy, of course, during home games) is head and shoulder above it. Also, instead of gruffy voice of Jeremiah (court side reporter) I'd rather listen to upbeat voice and watch cute face of Abigail.

AK

From what I've observed, NBATV uses the feed from one of the teams that are playing the game. Last night it was Indy's feed I saw. In the past, I got to watch Boston's feed.

I imagine that the crew know that they are being broadcast nationwide on NBATV, but the commentary was definitely pro-Indy. They had some nice things to say about the Celtics, but when things went well for the Pacers, they were definitely homers.

gyso

[sinus007]

Gyso,
Thanks for the info.
I don't mind homers. I just mentioned that crew because they sounded as if they had to be somewhere else but were made to do that game.

AK

[Sloopjohnb]

I sometimes get a kick out of listening to hometown analysts. Once on an NBA TV feed a few years ago the guy was apparently outraged that Pierce was such an offensive force since he doesn't have blazing speed and has a smooth body that wasn't the cut to shreds ideal of the modern NBA.

He called Pierce a "water buffalo" who some how kept beating his man. I just laughed.

When I first moved to NYC I'd just laugh as the Knicks play-by-play guy would thunder in rage that Bird wasn't covering anyone but was playing a one man free safety zone.

No sh*t Sherlock.

You expect hometown analysts to favor the home team. I agree that Buckner certainly did but I still found many of his comments perceptive and fair.

One thing is for sure. I've never heard anyone be as big a homer as Tommy Heinshon. As for Johnny Most they threw away the mold with him on homerism.

[mrkleen09]

Great comments and loved Bob's analysis.

Only thing I cannot agree with is Marcus Smart being a liability. I dont care if he is 0-10, the intensity he brings, the chip on his shoulder, the court awareness. This kid is a born winner and in time, will turn into a player who can control a game on either end of the court.

Max said he was like Dennis Johnson and I totally agree. Never a great shooter, but was always a lock down defender, great rebounder and grew into a great scorer. Marcus Smart has all the tools to be that good.

[international]

mrkleen09,
I agree with you 100% about Marcus Smart.

[beat]

Great comments and loved Bob's analysis.

Only thing I cannot agree with is Marcus Smart being a liability.  I dont care if he is 0-10, the intensity he brings, the chip on his shoulder, the court awareness.  This kid is a born winner and in time, will turn into a player who can control a game on either end of the court.

Max said he was like Dennis Johnson and I totally agree.  Never a great shooter, but was always a lock down defender, great rebounder and grew into a great scorer.  Marcus Smart has all the tools to be that good.

Ditto here to

Might not ever be a very good shooter but I believe he is "SMART" enough to work at it and improve. And I keep saying this he just turned 21 !! Where was DJ at 21? Or virtually any other guard in the NBA at that age?

If he is open he does pretty well.

beat

[worcester]

Ditto. If he becomes 3/4 the player DJ was we'll be set at guard.

[Sam]

The back door pass from Crowder to Bradley was a classic example of Brad's "read and react" philosophy.  First, Bradley noticed that he has a little opening, and he reacted.  Then, Crowder (who may have been preparing to shoot a jumper caught sight of Bradleu and reacted with the pass right on target.

Sam

[worcester]

Ditto. If he becomes 3/4 the player DJ was we'll be set at guard.

[Berlin-T]

Agree totally with mrclean09 concerning Smart. He has a long way to go but you can't teach intensity.

Berlin-T

[Sam]

Those two blocks Smart made were other-worldly.  I know I'm just one of many who would love to see what this team could do and how far it could go with a big defensive intimidator.

Sam

[bobheckler]

Video courtesy of redsarmy.com





The block and save by Crowder at about the :50 mark is awesome.

The pass by Gigi to a baseline-cutting Crowder at 1:30 or so shows smart a player he is and how well he is learning his teammates.

In fact, if you watch this video you see just how much Crowder is involved. He got a lot of his points by running the floor and with half court movement.


bob



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[worcester]

What a joy to watch this team, and it is indeed a TEAM!

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