Hmm let’s see, how would I best describe the latest extremely frustrating home loss?
And if it feels like we’re living in Groundhog Day, it’s because we sort of are.
How do we think things went?
What makes those SAC/HOU losses even similar is they pretty much went the exact same way.
In each, we saw a complete collapse in the 4th to blow the game.
The Kings won their quarter 38-21 and the Rockets won theirs 29-23.
In that SAC loss?
In this HOU loss?
In that SAC loss?
Tatum was 5-13 with 8 TOs.
In this HOU loss?
He went 5-14 with 3 TOs.
I’m not sure what that all means, but I do know it is not good enough.
Just look at their last handful of losses.
No show against the Raptors by not getting a single stop.
Fumble the Hawks loss because you could’t hold onto the ball for 20 seconds with a lead.
That’s stuff mediocre teams do.
Youhave to finishgames, period.
That means executing offensively and defensively to put a game away.
That means finishing off defensive possessions cleanly by rebounding and not allowing extra possessions.
That means taking care of the ball offensively and converting on your open looks.
That means playing smart when things get tight.
Since returning from that first West Coast trip in early January, that is not what we’ve seen.
Alright, let’s dive in.
Yet another game where he went out and did his part.
That doesn’t excuse the mental mistakes late, but again, overall Luke was more than solid.
Brutal ending, but a really strong showing for the rest of his 33 minutes.
Well, we’ll talk about that in a minute.
But his 15 points in the 3rd quarter while playing all 12 minutes felt like the tides were turning.
- I’d say the same thing about Jaylen’s 1-3rd quarters.
It all goes back to execution.
You just don’t see the Celts lose too many games in which Pritchard goes 5-6 from deep.
The Bad
- Alright, where do we want to start?
I’d like to begin with the defense if that’s OK with everyone.
What do we always say?
If you don’t defend, you die.
Well, you tell me if you think this is acceptable defense.
Allowed 114 points
2.
Allowed 44/41% splits
3.
Allowed 17 3PM
4.
Allowed 21 FTA
5.
Allowed 12 OREB and 12 2nd chance points
6.
Forced only 7 TOs
7.
To make matters worse, the Celts could not get a stop to save their lives.
Make no mistake, their offense was good enough in this game.
To do all that with the players you were missing against an elite defense is more than good enough.
But you HAVE to guard your yard.
You have to play with energy and you have to execute.
If you don’t, your offense will not matter.
We see it time and time again.
If you don’t defend, you die.
Lazy fighting through screens, lazy point of attack defense with zero resistance on the perimeter, lazy closeouts.
Of the Rockets 41 total 3PA, only 2 were tracked as “tight” coverage.
That is beyond pathetic and is effort more than scheme in my opinion.
- Speaking of their 41 3PA, I wonder if people FINALLY understand why 3P volume is so important.
Just look at their last two games.
Against the Mavs in a blowout, the Celts took 50 3PA and won with ease.
They were once again outshot at home, only put up 35 3PA and lost.
35 3PA would rank 25th in the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Rockets won the math battle and ultimately won the game.
It’s not exactly complicated.
- What a complete and utter disaster the deep bench was in this game.
Every time he touches the floor, nothing good ever happens.
Then when guys like Springer/Walsh/Tillman/Peterson got their open looks, they mostly bricked (Springer made one).
I mean 10-15 from 3P for Dillon Brooks is just comically horrendous.
It took a fake as fuck 10 3s from Brooks, but he made them.
Early, mid game, late game, it didn’t matter.
Celts now need an 8-4 stretch to secure 40/20.
KP getting a tech for this is everything that is wrong with the NBA and their officials.
A scoreless first half on 0-5 (0-4) from Jayson Tatum is never acceptable.
In fact, I’m almost wondering if it’s time to find a rest day for him.
He hasn’t sat since 12/13 and is 6th in the NBA in total minutes.
He needs a rest day, it’s pretty clear.
The Ugly
- Once again, the Celts dropped a game due to horrific 4th quarter execution.
The first came after they built their 12 point lead with about 8:38 to go.
From there, the Celts had about a 4 minute stretch of not scoring.
This is what that looked like
To me, this is where the game was truly lost.
Just a complete lack of execution on both ends in the biggest moment of the game.
The next shift came in the final handful of minutes, and once again we saw terrible execution.
It was awful on both ends of the floor.
HOU came out and executed, Celts bricked.
How do either of these things even happen?
Not once, but twice!
On the first one, where the hell is KP going?
Now, Mazzulla said both of these plays are on him, and OK.
I don’t like that either.
All within 10 seconds.
Add it all up and what do you get?
