How bad has the month of December been for the defending champs?
You then of course remember losing 3 straight in the ECF.
With this current version?
It’s never come close to happening.
The Celts didn’t have a 7-6 stretch at any point in last year’s season.
There was a stretch where they went 3-3 over 6 games, but never a month like this.
The prior worst was that stretch in January I mentioned above, and they still finished that month 11-5.
Instead, it was one step forward one step back.
The one thing I was hoping to avoid, happened.
Once again it was the same issues that we know lose the Celtics games.
Poor shooting, nonexistent defense, poor rebounding, and costly turnovers.
This time, against a team you had just beaten by 37 points a few nights prior.
It’s OK to call it what things are at this moment in time.
The Celtics are stuck playing extremely mediocre basketball.
The Good
- I’m going to be honest with you guys.
How many good quarters would you say the Celts had in this game?
And if the question was how many complete two way performances did they have, the answer is 0.
So really, we don’t need to waste too much time trying to spinzone bad basketball.
We know it when we see it.
But I also can’t leave you with nothing.
Right from the jump, the Celtics were not ready.
In a game like that, you want to be the one that punches first.
End their momentum before they even have a chance to build it.
Instead, it was the opposite.
For the Celtics defense to be effective, it requires elite perimeter defense.
Stop putting that pressure on Al Horford, he’s a billion years old.
Whether it was the first quarter or the 4th quarter it didn’t matter.
You HAVE to guard.
That is not a request, it is a baseline expectation.
I mean look at this shit
Derrick, what the hell man?
What on Earth was that?
Things have to be tougher for the ball handler in those spots.
There was zero resistance, in fact he sort of got cooked.
That can’t happen.
Again, zero resistance.
He’s better than that, we all know it.
Jaylen getting blown by early, and Tatum getting blown by late.
On what planet is that a winning standard, these are clips of all your best defenders!
It’s no secret that the rim protection and paint defense is different when Porzingis is out.
He’s a game-changer in that area.
But we just saw this team limit the Pacers paint production without KP in the game before.
Their perimeter defense was much better.
They didn’t just allow guys free access to the rim whenever they wanted it.
So for that to completely change was very annoying.
They want to get out and run.
It’s no surprise then that given how the Celts played they lost the fastbreak points battle 18-4.
In terms of halfcourt production, things were relatively close.
The Pacers put up 110.8 points per 100 and the Celts 107.6.
It’s not like one was severely out-executing the other in the halfcourt.
Where they got killed was in transition.
On the night, Hauser defended 9 shots.
His opponent scored on 8 of them.
This is where not having Jrue hurt you.
The way he was getting blown by and overpowered outweighed his 3s.
That’s the key in of stuff that kills you on nights you’re shorthanded.
- For whatever reason, it took way too long for Tatum to lock into this game.
We know what a locked in Tatum looks like, shit we just saw it the game before.
That’s why you know it when you see it.
It is what it is.
It’s no surprise that 3 of these instances have come in this hell month of December.
25% vs CHI on 12/19.
24% vs ORL on 12/23.
29% vs IND on 12/29.
The point is, if all of these losses feel familiar, it’s because they are.
All of them include shooting 30% or worse from three.
All of them include horrific defense, especially in the 4th quarter.
All of them include games where you got killed on the glass.
If you’re going to struggle from three, you have to defend.
To me, this means your best player has to touch the ball.
I simply mean he has to touch the ball.
Far too often we are seeing offensive lapses where Tatum doesn’t get a single touch.
A devastating 2-12 (1-10), his misses felt like daggers to the heart every single time.
Considering the majority of them were open and wide open looks, that stung.
Horford’s ability to consistently make his open jumpers is so important, especially in non-KP games.
In order for the spacing to work that threat has to be present.
I’d also say the same thing for Derrick and his wide open 3PA.
Just 3-11 from him in this game, he can’t seem to buy an open jumper either.
Suddenly it’s 2022 all over again or something.
- You know how they say when it rains it pours?
Payton Pritchard never turns the ball over.
That’s kind of his thing.
And how he’s getting picked off on back to back possessions by TJ McConnell?
Shit like this is why executions matter.
It’s why every possession matters.
It’s that simple.
I would argue it’s been their problem in every loss this month.
Team that can’t close are inconsistent, mediocre basketball teams.
The Celtics aren’t special, they aren’t immune to that either.
I get why people say that, but those people are morons.
But what it does mean is that right now, the Celts are playing losing basketball.
And this doesn’t mean doing it for 1 game.
It means doing it every single night.
You know, the standard that they have created for themselves.
It sure would be nice if they could get back to it.
