In fact, it took place nearly 1 year ago to the day.
On January 10th, the 28 win Celtics played a hard fought OT thriller against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
All they needed was one stop to avoid OT and win the game.
Derrick White fouled with 8 seconds left, Ant went to the line and forced OT.
The Celts eventually pulled it out, despite their own doings making things much harder on themselves.
They then flew out to MIL for a B2B, their 5th game in 7 days.
This all sounding familiar so far?
Nobody could hit a shot, the Bucks couldn’t miss, and that was that.
This all sounding familiar as well?
Celts down by 19 at the half shooting 39/30%, and the Lakers shooting 55% from 3?
That Celtics team was playing .500 basketball in January at the time.
Immediately after that loss, we heard a lot of the same things we’re now hearing today.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It’ll be OK.
Now, having said ALL that, one thing remains true.
Losing any game, at any time, in any location, to the Lakers is shameful.
Losing to that team will never be “acceptable” despite the context around the game.
It’s the Lakers.
Whether you lose by 1 or by 25, it doesn’t matter.
They made their bed vs LAC and paid the price for it against LAL.
No different from what we saw with MIN/MIL last year.
It’s called a schedule loss for a reason.
At the moment, things are just like the last WC trip.
If someone told you the Celts would finish 3-1, you’d take it.
That’s life in the NBA.
Now, let’s begin.
I’d argue he’s looking more and more like his old self with each passing game.
I’m not sure how anyone can’t respect that.
Jaylen’s efficiency fell off, but KP’s remained consistent.
A good mix of inside/outside possessions, attacking mismatches, and burying 3s.
That has to stop.
- Alright we’re done here.
We can move on.
Both were nowhere close to good enough, and for different reasons.
There should never be a world in which Tatum only takes 12 shots.
I see that as an issue everyone nis responsible for.
He’s not a rookie, he’s in Year 8 and is the best player on the team.
He knows how to demand the ball and be aggressive offensively, we know what that looks like.
Compare that to his approach last night, and it’s two completely different players.
OK that I understand, but then why is he even playing.
The team wide shooting slump still exists.
That’s really it.
That’s a cool 30/33% from 60% of your starting lineup, including your best player.
Once we got to the bench?
Would you believe me if I said things were even worse?
At some point, you have to put the ball in the basket.
That’s sort of how the game of basketball works.
Defensively, things weren’t even a total disaster at times.
- Now I know what you’re probably going to say.
That the Celts need to take less 3s and more 2s on nights like this.
Well, there’s only one problem with that.
In this loss, the 2pt issues were actually MUCH more of a problem.
See for yourself
38% at the rim?
Is that a joke?
League average as you’re able to see is 66% from that zone.
You’ll also notice the Celts went just 1-6 from the corners.
There’s your game.
In total, just 21-50 on 2pt FGA (42%).
That is impossibly bad.
For whatever reason, that is their challenge this year.
Contested, uncontested nothing seems to really matter right now.
Essentially, last night was their 3rd best shooting night of the season.
Gabe Vincent, yea that asshole, went 4-7 from deep.
That’s where the shooting slump came back to bite them.
- Another game of being completely destroyed around the margins.
So, not only could they not shoot.
Not only could they not get stops.
But they also were completely swept in the margin categories.
I’m not sure it gets worse than that.
Now that they are struggling, that help is no longer there and you could see the impact.
I mean it’s no secret, as Derrick White goes, this team goes.
Over those 21 games he’s shooting just 40/34%.
Over his last 9 (since the OKC loss), he’s shooting 32/23%.
How is that even possible?
Watching him play right now I see a guy that’s clearly in his own head.
Bizarre turnovers, no confidence in his shot to the point where now he’s not even being aggressive.
That’s the shit he used to do when he had hair.
With Jrue, it’s really been no better.
If he makes his early postup/floater/layup, for some reason the entire team shoots well.
Keep this in mind when you watch these games and you’ll see what I mean.
At the 5:30 mark of the 3rd quarter, momentum was starting to swing in the Celts favor.
After another stop, it was then Jaylen Brown’s turn to go to the line for a pair.
That was the game right there.
Now, the Lakers may start to get tense given they were already struggling to score.
Instead, a lack of execution is what gave them new life, and the rest was history.
On the night, the Celts finished 12-18 from the FT line for 66%.
That, is dogshit.
Sorry, that’s pathetic.
- Celts are 3-8 after a win since December 15th.
Seems like a pretty easy concept, but then again nothing is easy for this team right now.
