The NBA’s trade deadline was February 6th, 2025.
Since that date, below are the three best records in the NBA (tie for 3rd)
1.
OKC: 19-3
2.
BOS: 16-3
3.
GS: 16-4
3.
You’ve assumed I’m supposed to give a shit about that.
Surely, I do not.
To me, that’s what makes this sustained level of success even more impressive.
Take last night for example.
The Blazers were playing well, winners of 4 straight, and are definitely a pesky team post-trade deadline.
Because this is what wagons do.
In the spirit of surviving and advancing, that’s really the only mentality to have during this trip.
Do what you have to do, get the win, and it’s on to the next challenge.
He was a maestro.
We’re all aware it’s 2025 correct?
So when we say appreciate the generational Celtic that is Jayson Tatum, it is not hyperbole.
He is truly generational.
This win was a pick your poison of Tatum dominance.
You want elite passing?
He gave it to you.
He was in complete control.
Did you want some P&R dominance?
Did you want some pull up 3s?
How about some midrange fadeaways when a team decides to send more help?
The defense, the scoring, the passing, the rebounding, all big time stuff.
For this team, that means guys like Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard have to hit their open looks.
I do want to take a minute to acknowledge what we’re seeing from Hauser during this stretch though.
Since that 2/6 date, Hauser has played 18 games (15-3).
In those 18 games, he’s shooting 44.9% from three on 5.9 3PA a night.
A big part of the Celts success is their shooters making those “deflating” 3s.
You know the ones I’m talking about.
No matter what you choose it’s death.
That’s a great night for about 99% of the NBA.
The Blazers had just one problem though.
That has to be so annoying for the Blazers and their fans who were watching this game.
You make 19 3s on 40%, that should be a win.
Few teams have the firepower to match that level of offensive production.
The Celtics not only matched it, they outproduced it.
All while missing 3 starters.
Just let that sink in for a second.
So when he’s up this summer, Billy Boy needs to just hand him the check.
His next decision is what to be OK with when it comes to paying Luke Kornet.
Allow me to make this easy for him as well.
The answer, is whatever it takes to keep him.
The overall point is he is not allowed to leave either.
I know that sounds crazy because we’re talking about Luke Kornet, but it’s also the truth.
He’s been that good and that consistent.
Heading into a game I never have to worry about which version of Kornet we’re going to get.
It might sound insane, but imagine what this team looks like this year without Kornet?
I won’t fight you if you say yes.
- Speaking of role players, I continue to really enjoy the Baylor Scheierman minutes.
There’s just something about how he plays and his feel for the game that intrigues me.
He looks like he belongs.
Maybe it turns out to be nothing, but maybe there’s something there!
That’s the whole point of this part of the season for Baylor.
Just keep showing us flashes.
Add in his 8 assists and +11 in his minutes and I thought DWhite filled his role perfectly.
In fact, they won it by 1 point!
Regular season, playoffs, Finals, it doesn’t matter.
After watching that performance, I get it.
Will Adam Silver and the NBA do anything about their horrendous officiating problem?
This isn’t just a Celtics thing either.
You see players all around the league all say the same thing after playing a game she refs in.
It’s a disaster.
I’m all for letting bad shooters shoot, but that’s not really what the deal was yesterday.
It just didn’t feel like the perimeter pressure was where it needed to be for long stretches.
- A Jordan Walsh DNP-CD?
What is going on?
Aren’t these the exact games he should be getting run in?
Especially since he showed some OK flashes in his limited minutes?
What’s going on there?
That’s not great.
That has to tighten up because there will be shooting regression.
