Don’t get me wrong, it’s annoying, but that’s pretty much it.
Maybe it’s because things were close even without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis on the floor.
It’s just….annoying.
This was a game everyone had circled for months.
We all said the same thing.
But coming in a loss, I wouldn’t exactly say he got his “revenge”.
The loss sort of ruins it.
The Celts are going to lose more games in 2024-25, as hard as that may be to hear.
You have to win the margins.
You cannot make mental mistakes in high leverage situations against a basketball demon.
Playing competitive games in the regular season matters.
Ideally you’re winning those games, but life isn’t always fair.
But before we do, let’s dive into what we saw.
For a half, that was pretty effective.
Whatever is best for the team, that is what Tatum is going to do.
Tatum may have only finished with 2 assists, but he led the Celtics with 14.
- The Neemias Queta Era has been a revelation.
So far, they look pretty damn real.
There are going to be moments when he finds himself out of position.
There are going to be moments when he gets cooked in space.
There are going to be moments where fucks up a rebound.
Other nights it’s going to be a playmaker.
The point is, Derrick White cannot be defined by a position or a role.
He’s a basketball player.
To me, that’s the highest praise you could have.
- Alright, that’s pretty much it.
Let’s move on.
When you play GS, the one thing you cannot have is multiple CTE moments.
They thrive off those mistakes and bury you.
In the end, the early turnovers proved to be too costly.
Those are the margins you cannot lose when playing Steph Curry.
If you don’t take care of the basketball, you die.
But again, those are the margins.
That’s tough, mostly because Hauser/Pritchard’s looks were pretty clean.
In a game like last night, their production was important and sadly it just wasn’t there.
Jordan Walsh isn’t that guy, and this was always the angle for someone like Lonnie Walker.
Holiday’s issues to me were more around the small things.
You’re just not going to win against good teams allowing 32, 31 and 36 points.
- The Celts had just 94 points per 100 possessions in halfcourt offense in that game.
That is legitimately awful.
How did the Celts close that quarter?
They allowed a 9-0 run and were down 11 in a blink of an eye.
Between shit like this, the quick Tatum tech, it really is every single night with this bullshit.
Why is that so hard?
Not that foul call.
you gotta end your defensive possessions cleanly.
Well, in the 4th quarter alone, the Warriors had 7 OREB for 10 2nd chance points.
There’s your ballgame right there.
Considering they were playing double bigs, I find that pretty inexcusable.
Queta, we’re just going to stand there and not go for the ball?
The thing is, it happened again on the very next possession
Sorry, this is losing basketball.
Again Jrue Holiday, what are you doing here?
- This extended past rebounding too.
Jayson Tatum, my guy, overall you played great, but what the fuck happened here?
As I said, little mistakes become big mistakes when you aren’t locked in.
So hey, 7-2 just like we saw the Celts start last year.
It would have been nice to pull this out one of course, but that’s sports.
The Celts simply didn’t play well enough to win and they got what they deserved.
Win Friday and the .800 winning percentage is right on track.
