Well, it was bound to happen eventually I guess.
Both in equally embarrassing fashion, we may as well rip the bandaid right off.
That’s just the honest truth of the product the defending champs are putting onto the floor right now.
It’s been objectively awful basketball.
The response to this down stretch has been pretty much what you would expect.
You know, just like the reaction we saw after the ATL losses last year in March.
Remember when those were played up as confirmation that the Celts would flame out in the postseason?
That they weren’t ready to win a title?
All that stuff is bullshit.
Every single possession matters.
So what, the Celts don’t need attention to detail just because it’s December?
you might’t just live off of “the idea” of who you are as a team.
What makes you that devastating force is actually doing those things on a basketball court.
For the majority of the season, that’s what the Celtics had done and their record reflected it.
That’s what makes this current stretch so annoying.
With that said, let’s begin.
Zero complaints about Tatum’s performance.
32/15/4 on bubble guts is basically a Celtics right of passage.
If you don’t defend, you die.
Nothing else matters if you cannot consistently get stops.
That is why this current team exists.
But the foundation of every single champion and potential dynasty is one constant.
A terrifying, elite, physical defense.
It’s that defense that sparks everything.
When you have to keep taking the ball out of the basket, it limits you.
How do we know this?
Offense was no problem.
20 3PM on 40% shooting, a solid points per possession, and a decent enough eFG%.
That should be a cakewalk to a win right?
They had literally never lost when making at least 20 3PM.
They were at their worst when the game required them to be at their best.
Is anyone surprised they lost both of those games?
That is beyond awful.
If we move this to just the 4th quarter where the Celts blew all 3 games?
It’s even worse.
Opponents are shooting 57/53% with 5.3 3PM scoring an average of 33.3 points.
That is complete horseshit and why I hate that line of thinking.
How would you describe the staying in front of Tyrese Maxey?
Pretty awful I’d say.
No moment bigger than the final minute of the game with the Celts desperately trying to make a comeback.
What do we get?
So what do the Celts do?
It was a pick your poison of suck when it came to these turnovers.
Lazy with the ball off a jump?
Driving into traffic and immediately losing the ball?
This is the stuff that annoys the hell out of me.
9 TOs in 2 games?
Head down, driving into traffic, and struggling when 3 or 4 defenders all reach in.
- Disaster minutes for both Pritchard and Hauser off the bench, and for different reasons.
With Pritchard, I can’t ever remember him having a slump like this.
When teams an be physical and blitz Pritchard like the Magic it removes him from the game.
Normally, you’d sub Jrue in if Pritchard’s shot isn’t falling like that.
These are the margins that matter and why FTs are so important.
61.5% from the FT line?
There’s a difference between being aggressive and putting pressure on the defense and forcing things.
The challenge is finding the balance of how to do both, especially when you miss early.
Very different from how he played in the ORL loss, that version you might live with.
What we got in that first half yesterday?
He had both his guys out there!
- The Caleb Martin bullshit is just so fucking fake.
Open or not, 7-9 from deep is fake as hell.
Guy is shooting 18% on open 3PA all season.
Keep fucking around on that end and you will continue to have embarrassing losses like this was.
It’s really that simple.
