I know what you’re probably thinking, how could this be?
Greenie, stop being a homer!
You’re such a Green Teamer!
To that I say, sorry the truth hurts.
How rare is that?
Those teams are the 05-06 Spurs, the 08-09 Celts, the 12-13 Heat, and the 15-16 Warriors.
How many of those teams had at least a +9.1 differential in their title defense season?
Only the GS Warriors (+10.8), and you’ll remember that was the 73-9 team.
So, essentially, what the current defending Champs are doing through the All Star break is essentially unprecedented.
From both a win total pace and a point differential pace.
Again, that’s not my bias or homerism talking, that’s simply the reality of their season.
The point, is the same as it always is when it comes to this team.
Infuriating moments of braindead CTE basketball, especially at home.
The Celtics are not “broken”.
There is no “problem with their system”.
But let’s also be clear about something.
I cannot stand when people try and make that claim based on regular season basketball.
That’s not what it does/tells you!
The goal in the regular season for the defending champs is simple
1.
Finish as high as you possibly can in terms of seeding
3.
Be healthy come the Spring
That’s it.
But first, let’s talk about last night.
The Good
- One thing that I really love about pretty much this entire roster is their accountability.
When they fail, this team does not point fingers.
When Tatum or Brown or KP etc come up short, they own it.
There’s no throwing shade or finger pointing or blaming others.
They are all honest and accountable, and it’s really been that way since Tatum/Brown first arrived.
So what did he do?
This is what that looks like.
Take this game for example.
Over the last 10 games (8-2), his usage is 29.7%.
In those 8 wins, it’s 31.1%.
So what we’re seeing isn’t a different approach with Tatum.
Tatum is simply playing better.
Now, he’s being aggressive.
Not that one game he had a 29% USG% and another game a 34% USG%.
- In a battle between two unicorns in KP and Wemby, it certainly did not disappoint.
Ever since his debut, KP has been lights out offensively in my opinion.
Perhaps the best part of all when it comes to KP, is that he’s been available.
Outside of his regularly scheduled rest days, he’s been active.
He’s either going to score or get to the FT line pretty much every single time.
When Wemby wasn’t on the floor and it was a non-Tatum minute situation, what did we see?
KP post ups and the Celts were able to survive those minutes.
It’s not as if we’re seeing a different Tatum or a different KP.
This is the level they consistently play at.
After the MIA win he was vocal about needing to be better at home, and boom.
He led the way.
Instead of the crowd being on edge and maybe a little nervous, they were engaged.
Great energy, the right approach offensively, connected defensively, great on the boards etc.
Once they built that inifial lead, it was coasting the rest of the way.
- Speaking of rebounding, what a performance on the offensive glass.
Payton Pritchard had 4 by himself!
A lot of them were long rebounds that required effort and hustle for grab.
When this team is at their best, those are the plays they make.
- My expectations for the Torrey Craig Celtics tenure is pretty simple.
All I need from him is to defend, rebound, and make his open 3s.
That’s the bar.
It’s not a high bar, but it’s an important bar.
The Celts don’t need Torrey Craig to be a savior, they just need him to be playable.
Given our first look, that seems like something he’s going to be able to do.
- I don’t even care that Al Horford went 2-10 (2-7).
I know Al will hit the big open 3s when we need him to.
What matters more to me is how do his legs look?
Does he look like he can still move?
Now he gets a week off to recharge and be ready for the second half.
It’s fascinating, usually you see role players play better at home, especially in terms of shooting.
For some reason, the Celts role players only shoot well on the road?
How many times have we seen Pritchard go 2-10 at the Garden?
It’s getting comical at this point.
Does Adam Silver care?
So bizarre and frankly it’s inexcusable.
- Is Jordan Walsh simply out of the rotation now?
Why stunt the development for no reason?
Especially in a game like this before the break, and he’s a DNP-CD?
What’s the deal?
How is he so terrible at throwing an entry pass?
It makes no sense.
Same thing with Tatum.
How do you overthrow a 7'3 guy?
I feel like that should be the easiest pass any of these guys attempt to make.
KP is a fucking giant!
It’s truly insane.
All 7 of those misses came from Tatum (4) and KP (3).
That, doesn’t feel great.
It didn’t come back to bite them in this game, but it will.
You know it will.
That’s how the Basketball Gods work.
Now rest up and get ready to attack the second half.
