The Hottest Team In The NBA Continues To Win, Now Up To 7 In A Row
When things were at their darkest, I would say the loss to the Knicks would be that moment, this team needed to look themselves in the mirror and say enough was enough. They looked like one of the worst teams in the league for the first 20 games with each loss being more embarrassing than the last. Then, the scheduling Gods eased up and gave them a stretch some of their other Eastern Conference competitors had already had and would you look at them now. Winners of 7 straight, the longest streak in the league, and a team that couldn’t score 90 points consistently all of the sudden has the best offense in the entire league over this stretch. They jumped from the 22nd offense to the 12th best offense on the season, which includes that horrific start. The players said all the right things, that they just needed time and that eventually they would figure things out, but as fans we were skeptical. We had to see them walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Well, that’s exactly what’s happened. As I write this the Celtics are now just 1 game back of the 2nd seed in the East, and no team in the league is playing as well as they are right now. And while it’s true that there have been some cupcakes during this stretch, they also beat NO twice, MIN, and now WSH who by the end of the season should be a playoff team.
There’s no denying, this offense is fucking firing. Over this 7 game win streak they’ve scored at least 120 points 5 times and are averaging 124.9 points over the whole thing. This is happening while they are playing shorthanded too, which makes it all the more impressive. Which brings me to last night. We all know the Wizards are a bit if a disaster, but for whatever reason when these two teams play each other in that building, we always get games that go down to the wire like this. In what ended up being a battle of the point guards, it was Kyrie Irving that rose to the occasion and saved the day, and there are no signs that the Celtics are going to slow down any time soon.
These are the blogs that are fun to write, so let’s get started.
The Good
– As I mentioned, Kyrie shook his dick last night folks
Heading into the game I was excited for Kyrie vs Wall and boy did it deliver. He put this team on his back and carried them over the finish line and what I loved was it didn’t just come from his scoring. Yeah his two late threes were huge, and he did drop 38 points, but this was one of his more complete games of the season in my opinion. Defensively he sacrificed his body and made clutch plays, he was unselfish and didn’t force things, waiting for the right time until he had to take over, and then from there it was a wrap. Kyrie scored 12 of the 17 points in OT when Wall was doing his best to steal the game for the Wizards, and it’s games like this that they need from their best player with a ton of guys out.
Over the course of this streak Kyrie is averaging 24.8/3.8/7.2 on 50.5/44.7% splits with 3.5 3PM a night. His advanced splits of 128/99 give him a +29.2 net rating which is RIDICULOUS. He’s locked in on both ends and is leading by example which is everything you want from the leader of your team. To say he’s been fantastic doesn’t really do it justice, he sneaky has saved the season with how he’s played over this stretch.
– I feel like a broken record, but guess who once again showed up and played great. Marcus goddamn Morris
We’re at the point where I now need Ainge to not only give Mook the max, but find a way for it to be 1 year deals. Another night where they needed him to not only be productive on the offensive end but efficient as well, Mook responded with 27 points on 11-20 shooting. He was a starter best +14, and you add in his 9 rebounds and it’s hard to find an area where he didn’t play well. We are even seeing a development in his decision making as well! What if I told you Mook didn’t shoot this shot?
Instead he found Kyrie on the baseline, which is NOT something he does last year. It sounds crazy every time I say it, but I’m at the point where I get mad when Mook doesn’t shoot. How does that make any sense? No clue but it’s the truth. He won’t be an All Star this year, but he has been fantastic since the opening tip of the season. Guy is about to make so much goddamn money this summer.
What I loved about Mooks night was how aggressive he was. He knew there wasn’t really any WSH defender that could keep him out of the paint, and he took advantage with 12 of his 20 FGA coming from the paint. That’s beautiful.
– Don’t you ever, EVER tell me FTs aren’t important. The Celtics won this game because they went 25-25 from the line, which produced this stat
This makes me incredibly happy. It’s why I get mad when I see good shooters miss fourth quarter FTs. I know what they are capable of and I’m not sure what impressed me more. The fact that the Celtics didn’t miss, or the fact that they actually took 25 FTA. Either way, you gotta love it.
– Speaking of things you love, it is now impossible to deny the impact Marcus Smart has on this basketball team. Just watch for yourself
To put it simply, he just imposes his will on this team and while it’s cliche to talk about “winning plays” that’s exactly what he gives. They do not win this game without the effort of Marcus Smart. There’s no OT for Kyrie to cook if he doesn’t get those two gigantic offensive rebounds late, and then another forced turnover late in the fourth. He finished with 18/5/3/3 which is nice, but it’s more than his scoring that make him so valuable. His decision making is so much better this year, he’s not taking terrible momentum killing threes, and when you want to talk about his defensive versatility, it’s a real asset.
He matched up with Beal/Wall a total of 54 possessions and game up a total of 15 points. He only gave up 3 of those to Wall. You put him on a wing, no big deal, you put him on a big, he thrives. It is not a coincidence the moment Brad went to Smart and gave him this opportunity that the team has responded with the best record and best offense with the third best defense. Efforts like this are why I have no problem with his contract and why I felt it was so important the Celtics bring him back. He is the heartbeat of this team whether you want to admit it or not.
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– Alright, time to check in on our trust formula. Well, Celts won the rebounding battle 50-41 which helped them put up 24 second chance points and while they gave up 50/36% splits, their defense was active
When this team defends and rebounds, the rest is easy.
– Yup, Robert Williams still rules
– One of the things that have surprised me most this season is what a better rebounder Jayson Tatum is. He’s making a legit effort to be a factor on the glass, and on a night where they needed everyone to crash the glass he did his job snagging 12. Just a little double double action for the 20 year old, including a brutal cross where I’m pretty much sure he killed a guy
It’s a great sign that even with guys out and on a night where his shot wasn’t all that efficient, Tatum is not letting that get in his head. You see the rebounding, but defensively Tatum was locked in last night as well. His most frequent matchup was Kelly Oubre Jr who he guarded 31 possessions and he held him to 2-7 shooting. On the night all opponents shot 8-17 against Tatum and I think we’ll take that.
– I want to give credit to Terry Rozier quickly. He had a nice 10/4 off the bench which was nice, but I care more about his defense. This is the area he doesn’t always thrive in, but I thought he was great on Beal (0-4) and then great on his main assignment of Austin Rivers (0-3). Wall sort of cooked him for 6 points, but this was one of the better defensive efforts we’ve seen from Rozier during this streak so who am I to complain.
– 18 lead changes and 9 times tied, credit the Celtics for not caving on the road here. Granted it was mostly Celtics fans in attendance, but even when things got dicey and the Wizards punched them in the mouth, they didn’t pout. They didn’t quit, they punched back. That is what I love.
The Bad
– You knew it was coming the second it was announced that Jeff Green was going to start. The man who cost this team a trip to the Finals will forever haunt them and last night was no different. The hell is going on in this world where he puts up 22/10 on 7-11 shooting? He COOKED Mook on multiple occasions and frankly I found that insulting because I know first hand Jeff Green kinda stinks. That was annoying.
– For a team that prides itself on defense, we didn’t see much of it in that fourth quarter. It started with some questionable lineups from Brad, who may have left Semi in too long and the next thing you knew their beautiful third quarter was wasted with an 8-0 WSH run and the lead gone. Over those 12 minutes the Celtics gave up 36 points on 71/60% splits. That’s a piss poor effort and a lot of it was because nobody could stay in front of John Wall. He had 12 points on 6-7 shooting in 8 minutes, and the Celtics are very lucky he didn’t get those John Wall foul calls on drives which he always seems to get. He was a legit problem.
– The fourth quarter also gave us the most controversial part of this game, and that was Brad’s decision to foul up 3 with 13 seconds left. I get questioning the move, why not just play it out and let them make the three, but I also understand his thinking. It would have worked too if someone on this team remembered to block out on a missed FT
which is completely inexcusable. Marcus went to the rim instead of finding the body, and Terry who was crashing couldn’t get in front of Beal either. This could have been a disaster had the Celtics lost this game so they get a bit lucky there, and who knows maybe next time Brad lets them play through those final 13 seconds.
– Only 19 assists on 47 FGM. For a team that has been moving the ball as good as any team in the league during this streak, I didn’t think the passing was all that good last night.
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– I respect the Celtics ability to never stop taking threes, even if you end the night 11-38 after starting 4-20 in the first half. It’s that stubbornness that will one day bite them in the ass, but they survived last night so it’s whatever.
The Ugly
– You know the rules, we’ll see this section again once they lose a game which may be never soooooooooooooo
Looking ahead, this team will now play ATL/DET/PHX so it’s a legit possibility they are riding a 10 game streak into the showdown with MIL. They still have a lonnnnnnnng way to go until they can talk about being in the same conversation as TOR who just swept GS, but what this streak has done is remind everyone that this team fucks. After many thought there were serious issues given how they started, and teams like PHI were adding All Stars, well look at things now. Both have 10 losses and this team could end the week in sole possession of the 2 seed. I still want to see them sustain this level of play for a longer period of time, Brad talked about how for him to think they’ve turned the corner he needs to see it over the course of a month or so and I agree. It’s great that they’ve figured things out and dug themselves out of their early home, but there is more work to be done. In the meantime, enjoy the longest winning streak and best offense in the league and say it with me
17 down 45 to go.