Things Get Back To Normal, Celts Blow Out Brooklyn By A Billion
Just what the doctor ordered. Coming off Wednesday’s disappointing performance, this team needed an opponent like this. It’s sort of like when you took the math section of the SATs and you do a quick scan of the first few problems and realize that you are, in fact retarded, but then come across a string of like three easy ones, and boom, you’re full of confidence. Last night’s performance was awesome on so many levels it’s almost impossible to choose a favorite. The shooting? The defense? The Nets pick? Gino? I understand that the Nets are probably the 3rd worst team in the league at the moment, but they did just beat Atlanta, and I’m in too good a mood right now to care. With so much to get to, we might as well dive in.
The Good
– First up, props to the section, probably stoolies, that led the charge in the “Thank You Brooklyn” and “1st Rd Draft Pick” chants. Just the perfect way to end it, the ultimate reminder that Trader Danny murdered your franchise for the foreseeable future.
– Honest question, do you think we are NOW a the point where people will take this Celtics team seriously? Yeah, 12 games isn’t the largest sample size in the world, but here is how they currently rank in some pretty significant categories
#1 in total defense, #3 in point differential, #1 in turnover%, #1 in steal%, #5 in pace, #6 in assist%
Now their offensive numbers still leave more to be desired, but this much is clear. Everyone who thought this team was going to be trash this year is looking pretty fucking stupid right now. Just wait till they learn how to shoot, then watch out. Last night we got a sense of what it looks like when they are clicking on all cylinders, and it’s left me with a raging Jerebko in my pants.
A perfect example of this mastery came in the second quarter. Holy shit. This quarter was some straight NBA 2k16 Rookie mode shit. The Celtics shot 85% for the quarter. EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT. I didn’t even know that was possible in an NBA game. They finished with 43(!) points, hit six threes, and just destroyed Brooklyn’s will. It got to the point where they were just taking cocky shots, and they were knocking them down. All of the big guns didn’t miss a shot, and they had success because they moved the ball. Finishing with 15 assists on 18 baskets in the quarter, this was about as perfect of basketball as you could posisbly see. Fantastic stuff. By the end of the half the Celts would take a 4 point first quarter lead and made it 24, and with that, it was all over but the crying.
– When looking a unselfish play, it wasn’t just in the second quarter. For the game, the Celts had 39 assists on 51 baskets, good for an assist% of 76%. Again, I don’t think you’ll see something like this again in the NBA this year, it doesn’t matter what team it is. I always like to point to this stat because to me it’s a clear way to evaluate how they play offensively. When they struggle and lose games, this number is usually pretty low. When this number is high, the Celtics have been basically unstoppable and that shouldn’t come as a surprise. As a team with no Lebron/Durant/Curry, we rely on ball movement and unselfish play in order to be successful. Last night showed why playing that way works.
– It probably had something to do with the blowout, but we did see 7 Celtics play at least 20 minutes last night (Sully was at 19) and no matter where you look, those guys were productive. We joke about their #depth, but the deeper we get into the season the more this is becoming a valuable piece. With boy wonder Brad Stevens having so many options as his disposal, if one lineup isn’t working he has the freedom to change around some rotations and not have to worry about losing any production. In fact, often times it increases the production (see Avery coming off the bench).
– Speaking of Avery, he turned in yet another fantastic performance, and it’s safe to say his calf is no longer an issue. A total of 21 points in just 20 minutes, he was unconscious. He finished 10-13 from the field, and scored in a variety of ways. His defense sparked easy baskets in transition, and Brad kept running him off more and more screens from 15-18ft and it was automatic. When Avery is hitting his jumper like this his confidence is through the roof. Hard to imagine that he ever makes it back into the starting lineup, not because he doesn’t have the talent to start, but no CHANCE Brad wants to fuck with his rhythm.
– I also loved how Isaiah responded to his 0-6 start. At the beginning of the game he was really forcing his jumper. A streaky scorer, this early performance could have really put the Celts in a hole. Instead, he was a playmaker, finishing with 5 assists in the first quarter. He woke up in the second like everyone else, and didn’t miss a shot. A sweet 5-5 from the floor with 4 threes there was something noticibly different about his offensive usage. Rather than have the ball in his hands and hope that he creates something, they moved him off the ball, where he is a better shooter. Those back to back corner threes are proof.
Since 2013, Isaiah Thomas has a 40.2 3PT% off the catch. It’s only 31.1% off the dribble. This is why I like Stevens using Thomas off-ball.
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 21, 2015
Isaiah would finish a team high +28 with 21-9 with just three turnovers, but surprisingly only 1 FTA. If you just looked at the box score you would think it was another situation where Isaiah did Isaiah things, and while true, I was very pleased to see his mental toughness after that brutal opening quarter.
– Can’t forget Jae. We’ll get to his offense in a minute, but let’s not act like he didn’t completely shut Joe Johnson down. Now JJ is nowhere near the player he used to be, but on any given night he can still be a problem for you. Last night? 1-5 for 3 points, and completely taken out of the game. Crowder would have three more steals to add to his league leading total, and Friday was his best all around game of the season. Offensively, it was actually very un-Jae Crowder like. He set the tone early with a strong first quarter, and would finish 8-12 for 19 points (three 3s). He shot the ball with confidence, allowed his great defense to create easy buckets, and continued to be our emotional leader. Love everything about Crowder right now. This is your opportunity to point and laugh at those who said his 5/35M deal was too much. In reality, its probably 4M a year too little.
– I want to talk about how great the Celtics defense was last night, but the Nets stink. A team like that isn’t ready for defensive pressure like the Celtics, so it was basically cheating. Either way, 39% shooting and 19 turnovers is just the type of defense that makes me feel funny inside. This is our recipe for success, and it was nice to see since their defense in the second half against Dallas was nonexistent.
– Does anyone know what has gotten into David Lee? I only ask because I would like to bottle it up and sell it. Another great highly productive 17 minutes finishing with 11 points and a couple of impressive offensive moves. Let’s hope Vivek is watching over in SAC because he doesn’t know it yet, but he’s about to make Lee a King.
The Bad
– It wasn’t all good. I really didn’t like how the Celts opened this game offensively. Within the first 3 minutes of action, the Celts took shots from almost everywhere but the paint (minus Amir’s layup). I am all for outside shooting, but the Celtics took 29 again last night. Smart was the biggest culprit (again), but it was Jae and Isaiah as well. Once the team started moving the ball inside and got the defense moving things opened up for them, but please God stop taking so many long jumpers to start a game.
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– While you may not have noticed because again, the blowout, the Celts struggled on the glass last night. They lost the battle 44-41, but the problem was really in the offensive rebounding category. 14 offensive rebounds is just too many to give up, and I don’t really care that it didn’t hurt them. That is a trend that can come back to bite you when facing better competition, so let’s hope this doesn’t become habit.
– We did get to see the future in RJ Hunter, but 6 minutes of action is just too few in a game like this. He played his part and knocked down a beautiful corner three (2,969 behind Ray) and we are left here begging for more. This guy is going to be a STUD, just give him the minutes Brad. Do it. No one will be upset if you give RJ all of Turner’s minutes.
The Ugly
– Whatever the deal is with Marcus Smart’s knee. He left the game with what the team is just saying is a bruised knee, but we’ve been down this road before. Seeing tweets like this make me uneasy, and I hate it
I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see him sit out Sunday, and frankly I almost prefer it.
All in all, this was the type of game we needed and I’m glad everything went according to plan. In my opinion it’ll be a bit harder to beat this team Sunday, simply because it’s rare that a team sweeps a home and home like this. Either way sitting at 7-5 through 12 games with the quality of wins we have to this point has me more confident than ever, and you should be too. This team is legit and only getting better. Remember we have Brooklyn, Atlanta, Philly coming up, so 10-5 is a very real possibility. I don’t want to get too crazy, but that’s a 54 win pace. Ok, I may be drunk off Kool Aid because there is no way this team wins 54 games right? Or do they? God I love this team.
7 down 40 to go
P.S
Come on, you knew this was coming. GIVE IT TO ME GINO!!!