Mike lost his fastball a while ago. Grant was a great piece to have on his rookie contract but as soon as he got pricey Brad lost interest. Glad they used his minutes to play guys like Hauser, Kornet & now Tillman.
To get further into this, now that we have the numbers.
This very brief characterization of how Celtics games go this year - typically shrewd and concise by lovegtm - was really exemplified by last night's game, and really made me recall this post in particular. Phoenix made a lot of shots in the first quarter and had a lead of like 7-8 at times, and were keeping pace with us much of the first half - I was actually surprised we were able to get to halftime up by 5. We all know that Durant hitting 7 in a row isn't some unsustainable thing for him. But then Durant went cold, our D dug in, and suddenly we were up by 20, 95-75. Game over, garbage time incoming, rest of the minutes were academic. I guess PHX went on a mini-run at the start of the 4Q, got it to 13, but not even their Big 3 could keep it up for long enough to make the result in doubt.
I think Grayson Allen has the most punchable face in the league, but that play seems ridiculous to get upset over
Yes. People talk about effort and defense a lot, but for me, it's the consistency and attention to detail on offense. They are so methodical that it feels weird in the brief times when they aren't, like against Denver last week (although not in the first matchup; that was just missed shots).
Hah, good callback. I think I'm thinking of something else, back in 2023, but maybe I'm not.
I'm not upset about it myself, just hypothesizing that Jaylen might've noticed his foot getting swatted, and thereby found a little something extra for him.
Within a game, there are definitely defensive effort changes that impact whether they are winning or margin. Big picture I think you and I have been on same page for a while---teh commitment to the right process on offense (getting ball inside/below FT line and then moving around, not quickly jacking threes) is by far the biggest thing they can control/change to impact winning.
My first thought reading your post was this, from the 2022 playoffs against the Bucks:
I sign off on all the above.
When the C's get up 20 on teams, it's so, so damn hard for them to come all the way back.
I wish the NBA would put together this super team........and then the plane would crash. But I would feel bad for the pilots. Unless it was Munson.
Jaylen is right to be pissed about Giannis "Friendly Hey Bud" Arm hug. If you watch earlier Giannis gives him a veteran forearm shove on his way to the hoop. Even if accidental it enough to piss someone off and not want to josh it up with you.
Good stuff. And a reminder that whatever we might have gained in on-court production by swapping out Marcus Smart, we lost the #1 overall draft pick in "guys you would want in your posse if the bar fight is about to break out". He was ready to smoke some fools, even though it was Jaylen's beef to start.
Great pull about the FT% percentage. I was surprised to learn both: (1) the C's are shooting 80.9% as a team (the handwringing about JB and others having colored my perspective) and (2) 80.9% only ranks 6th overall among teams this year. It made me realize that free-throwing shooting overall has ticked up a lot in the past 20 years- 80.9% would have led the league in 2003-04. Interesting, given that "shooting the ball from 15 feet away" is much less a part of NBA offenses today. (I mean, it's not that surprising, given that free throw shooting is a fairly discreet skill that is practiced in separation from other shooting— but it's still kinda curious).
If we are playing the who would the Celtics be better off with currently constructed:
I am having a difficult time processing this. That is freaking wild considering how really easy it is to go down by 10 in today's NBA.
This post really nails it for me. Last year the process was roughly:
Great post.
And the Cs have a very soft schedule from here on out, in terms of opponent quality. That tends to be a recipe for them putting up a lot of points, even with some starters resting.
The best news there is KP potentially playing. All the evidence in the world points to them just resting him to get ready for the playoffs, but until I see him on the court, I'm still gonna have KG 2009 vibes.
3rd in Net Rating. (1) '96 Bulls. (2) '97 Bulls.
I'm less worried with KP because they did this overly cautious rest thing once or twice already this season.
Something isn't right, what about the Lakers and Bucks and Warriors teams?
This has been a bit different. We saw him pull up lame with the calf injury against Orlando, he left the game and missed four more. We saw him roll his ankle against Miami, he left the game and then missed the next two. We last saw KP in the closing minutes against Denver, looking fine as far as I can remember, then his name popped up on the injury report and he's missed five straight games. If this was happening in December instead of March, the level of concern would be quite a bit higher, I think.
The 72 Lakers had a net rating of 10.5, the 71 Bucks had a net rating of 10.8, and the 17 Warriors had a net rating of 11.6.
That's point differential (total point scored minus total points allowed, divided by games played). Net rating is point differential per 100 possessions, not per game.
Ah my mistake - their net rating and their point differential are so close that it threw me off (11.7 to 11.4 I think)
