Celtics vs. Nets, Round 1 Discussion
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The Nets confirmed he had an epidural which I believe came from Nash himself. Seeing that Nash is the one who questioned Simmons over the last week I would find it hard to believe he lied about that on Simmons behalf.
He might have just gone through with it to keep the charade going. Given his apparent mental state I wouldn’t put that past him. Delay delay delay as long as possible.
Blake Griffin, who probably shaved a solid six months off his life gutting out 10 minutes of basketball the other night, can't be too enthused about sharing bench space with him.
I don't mean to pick on you, but this line gets repeated endlessly. And it's the worst understanding of Marcus's game. Marcus is Draymont Green's MiniMe. He shoots as much as the team needs him to. And historically when Boston has sufficient offense he's been happy not to shoot. This year with both Tatum and Brown growing their offensive games Boston needed less shooting from Marcus. And with the cast that Boston's assembled it will likely remain that way.
As for the defense whats changed for Boston hasn't been the play of Smart, Tatum, etc.. They look better defensively because the back line has been less tire-fiery and Stevens dumped all the defensive sieves (Walker, Fournier, Thompson) and assembled a roster of long, athletic, switchable defenders. So the defensive metrics of their good defenders improved, but mostly because Boston added Horford, Derrick White (and Richardson before him), and Daniel Theis (after his exile for luxury tax reasons last year) and Grant Williams slimmed down and improved his quickness after Boston shored up the C position (which meant no more playing C (except on switches) and focusing on perimeter D).
Trading him to an NBA backwater where he never has to worry about the spotlight seems more likely.
Eh, it could just be that he's trying really hard to be "normal". No disrespect to your own challenges, but when I've had severe anxiety and depression in the past, I did everything in my power to not let people around me know what was going on. Whether it be work or social settings, every ounce of energy went into trying to create a façade of "the old djbayko". Which was foolish, because the one thing I needed more than anything else was help and support from others. But anyways, this is who he's been all along, so it doesn't necessarily surprise me that he'd be trying to maintain that image and signal that everything's okay.
Of course, everyone's different, and I'm probably just as wrong trying to project my own personal experience onto him. It's just one possibility.
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I don't get the impression he wants to stay out of the limelight. This is a guy who had a Showtime documentary produced about himself and then tried get a sitcom about him and his family greenlit (produced by Lebron, of course). He really likes the trappings of fame, he just doesn't care to deal with the criticism that goes along with it, and it's kind of gross that he's using "mental health hurdles" to shield him from the inconvenient parts of what makes him extraordinarily rich.
It's very hard for me to buy that the guy who's done everything in his power to be center of attention - there are lots of other agents besides Klutch, lots of other teams he could've gone to outside of the 5 huge media markets he chose when he was in trade talks, lots of other eligible bachelorettes besides the Kardashians, he doesn't have to make tv shows about himself, etc. etc.- is just now discovering that he's uncomfortable in front of the cameras. I'm sorry, it's just a little convenient, and that's not even getting into his peacocking on the sidelines when he could just be in a Nets hoodie. And, amazingly, he's made tens of millions of dollars in his career - he can just retire and not deal with any of this shit if it's so onerous. He's not like some babe in the woods with no agency.
It's very hard for me to buy that the guy who's done everything in his power to be center of attention - there are lots of other agents besides Klutch, lots of other teams he could've gone to outside of the 5 huge media markets he chose when he was in trade talks, lots of other eligible bachelorettes besides the Kardashians, he doesn't have to make tv shows about himself, etc. etc.- is just now discovering that he's uncomfortable in front of the cameras. I'm sorry, it's just a little convenient, and that's not even getting into his peacocking on the sidelines when he could just be in a Nets hoodie. And, amazingly, he's made tens of millions of dollars in his career - he can just retire and not deal with any of this shit if it's so onerous. He's not like some babe in the woods with no agency.
A question that occurred to me after Embiid got his latest injury, “Has the process been a failure?”
Part of the process was cashing in veterans for picks which left no one on the team to model behavior, no institutional memory and some suddenly wealthy young men far from home without guidance. I don’t think that that was the cause of all the weird stuff, but it probably didn’t help.
The more I read about Philadelphia’s abject failures regarding all the high picks besides Joel Embiid, the more I give credit to Danny Ainge for hitting on all three of his high picks, Smart, Brown, and Tatum.
We live in a strange time where a basketball player cannot play basketball because he mentally cannot handle playing basketball.
We live in a strange time where a basketball player cannot play basketball because he mentally cannot handle playing basketball.
I probably should have specified that I was talking about specifically the pressurized limelight of the NBA playoffs. He does clearly want to be a Sportscenter star and celebrity. No arguments there.
I really thought KD was going to go into completely unstoppable mode in at least one game in Brooklyn, and Kyrie would rain down some 3's in another. KD tried everything tonight, and Kyrie had his highlight reel in Game 1, but it wasn't nearly enough. To borrow a phrase from cross town, DAMAGE DONE!
KD had the absolute quietest 39 point game in NBA playoff history tonight. 13/31 from the field.
But the points, and his visibility in the closing minutes, probably help him stave off some of the "is KD hurt/declining/overrated?" stuff ESPN's been slinging since Game 1 ended.
The narrative is, and should be, that the best defense in the league beat him up. I don't really think less of him as a result of this performance. The Cs defense is a buzzsaw.
Well, the Celtics had some rough moments but that was a nice 5-on-8 victory they won to close out the sweep.
We will know when Tatum has made the leap to top-5 level when the refs don’t call either that 5th or 6th foul on him.
That sixth foul was awful. And with that I'll retreat back to the game thread.
I think this one was all about refs wanting to extend the series.
It would have worked, too, if only the refs were allowed to shoot Claxton's free throws.
Tatum finished the series averaging 30/5/7 on a 62% TS, god damn.
So proud of the team for winning after the refs eliminated Tatum, Ime has this team playing incredibly unselfish ball offensively.
So proud of the team for winning after the refs eliminated Tatum, Ime has this team playing incredibly unselfish ball offensively.
The fifth foul was a good call, and as a D-first team one I think we would want to see called in the playoffs. We'll be on the receiving end more often than not.
The sixth was...
KD after the game: credit to the Celtics, they played amazing.
KD backs Nash, wants him to stay.
KD backs Nash, wants him to stay.
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I thought the 4th (on Curry) and 5th (on Blake) calls were both borderline but Tatum put himself in bad positions both times too. Even the 6th you had to know Dragic would flop at the first opportunity. (Can’t wait to not see that guy next series.) Chalk it up to learning by experience. KD had some dumbass fouls too.
Tatum picked up his 6th at the 2:49 mark with the C’s up 6 and it understandably did seem to discombobulate them.
Foul on Al on defense after a KD miss gave the Nets a second chance - Kyrie 3. Nets down 3 now.
Missed Al layup.
KD steal off Jaylen at the sideline followed by a Jaylen foul and a KD floater at the 1:28 mark.
Nets now down just 1. And all the momentum.
Most teams collapse here and no doubt they were wobbly but Smart, Al and Jaylen stepped up to close it out.
Maybe it’s all inconsequential but responding to that kind of adversity with Tatum out of the game in crunch time is yet another check mark in the resilience column and their confidence has got to be sky high right now.
Plus putting in the effort to close it out and giving themselves the extra rest and prep time before round 2 is so crucial.
What a joy this team is to watch.
Foul on Al on defense after a KD miss gave the Nets a second chance - Kyrie 3. Nets down 3 now.
Missed Al layup.
KD steal off Jaylen at the sideline followed by a Jaylen foul and a KD floater at the 1:28 mark.
Nets now down just 1. And all the momentum.
Most teams collapse here and no doubt they were wobbly but Smart, Al and Jaylen stepped up to close it out.
Maybe it’s all inconsequential but responding to that kind of adversity with Tatum out of the game in crunch time is yet another check mark in the resilience column and their confidence has got to be sky high right now.
Plus putting in the effort to close it out and giving themselves the extra rest and prep time before round 2 is so crucial.
What a joy this team is to watch.
This was another tight one, with the 4 point margin in the game being less than half of the number of missed Claxton free throws(10).
Good parts of this game were the play of Tatum, Brown, Smart, and Horford, the first 3 of whom scored 20+ points. Smart added 11 assists vs just one turnover. Horford played only 5 minutes in a first half in which he picked up 3 quick fouls, but he played 20 minutes in the second half and scored some key baskets down the stretch.
Off the bench, Grant was very good defensively and shot 4-6 from three, 14 points in all. His only non-three basket came with a nice cut down the lane to receive an inbounds pass from Smart on the baseline. Derrick White had his best game since game 1, playing 27 minutes and scoring 9 points/6rebounds. That was good to see.
Theis wasn't great, but 6 points/8 rebounds in 20 minutes is solid.
The two guys who weren't great were Rob and Pritchard.
Pritchard was 0 for 2 from the field, scored no points, and was a -8 in 9 minutes. Just didn't have it in this game.
Rob just looked off, as might be expected for someone playing their second game in a month. In 14 minutes, he scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting and 1-2 on FTs. Added 5 rebounds, which was not bad, a steal, and a turnover. No blocks, and just didn't seem to be in rhythym with the rest of the team. The team went through a very ugly stretch of basketball in the first half where it looked like they were trying to force the ball in to him and just weren't connecting. Rob was slated for 24 minutes but only ended up playing 14 - and that was a reflection of his play and the cloeness of the game. On the other hand, he looked fantastic physically. His one basket was on a second half lob from Marcus. If you watch the replay of that, it is clear that the hops were there.
There was hometown or extend-the-series officiating going on tonight. To foul Tatum out on a borderline call with 3 minutes left is unconscionable.
Tatum fouled out with the Celtics having a 6 point lead that the Nets cut to one. But then the Celtics rallied and put the Nets away.
For all the talk (and early season truth) of the Celtics not being able to win games late, they jst won 4 straight games late in a playoff series.
Good parts of this game were the play of Tatum, Brown, Smart, and Horford, the first 3 of whom scored 20+ points. Smart added 11 assists vs just one turnover. Horford played only 5 minutes in a first half in which he picked up 3 quick fouls, but he played 20 minutes in the second half and scored some key baskets down the stretch.
Off the bench, Grant was very good defensively and shot 4-6 from three, 14 points in all. His only non-three basket came with a nice cut down the lane to receive an inbounds pass from Smart on the baseline. Derrick White had his best game since game 1, playing 27 minutes and scoring 9 points/6rebounds. That was good to see.
Theis wasn't great, but 6 points/8 rebounds in 20 minutes is solid.
The two guys who weren't great were Rob and Pritchard.
Pritchard was 0 for 2 from the field, scored no points, and was a -8 in 9 minutes. Just didn't have it in this game.
Rob just looked off, as might be expected for someone playing their second game in a month. In 14 minutes, he scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting and 1-2 on FTs. Added 5 rebounds, which was not bad, a steal, and a turnover. No blocks, and just didn't seem to be in rhythym with the rest of the team. The team went through a very ugly stretch of basketball in the first half where it looked like they were trying to force the ball in to him and just weren't connecting. Rob was slated for 24 minutes but only ended up playing 14 - and that was a reflection of his play and the cloeness of the game. On the other hand, he looked fantastic physically. His one basket was on a second half lob from Marcus. If you watch the replay of that, it is clear that the hops were there.
There was hometown or extend-the-series officiating going on tonight. To foul Tatum out on a borderline call with 3 minutes left is unconscionable.
Tatum fouled out with the Celtics having a 6 point lead that the Nets cut to one. But then the Celtics rallied and put the Nets away.
For all the talk (and early season truth) of the Celtics not being able to win games late, they jst won 4 straight games late in a playoff series.
Gonna be fascinating to see what this disaster class looks like next season. They're not nearly as screwed as the Lakers, who have virtually no assets left to change their roster with, but they're pretty screwed because NO ONE is taking Ben Simmons off their hands now.
Was that the most stressful 4 game sweep of all time?
Game 1: down 1, needed a buzzer beater
Game 2: down 17
Game 3: in control throughout, but never pushed the lead past ~12 or so
Game 4: also in control throughout, but on the ropes up 1 after Tatum had fouled out
Truly a TEAM effort last night. Marcus and AL were huge.
Looking back the pre analysis that their role players were going to be their downfall was at least partially wrong. Nash really rode Durant and Kyrie to cover for them but Curry, Brown, Claxton (ft aside), Dragic, even Mills were all fairly good and quite consistent for role players in the playoffs. Dragic had a quieter game 3 and Claxton/Drummond was a position they struggled to decide how to approach but I am more impressed that we swept them while the secondary scoring played somewhere near the top end you could have expected almost across the board
For sure it wasn’t actually an “easy” sweep, but it’s funny that after all the handwringing about getting the Nets it was Celtics in 4 either way.
They led wire to wire in games 3 (almost) and 4 and pushed it to double digits multiple times. More importantly, they had an answer for everything the Nets tried, and they tried everything.
I am not sure where this is coming from. I was not sweating at all.
EJ, that is a very good summary. I watched the game but missed some the points that you made above. It's good to hear that you think Time Lord still has the hops. I could not understand why his game was so lackluster and was concerned that he was still nursing his knee. I was also unaware that Al had three fouls in the first half. (I fast forward through free throws and other down time, so I don't hear all the commentary). All in all it wasn't pretty but it was a win. And Marcus Smart was a rock when Tatum went out. He played like the veteran that he is.
Can anyone truly explain to me what the refs may have been thinking (other than "extend the series") on Tatum's sixth "foul" last night?
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CpS1jlhY88
He made a cut to the basket. Dragic got in his way. Tatum beats him to the spot, and pivots to essentially post Dragic up. There's virtually no contact. Dragic then falls over and as he's falling, he essentially pulls Tatum to the ground.
Did they "think" that Tatum pushed Dragic to the floor?
I mean, Dragic is clearly reaching in here, not the other way around. And look where the official is. 12 feet away staring STRAIGHT AT IT. There's no non-sketchy world where this is a foul on Tatum. There should have been no foul at all. But if there was one, it would have been on Dragic for reaching in and essentially pulling Tatum to the floor.
Of course the NBA didn't offer an explanation, right?
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CpS1jlhY88
He made a cut to the basket. Dragic got in his way. Tatum beats him to the spot, and pivots to essentially post Dragic up. There's virtually no contact. Dragic then falls over and as he's falling, he essentially pulls Tatum to the ground.
Did they "think" that Tatum pushed Dragic to the floor?
I mean, Dragic is clearly reaching in here, not the other way around. And look where the official is. 12 feet away staring STRAIGHT AT IT. There's no non-sketchy world where this is a foul on Tatum. There should have been no foul at all. But if there was one, it would have been on Dragic for reaching in and essentially pulling Tatum to the floor.
Of course the NBA didn't offer an explanation, right?
It's primarily because of Durant. He hadn't lost a first round series since his rookie year in 2010.
It's similar but different to when the Pats beat the Colts in the playoffs in 2003-2004. Or even the 2018 Super Bowl. The Pats were in control of those games, but it was still scary because of the caliber of the opponent's offense.
Edit: I'd argue it was also stressful because we all wanted to beat Kyrie so, so badly
You mean Durant's first playoffs in 2010? He was drafted in 2007. Id say the only really stressful games for me were 1 and 2. The games in Brooklyn were close but I never felt we were going to lose those.
Haven't seen anything but I'm assuming no, and it conveniently happened with 2:48 left to go, so they won't need to address it in the Last Two Minute Reports.
Yeah sorry that's what I meant.
If you weren't stressed out last night when the Nets cut it to 1 last night after Tatum fouled out, you're a calmer person than I am.