Right before that he picked up 2 fouls within seconds. Thought he might have been gassed and/or about to cheap shot a ref.
Round 2 Celtics vs. Wizards
- Thread starter smastroyin
- Start date
He'd also turned the ball over twice.. I almost feel like he took himself out be because he almost felt as though he was singlehandedly turning the game around
Mentioned this in the game thread but Brooks' options are limited, just like Hoiberg's was for CHI. One of the great things with having 10 NBA-caliber players like Brad does is that he can try to find the combination that works.
From the Wiz POV, their biggest problem is anytime they don't have their starting five on the floor they are getting decimated. WW's bench doesn't defend particularly well (other than Oubre, and he can be neutralized by PnRs) and the Cs were getting a ton of open looks whenever Bogdanovich and Jennings were on the court.
Wall seemed pretty passive to me tonight. I expect he'll try to take matters into his hands in game 2.
One other great thing to like from the Cs POV is that IT4 doesn't have to play defense, which means that he can spend all of his energy on offense. I'm not sure what counter Brooks has for this since neither Porter nor Oubre are shot creators so Brad can just sit IT4 on one of them when necessary.
I'm going to guess that Brooks starts playing Trey Burke in game 2 to see if he can have any success on defense against the Cs. Let's hope not.
We are catching some real good breaks as a team right now. Chicago losing Rondo without having another NBA caliber PG on the roster was their death knell after looking as though they were ready to sweep us. Now we get far and away the best matchup between Washington, Cleveland, and Toronto in the 2nd round.......and they lose Morris right off the bat!
You need luck to get to an NBA Finals unless you're a truly dominant team. LeBron is superhuman and won't get injured but the way chips are falling I wouldn't be shocked to see Kyrie or DeRozan go down with an injury just before the EC Finals against us.
Kevin Smith at Celticsblog put up some video of Al on the defensive end, where I don't think people give him enough credit.
Some of this gets into why Morris might be pretty important to the Wizards. Horford when he only has to "worry" about Gortat inside can do a lot of helping and can really defend the PNR well, and he has the ability to shut down Gortat one on one.
Morris BTW was unable to participate in today's practice.
Some of this gets into why Morris might be pretty important to the Wizards. Horford when he only has to "worry" about Gortat inside can do a lot of helping and can really defend the PNR well, and he has the ability to shut down Gortat one on one.
Morris BTW was unable to participate in today's practice.
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Candace BucknerVerified account @CandaceDBuckner 2h2 hours ago
Markieff Morris: "I'm playing tomorrow. That's final." Says his swelling has gone down a lot and will keep receiving treatment.
Markieff Morris: "I'm playing tomorrow. That's final." Says his swelling has gone down a lot and will keep receiving treatment.
He won't be 100% if he plays so I hope he goes. A gimp Morris is just as bad as his replacement.
Sounds like that's Kieff talking, and not Scotty B.
But if it's true, start Jaylen and run 1-4 IT4 pick and rolls at him all fucking day. Gortat is bad enough, but Morris with a busted ankle trying to stay in front of IT might be even worse.
Maybe that's too much pressure to put on Jaylen, but it's worth a try.
But if it's true, start Jaylen and run 1-4 IT4 pick and rolls at him all fucking day. Gortat is bad enough, but Morris with a busted ankle trying to stay in front of IT might be even worse.
Maybe that's too much pressure to put on Jaylen, but it's worth a try.
After IT4, the most amazing thing about the series is that the 'Bards have thrown down 2 40-point 1Qs; their starting lineup has a NetRtg of 42.5 (135.0 offensive vs. 92.5 defensive in 29 minutes), and the Cs have won both games.
Didn't see many adjustments from Brooks other than Bogdanovic only playing 8 minutes. He keeps running Jennings out there, who has given them nothing. And surprisingly, the lineup of B.Beal, M.Gortat, K.Oubre Jr., O.Porter Jr., J.Wall has been -26.7 in 25 minutes. You would think that would be WAS's best lineup against the small-ball Cs.
I expect a Trey Burke sighting next game.
Didn't see many adjustments from Brooks other than Bogdanovic only playing 8 minutes. He keeps running Jennings out there, who has given them nothing. And surprisingly, the lineup of B.Beal, M.Gortat, K.Oubre Jr., O.Porter Jr., J.Wall has been -26.7 in 25 minutes. You would think that would be WAS's best lineup against the small-ball Cs.
I expect a Trey Burke sighting next game.
What about for the Celtics?
I don't know that Brad can go with Green or Amir. Green just hasn't been good, and yes the spark was nice in Chicago but I think it's faded. He is who he is. Amir looks a step slow. I hate that the game threads think this is his entire body of work (I realize the game threads are reactionary and also full of people who only started paying attention in the middle of April) - he's been a solid player for this team the past two years. But, he's played really poorly and can't bang or move quickly. I don't blame Stevens for trying him, but right now he just doesn't have it. Given his history of foot and ankle trouble, he might just be worn out.
The Wizards early runs have really been because of dominating inside the paint and hitting an obscene FG%. The question is whether you try to shut that down from the tip or if you just try to keep up and wear them down. That's going to be more difficult in DC, I don't think the Celtics will be able to come back if they get down double digits in the first 5 minutes again. Do you start Tyler Zeller to bang around in there and just accept that you'll be in the penalty? the problem there is he doesn't really demand attention from the defense. I know a lot of people want to start Smart or Brown, but I think Stevens would rather be strategic in the way he deploys the bench rotations.
I don't know that Brad can go with Green or Amir. Green just hasn't been good, and yes the spark was nice in Chicago but I think it's faded. He is who he is. Amir looks a step slow. I hate that the game threads think this is his entire body of work (I realize the game threads are reactionary and also full of people who only started paying attention in the middle of April) - he's been a solid player for this team the past two years. But, he's played really poorly and can't bang or move quickly. I don't blame Stevens for trying him, but right now he just doesn't have it. Given his history of foot and ankle trouble, he might just be worn out.
The Wizards early runs have really been because of dominating inside the paint and hitting an obscene FG%. The question is whether you try to shut that down from the tip or if you just try to keep up and wear them down. That's going to be more difficult in DC, I don't think the Celtics will be able to come back if they get down double digits in the first 5 minutes again. Do you start Tyler Zeller to bang around in there and just accept that you'll be in the penalty? the problem there is he doesn't really demand attention from the defense. I know a lot of people want to start Smart or Brown, but I think Stevens would rather be strategic in the way he deploys the bench rotations.
The C's countered that small-ball lineup with four guards under 6'4": Thomas, Bradley, Smart and Rozier, along with Horford. And why not? Kelly Oubre isn't posting anyone up, and he's a perfect place to hide Thomas. Rozier has the length to bother Porter's shot.
For all the talk about how Washington's two guards are a bad matchup for the Celtics, not enough time was spent talking about how the Celtics can easily put Smart and Bradley on those two and force someone else to beat them. So far, that hasn't happened.
For all the talk about how Washington's two guards are a bad matchup for the Celtics, not enough time was spent talking about how the Celtics can easily put Smart and Bradley on those two and force someone else to beat them. So far, that hasn't happened.
It's been a great strategy thus far. No knock on Morris or Gortat, who are both decent players, but it's hard to see them torching Boston for extended periods of time. The only other guy Washington has who can consistently score is Porter. And the Cs have done a good job on him too.
The bottom line is that if the Cs continue to defend this well (keeping in mind that this means slowing and not stopping Wall), they are going to be in the ECF.
To be clear, there is a lot of series left but the path to winning it is simple. Defend Wall and Beal and force their other starters and mediocre bench to beat you.
Love seeing Stevens giving real burn in key playoff situations to Rozier and Smart (edit: and Jaylen Brown). Cs have looked like the fresher, quicker team down the stretch in both games; and I think their young legs are a big part of that (both in terms of their on-floor impact and the rest they allow the starters).
Meanwhile, Doc Rivers just bowed out of the playoffs meekly while leaning heavily on Paul Pierce (39), Jamal Crawford (37), and Ray Felton (32 and fat). And oh yeah, his minimally talented son. Hate to pile on, but that team's inability to develop even one quality young rotation player during the six-year Griffin/CP3/DJ run is really an epic fail.
Meanwhile, Doc Rivers just bowed out of the playoffs meekly while leaning heavily on Paul Pierce (39), Jamal Crawford (37), and Ray Felton (32 and fat). And oh yeah, his minimally talented son. Hate to pile on, but that team's inability to develop even one quality young rotation player during the six-year Griffin/CP3/DJ run is really an epic fail.
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Very interesting discussion. During the regular season - and in the built for the regular season thread - there has been a lot of discussion about how the Celts overachieve in the regular season due to their depth, but will fail in the playoffs because rotations get tighter and the stars take over. It's awesome seeing the depth work as an advantage in the playoffs.
Jaylen was real-difference maker late last night, especially on the defensive end. He and Rozier definitely need to get more run in this series.
I don't think Brad has to do anything. For two reasons. The most simplistic is that winning teams usually go with what they've won with until they stop winning. But more importantly for the Cs, Brad has the ability and depth to keep tinkering and try to find what's working. I think Amir starts on Thursday but if he can't contribute, he'll get four minutes and be done. The Cs can get four minutes out of a starter and not miss a beat. The Wiz can't.
As for Green, you would think he would fit in this series - run and gun, the Cs need scoring from the first unit (i.e., the 24 point 1Q of G1 and 20 point 3Q of G2) but he looked terrible in game 1 and I suspect that he stays stapled to the bench if and until JB starts playing poorly.
Coming out of the gate backwards in game 1 was a blessing in disguise. Showed that starting Gerald isn't a panacea and gave the bench some solid footing that carried through last night. You can see the confidence right now when Wall leaves the game and that Wizards bench hits the floor. Fun to see from a bench unit that usually struggled during the regular season—having a starter or two on the floor at all times is a huge help.
I wonder how much is helped by the fact act Brown is being isolated so he can rely on his athleticism and instincts, one on one. As opposed to having to rely on experience as part of team defense, PNR, switching, etc, which he seems to struggle with a bit during the regular season (I am basing this off this board more than my own eyes as I had few opps to see the Celts play this year for a variety of reasons).
But I thought that his one-on-one defense on Wall was really strong.
You'd think Brooks would give Bogdanovic more time BUT Stevens seemed to attack that in game 1 with Kelly. As Greg Anthony pointed out last night, the C's are very hard to cover when good KO shows up.
I think you are right about Johnson and Green. They may get another shot off the bench in the right situation, but neither should start.
Brad needs to decide whether to match size (start Kelly or Jerebko) or go small (start Brown, Smart, or Rozier). Whichever way he goes, he needs to preserve the weapon that is his bench. Washington's starters are playing more minutes and were gassed at the end of game 2.
I think I'd go small, and would start either Brown or Smart.
It works against Washington because they lack depth, so Stevens can mix and match based on who is playing well for the Celtics and who is on the floor for the Wizards (see the Amir discussion). It will be a different story against Cleveland, who have like five stars as opposed to Washington's two.
Where do we rank IT's game last night in all-time Celtics performances? Had to be one of the best I've seen.
My sense is that it is not even top-5, and maybe not even top-10, as an all-around performance. It was some brilliant scoring, but nothing particularly noteworthy elsewhere.
The fact that it was a game 2, and that the Celtics probably aren't going to win the championship, is probably going to take the luster off a bit. To be honest I forgot all about Ray Allen's 51 (granted, that was 3OT and they lost the game) until someone put up the link.
It was great individual effort but helped by the team. I really hope people don't lose sight of that. I know the whole deal about putting the ball in the hoop. It counts more than everything else. But, the Celtics ran their offense to give Isaiah freedom. I think they'd identified that as the best way to win. So there is a lot of spacing. We complain about Offensive rebounding but on a lot of plays there are zero guys in the paint. This is huge for IT. If you pull Morris and Gortat to the perimeter his job gets a lot easier, and even moreso if through your movement you get one of those guys switched onto him, he will embarrass them, as he did continually throughout the 4th.
Still, great game. Top 2 or 3 since the last banner went up I'd say.
It was great individual effort but helped by the team. I really hope people don't lose sight of that. I know the whole deal about putting the ball in the hoop. It counts more than everything else. But, the Celtics ran their offense to give Isaiah freedom. I think they'd identified that as the best way to win. So there is a lot of spacing. We complain about Offensive rebounding but on a lot of plays there are zero guys in the paint. This is huge for IT. If you pull Morris and Gortat to the perimeter his job gets a lot easier, and even moreso if through your movement you get one of those guys switched onto him, he will embarrass them, as he did continually throughout the 4th.
Still, great game. Top 2 or 3 since the last banner went up I'd say.
So you're not factoring in that it came on the birthday of his recently deceased sister, all the non stop flying he's done and the dental surgery he had on the same day?
Had Wall been a little bit better, and had it been a game 7, it would have reminded me of the Bird / WIlkins shootout in 1988. Hell, it did remind me of that shootout, but IT's defensive liability during this game was a blemish that the Bird/Wilkins shootout did not have.
That was a really strange stretch last night where the Wiz ran three or four isos in a row aimed at Brown. Was it just a "pick-on-the-rookie" kind of thing?
Wall was spectacular until about 10 minutes into the 3rd. So the thing is that they didn't really trade punches, Wall was great when IT was quiet then disappeared in the 4th and OT. If we'd had a situation where Wall had made his shot with 1.2 left to put the Wizards ahead, and then IT had made a shot to win it for the Celtics after a quick TO...then we'd have a much more legendary feel to it.
Agreed. He ran out of gas since he was carrying the entire load with Beal struggling and the other key players with foul trouble. Meanwhile, IT kept getting better as the game went on.
This one also reminded me of Ray Allen vs. Ben Gordon in 2009 with Ray hitting the game winning 3.
I love that IT was "quiet" and had 24 points after three quarters. Talk about a high bar.
Regarding the "all he did was score" critique, I saw a gorgeous alley oop to Horford and a nice kick to Rozier with the game on line. I've been watching the NBA for 40 years and my dad has been watching for 65 (he mentioned Hondo's 54 point game this morning). We're both comfortable putting this in the top 5 performances we've seen.
Regarding the "all he did was score" critique, I saw a gorgeous alley oop to Horford and a nice kick to Rozier with the game on line. I've been watching the NBA for 40 years and my dad has been watching for 65 (he mentioned Hondo's 54 point game this morning). We're both comfortable putting this in the top 5 performances we've seen.
Also reminded me of Pierce/Lebron a bit. Tough to rank the performance in terms of Celtics history right now. As a player though, last night solidified IT's place in the league. Tons of current/former players talking about him on Twitter, etc.
I knew someone would go ahead and pick at that. The point is that they weren't trading shots, or even really talking to each other the way Bird/Nique were, or Pierce/James. Isaiah wasn't present while the Wiz built their early lead and Wall wasn't present as the Celtics closed the game.
Kind of amusing that "quiet IT" = only 20 points at the half. (Not picking on you, smas, think your point holds up, just interesting how far we have all come from the IT can't do it in the playoffs days.)
You're right that it wasn't quite as much the one-on-one combat that Bird/Nique or Pierce/James presented, but Wall did isolate against IT quite a bit - quite successfully too.
Yeah, I mean really it would all get amp'ed up if it were a game 7 like those other two, but it still didn't have the feel of trading punches. Bird and Nique mostly happened in the 4th (20 for Bird, 17 for Nique), The Truth/LeBron one was all game, with a bunch of highlights, the fight for that loose ball that Pierce won, LeBron pickpocketing Pierce and throwing down a thunder dunk, etc. Pierce with the clinching FTs with the first one back rimming and going like 8 feet in the air (it was really about 2) then straight down the hoop on the way back down.
(PS, I'm only talking about the quality of the duel, not of Thomas performance vs Bird or Pierce, though the Pierce one is probably my leader of the bunch)
(PS, I'm only talking about the quality of the duel, not of Thomas performance vs Bird or Pierce, though the Pierce one is probably my leader of the bunch)
I love this quote from Brown on game 1 -- I can just see Stevens bending over, and saying this, and Brown getting all fired up. I think Brad's been a bit tough on him at times -- he yanked him early in Chicago game 3 when Jaylen was top of the key and his man was wide open underneath for an easy bucket -- but he's a good motivator.
“We were up big and they started coming back. Bogdanovic started to get going, and coach tapped me on the leg — I hadn’t played all game — and said go lock his ass up. He didn’t score a point after that.”
“We were up big and they started coming back. Bogdanovic started to get going, and coach tapped me on the leg — I hadn’t played all game — and said go lock his ass up. He didn’t score a point after that.”
Here's a story about that. I have mixed feelings about this development, like if ARod started giving Mookie tips on his swing.
(in truth, it's pretty awesome of Kobe to do)
(in truth, it's pretty awesome of Kobe to do)
(I copied this bit of HRB's post over to this thread - smas)
Green was a great call by Stevens at the 4 as defensively all he had to do was shadow Mirotic behind the arc and not screw up the single weak side rotation requirement off a spot-up shooter. Against the Wizards he can't play as he must be effectively part of a defensive scheme which he has shown over his entire career that he isn't consistently capable of doing. Going back to Amir is indefensible imo. It HAS to be Jaylen in Game 3 as he best fits with our starting unit allowing Smart and Rozier to remain in the roles they have been in all season with our 4-guard rotation often playing 3 together.
Green was a great call by Stevens at the 4 as defensively all he had to do was shadow Mirotic behind the arc and not screw up the single weak side rotation requirement off a spot-up shooter. Against the Wizards he can't play as he must be effectively part of a defensive scheme which he has shown over his entire career that he isn't consistently capable of doing. Going back to Amir is indefensible imo. It HAS to be Jaylen in Game 3 as he best fits with our starting unit allowing Smart and Rozier to remain in the roles they have been in all season with our 4-guard rotation often playing 3 together.
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I would try out starting Jerebko cause he's our only option left with size to bang with Morris (Zeller doesn't count b/c he's a screws up spacing on offense and want to keep Olynyk with the 2nd unit for matchup / chemistry reasons). Tell JJ his only job on D is to box out MM and foul him hard if he gets the ball near the rim; hopefully he keeps MM off the offensive boards and gets in his head a little. Then have Smart, Rozier, Brown and Olynyk off the bench to have 9-man rotation to wear them down. If they start out down double digits again in the first 6 minutes then Jerebko gets glued to the bench the rest of the game.
I'm with HRB. If the Wiz are going to start Morris with a shitty ankle, send Jaylen at him. He'll eat him up on offense and Jaylen will hopefully be aggressive enough on the boards to make up for a couple of inches in height.
You get to keep 5 out either way, but Jaylen is actually a danger to attack off the drive and kick, while Jerebko is fundamentally one dimensional on offense. And Jaylen bring's way more versatility on D, even with the occasional mental lapse.
You get to keep 5 out either way, but Jaylen is actually a danger to attack off the drive and kick, while Jerebko is fundamentally one dimensional on offense. And Jaylen bring's way more versatility on D, even with the occasional mental lapse.
I'd start Jaylen as well, but on D, I think I put him on Beal or Wall (put AB on the other). Then Jae covers Morris and IT4 covers Porter.
