Honestly probably did the opposite, they knew they played like crap and it never even got close, which makes guys thing "oh yeah we can just turn it on and run these guys out of the gym whenever we want"
Celtics vs Da Culture - Round 1 (FIGHT!)
- Thread starter Ed Hillel
- Start date
Not to single you out but it’s the same way every loss by this team is hand waved away despite having very similar characteristics each time. They’ll likely be fine in this series against an undermanned Heat team, but if they ultimately come up short again it’ll be a consistent recipe.
This game reminded me of last year's team in the worst ways. Jrue turned into Marcus Smart and it felt like the changed whistle really bothered KP.
Brad turned over the roster so games like this would not happen again, so I'm pretty concerned.... but they're talented enough to drop a game in the series like this and still be fine. But only one game.
Brad turned over the roster so games like this would not happen again, so I'm pretty concerned.... but they're talented enough to drop a game in the series like this and still be fine. But only one game.
Every team loses. That is the nature of basketball, and most often it's because they don't match intensity with the opponent.
And every team that gets wildly outshot from 3 loses, it's been a big part in the increased swinginess of individual games in the NBA since the analytics revolution.
If they had lost a game where they didn't get massively outshot from 3 I'd have more concerns. If they come out next game like this... then I'll worry, but the occasional letdown, and poor response to being on the wrong end of a 3pt variance game, even in the playoffs is just how the NBA works
...did anyone really think they were going 16-0? Heart of hearts did ANYONE think that was over 50%?
It's better to learn these lessons earlier than later. The name of this game is adjustments in the playoffs. Right now, it hurts, it sucks, all that. But it was going to happen. It's not that you fell, it's that you got back up, and how you nailed the next fucking punch. Preferably to Bam on some of those moving screens.
It's better to learn these lessons earlier than later. The name of this game is adjustments in the playoffs. Right now, it hurts, it sucks, all that. But it was going to happen. It's not that you fell, it's that you got back up, and how you nailed the next fucking punch. Preferably to Bam on some of those moving screens.
16-0? No. 16-4 with a sweep or two? Yes. Losing game 2 at home to the 8 seed? God no.
The problem is this core seems to never learn the lessons. And some of this 23 3P barrage was NOT variance - it was pretty complacent D.
Can’t bring regular season intensity to a playoff game. Let’s see how they respond to a wake up call.
Onto game 3.
Onto game 3.
But how many wake up calls does one team need? They’ve been taught a lot of lessons over the last few years but here we are again.
This is where I'm at. If they laid off the gas up 2-0 or 3-0 and Miami took one at home - ok that happens. Don't love it but it happens. But to get outworked like that at home is just so disappointing.
This is where I am. The talent advantage is so huge that if they just put in normal effort, easy wins. If people want to console themselves with “we’re never going 16-0” or “hey, 2008 Celtics got taken to game 7 by the Hawks”, go ahead. But there are clear warning signs that are present in any matchup with Miami.
Games 3-4 will be very telling.
While I agree the defense was complacent at times.... yes it's still a ton of variance,
Yes there was some lackadasical defense.... it's still a major variance game.... the best team in the league at wide open 3s (Your Boston Celtics) shot 41%, and I would guess most of the Heat's open shots tonight probably classified as just open... where the best in the league (also BOS) was a 39% (the Heat were at 34%).
A lot? I mean, in the West, Denver is up 2-0, but also played like garbage for large poritions of both games and were down 10+, if LAL had an outlier shooting game from 3 in either game they probably win it.
We all love process over results…I get it. But the Nuggets won. And the Lakers are a much, much, much tougher assignment to than this version of the Heat.
I don’t think anyone thinks the Heat will win…I also think it’s just outright dumb to act like this doesn’t matter or it was just variance or whatever
This is for all the "it's not variance! It's lazy defense!" people.
It's basically the definition of variance, and Miami has gone on insane heaters against Boston that literally no one else does, against all types of defenses.
However, it is true that the Heat were generating more decent 3s this game, even if you'd expect them to shoot more like 36-40% on those. The Celtics made an adjustment late that worked, and that we'll probably see more of: they put Tatum/Brown/Jrue on Bam, so that they could switch every PnR. They also pre-switched KP out of actions whenever Miami wanted that. Miami still got 3s, but they were crappier, contested, and above the break. Of course they went in, but it happens.
We'll probably see more of KP off Bam, since Bam was making every garbage mid-ranger against KP and Al anyway, so may as well put wings on him.
You think that every other team in the league has been playing perfect, engaged defense the past 2 postseasons?
This is about as good evidence for the "it's bad luck" people as anything I've ever seen.
It’s not all variance and the Heat deserved to win….but they only won because KP and Jrue pissed down their legs all game.
I am worried about playoff Jrue. Not only were his results bad but there were multiple plays where I had no fucking idea what he could possibly be thinking
LAL did have an outlier shooting game but unlike MIA, they couldn’t sustain it.
Also, a lot of BOS’s offense and open 3Ps come off transition, and they aren’t getting into transition when MIA hits 3Ps.
Isn't the point of an outlier shooting game that it gets sustained?
If Miami hadn't kept hitting every 3 in the 4th, they probably lose too.
And to add insult to injury, 4 games “over two seasons” can also be more pointedly noted as 4 times in 9 games.
I think the Celtics lost this one when their defense stiffened up later in the third quarter and started generating stops... but the offense could do nothing at the other end. Then KP came back in and the Celtics stopped getting stops.
Honestly I'm not even that concerned about the defense. It wasn't perfect but let's not pretend that Miami didn't pull some abnormally hot shooting out of their asses. 50+% on volume is an outlier, and at the end of the day they only gave up 105 or 106 points before the end of game free throws. The offense concerned me more. Miami got physical, the game was close, and the Celtics got the deer in the headlights look we've seen far too many times over the past several years. The offensive execution in the second half was horrendously bad. We all thought we were past that with Porzingis and Holiday onboard but it was the exact same shit. Panicked ISOball, trying too hard to hunt specific matchups, and walking the ball up the floor even down late. I don't understand how they weren't playing with more urgency on that end of the floor. Make it make sense.
If Denver all of sudden starts making 20-25 3s per game at an over 50% clip, that’s probably true.
LeBron actually spoke about this identical scenario on his Pod w Redick that aired today (or I heard it today it could have aired earlier).
Denver will indeed be a nightmare matchup for this Celtics team, and that was true even before tonight's abomination. But seems premature to worry about it, given the Celtics' magic number to even get to the Finals remains at 11.
Eh 5 turnovers in the half isn’t too bad. The problem was they played to their own weakness in the 2nd half and didn’t take the 3s Miami was giving them.
I agree that the offense was atrocious. Miami baited them into 2s, and they couldn't generate enough points to keep up.
Driving the ball without intent to kick for 3 a lot is a sucker's game when refs allow as much interior contact as they do now. You just can't win the math.
Porzingis killed Miami in the post in the regular season games but they were hacking him tonight and he didn't get the whistle. This isn't surprising but Porzingis' struggles against physical playoff defense concerns me.
Cs need to figure something out fast, because everyone is allowed to hack everyone down low now.
I think some of it is simple. Tell KP to hold his ground and stop grifting. There’s no way someone his size can be pushed off his spot so easily….and if you watch a lot of it is performative (IE the upper body bends comically to make it look like he’s being fouled)
Are you comparing this year's team's regular season record to the playoff record of different teams over the prior two years? With different rosters and even different coaches (as you indicate)?
For someone who is as consistently intellectually dishonest as you are, even this is an impressive reach. Kudos to you for having the courage to even put your name behind this, to be honest.
I know single game +/- yada yada yada, but -32 in 30 minutes is wild. Clearly the book on him is be physical and it worked to perfection tonight.
I mean, according to +/- Jrue Holiday was the best player on the Celtics. You watched the game…..is there any universe where that could possibly be true?
No definitely not, but -32 in 30 minutes is kinda nuts even if the stat is deeply flawed.
I guess attack the post not the poster doesn’t apply in this forum.
Answer this: what stands out to you as looking different about these 2 playoff games vs Miami compared with last year’s 6 (ignore the Tatum injured game). We have some different players of course but that should favor us.
I see the Celtics struggling in the same ways they did a year ago, as opposed to dominating the same way they did this season.
Just an observation.