While I agree with pretty much everything that you wrote, the bolded was always a bizarro-land fever dream of paranoid people.
Analysis of Celtics Games, '21-'22 Season
- Thread starter Imbricus
- Start date
Boston’s preferred path would be to lose to the Bucks, and beat Memphis, and for Philly to lose to Toronto, with the Bucks winning out. Celtics take the third spot and cakewalk the Bulls. If MIL survives the Nets, there’s a good chance they will be vulnerable in one of their first two road games. Plus, New Celtics have been very good on the road.
The Nets are going to be a difficult playoff out, despite their regular season sieve-ness on defense. I’d rather play them in the second round over the first, hoping that TL would be available. I see BK emerging from the 7-8 game as a lock. I also see TOR beating the Sixers, so the 4/5 and 1/8 winner path probably isn’t available.
Theis was a starter on the 2019-20 team, which was a very, very good team. He had trouble in some specific matchups, but he's been underrated for awhile.
Nice to see them finding a fit for him with Horford with TL out. Brad is completely killing it as the exec of a team with championship aspirations, as opposed to draft pick accumulation aspirations.
Nice to see them finding a fit for him with Horford with TL out. Brad is completely killing it as the exec of a team with championship aspirations, as opposed to draft pick accumulation aspirations.
The Celtics’ well spaced, ball sharing offense really benefits Theis, who isn’t great in traffic. The Theis, Grant, White, PP second unit, with either Jay, but especially Tatum, is fun to watch. As a starter, Theis has benefited from some great big to big passing from AL. That combo is the polar opposite of the hated Tristan Thompson/Theis double big disaster.
Put me in the camp of getting the best seed possible to protect home court for later rounds.
I think the agita over the Nets is too much and wouldn't be surprised if they're bounced in the play-ins. That's a flawed team and I don't think they do a good job handling adversity.
I think the agita over the Nets is too much and wouldn't be surprised if they're bounced in the play-ins. That's a flawed team and I don't think they do a good job handling adversity.
Beat TOR in the 4/5 (with a fully vaccinated squad) and beat Miami to get to the ECF again.
Maybe Ime will white flag the Milwaukee game then. Sit Tatum, Brown, Horford, Smart.
Cs with most seasons in NBA with 50+ wins, according to StatMuse.
View: https://twitter.com/Celtics_Muse/status/1512039542546702337?cxt=HHwWgoC5vf386_spAAAA
View: https://twitter.com/Celtics_Muse/status/1512039542546702337?cxt=HHwWgoC5vf386_spAAAA
Henry Simpson describes himself as "Regional Manager/Senior Sports Analyst at NBC Worcester." I mention this only because he is tweeting that Nesmith is feared to have suffered a lower leg injury against CHI (probably when he fell on a drive late in the game) and "will undergo further testing tomorrow morning in Boston."
Have not seen any confirmation but if he's going back to BOS, it'll be confirmed when he shows up on the injury report. Hopefully inaccurate reporting or AN gets good health news.
View: https://twitter.com/HenrySimpsonNBC/status/1511897167031640067?cxt=HHwWhoC5ndGdq_spAAAA
Have not seen any confirmation but if he's going back to BOS, it'll be confirmed when he shows up on the injury report. Hopefully inaccurate reporting or AN gets good health news.
View: https://twitter.com/HenrySimpsonNBC/status/1511897167031640067?cxt=HHwWhoC5ndGdq_spAAAA
Who had the record before? How many 50 win seasons do they have?
I don't see it. If you're going to try to rig the matchups, I think the goal should be to play MIL as late as possible, with TL as healthy as possible. This would point to C's at the 4 spot, or C's at 3 and MIL at 4. The added argument for the former (C's at 4) is that you probably only face one of MIL/PHI/BRK, and only in the ECF.
Having said that, I mostly lean towards going for the best record and best seeding, letting the chips fall where they may. It instill the most confidence in the players, and leads to the most home court games.
I don't know and I have no idea? I'm just reporting the news, not making it.
fake edit: according to this reddit post from 2015 - https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/30mxgj/franchises_by_number_of_50_win_seasons/ - Lakers had most 50+ winning seasons at the time with 32. Cs had 31. I presume they were tied at 30-something before this season and the Cs are now +1.
I don't know and I have no idea? I'm just reporting the news, not making it.
fake edit: according to this reddit post from 2015 - https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/30mxgj/franchises_by_number_of_50_win_seasons/ - Lakers had most 50+ winning seasons at the time with 32. Cs had 31. I presume they were tied at 30-something before this season and the Cs are now +1.
This is the Celtics third 50 win season since 2015 and the Lakers have one during that same period. So the math checks out.
I've got the Celtics at 34 and the Lakers at 33.
The Lakers are also 1079 over .500 all time while the Celtics are 1076 over. So, we'll be catching them this year or early next.
He routinely makes things up on Twitter, plus only 90ish followers.
Celtics are percentage points behind the Lakers franchise in winning percentage at .590. Lakers are .592. Spurs are .594.
That seems like an odd thing to do for a person who works for a sports journalism outfit but I guess there's no accounting for how people spend their twitter time. Thanks for 411.
The John Y Brown, Pittino, eras really set the Cs back.
Also the "no black players allowed" era that the Lakers embrace as part of their history was bad for Celtics.
Did Janos disappear right around the same time as Danny Ainge left? Has anyone ever seen them in the same room?
Nesmith looked like he definitely twisted his left ankle on that drive late in the game, tied his shoes immediately, and then got up, showing no ill effects and he finished the game, but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a slight sprain.
Nesmith looked like he definitely twisted his left ankle on that drive late in the game, tied his shoes immediately, and then got up, showing no ill effects and he finished the game, but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a slight sprain.
I didn't give it much thought either as it was a few years away and everything changes year to year, but given the backdrop of LJ and KD's recent moves/manipulations to jerrymander a championship, I understood the concern.
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Since the trade deadline, the C's are:
16-4 WL 1st
1st in ORating
2nd in D Rating
1st in Net Rating
1st in EFG %
6th in Assist %
5th in TO %
8th in Reb %
Just remarkable that they're really doing everything well. The offensive turnaround is the most surprising, I knew it'd been good but didn't guess it'd been that good.
16-4 WL 1st
1st in ORating
2nd in D Rating
1st in Net Rating
1st in EFG %
6th in Assist %
5th in TO %
8th in Reb %
Just remarkable that they're really doing everything well. The offensive turnaround is the most surprising, I knew it'd been good but didn't guess it'd been that good.
Tatum and Horford are out tonight.
View: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1512127353270509577?s=20&t=mYwWHZ3MMZeQNULTresEnQ
Boston Celtics: Al Horford (low back soreness) - OUT Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) - PROBABLE Nik Stauskas (right ankle sprain) - OUT Jayson Tatum (right patella tendinopathy) - OUT Robert Williams (left knee meniscal tear) - OUT
View: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1512127353270509577?s=20&t=mYwWHZ3MMZeQNULTresEnQ
Boston Celtics: Al Horford (low back soreness) - OUT Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) - PROBABLE Nik Stauskas (right ankle sprain) - OUT Jayson Tatum (right patella tendinopathy) - OUT Robert Williams (left knee meniscal tear) - OUT
It looks like Luke Kornet is going to get to show his worth tonight. He's been playing pretty well lately, well enough to pass Nesmith on the depth chart. I realize that they play different positions, but I think he is the more valuable player right now. It's not a coincidence that he came into the game before Nesmith last night. He's your "break glass in case of emergency" guy in the front court. And tonight we have an emergency (sort of).
I don’t think either will be a factor, but I doubt Kornet would be ahead. Him getting in one minute sooner last night isn’t much, and Nesmith has played 15 more minutes than Luke over the last 5 games.
Nesmith being 9-19 from three over the last couple of weeks is nice, hope he has a good game tonight and keeps building on it.
IF Jaylen and AL are actually not vaccinated, they will pull out all the stops to beat MEM, assuming seeding isn’t already determined by then where they are third seed.
Memphis is getting stomped in Denver, have a home game Saturday night, then have to fly to Boston for a meaningless Sunday night game. If the Celtics want to win that game, they should do so easily. Memphis would be crazy to risk a freak injury to a starter, and an injury to that team’s psyche if they actually try and the Celtics handle them again.
I love the 3-6 slot. Sweep or gentleman’s sweep the Bulls, and the deal with whatever wounded team comes out of the Bucks-Nets rematch, which hopefully will go seven. I think a full Celtics squad can handle the Bucks easier than a they can a healthy Nets team.
Agreed. Back leg of a B2B on the final game of the season before the playoffs. The Grizz lineup Sunday with resemble OKC’s the other night.
Between the possible Toronto vaccination issue, the weakness of the Bulls, the Nets being good for a possible 7 seed, and TL missing the first round, the 3 seed looks pretty appealing.
The loss sets the Celtics up well to manoeuvre around nearly anything that happens in the standings before the Memphis game.
The loss sets the Celtics up well to manoeuvre around nearly anything that happens in the standings before the Memphis game.
We're fully in convoluted tankapalooza mode now, I guess.
Boston needs to lose to MEM in order to guarantee finishing behind the Bucks. (MIL could easily lose both remaining games, since they will likely rest starters tonight against DET and then will be playing a CLE team that might still have something to play for). Celtics loss to MEM would guarantee a lower seeding, since MIL owns the head-to-head tie breaker. But, a loss could also put Boston behind the Sixers, since PHI is likely to beat the Pacers in their finale.
As others have said, we will at least have the advantage of starting the MEM game after MIL has already finished their season.
edit: despite playing this out in my mind, I do agree with those who think the team would happily take the #2 seed if they can get it, take their chances with BRK for the advantage of HCA in later round(s).
(crossed over from game thread)
What would your analysis of the Bucks' postseason chances have been if they lost a late lead to the full-strength Celtics, playing on a road b2b without Giannis? If the Warriors had lost such a game to the Celtics without Curry? The Suns without Booker? The Mavs without Luka? The Sixers without Embiid?
We all know what the answer is: wouldn't change at all. Now take out 2 more starters: Bucks without Giannis & Lopez & Holiday, Sixers without Embiid & Thybulle & Maxey, Suns without Booker & Bridges and Ayton.......you'd laugh.
Jayson Tatum is an superstar offensive player now. He's not at the Giannis/Jokic/Embiid tier, but he's not far off either. Losing superstar offensive players hurts your ability to execute down the stretch, never mind how close the game is at that point. I get that the Celtics were bad in close games early in the year, but they were bad at everything early in the year. Since they got good, they've won some close ones and lost some close ones.
My point is that you have to apply the same analysis to your favorite team that you apply to other teams. Everyone has pessimism/worries about their favorite team that comes from watching them more than others, and you have to take a step back.
Last night's game was incredible in that they were still in it with a minute or so left, and they were (1) Missing three starters (2) On a back-to-back on the road (3) Playing one of the best teams in the conference. Marcus shot very well from three; the downside there is that he starts thinking he's a three-point shooter now and chucks up about 10 shots next game and only makes 2.
I think Giannis, Middleton and Holiday have proved time and again they can close out tight games. A close loss to a scrappy C's team last nite wouldn't have changed my opinion.
As I said in the game thread, I hope like hell these C's have solved the late-game problems that plagued them early in the season. With White in the lineup, the ball should move better late. I just want to see it.