Just when you think that the Celtics (20-20 overall, 8-14 away) can't sink any lower this season, they do something like this. On the second night of a back-to-back, they didn't show up for the first half at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this evening and trailed by as much as 21 points against the awful Cavaliers (15-25 overall, 10-10 home). Boston made a furious comeback in the second half and got that huge Cleveland lead down to three points but that's as close as they would get as they fell 117-110. Ugh, what is with this team? There is no excuse for losing to a club that for all intents and purposes is tanking, winning really does no good for the Cavs yet they still found a way to beat you.
There have been plenty of pathetic moments during this campaign for the Celts but in the heat of the moment, I'd have to say that this is the new leader. How does this happen? Sure, point guard Kemba Walker was out because he can't play in back-to-back games and power forward Tristan Thompson remains sidelined due to the health and safety protocols but that's not nearly enough justification to lose this game which dropped them to seventh-place in the Eastern Conference. They are only 1.5 games ahead of Chicago (18-21) who is in ninth-place. You've heard of hate watching a TV show or movie well I think that tuning in to see this team amounts to basically the same thing. You can't stand what they have become but you also can't help yourself by looking away.
It's one thing to lose to the Jazz (29-10) like they did on Tuesday, nobody outside of the team will lose any sleep over that. Conversely, I don't know how anyone lives with themselves for the next few days after this debacle. Five Cavaliers scored in double-figures led by guard Collin Sexton (team-high 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) and his fellow backcourt mate Darius Garland (25 points, 6 assists). Power forward Larry Nance Jr. (18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals) who has been rumored to be a trade target of the C's showcased himself quite well and small forward Isaac Okoro added 15 points. Finally, small forward Cedi Osman notched 10 points and two steals off the bench for Cleveland.
Once again, swingman Jayson Tatum (team-high 29 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (28 points, 3 steals, 2 blocks) put up their numbers but few of their teammates could say the same. Starting in place of Walker, Marcus Smart (19 points) had his best performance since his return to action last week. Center Robert Williams (13 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals) needs to start at this point after center Daniel Theis (5 assists) somehow went scoreless in 26 minutes.
If you were hoping for a fast start by the Celtics, you were shit out of luck as they were down 26-18 after the first quarter and 55-37 at halftime. What the hell? They played like they are capable of in the second half, outscoring the Cavaliers 36-27 in the third quarter and 36-35 in the fourth quarter but the damage was already done. They simply did not deserve to escape with a win after that putrid first half. The Cavs shot almost nine percent better than them from the field (54.1%-45.5%), they made seven more free throws (27-20) and they had four more assists (23-19). It sounds to me (as much as this crushes my soul) that the better team won on this depressing night.
It was thought to be an important stretch of games for the Celtics since their schedule eases up in terms of the opponents they face this week but I guess it hardly matters who they take on since anyone can beat them. They return to the TD Garden to host the Kings (16-24 overall, 7-12 away) on Friday (8, NBC Sports Boston) followed by the Magic (13-26 overall, 5-13 away) on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC Sports Boston). That's followed by a four-game road trip next week which includes two games in Milwaukee (26-14) so we know that is not going to go well. Oh and the NCAA men's basketball tournament starts tomorrow so there will be plenty of better basketball viewing options than this trainwreck club.
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