The Celtics Closed Out A Horrible 2021 With Their Best Win Of The Season, 123-108 Vs. The Suns

 

    There are many reasons why I have barely posted anything about the Celtics (17-19 overall, 10-7 home) during this miserable 2021-22 campaign: they are mostly an unlikable group, their games are nearly unwatchable and usually quite predictable in terms of blowing almost any lead possible. Fast forward to their traditional New Year's Eve afternoon home game at TD Garden where they dominated one of the best teams in the NBA-the Suns (27-8 overall, 11-4 road)-123-108. Boston led by as many as 30 points in the second quarter (65-35!) and of course Phoenix made a decent run in the third quarter but for once, the C's were able to hang on for what has to be considered their most meaningful victory of head coach Ime Udoka's rocky first year in charge. 

    For more context, the Celtics had lost eight of their last 11 games including three soul-crushing losses in a row entering today: they were up as much as 19 points on Christmas at Milwaukee (24-13) before losing to the Bucks, they fell on Monday at Minnesota (16-19) which due to Covid and injuries fielded basically a G League team and then they wrapped it up by hitting four-of-42 3-pointers and losing by nine at Wednesday to the mediocre Clippers (18-18) at the Garden. Speaking of the 'Rona, Celts superstar Jayson Tatum is still out as he battles it for the second year in a row. Like every other team, the Suns are also missing guys-most notably center Deandre Ayton-because of this never-ending nightmare that we are facing all around this stubborn country. 

    Seven Celtics scored in double-figures led by point guard Marcus Smart (24 points, 9 rebounds) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (24 points, 11 rebounds) but center Robert Williams (10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals) was the star of the show as he notched his first career triple-double. When he's healthy and on the court, Williams is one of the most talented big men in the league but unfortunately he is so injury-prone that it makes your head spin. Power forward Grant Williams scored 15 points and despite only having three guys appear off the bench, they combined to score 46 points. Swingman Josh Richardson had 19 points, shooting guard Romeo Langford added 16 points and two steals while guard Payton Pritchard tossed in 11 points (it's nice to see Udoka finally play him a little bit). 

    The Suns have already proven that last season where they went to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993 was no fluke whatsoever. It helps of course to have arguably the best backcourt around in point guard Chris Paul (14 points, 8 assists, 2 steals) and shooting guard Devin Booker (team-high 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals). Small forward Cam Johnson put up 20 points, five rebounds and two steals while center Jalen Smith (who?!) had 19 points and seven rebounds plus power forward Mikal Bridges notched 10 points and two steals. The home team led by 11 points after the first quarter (32-20) and by 26 points at haftime (67-41). Phoenix predictably came alive in the second half but even for them, it was too late to have much of an impact on the C's. The Suns took the third quarter (36-33) and the fourth quarter as well (36-33) but the Celtics held on tight to avoid the season sweep by the Suns.

    For the game, Boston had a big advantage when it came to field goal percentage (54.2%-41.0%), they also took 10 more free throws (26-16) and hit eight more of them (23-15), they grabbed 14 more rebounds (51-37), dished out eight more assists (28-20) and thanks to Williams blocked five more shots (7-2). For what it's worth, on paper this next little stretch for Boston seems very winnable: they host the tanking Magic (7-29) on Sunday night (6, NBC Sports Boston), before the Spurs (14-20) come to town on Wednesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) then they have a home-and-home with the Knicks (17-19) on Thursday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) at Madison Square Garden and then the return match here next Saturday night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). Hopefully Tatum can return at some point this upcoming week but then again, he and Brown famously don't really play well together anymore. Oof, it's a tough time to be a C's fan and I obviously have very low expectations for the rest of this season and beyond barring some huge changes in personnel.

With The Regular Season Winding Down, The Pats Are Fading Away After A 33-21 Loss To The Bills

 

    The ups and downs of this season for the Patriots (9-6 overall, 3-5 home) have been nothing short of insane: they started a hapless 2-4 then reeled off seven straight wins before losing last week at Indy (9-6) and then falling 33-21 to Buffalo (9-6 overall, 5-3 away) in a huge divisional showdown this afternoon at Gillette Stadium. With a chance to put the Colts loss behind them not to mention to sweep the season series with the Bills, the Pats did a face plant in a major way. Unlike New England's fluky 14-10 wind-and-weather aided win in Buffalo three weeks ago, this felt like a more true representation of these teams at the moment. Bills quarterback Josh Allen (30-of-47 for 314 yards, 3 TDs; 64 yards rushing) was unstoppable and Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones (14-of-32 for 145 yards, 2 INTs) was predictably no match for him. With two games left now in the regular season, Buffalo has the inside track to another AFC East crown. A few weeks ago, the Pats seemed to have a legitimate shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC, now they will have to scramble to hang on to a playoff spot. 

    To say that New England's overrated defense could not get off the field was not a bland statement but rather a depressing fact. This was the first time in Pats head coach Bill Belichick's exceptionally long and successful career that the opposing team never had to punt against him. Buffalo simply wore down the Patriots as they racked up eight more first downs (28-20), they possessed the ball for more than 10 minutes longer than the home team (35:09-24:51) and their defense forced two turnovers (2 INTs by safety Micah Hyde) while the Bills never coughed it up. With wide receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis both out due to Covid-19 protocols, you figured that the Patriots could focus on Stefon Diggs (7 catches, 85 yards, TD) and nobody else would be able to do much against them. Wrong. Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie set a career-high in catches (game-high 11) and yards (game-high 125) as Belichick watched undrafted second-year cornerback Myles Bryant repeatedly get burned by McKenzie. 

    After a terrible start doomed them against Indianapolis, you knew that the Patriots would play much better to start this game. Except that never really happened. Running back Damien Harris (18 carries, 103 yards, 3 TDs) was fantastic for New England but the same could not be said about any of his teammates on this day. Buffalo had the lone score of the first quarter: a three-yard touchdown pass from Allen to McKenzie and kicker Tyler Bass added the point after for a 7-0 lead. Harris responded with a 16-yard touchdown run (and Nick Folk PAT) to tie it up at seven early in the second quarter. Buffalo's issues in the red zone meant that Bass had to kick a 25-yard field goal for a 10-7 advantage. Allen zipped a sweet 12-yard touchdown pass to Diggs with 1:45 left in the first half. Bass' point after made it 17-7 in favor of the Bills at halftime. 

    Once again New England's defense held strong in the red zone and Bass had to salvage things with a 34-yard field goal which gave Buffalo a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter. Harris answered with a one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that coupled with Folk's kick trimmed Buffalo's lead to 20-14. The Bills closed strong in the fourth quarter thanks to a two-yard touchdown run by running back Devin Singletary but they failed on the two-point conversion attempt to leave it at 26-14. Harris' last touchdown run (of the 8-yard variety) and Folk's final PAT brought the Patriots within five points but Allen and Co. proceeded to march down the field methodically and clinch the victory with a two-yard shuffle pass from Allen to tight end Dawson Knox. That backbreaking play coupled with Bass' point after sent most of Gillette streaming for the exits (and the endless traffic in the parking lots and on Route 1, good times!). 

    The only positive news that I can think of for the Pats is that they have the good fortune to host the Jaguars (2-13 overall, 0-7 road) next Sunday afternoon (1, CBS)-their first contest in 2022. That is about as close to a guaranteed win as you will find in the NFL which is otherwise impossible to predict from week-to-week. New England will definitely have an eye on Monday Night Football tomorrow (8:15, ESPN) as Miami (7-7) visits New Orleans (7-7). Other than the Chiefs, the Dolphins are the second-hottest club in the league as they have surprisingly won six straight games. A triumph for the Saints would go a long way to bolstering the Bills and Patriots' playoff hopes. Most importantly, Jones has to get some of his confidence back because he's been a mess in these consecutive losses. I was never under any illusion that he will be a superstar but I think that Jones could be a very solid game manager type (I know, everybody hates that phrase) in the NFL for years to come. This is also not all on him either since almost all of the other Patriots have struggled recently too. 

The Pats Failed To Show Up For The First Three Quarters & Ended Up Losing 27-17 To The Colts

 

    After playing great for the past two months and winning seven straight games, your New England Patriots (9-5 overall, 6-1 away) were due for a letdown. Likewise, Pats rookie quarterback Mac Jones (26-of-45 for 299 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) had not really had a complete stinkbomb in a game this season (when he's been called on to pass the ball more than three times) so obviously that happened tonight as well as Indianapolis (8-6 overall, 4-4 home) beat the Patriots 27-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was a costly loss for New England too since they dropped from the top seed in the AFC (the only one that gets a first-round bye) into third-place behind surging Kansas City (10-4) and Tennessee (9-4). With only three games left in the regular season now, the Pats will likely have to win out to have a shot at that No. 1 spot.

    Both teams were coming off a bye week but for some reason, the Pats could not do anything right for the first three quarters as they trailed 17-0 at halftime (1st time in 100 games that they were shut out in the 1st half) and 20-0 after three quarters. They made a decent comeback attempt in the fourth quarter but Indy is a good team and it is almost impossible to rally from down 20+ points in the NFL (that is unless you're playing the Falcons in the Super Bowl). Anyone could have told you coming into this hyped matchup that Colts running back Jonanthan Taylor (29 carries, 170 yards, TD) would be the main focus for Pats head coach Bill Belichick and they mostly held him in check until it really mattered. 

    New England had cut it to 20-17 with 2:21 left in regulation as tight end Hunter Henry (6 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDs-giving him a new career-high of 9 in his first season as a Patriot) caught a seven-yard touchdown from Jones that coupled with Nick Folk's point-after made it 20-17 Indianpolis. With a timeout plus the two-minute warning left, the Patriots had a chance to get the ball back with a chance to tie it or go for the win if their vaunted defense could get one stop but in this instance they failed epically. Taylor broke loose for a 67-yard touchdown run and after Michael Badgley's PAT, it was all over 27-17 with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter. It's a quarterback-driven league so Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers will likely win the MVP this season but Taylor should get plenty of votes as well, he's been the best running back in the league especially with Derrick Henry out. 

    It was an odd game, how else to explain Patriots punter Jake Bailey getting blocked for the third time already this season and Colts linebacker E.J. Speed (perfect football name) returning it for an easy score? Badgley's point-after made it 14-0 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. The Colts had gotten out to a 7-0 lead on running back Nyheim Hines' eight-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz (5-of-12 for 57 yards, TD, INT) with 3:53 left in the first quarter. Mac was awful in the first three quarters: he threw a brutal red zone interception to Indy's superstar linebacker Darius Leonard (8 tackles, 2 assists) and later another Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke made a spectacular diving pick. The only points in the second quarter came from Badgley's 25-yard field goal. He missed a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter but a false start penalty (1 of 8 infractions on New England in the game that totalled 50 yards, compared to just 2 on the home team) gave him another chance which he predictably made the most of when he was given a second chance. 

    Henry caught a 12-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and Folk added the extra point to make it 20-7 Colts. He added a 25-yard kick on the next Pats possession which was a questionable decision by Bill since three points hardly mattered at that juncture with so few possessions left in the game (not to mention that Indy's defense is legit). Safety Devin McCourty had an interception after linebacker Jamie Collins tipped a pass from Wentz. Truthfully, the Pats should have had a few more picks since Wentz threw a couple right to them including one that cornerback J.C. Jackson dropped and another that Collins might have had a pick-6 on earlier in his up-and-down career. Patriots safety Kyle Dugger and Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman were both ejected for fighting with each other plus New England lost linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (ankle) and wide receiver Nelson Agholor (concussion) to injuries during the game.   

Ultimately, the better team won this evening. If they meet again-particularly in chilly Gillette Stadium in January-I think the Patriots would win the rematch-but they made way too many mistakes (mental and physical) to beat one of the other sneaky contenders in the AFC. Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich is solid and without Brady, the Colts had waited a long time to beat the Pats (losing 8 in a row against them before this). New England will have an extra day to regroup and enjoy Christmas before they host the Bills (7-6) next Sunday (1, CBS) in a showdown that should decide who wins the AFC East in 2021. We were all riding high, overrating the team and Jones so this was a reality check that the Patriots probably aren't as good as we tried to pretend since they last lost on October 17 to Dallas (9-4) 35-29 in OT at Gillette.