Friday Was Fun, Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming: The Nets Owning The C's

 

    I thoroughly enjoyed Game 3 on Friday and I hope that you did too because now the Celtics-Nets first-round playoff series is all but over after Brooklyn gave Boston another reality check tonight at the TD Garden with a 141-126 beating that wasn't nearly that close. The Nets' big three of Kevin Durant (game-high 42 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks), Kyrie Irving (39 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals) and James Harden (23 points, playoff career-high 18 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals) combined for an absurd 104 points as Brooklyn took a commanding 3-1 series lead. Only 13 teams in NBA history have ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit so yeah, Game 5 on Tuesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) at the Barclays Center will be the last time that you thankfully see these woefully overmatched Celts for a long time. Let's just hope that Celtics GM Danny Ainge has the guts to make some real moves this summer for the first time in a while since this team is in desperate need of some major tinkering.  

     A tall task for Boston to even the series at two games apiece got even more unlikely right before tip-off as point guard Kemba Walker (left knee medial bone bruise) and center Robert Williams (left ankle sprain) were both ruled out. Williams is sadly made of glass so that wasn't a surprise by any means but it was a bummer that Kemba couldn't play either as bad as he's been in this series. That meant more pressure fell on Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum (team-high 40 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) and he met the challenge about as well as you could possibly imagine given the impossible deck stacked against him. Point guard Marcus Smart (16 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) and shooting guard Evan Fournier (16 points) were both predictably ice cold after they were each really good in Game 3's shocking win by the Celts. 

    The Nets also received 14 points from small forward Joe Harris while Boston native Bruce Brown added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Boston had three bench guys in double-figures, only because there was so much garbage time after Brooklyn led by as many as 27 points. Rookie point guard Payton Pritchard scored 12 points, rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith added 11 points and the ghost of Jabari Parker notched 10 points and six rebounds in front of a sold-out Garden (for the first time at a Celtics game in 14+ months). The Nets improved to 6-1 against the Celtics this season so let's not kid ourselves into thinking that all this dominance is just because of Boston's current injuries. Brooklyn can put the C's and their fans out of their collective misery on Tuesday in what will undoubtedly be another blowout. Haha good times!

It's Tough To Win When 1) You Are Down 26 Pts At Halftime & 2) You Allow 130 Pts In Regulation

 

    You've heard of hate watching a TV show or movie, how about hate watching a particular sports team for an entire season? The Celtics (35-33 overall, 21-14 home) have given us so little to be happy about during this extremely frustrating year but in a weird way, I still feel the need to tune into every game since you never know what new yet terrible thing will happen to them. This afternoon on Mother's Day and in their biggest game of the season thus far, they decided to sleepwalk through the entire first half as Miami (37-31 overall, 17-16 away) built a 26-point (!!!!) lead at halftime-79-53. That was the most points that the Celts have ever allowed in a first half in the history of the TD Garden. The second half followed a familiar script as Boston furiously rallied but fell a little short as the Heat won 130-124. The two teams meet again on Tuesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) at the Garden with another Celtics loss basically guaranteeing that they'll be in the Play-In Tournament. Ugh. 

    Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown missed his third straight contest with an ankle injury and center Robert Williams played 11 minutes before he left with his pesky turf toe injury. As we have seen at different points this season, when Brown or swingman Jayson Tatum (29 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) are out, the C's struggle to beat anybody. I am a bigger fan of Brown than Tatum but I will say that it feels like they are completely rudderless (in terms of leadership) when Brown is out. I don't care how many points Tatum scores or all the highlight reel plays that he makes offensively, does he help any of his teammates get better? Also, does losing truly affect him or is it just a slight roadblock on his way to more endorsement money and richer deals?

    Even if Brown was playing and Williams was a little healthier (which never happens), I am still convinced that the Heat are just a better club. Miami star Jimmy Butler (now there's a guy that knows how to win and push those around him to be their best) led the way with 26 points, a game-high 11 assists, eight rebounds and two steals. Shooting guard Duncan Robinson (who began his college career at D3 Williams in Western MA) added 22 points, center Bam Adebayo notched 20 points, six rebounds and two steals while the ghost of Trevor Ariza tossed in 19 points and had three steals then point guard Kendrick Nunn scored 12 points. Guard Tyler Herro only played 17 minutes off the bench for Miami but he made them count as he contributed 12 points as well. 

    I keep saying this but the Celts once again wasted shooting guard Evan Fournier's best game in a Boston uniform. He had a game-high 30 points and eight assists. UConn's Kemba Walker added 18 points, six assists and two steals while guard Marcus Smart notched 16 points and two steals but he also had six turnovers which is way too many. The Celtics fell to 3-6 in their last nine games but rookie swingman Aaron Nesmith (16 points) continues to be one of the few bright spots as their world crumbles around them. Center Tristan Thompson grabbed 12 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench as the de-facto starter once Williams inevitably left for good.

    Tuesday is Boston's last home game of the regular season and with the stakes of it, I hope that Brown can play assuming that his ankle is getting a little better. If he remains out, I give the Celtics not much of a chance at all to win. Unlike them, the Heat are starting to roll (7-3 in their last 10 games) heading into the postseason. They are also healthier than Boston and guys seem to be accepting their roles better. It's hard to feel positive about really anything involving the Celts at the moment since it seems like a dark cloud is constantly hanging over them.

UPDATE 5/10/21: The Celtics just announced tonight that Brown has a torn ligament in his left wrist that will require surgery later this week. In other words, any glimmer of hope that they had of salvaging this wretched season is now officially gone. Fantastic! 

No Matter What They Do, The Celtics Simply Cannot Have Nice Things In This Doomed Season

 

    It wasn't bad enough that that the Celtics (34-31 overall, 21-13 home) were about to lose to the Trail Blazers (36-28 overall, 20-12 away) tonight at TD Garden, nope the C's had to pour some gasoline on that fire and watch their season continue to burn to the ground. In the final minutes, guard Marcus Smart (11 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) got ejected for hitting Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals) in the nuts coming off a screen and even worse, in garbage time shooting guard Jaylen Brown (16 points, 11 rebounds) and swingman Jayson Tatum (33 points, 5 assists, 6 turnovers) stepped on each other's feet trying to steal an inbounds pass. You can't make this stuff up as both guys had to hobble to the back with ankle injuries. Oh and Portland won their fourth straight game, 129-119. 

    Even in defeat, this Celtics club is super dramatic. Haha they can't just lose and go home, instead a key player risks possible suspension in an important part of the calendar while their two All-Stars could miss games down the stretch as well. There are only seven games left (5 on the road, 2 at home) in their regular season and this loss dropped them down to seventh-place in the Eastern Conference aka the top play-in seed. Oy, they followed up their best win of the year and Tatum's game of his life with another dud where their defense never bothered to show up. The Blazers are a very good offensive team but good lord, give me a break. Allowing 129 points in regulation on your home court is beyond pathetic. 

    If you know anything about Portland, you are probably confident that shooting guard CJ McCollum (33 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and point guard Damian Lillard (26 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds) must have had fine performances and surprise, they did! Lillard's shooting was off (8-of-18 from the floor) but his playmaking for McCollum and other teammates was superb. Small forward Norman Powell (23 points) has been a sneaky great pickup from Toronto and power forward Robert Covington added 10 points and two blocks in the win. I've never been a big Carmelo Anthony fan (who is?) but I will give him credit, he still has something left as he scored 13 points off the bench. 

    Among other things that Boston wasted this evening, swingman Evan Fournier (21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) had his best game as a Celtic since he hit 5-of-7 3-pointers. Off the top of my head, I'm going to say that this was the best outing for rookies Aaron Nesmith (16 points) and Payton Pritchard (13 points, 6 rebounds) in the same game. Pritchard was awesome to start this season then predictably tailed off but he's been better lately; Nesmith was MIA for much of the year but randomly, he's been really good the last few games. If Brown and Tatum are injured and miss any time, those three guys are the most likely candidates to pick up the slack for them. 

This was an NBA game straight out of the 1980s meaning that no defense was ever allowed. The Blazers led by a bucket (34-32) after one quarter and it was tied (71-71!) at halftime. Boston had their standard third quarter swoon (getting outscored 32-27) and that carried over in the fourth quarter too (26-21 Trail Blazers). Want some gross stats by the home team? Of course you do! Portland attempted 11 more free throws (26-15) and made nine more of them (22-13); the Blazers had five more steals (8-3), half as many turnovers (18-9) which led to 10 more points off turnovers (25-15). Plain and simple, Boston did not deserve to win this contest. 

    They get two days to rest and recover before a mini two-game road trip goes to Orlando (20-44 overall, 11-23 home) on Wednesday (7, NBC Sports Boston) then at Chicago (26-38 overall, 12-19 home) on Friday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). The Magic have absolutely nothing to play for at this point besides seeding in the draft lottery while the Bulls have a slim shot of sneaking into the play-in tournament but let's be real, that ain't happening. The main objective here for the Celtics is to avoid the play-in tournament and that starts with beating these two garbage teams on the road later this week. Boston doesn't return to the Garden for a week until they have a back-to-back against the Heat (35-30 overall, 16-16 road) on Mother's Day afternoon (1, ABC) and next Tuesday (7, NBC Sports Boston). Atlanta (35-30) and Miami moved into fifth and sixth-place respectively in the East, one game ahead of the C's.

C's Pulled Off The Third Biggest Comeback In NBA History Thanks To Tatum's Career Night (60 Pts!!!)

 

    The entire 2020-21 Celtics (34-30 overall, 21-12 home) experience was tightly wrapped up in a single game tonight as they went down by as much as 32 points at the TD Garden to the Spurs (31-31 overall, 18-12 away) before staging an epic rally than ended with a 143-140 overtime win for the home team. Only this group could feel the total dejection of what would have been their worst loss of the season combined with the overwhelming sense of joy from pulling off their best victory of the year. Forgive me for not mentioning Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum yet who scored a career-high 60 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists with no turnovers (!) in 45 exhausting minutes. With that, he tied Larry Bird's (ever heard of him?) franchise record for points in a game while also becoming the first player in the history of this proud team to score 50+ points twice in the same season. 

    Unfortunately, Boston has had more than their fair share of awful losses this season and with the way that they started this game, it felt inevitable that this would be the worst one of all. Thankfully, it didn't have to come to that as besides Tatum, other Celtics like shooting guard Jaylen Brown (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks), rookie swingman Aaron Nesmith (16 points, 6 rebounds off the bench), guard Marcus Smart (10 points, 12 assists, 2 steals) and center Robert Williams (10 points, 9 rebounds) all did just enough to come out on top. The Spurs were led by swingman DeMar DeRozan (team-high 30 points, 14 assists, five rebounds and two steals) who was great and point guard Dejounte Murray (24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) who is becoming quite a player. Center Jakob Poeltl (15 points, 10 rebounds) and small forward Keldon Johnson (14 points, 8 rebounds) also stood out for San Antonio who wasted a great game from their bench that outscored Boston's 55-38. Shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV (24 points) was brilliant for the Spurs while UConn's Rudy Gay (16 points) and point guard Patty Mills (11 points) were other impactful reserves who made plays as usual against the Celtics. 

    San Antonio was up 39-16 after one quarter and 77-48 at halftime as the 2300 fans that were at the Garden rightfully sent Boston to their locker room with a chorus of boos. The Celts chipped away with a wonderful third quarter (42-26) before they tied it in the fourth quarter (38-25). Boston actually had a chance to win this in regulation but Tatum missed that shot which sent the instant classic to overtime. For the game, the Celtics hit seven more 3-pointers (18-11), grabbed nine more offensive rebounds (17-8), blocked six more shots (7-1) and had 12 more second chance points (27-15) than the Spurs. 

    As I've said many times in this season full of crazy highs and lows, this win will quickly lose much of its potential meaning if Boston learns nothing from it and comes out flat once again in their next game on Sunday night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) vs. Portland (35-28 overall, 19-12 away). A mark of a good team is consistency and that is something which this group has struggled with all year. This improbable comeback kept the hunt for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs alive. Boston is tied with Atlanta (34-30) for fifth-place while New York (35-28) is a game and a half in front of them (with a game in hand) and Miami (33-30) trails both clubs by half a game as they currently are stuck in seventh-place purgatory for the play-in tournament. Take a breath and get some rest tomorrow since the meeting with the Blazers-who Boston beat 116-115 in Portland on April 13-should be another doozy with their superstar Damian Lillard liable to drop 50+ points at any time as well. The Celts are 2-1 on this homestand so finishing 3-1 on it with a three-game win streak to boot would be swell. 

The Celtics Snap A Three-Game Losing Streak & Take The Season Series (2-1) From The Hornets

 

    I'm done trying to make sense of the Celtics (33-30 overall, 20-12 home) or this goofy NBA season. Just when I had left them for dead yet again, they shut up the doubters for a night as they beat the Hornets (30-32 overall, 14-19 away) 120-111 this evening at the TD Garden. Boston had lost three games in a row including a 125-104 blowout in Charlotte on Sunday followed by last night's humiliating 119-115 loss to the Thunder (21-41) who entered riding a 14-game losing streak. The C's also did this without the services of their top two point guards as Kemba Walker (oblique) remains out and Marcus Smart was suspended for a game since he threatened officials on Tuesday. It's nice to see that he's really grown up after all these years of stupidity. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown (game-high 38 points, 7 rebounds) and swingman Jayson Tatum (35 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) became the first Celtics teammates since 2006 to each score 35+ points in the same game. 

    This final score is misleading because the C's were up 20 points after a first quarter (39-19) in which Brown (20) single-handedly outscored the Hornets by himself. Charlotte chipped away at the lead, cutting it to 58-47 at halftime and 88-80 going into the fourth quarter but Boston held on for the much-needed victory. The other two standouts for the Celts were a pair of unlikely heroes: center Tristan Thompson (12 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) had a double-double and rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith (career-high 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks) made the most of his 31 minutes off the bench. Brewster Academy's Devonte' Graham led the Hornets with 25 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two blocks while center P.J. Washington and small forward Miles Bridges (2 steals) both added 19 points in the loss. Former Celtics great Terry Rozier (15 points, 7 assists) was terrible as he shot 4-of-18 from the field including 1-of-8 on 3-pointers which felt like a fine tribute to his old teammate Smart. Center Cody Zeller scored 16 points off the bench in just 17 minutes. 

    Boston shot 5.3% better from the field than Charlotte (47.8%-42.5%), they hit two more 3-pointers (15-13), grabbed 21 more rebounds (54-33), had two more steals (9-7), blocked three more shots (8-5), scored 10 more points in the paint (54-44) and nine more second chance points (19-10). The win kept the Celtics in sixth-place (out of the play-in round) in the Eastern Conference but they are still tied with Miami (33-30) who is in seventh-place based on tiebreakers. Boston is one game behind Atlanta (34-29) and two games behind New York (35-28) with nine games left in the regular season. This four-game homestand continues on Friday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as the Celts welcome the Spurs (31-30 overall, 18-11 road) to the Garden. San Antonio is in ninth-place in the Western Conference, tied with the Grizzlies (31-30) and half a game in front of Golden State (31-31). This contest is very important to them as well since while they look destined to compete in the play-in round, they can still improve their seeding for that.

There Is No Other Way To Say It: Right Now, The Celtics Are A Disgrace In Every Possible Fashion

 

    We are still in a global pandemic so I cannot say with a straight face that the trials and tribulations of the Celtics (15-17 overall, 7-12 away) really seems all that important at this juncture. However, this is a Boston sports blog so I'd much rather complain here about our local teams instead of identifying the scary realities of our messed up world. With that said, what the hell has happened to the C's? Tonight, they lost their third straight game, 127-112 to the Hawks (14-18 overall, 8-9 home) at State Farm Arena. To say that Boston was a no-show for the contest would be far too kind. They gave up 72 points in the first half and trailed by as many as 27 points while Atlanta's veteran power forward Danilo Gallinari came off the bench to drill a career-high ten (!!!) 3-pointers as he scored a game-high 38 points. 

    The Hawks finished the season series 2-1 vs. the Celtics and if the playoffs started today, Boston would have to be in the play-in round (two playoff berths for the teams #7-#10 in each conference) since they've dropped to ninth-place in the Eastern Conference. This is the first time that they have been two games under .500 since the start of the 2017-18 season when they lost their first two contests. Since the Celts opened 8-3 in this campaign, they have gone 7-14 in their last 21 games. Is that bad? The team is completely lifeless and nobody besides the fans seems to really care that things have taken such a terrible turn for the worst. 

    I honestly don't know how this will be fixed anytime soon. Their defense is wretched, point guard Kemba Walker can't play back-to-back games (and he is a shell of himself when he does suit up), nobody besides their pair of All-Star swingmen Jaylen Brown (17 points, 5 assists) and Jayson Tatum (13 points on 4-of-20 shooting, 2 steals) can be counted on to do much of anything, the bench is a joke, head coach Brad Stevens' appears to have been tuned out by much of the team, GM Danny Ainge is petrified to shake this up and most of his draft picks lately except for Brown and Tatum have been useless. What else? There is no real accountability on the team and it is sorely lacking in leadership in terms of the players. I really couldn't tell you how a team that has gone to three of the last four Eastern Conference Finals could be in shambles like this. It is stunning to say the least although maybe not when you read the myriad reasons for their struggles that I just listed. 

    Atlanta also entered after playing last night but they weren't fazed by that. Point guard Trae Young (game-high 33 points, 7 assists) boosted his resume in case the All-Star Game needs a replacement player for the East, power forward John Collins had a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) while shooting guard Tony Snell added 12 points. Seven Celtics scored in double-digits which is only an indicator that everyone played since there was extended garbage time like you read about. Power forward Tristan Thompson had a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) and point guard Jeff Teague (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) made perhaps his final start in the NBA in his old home. Rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith scored 13 points off the bench while point guards Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters each notched 11 points. 

    Boston has a four-game homestand leading into the All-Star break to try to turn this sinking ship around. They are 8-5 at the Garden as they host the Pacers (15-15 overall, 8-5 road) on Friday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston), the Wizards (11-18 overall, 6-9 road) on Sunday night (7, NBC Sports Boston), the Clippers (23-10 overall, 11-4 road) on Tuesday (7:30, TNT) and closing with the Raptors (16-17 overall, 9-10 road) next Thursday (7, NBC Sports Boston). With the way that the C's have gone down in flames lately, I expect them to go 0-4 in that stretch or maybe 1-3 if they are lucky. Ugh, this terrible team is so depressing these days. How has it come to this? 

It Turns Out A 24-Pt Lead Midway Through The 3rd Quarter Isn't Enough Against A 12-17 Team

    The Celtics (15-15 overall, 7-10 away) have officially entered the trainwreck portion of their 2020-21 regular season schedule. What I mean by that is while you know that something bad will probably take place, you still can't find a way to peel yourself away from viewing all the carnage. This afternoon on national TV (thanks ABC!) from the Smoothie King Center, Boston built a 24-point lead (79-55 w/6:29 left) midway through the third quarter only to watch it all crumble in an epic 120-115 overtime loss to the Pelicans (13-17 overall, 8-7 home). It marked the biggest comeback win in New Orleans' franchise history, what a way for the C's to begin a pivotal three-game road trip. Sigh. I'm not suggesting that head coach Brad Stevens should be fired (plus as we know, the Celts have basically anointed him for life) but this is the type of loss that can cost someone their job or that gets a player(s) traded. There is no good time to blow a 24-point lead but against a team that began the day in 12th place in the Western Conference fits the description of a club that you can never let do something like that to you. 

    Ironically, the contest only needed an extra session since Celtics star Jayson Tatum (team-high 32 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) made a tough floater with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. The Pelicans obviously got strong performances from their Duke duo of small forward Brandon Ingram (game-high 33 points, 6 rebounds) and power forward Zion Williamson (28 points, 10 rebounds). Point guard Lonzo Ball added 16 points, six rebounds and two steals, center Willy Hernangomez grabbed 13 rebounds and the always underrated Josh Hart put together a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) off the bench which is a pretty hard thing to do. Showing their youthful energy, New Orleans scored 14 more fast break points (22-8) than Boston. 

    A bunch of other Celtics had decent numbers headlined by shooting guard Jaylen Brown (25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds) and power forward Tristan Thompson (14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) while point guard Kemba Walker shot 5-of-21 from the floor (14 points, 2 blocks), rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith added 10 points off the bench and center Robert Williams (8 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks) squeezed the most from his 21 minutes. So why did Boston lose this game you ask? Well as a team they shot under 40% from the field (39.8% to be exact) including a putrid 10-of-37 (27%) on 3-pointers. For a team that normally by design takes an absurd amount of 3s, it is endlessly frustrating that they never seem to change their approach when they have games like this (remember Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Cleveland?) where they are ice cold from downtown and yet they just keep shooting from there. 

    Boston led 30-28 after the first quarter which gave no hint for how they would dominate the second quarter (33-19) to take a 63-47 lead at halftime. New Orleans outscored them 27-24 in the third quarter but they still trailed by double-digits (87-74). The Pelicans really heated up in the fourth quarter (34-21) while the Celtics couldn't buy a basket to save their lives. An earlier clutch 3-pointer by Tatum and the floater only delayed the inevitable soul-crushing defeat. The C's will find themselves right back on national TV on Tuesday (7:30, TNT & NBC Sports Boston at Dallas (13-15 overall, 6-8 home) vs. another middling team in the Western Conference. What could possibly go wrong? Better yet, what is Luka Doncic's career-high in points? At this rate, he'll probably set that new record against the C's as part of a silly triple-double. I cannot wait to watch that happen! 

For One Night, Winning Cures Everything For The Celts As They Beat Undermanned Denver 112-99

 

    It has been a rough week for the Celtics (14-13 overall, 7-4 home) and it felt like for once, nobody associated with the franchise (head coach, players, GM, etc.) was immune to some legitimate criticism after a pair of soul-crushing defeats to the Pistons (8-19) and Wizards (8-17). It would be silly to overreact and say that things are different now but at least in Boston's first chance at redemption, they responded in a big way by taking down Denver (15-12 overall, 7-6 away) 112-99 tonight at TD Garden. The fact that the Nuggets were playing without four guys from their rotation certainly helped the Celtics but honestly, any club with center/MVP candidate Nikola Jokic (game-high 43 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) and point guard Jamal Murray (25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) in the starting lineup still presents a formidable challenge. 

As always, the C's were led by shooting guard Jaylen Brown (team-high 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and swingman Jayson Tatum (21 points, 8 assists) who were both instrumental in the victory. The plot twist for the home team was that they had many other guys pull their weight as well: with Daniel Theis out with a sprained finger, center Tristan Thompson had nine points and 12 rebounds; point guard Kemba Walker added 17 points while Boston's bench outscored Denver's 30-14. Rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith hit three 3-pointers, center Robert Williams notched eight points, eight rebounds and five steals (!) while rookie guard Payton Pritchard (8 points, 7 assists) continues to shine as veteran guard Jeff Teague racks up the DNP-CDs (did not play-coach's decision). 

    Jokic has become a freak of nature and I mean that in the highest form of praise that is possible. He is a matchup nightmare for anybody in the NBA because he has the size and post moves of an old school center yet he also can hit threes and pass like a point guard. The Joker basically single-handedly kept his team in it in the first half as he dropped 29 points while Boston led 30-26 after the first quarter and 59-54 at halftime. Murray's numbers look fine except I didn't mention his key stat: nine turnovers. Woof. The Celts outscored the Nuggets 27-21 in the third quarter and 26-24 in the fourth quarter to pick up their most important win of the season. Argentine point guard Facundo Campazzo (15 points, 8 assists, 2 steals) was the only other Nugget to score in double-figures which shows you just how much they missed their top role players.  

    The Celtics shot almost three percent better than Denver from the field (48.1%-45.2%), they hit six more 3-pointers (15-9), made five more free throws (19-14) and grabbed five more rebounds (43-38) including six more defensive boards (33-27). After such depressing back-to-back losses, this evening showed that when the C's are working together, they are capable of beating pretty much any other team in the NBA. Conversely, when things start to go off the rails, they proved that they can lose to the true dregs of the league just as easily. 

    I'll keep saying this until they start consistently winning again but the good feelings from tonight will be quickly erased unless they carry it over to tomorrow night's (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) contest with the Hawks (11-16 overall, 5-7 road). Boston seems to be catching Atlanta at the right time for a two-game set at the Garden (they also play on Friday at 7:30 as well) since the Hawks are free-falling out of playoff contention by losing four straight games coming in and going 2-8 in their last 10. Also, their head coach Lloyd Pierce will miss both games to be at the birth of his second child. Assistant coach Nate McMillan (former Pacers head coach) will be in charge for these matchups. Regardless, if point guard Trae Young (who is on the cusp of making his second All-Star Game in a row) and power forward John Collins are playing along with center Clint Capela, Atlanta is very dangerous and the Celts simply cannot afford to relax for a second thinking that they'll just roll over.  

While You Were Watching The AFC Championship Game, The Celtics Ran Over The Cavaliers 141-103

 

    Tonight at TD Garden, we were all treated to a phenomenon that I believe occurs most frequently in the NBA compared to MLB, NFL or the NHL. One team (the Celtics) showed up in a big way while their opponent (the Cavaliers) couldn't be bothered to put forth anything that resembled a professional effort. Haha sorry to sound like such a hardo but it's true. Boston (9-6 overall, 5-2 home) came in with three straight losses but you would have never guessed that with the precision that they dismantled Cleveland (8-8 overall, 3-5 road) 141-103. The final score really says it all, doesn't it? C's star Jayson Tatum missed what hopefully is his last game while he recovers from Covid-19 but he was far from needed this evening. Guard Jaylen Brown (33 points, 2 steals in 19 minutes) set a new NBA record for most points scored in the shot clock era in under 20 minutes of playing time.

    This was never even close to a competitive game because the Celts dropped a season-high 38 points in the first quarter to take a 17-point lead right out of the gate and that was followed by their highest scoring half (73 points) of 2020-21 and a 22-point advantage going into the break. Believe it or not, despite this debacle, the Cavs are a much improved team that should push for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference this season. Seriously. That hardly mattered to the Celtics who extended their win-streak vs. the Cavaliers to a whopping nine games. All 14 Boston players that dressed were able to get on the court for at least nine minutes of work. Point guard Kemba Walker (21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) was also efficient with his time, center Daniel Theis (17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) filled up the box score and guard Marcus Smart (12 points, 9 assists, 5 steals) just missed out on a double-double. Guard Carsen Edwards scored a career-high 18 points in 19 minutes off the bench and rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith (11 points, 6 rebounds) finally showed a brief glimpse of why he was picked 14th overall by Boston in this past draft.

    The lopsided result occurred at the perfect time as well for Boston since they hit the road after this game to head to Chicago (7-9 overall, 2-4) for tomorrow night's (9, NBC Sports Boston) meeting with the Bulls at the United Center. Likewise, they couldn't have picked a much easier opponent on the second part of a back-to-back than rudderless Chicago who has been rebuilding for most of the past decade or so. Before tonight's matchup with the Cavs, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens sounded optimistic that Tatum could return against Chicago for his first game since January 8. I'm sure that he will be rusty whenever he gets back but Brown has been on fire for most of this season and Kemba is improving with every outing that goes by. Guard Zach LaVine (26.8 points per game) can score with the best of them in the NBA, Finnish big guy Lauri Markkanen (18.6 points per game) and point guard Coby White (15.9 points per game and 5.9 assists per game) are both quality young players but my fellow PC alum and the new head coach Billy Donovan sure has his work cut out for him in the Windy City. The Bulls haven't been relevant for years on end and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.