Will The Celtics Win Another Game In The Doomed 2020-21 Regular Season/Play-In Tournament?

 

    No matter how much we all want this Celtics (35-35 overall, 14-20 away) team to go away for awhile, it appears like the team itself is even more determined to end this season as soon as possible. The timing was just too perfect since star Jaylen Brown had surgery on his left wrist's damaged ligaments yesterday right before his lifeless team fell 102-94 last night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to the Cavaliers (22-48 overall, 13-23 home). The win snapped an 11-game losing streak for Cleveland while Boston's tailspin continued with their fourth loss in a row. In the grand scheme of things, this game meant very little but technically, Boston still has not secured the No. 7 seed yet and they could drop to as low as No. 9. Granted, no matter where they land and if they somehow survive the Play-In Tournament, do you have any hope that they'll make any noise before getting swept by Philadelphia (47-22) or Brooklyn (46-24) in the first round?

    The C's actually led by two points (69-67) going into the fourth quarter before they crumbled. The ghost of Kevin Love has appeared in less than half the games this season (can you blame him?) but he turned in a vintage performance with a game-high 30 points, 14 rebounds and two steals. If the Cavs are ever going to get good again (assuming that LeBron James does not return home again for a second time), they will need point guard Collin Sexton (28 points, 8 assists) to become the star that he shows glimpses of from time to time. Rookie swingman Isaac Okoro added 15 points and six assists in the rare Cavaliers victory. 

    Boston's active star Jayson Tatum had some nice stats (team-high 29 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) but he shot 11-of-26 from the floor. With little left to play for, the Celts chose to sit down guards Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker while center Robert Williams (will he appear in another game this season?) continues to deal with his apparently deadly case of turf toe. Shooting guard Evan Fournier added 15 points, center Tristan Thompson notched 10 points and rookie guard Payton Pritchard scored 15 points and had seven rebounds off the bench. There are two games left for the C's in the regular season: at Minnesota (22-47 overall, 12-21 home) on Saturday afternoon (2, NBC Sports Boston) and at New York (38-31 overall, 22-11 home) on Sunday afternoon (1, NBC Sports Boston). The first ever Play-In Tournament in NBA history begins on Tuesday.

Well It's Official, The C's Ruined St. Patrick's Day As They Suffered A Disgraceful Loss To The Cavs

 

    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.