The Celtics Were Very Active At The Trade Deadline But Will Any Of Their Moves Matter?

 

    The NBA Trade Deadline was this afternoon and the Celtics (31-25) were quite busy. In total, new GM Brad Stevens shipped seven guys out of town and only brought back two which means that they have five open roster spots to fill (they technically only need to add two more players for tomorrow's game vs. Denver). Boston acquired point guard Derrick White from San Antonio for guards Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a protected 2022 first-round pick. They also reacquired center Daniel Theis from Houston for centers Enes Kanter and Bruno Fernando plus guard Dennis Schroder. Finally, they dumped center Bol Bol (we hardly knew ya!) and guard P.J. Dozier to Orlando in exchange for a swap of conditional second-round picks while the C's also gave the Magic cash considerations. 

    When I look at who the Celts lost, Richardson (9.7 ppg) and Schroder (14.4 ppg) are the ones worth noting while everyone else is either a bust (Langford) or mostly useless (Kanter and Fernando). Admittedly, I don't know a ton about White since the Spurs (20-35) have become an awful team these last few seasons. However, he was part of Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup along with Jayson Tatum so Boston's All-Star must have liked what he saw there with him. Head coach Ime Udoka also has to be very familiar with White since he was drafted by San Antonio in 2017 (29th overall) and has played there for his entire NBA career which is where Udoka started his coaching journey. Looking at his numbers, he seems like Marcus Smart Lite: 11.6 ppg for his career with 3.9 assists per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. He has decent size (6-foot-4 and 190 pounds) but he is not a good three-point shooter (.344 for his career). Thankfully, he is very solid at free throws (.836 for his career) so that shouldn't be an issue in close games. By most measures, he was having a career year for the lottery-bound Spurs: he's started 48 of 49 games and averaged 14.4 ppg, a career-best 5.6 assists per game, one steal per game and a career-best .869 from the free throw line. 

    If you are a Celtics fan, Theis needs no introduction because he was here for parts of four seasons before being traded to Chicago. Most recently, he was rotting away on the tanking Rockets (15-40) who are the worst team in the Western Conference. The C's have often been accused of falling in love with their own players and this is further proof of that. Still, Theis gives them some more quality depth at center/power forward behind budding star Robert Williams and veteran Al Horford who has been decent in his return to Boston but he can't have much left in his old legs. Based on their deals, we knew that Richardson and definitely Schroder weren't going to be Celtics for too long. Josh had actually come on lately off the bench and helped the C's on their season-high six game win streak that has brought them back from the dead. Predictably, Schroder has been more erratic and since he is going to be a free agent this summer, you could tell that he didn't care about anything but himself this season so good riddence to that clown. 

    Ultimately, all of these trades will be judged by how well White performs in Boston. Out of all the guys that were moved to and away from the Celtics today, he should be the best one of them all or at least very close to it. If he can mesh well with Tatum and Brown, he will be a Celtic for a long time. Likewise, if Udoka enjoys working with him then he can settle in and buy a house in the area rather than rent an apartment or condo. I assume that he'll be available tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as the Celts host the Nuggets (30-24) at TD Garden. Much like the Patriots last season, Boston has taken advantage of a soft portion of their schedule and Denver will represesnt their toughest test since they finally got untracked. 

Behind 41 Points from Jayson Tatum, The Celtics Rallied To Beat The Hornets 140-129 In Overtime

 

    They are still probably not NBA title contenders but if the first four games are any indication, the Celtics (2-2 overall, 2-1 away) are going to be wildly entertaining to watch this season. Tonight in the second half of a back-to-back on the road, Boston was able to come away with a crazy 140-129 overtime victory at Charlotte's (3-1 overall, 1-1 home) Spectrum Center. Just to get to overtime, they had to close on a 20-8 run after the Hornets took a 114-102 lead midway through the final quarter. The C's had won their first game of the season 107-97 last night in Houston (1-2) but given the higher caliber opponent, this was a much more impressive result. Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum led the way with 41 points (his 9th career 40+ point game), eight assists and seven rebounds while Boston's other star Jaylen Brown dropped 30 points, nine rebounds and three steals. 

    It was a true team win since Celtics point guard Dennis Schroder (23 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) had his best performance for his new club including nine points in the extra session. Center Robert Williams (12 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks) was a force on the glass, guard Marcus Smart (3 steals) was able to prevent the Hornets from winning at the end of regulation when he stole a lazy inbounds pass that was intended for Charlotte's young star LaMelo Ball (25 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds). Even forward Jabari Parker (13 points, 5 rebounds) played a big role in the win off the bench because he scored 11 points in the first quarter when his team was gaining its bearings. Power forward Grant Williams added nine points as he continued his strong play to start this campaign. 

    It wasn't a full family reunion since former Celtics guard Terry Rozier sat out with an injury but there was Gordon Hayward (15 points, 6 rebounds) who logged a game-low plus/minus of minus-23 but hey, he had a cool haircut to show off. Charlotte's small forward Miles Bridges added a double-double (25 points, 10 rebounds) but Brown also threw down a vicious dunk on him which is all that most people will remember from his fine night's work. Shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. had a good game (19 points, 9 rebounds) and journeyman center Miles Plumlee notched a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks). Power forward Jalen McDaniels put up 13 points off the bench and veteran point guard Ish Smith scored 10 points in 23 minutes backing up Ball who surprisingly fouled out in OT-something that never happens to the truly elite of the NBA. 

    This evening was a throwback to the high-scoring 1980s in the league as neither team could really do anything effectively on defense. It was 33-33 after the first quarter and Boston took a two-point lead (68-66) into halftime. Head coach Ime Udoka's club came out a little slow in the third quarter-getting outscored 31-26-but they made up for it by taking the fourth quarter (28-25) and most importantly, dominating in overtime (18-7) as they beat Charlotte for the sixth time in their last seven meetings overall. The Celtics shot nearly five percent better than the Hornets from the field (49.5%-44.7%), they hit three more free throws (21-18), dished out seven more assists (33-26), had twice as many steals (8-4), blocked three more shots (9-6), turned the ball over two fewer times (14-12), registered five more second chance points (17-12) and scored seven more fast break points (22-15) than Charlotte who had 11 more points off turnovers (19-8) than the Celtics. 

    Of course it is way too early to know anything yet about these C's: their season-opening double overtime loss last Wednesday at the Knicks (2-1) 138-134 will likely go down as one of the games of the year in the league, then they no-showed in their home opener last Friday against the Raptors (1-3) 115-83. They had no choice but to beat the lowly Rockets and while it was tougher than it had to be, they got it done and they proved a little something by beating the Hornets who will be a playoff team again in the Eastern Conference. The Celts return to TD Garden on Wednesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they kick off a home-and-home with the Wizards (2-1). They'll head to DC on Saturday (5, NBC Sports Boston) for the rematch with Tatum's BFF Bradley Beal and Co.

So Much For Those Fake Trade Rumors, The Celtics Signed Marcus Smart To A Four-Year Extension

 

    In my lifetime as a Celtics fan, I cannot remember a more maddening player than Marcus Smart. The erratic guard can make some of the best defensive plays that you've ever seen and then later on that same possession, he chucks up one of the worst 3-pointers in NBA history. From the start, we have accepted the good with the bad from Marcus in hopes that eventually he would learn from all of the childish crap. Nope, instead he seems to have gotten more delusional over the years and who could blame him as the C's continue to prop him up for some reason and constantly stroke his fragile ego. Despite being the best (and only legitimate) trade asset that the team possessed, they made the strange decision to reportedly sign him this evening to a four-year contract extension (beginning in 2022-23) worth $77 million.

    For weeks, if not months, we've been fed countless lies about how much the Celtics wanted to trade Smart and with Brad Stevens in charge now (and not Marcus' biggest fan Danny Ainge), we were led to believe that perhaps the needed change (moving Smart elsewhere) was finally about to materialize. The timing of this makes you wonder though since almost all of the best free agents have been signed weeks ago and many big names have likewise been traded to other teams. You have to think that Stevens & Co. tried to pull the trigger on such a move but after many tries, they were forced to go back to Smart with their hats in their hands and say sorry, here's an absurd amount of money to make you feel better. 

    The main problem with Marcus is that he fancies himself as a superstar while the truth remains that he at best is a role player on a championship contender. He was the sixth overall pick out of Oklahoma State in the 2014 NBA Draft for the Celtics, meaning that he's played his entire professional career here. Due to Kemba Walker's gimpy knee, Smart was the starting point guard for much of last season (45 of 48 regular season games) and as a result, he averaged a career-high in 13.1 points per game and 5.7 assists per game. Those are both pretty middle of the road numbers in the league and keep in mind, his individual highlights have been back-to-back NBA All-Defensive first team spots in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Those are nice honors but nothing to grossly overpay a guy like him for. The constant hype from the franchise, the team broadcasters, some media members and many fans doesn't help in this case leaving Smart to become a very polarizing figure: if you like the Celtics, you either love him or he drives you absolutely crazy and you totally hate almost everything about his game. 

    Smart must truly think that he is either Ray Allen or Stephen Curry with the amount of 3-pointers that he takes (5.9 per game last season and a career-high 6.6 the year before that) given that his 3-point percentage is terrible: 33% last season and 32% for his career. He has a very fiery personality which is quite unlike Jayson Tatum-the quiet superstar-or Jaylen Brown-the thoughtful All-Star. For these reasons, Smart has had infamous run-ins with many teammates, coaches and even himself (memorably punching a mirror a few years back on a road trip in LA). At this point in his career (7 seasons in) and age (27), he is not a kid anymore and while I wish he would just grow up, I doubt it'll occur when the Celts are still rewarding him with laughable money like this. I shudder to think how he'll function with his new teammate Dennis Schroder who is similarly nuts. Yikes, you want to hope that things will improve for Boston next season and beyond but a move like this makes you question everything about their plans for the near future.

Last Season Dennis Schroder Bet Big On Himself & That Didn't Turn Out So Well, Now He's A Celtic

    We have reached that sad dead zone in NBA free agency where almost all of the top players have long been scooped up and teams are left to fight over the crumbs or in this case, flawed guys that have shown flashes here or there but not enough to be more coveted. Enter guard Dennis Schroder: you might remember him as the bozo that for some unknown reason (was it a terrible agent or his irrational self-worth?) turned down a four-year, $84 million extension last spring with the Lakers. He didn't have a bad 2020-21 by any measure: in 61 starts for LA, he averaged 15.4 points per game, 5.8 assists per game and 1.1 steals per game. Apparently, that didn't impress anyone though (or maybe he's just a complete prick?) since he was still available until this evening when the Celtics reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with him for the mid-level exception ($5.9 million). 

    Boston will be the mercurial German's fourth NBA team (Atlanta and Oklahoma City being the others) in only nine seasons and with any luck, this will be the NBA equivalent of a one-night stand: quite enjoyable for both parties but ultimately nothing more lasting than that. Schroder will want to have a monster season individually with the C's so that when he goes back to free agency next summer, he will get paid much closer to that boatload of money that he laughably left on the table for the Lakers. Likewise, the Celtics desperately needed a starting point guard and this way, they aren't forced to shoehorn Marcus Smart into that spot every game or better yet, they can finally trade him. Haha yeah right, I'll believe that when I see it even with Danny Ainge out of the picture

    It has been an interesting ride in the NBA for Dennis The Menace (I can only assume that fantastic nickname hasn't caught on more because it's too dated?). He was a first-round pick-17th overall-for the Hawks in 2013 and after basically a redshirt year in his rookie season, he averaged 10 points per game his second season and that continued to go up his next three years in A-Town before they flipped him to the Thunder in a massive three-team trade that also involved the Sixers. After two pretty solid seasons in rebuilding OKC, he got to play with LeBron James for one fleeting campaign in LA. There are a couple notable Celtics connections to Schroder: as a Hawk, he had some epic playoff battles with the Celts early in his NBA career. Furthermore, he and former Boston point guard Rajon Rondo are mortal enemies that seem to legitimately hate each other and they always get into a hilarious shoving and shouting match every time that their numerous teams meet.

    The bottom line is that this should be an enjoyable hookup for both Schroder and Boston since nobody can deny his talent: his career-highs are 19.4 points per game (2017-18 w/ATL), 6.3 assists per game (the previous season with the Hawks) and those 1.1 steals per game (twice). You wish that he was a better shooter (just 33.7% career on 3-pointers) which no doubt makes Smart smile but at least he's a good free throw shooter (83.1% for his career). Dennis is listed at 6-foot-3 but only 172 pounds so new Celtics head coach Ime Udoka will surely need to be creative at times to protect him defensively and let the much bigger and stronger Smart take on the league's larger guards. I never thought in my life that I'd cheer for this joker but as long as he doesn't act like too much of a jackass, this is a solid move by Brad Stevens so late in free agency. Realistically, you couldn't have expected a much better player than him and we all like Payton Pritchard but he should never be more than a backup guard at this level.  

C's Not Only Lost A Winnable Game Vs. The Lakers But Marcus Smart Might Be Out For A Long Time

 

    Tonight served as a double gut punch for the Celtics (10-8 overall, 5-3 home) at TD Garden as they had two late shots that would have won it but neither fell as they lost 96-95 to the defending champion Lakers (15-6 overall, 11-2 road). Even worse than that, Boston's guard Marcus Smart (7 assists, 2 steals) went down with a scary looking injury that the team called a "left calf injury" but all the wannabe medical experts on social media were quick to theorize that it was a dreaded Achilles injury. Smart will get an MRI tomorrow as we await word on their defensive leader and one of the true heart and soul players of the team. After they forced a steal from Lakers star Anthony Davis (team-high 27 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals), the Celts got a great look at a game-winning stepback jumper for guard Kemba Walker (1-of-12 for 4 points) but it missed and center Daniel Theis' (14 points, 7 rebounds) rushed followup also rimmed out as time expired.

    This would have been a great signature win for the Celtics because forward Jayson Tatum (game-high 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (28 points) actually outplayed Davis and superstar LeBron James (21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) who is still one of the best players in the league in his 17th season which is absurd on many levels. I'm not saying that Tatum and Brown are better than AD and LBJ, that's preposterous but this was tangible proof that they belong in the conversation for one of the best duos in the NBA right now. Point guard Dennis Schroder (12 points, 7 assists) was the only other Lakers starter to score in double-figures. Center Montrezl Harrell (16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) and small forward Kyle Kuzma (11 points, 6 rebounds) were both good off the bench for LA. 

    Boston's bench was terrible as they got outscored 35-15 by LA's bench. Five substitutes played for the Celtics but center Robert Williams (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) surprisingly was the only one to really do anything positive. It was a tight game basically the whole way as the Lakers were up 28-24 after the first quarter and the Celtics got a little closer by halftime, trailing by three points (52-49). Boston made their move in the third quarter (29-19) but they wilted under the pressure of the fourth quarter as the Lakers avoided their third straight defeat with a solid final frame (25-17). Boston shot almost five percent better from the field (48.8%-44.0%) but Los Angeles hit three more 3-pointers (9-6) and four more free throws (13-9) along with grabbing three more rebounds (45-42) including four more offensive boards (13-9). The C's had four more assists (24-20), two more steals (10-8) and two more blocked shots (6-4) which shows you how close the margin for defeat turned out to be. 

    Boston is about to embark on by far their toughest (and longest) road trip of the season: their next game isn't until Tuesday (10, TNT) as they visit Golden State (11-9) which kicks off five games in a row in California, Arizona and Utah. They see the top two teams in the Western Conference-the Jazz (15-4) and the Clippers (15-5)-and Phoenix (10-8) should be a playoff team this season as well. The only bad team on the trip is the Kings (8-11) but it's the night after the Warriors game so all bets are off there. Any way you slice it, these next few weeks could be very rough for the Celts and they might easily return home (their next game at the Garden is Feb. 11 vs. Toronto) with a losing record. Yikes!

UPDATE 1/31/21: Hello everybody, good news on Marcus Smart's injury. Today, the Celtics said that it's a Grade 1 strain of his left calf. The team said that he'll be out for two to three weeks. Given how serious it appeared to be last night, this is a very positive development. Get well soon, Marcus!