1. boston celtics 3 losses in the last 4 games.It could have been a four-game losing streak if it weren’t for the incredible comeback los angeles lakersDuring that period, this is the first loss considered a really bad loss.
of orlando magic Better than 10-20 records. They have now won half the games during his five-game winning streak. Now that they’re healthy, Magic is starting to show they can play.
But…they were 1-11 on their way into this game. At home to Boston, he’s 11-2, all of his previous losses in overtime. And the Celtics have much more experience.
Simply put, Boston should have won this game. No matter how good Orlando is playing right now, they shouldn’t come to the TD Garden and beat the Celtics.
2. The Celtics’ missing shot was the primary cause of the loss. After hitting everything in his first month and a half of the season, the Celtics have cooled considerably in recent weeks.
Boston started 5-7 deep in the first five minutes or so. They finished the game with him 11/46. That’s 6-39 in the last 43 minutes of the game.
Worse? The Celtics posted his 5/27 really bad on his 3-point shot wide open. Dialing down to only open threes, Boston had him 3/14. This is him 8/41 on an open or wide open shot.
In a game where the Celtics regularly reached the free-throw line (made 34 free throws), it might have helped Boston enough to pass a 3-point shot. But do we really want a team that’s as hot as they are open to open looks? Probably not.
3. Orlando is not a great shooting team. This is a recipe for significantly reducing offensive rebounds. When Mo Bamba grabbed his 5 offensive his board and Moe Wagner hooked his 4, you can shrug. But with 20-second chances he allows a total of 15 offenses for points and he rebounds, it becomes a problem.
What’s really bad is that Markelle Fultz allowed herself to steal three offensive rebounds. Fultz was almost always the smallest or he was the second smallest player on the floor. But he had reached the offensive glass at will.
Long rebounds are always precarious for defense, but Fultz is quicker on the ball than anyone here in Boston:
This play begins with Fultz hitting the floor mid-paint. It ends with him pushing his two Boston players to the board.
Rob Williams just got back, so his timing is clearly not there. But he won’t get any kind of body on Fultz until it’s too late here:
4. The Celtics had 14 turnovers, which isn’t a terrible number. However, Boston had eight more near-his turnovers. Ball handling and passing were sloppy throughout the match, especially Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown himself has seven freebies and four plays in what should have been turnovers in the first half alone. Tatum only managed to win the ball twice, but he mishandled it on several occasions, throwing himself and the offense out of rhythm.
It’s sloppy basketball. Only Boston’s excellent transition defense and Orlando’s own sporadic offense kept points from turnovers from becoming a huge problem.
5. Al Horford was ejected early in the third quarter. Horford threw an elbow to Mo Wagner on an inbounds blow and replays show he made contact. It’s unclear what upset Horford to the point of throwing his elbows, even though Jayson Tatum said after the game that Horford was just trying to free himself.
Either way, the Celtics began to fall apart after that play. The Magic stole his 8-0 run to extend their lead to 19. Boston put in a few runs but never truly threatened after that.
Tatum picked up a technical foul on himself during that Orlando run. His complaint was valid because he was hit on an earlier drive, but he was away from Boston and didn’t need to bring it up on point for a technical foul. It should be, but all too often the referee comes to mind.
6. Boston’s off-ball defense, especially Jaylen Brown, remains a mystery. In a switching defense, the Celtics ask everyone to hold on to whoever they pick up. There have been many times this season when Brown has lost focus when away from play. This is a simple backcut by Moe Wagner for easy dunking when Brown falls asleep off-ball.
There are a lot of such clips this season. Brown isn’t the only attacker, but teams have found that they can easily cut him off the ball when he’s guarding.
7. Notice some positives. The big one was back and both looked pretty good!
Starting with Al Horford, he played well before being thrown. The Celtics really missed him being a threat from the deep in the last few games. His three points in this trailing are a big part of the offense that Boston has not had in the West Coast swing.
Horford is also the team’s premier rim protector. He regularly asks his teammates for help. This is a clever play that puts his player down for Franz to block his Wagner shot.
Horford can hold his own even in one-on-one defense. This is good for Paolo Banchero:
8. We saved him until the endgame, but Rob Williams is back! And he looked pretty good too. Williams looked fast and bouncy. which is the best? He didn’t seem to support his legs/knees at all, not dragging up and down his court like we saw in the playoffs last season.
Williams made his presence felt less than two minutes into the game with a Marcus Smart lob.
After picking up a few rust-affected fouls early on, Williams did better in the second half stint. To start the second quarter, he did what only he could do on this team and sent this shot to the sheet.
There is always the fear that players coming back from injury will be tightened up at halftime. Williams was ready. This was a loud putback he dunked.
A little later, Jason Tatum threw it almost near the rim, believing Williams would take care of the rest.
Welcome back Rob! It’s great to have you.
9. Consider this a modest proposal…should Joe Mazura consider changing his rotation?
Some of that will happen naturally with Rob Williams back. But Mazura should be able to do a little more.
Sam Hauser has started the season furiously from behind the arc. From downtown he won big, 6-3, Charlotte Hornets, Hauser suffered a shooting slump. He’s only 24.2% of his distance from behind the arc over the past nine games.
Maybe it’s time to consider going a little smaller and giving Peyton Pritchard a few minutes. That means more 3-guard lineups, but that’s okay. Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White have both endured the small forward’s defense, and with Rob Williams back, he’ll help clear things up inside.
Hauser doesn’t have to be out of rotation forever. he earns more than that. But giving Hauser a few games to clear his head might help. It’s time to change things up with at least some games.
Also, expanding the rotation to 10 men per game is fine. That way, it will help you keep everyone’s minutes while being ready for when you need to.
10. The good news for the Celtics? They can get a bad taste out of their mouths in no time. Boston will host Orlando again on Sunday afternoon.
The Celtics hit a rough patch but still have the best record in the league at 22-8. It’s not the time to panic just yet, even if Boston can’t win back this win. But it’s time to start asking some questions.
On Sunday, look for better, more focused efforts. It puts Boston back on track and moves this homestand in a positive direction.
