Wizards (9-41) at Celtics (39-12) Game #52 2/9/24

[libermaniac]

JB's play continues to impress.  Yeah he had 3 turnovers, but he made a ton of great drive and kick out passes after collapsing the defense.  He's been more patient and seeing the floor much better. 

Tatum has proven he's a good passer and can make the right play.  If Brown can do that too, I think we will be celebrating banner 18 soon.

All true.  Jaylen’s been more focused defensively and on the boards as well. And recently gets the award for not over-shooting the three.

The iso stepback three from Tatum - so predictable - is my least favorite shot this year. When JT is fiddling around the line and you know he’s going shoot, I almost feel the way I used to when Marcus hoisted the long ball.

I totally agree about Tatum’s step back 3s. What’s so frustrating is he’s become so good at every other shot or play - driving and finishing, driving and kicking, mid-range, etc. If he would just stop with those step back 3s he’d have perhaps the most efficient game in the NBA.

[ozgod]

Joe feels that the reason fans and media are never satisfied with his team's performance is because our expectations are too high. And when the high expectations aren't met, we are sad. Then after we get sad we get mad at the team when the issue might not be with their performance, which he says will ebb and flow with the season and based on the performances of who we play against, but with our own high expectations being unmet.

“When people’s expectations aren’t met, that to me is where there’s more slippage because it’s ‘oh wait a minute, this didn’t go how I thought it was going to go,’ ” Mazzulla said of the assumption the Celtics should blow out every opponent. “The Wizards are a good team. I watched a lot of film on them and they may have lost games but they lost a lot of close games. I wasn’t surprised the game went the way I thought it was going to go. I think that’s the space we have to live in now.”

“It shouldn’t matter if we’re up 5, down 10 to a team that has a good record or a bad record,” Mazzulla said. “What matters is the process of how we play. We can’t fall into those narratives that, ‘oh this team has nine wins so we should be up by 15.’ Just because it’s a nine-win team doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a close game. We should almost rather want it to be a close game.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/10/sports/celtics-wizards/

So is he right? Are we expecting too much of this team? As one of our more bearish members, @scaryjerry said, did we really think they would be world beaters because we went 20-0 at home which made us think they were better than they really are? Maybe this uneven performance is really who they are - unbeatable one day trash the next. Or unbeatable one quarter trash the next. After all, it's not like other teams are blowing everyone away either. Or is it just Joe gaslighting us and making excuses again for his own incompetence and his team of clankers?

[Birdman]

A win is a win no matter who u play against

[Kernewek]

Joe feels that the reason fans and media are never satisfied with his team's performance is because our expectations are too high. And when the high expectations aren't met, we are sad. Then after we get sad we get mad at the team when the issue might not be with their performance, which he says will ebb and flow with the season and based on the performances of who we play against, but with our own high expectations being unmet.

“When people’s expectations aren’t met, that to me is where there’s more slippage because it’s ‘oh wait a minute, this didn’t go how I thought it was going to go,’ ” Mazzulla said of the assumption the Celtics should blow out every opponent. “The Wizards are a good team. I watched a lot of film on them and they may have lost games but they lost a lot of close games. I wasn’t surprised the game went the way I thought it was going to go. I think that’s the space we have to live in now.”

“It shouldn’t matter if we’re up 5, down 10 to a team that has a good record or a bad record,” Mazzulla said. “What matters is the process of how we play. We can’t fall into those narratives that, ‘oh this team has nine wins so we should be up by 15.’ Just because it’s a nine-win team doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a close game. We should almost rather want it to be a close game.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/10/sports/celtics-wizards/

So is he right? Are we expecting too much of this team? As one of our more bearish members, @scaryjerry said, did we really think they would be world beaters because we went 20-0 at home which made us think they were better than they really are? Maybe this uneven performance is really who they are - unbeatable one day trash the next. Or unbeatable one quarter trash the next. After all, it's not like other teams are blowing everyone away either. Or is it just Joe gaslighting us and making excuses again for his own incompetence and his team of clankers?

He is right on a game-to-game level.

As the coach of a team that was widely expected to make the Finals again and didn't, he has less of a leg to stand on. 'Everyone' is going to hold this season against the failures of last year until we make it back to the Finals, fair or not. And while that's the expectation, people will watch for any indication that he or the team are slipping.

[Neurotic Guy]

There’s no doubt in my mind that expectations fuel the degree of frustration. Also true that the Cs have letdowns that are real and will be costly if they happen in the playoffs v. good teams.  And they are over reliant on the three.  I think it’s a legitimate concern that a team that has the capacity to be dominant has been less dominant in their play recently.  It’s reminiscent of last year even though they are pulling out wins this year that would have been losses last year.

 On the plus side, those wins matter and it may be a sign of some resilience that will be valuable in the postseason -- if for some reason a person wanted to be optimistic.

[SHAQATTACK]

There’s no doubt in my mind that expectations fuel the degree of frustration. Also true that the Cs have letdowns that are real and will be costly if they happen in the playoffs v. good teams.  And they are over reliant on the three.  I think it’s a legitimate concern that a team that has the capacity to be dominant has been less dominant in their play recently.  It’s reminiscent of last year even though they are pulling out wins this year that would have been losses last year.

 On the plus side, those wins matter and it may be a sign of some resilience that will be valuable in the postseason -- if for some reason a person wanted to be optimistic.

TP

[SHAQATTACK]

A win is a win no matter who u play against

True .

In my mind though, defeat of the Lakers is worth gold no matter how good or bad they are.

[cman88]

Joe feels that the reason fans and media are never satisfied with his team's performance is because our expectations are too high. And when the high expectations aren't met, we are sad. Then after we get sad we get mad at the team when the issue might not be with their performance, which he says will ebb and flow with the season and based on the performances of who we play against, but with our own high expectations being unmet.

“When people’s expectations aren’t met, that to me is where there’s more slippage because it’s ‘oh wait a minute, this didn’t go how I thought it was going to go,’ ” Mazzulla said of the assumption the Celtics should blow out every opponent. “The Wizards are a good team. I watched a lot of film on them and they may have lost games but they lost a lot of close games. I wasn’t surprised the game went the way I thought it was going to go. I think that’s the space we have to live in now.”

“It shouldn’t matter if we’re up 5, down 10 to a team that has a good record or a bad record,” Mazzulla said. “What matters is the process of how we play. We can’t fall into those narratives that, ‘oh this team has nine wins so we should be up by 15.’ Just because it’s a nine-win team doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a close game. We should almost rather want it to be a close game.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/10/sports/celtics-wizards/

So is he right? Are we expecting too much of this team? As one of our more bearish members, @scaryjerry said, did we really think they would be world beaters because we went 20-0 at home which made us think they were better than they really are? Maybe this uneven performance is really who they are - unbeatable one day trash the next. Or unbeatable one quarter trash the next. After all, it's not like other teams are blowing everyone away either. Or is it just Joe gaslighting us and making excuses again for his own incompetence and his team of clankers?

in the regular season, teams are going to play close games against trash teams or even lose to them. its what happens when you play 82 games. there can be game to game variances even for the worst teams where guys can play out of their mind.

so Joe is right in that aspect. the doom and gloom when the Celtics don't blow out every team by 30 points or go 82-0 is over the top.

but at the same token, this team should NOT have lost to an 8th seeded Miami. so if its about the playoffs he doesn't have a leg to stand on there. because in a 7 game series the better/more talented team should/almost always does win.

[Phantom255x]

Remember the Bruins last year? Historic season all-time, lot of blowout wins, and then come the first round it definitely looked like a team that got punched in the mouth, faced some adversity and suddenly had no idea how to respond. They lost in 7 games that first round series to the Panthers.

It's a long season and like most teams, I think they are just trying to get to the All-Star break to relax and reset. They aren't blowing teams out every night, it's just not possible for anyone.

One thing that does have me slightly concerned though is Jrue Holiday in the 4th. At times it feels like he makes poor decisions, tries to do too much, turns it over and also settles for a bad shot. Hopefully that's not a problem come playoffs.

[Donoghus]

Remember the Bruins last year? Historic season all-time, lot of blowout wins, and then come the first round it definitely looked like a team that got punched in the mouth, faced some adversity and suddenly had no idea how to respond. They lost in 7 games that first round series to the Panthers.

It's a long season and like most teams, I think they are just trying to get to the All-Star break to relax and reset. They aren't blowing teams out every night, it's just not possible for anyone.

One thing that does have me slightly concerned though is Jrue Holiday in the 4th. At times it feels like he makes poor decisions, tries to do too much, turns it over and also settles for a bad shot. Hopefully that's not a problem come playoffs.

Different sports. 

In hockey, you're much more susceptible to upsets.  Cream tends to rise more to the top in basketball.