I'm becoming more and more convinced of the idea that the Celts let their early successes, team and individual growth and Al's signing go to their heads.
They're clearly not playing defense and drifted from what made them successful. It took a 37 point effort from IT tonight to beat PHI without Embiid, Noel, Covington, and Bayless? That's horrible, and again the intensity just wasn't there.
I thought Bradley played well, but right now he's overly focused on offense. Remember that being an issue for him? He's in great shape, but not strong enough to maintain a high level of play on both ends (why Crowder's not overrated). I've always based Avery's effort on whether he fought through screens in the half court -- nothing else would tire him out more, but he did a nice job of it in the past. He didn't tonight though.
Crowder was also a letdown. Took some really bad shots and didn't seem interested in defense. He's giving up a lot of height to Saric, but he was getting bullied down into the paint by him too. That can't happen.
Smart... effort and defense, but wow -- what do you do with him on offense? He can't keep bombing away if he's ever going to contribute offensively. I just think they believe they're an elite team in the East, but hopefully they'll adjust quickly. Al is really good -- a little better than I ever thought -- and he can make a big difference, but that's just icing on the cake come playoffs. Need to re-establish the defense just to compete for that necessary #3 seed.