Celtics (40-23) at Clippers (37-25) Game #64 3/6/17

[Ogaju]

Worst display of shooting I have possibly ever seen by the Celtics. How does it look on TV?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Worst display of shooting I have possibly ever seen by the Celtics. How does it look on TV?

I think they shot worse against Phoenix—barely over 30%, I think; tonight they're at 36%. But yeah, that's still pretty bad.

This has been a rough sports night for me. The Bruins had a chance to tie the Senators for sixth in the East but lost to the Senators 4-2; and the dang Grizzlies let the Nets win (Sean Kilpatrick got to the line 17 TIMES!). Come on, Cs!!!

[manl_lui]

is it just me or is IT kind of reckless and more wild since the all star break

his ego is like the housing bubble in 2008

 

so you're saying we should short Thomas 

[hwangjini_1]

Half time and still ahead. I'll take that.

Smart's stat line looks real good.how is he looking?

[saltlover]

Half time and still ahead. I'll take that.

Smart's stat line looks real good.how is he looking?

Better than his box score line, like normal.   

[Ogaju]

Celtic nation representing at Staples. So proud to be a Celtic fan.

[chilidawg]

is it just me or is IT kind of reckless and more wild since the all star break

his ego is like the housing bubble in 2008

 

so you're saying we should short Thomas 

A little late for that, wouldn't you say.

[hwangjini_1]

Half time and still ahead. I'll take that.

Smart's stat line looks real good.how is he looking?

Better than his box score line, like normal.   

Ha, ha.  Good one. Tp for the wit.

[chilidawg]

Worst display of shooting I have possibly ever seen by the Celtics. How does it look on TV?

Lots of good ball movement, getting good shots, just can't make em.  A couple of the worst alley oops ever though.

[jpotter33]

Question - are we a better defensive team without Horford?  There was an article I read today that was positing this.

I mean, having a 2/3/4/5 of AB, Jaylen, Jae, and Amir might make a bit more sense defensively than having Al at the 4. Sure, we're small and that hurts, but it's not like Al's presence would've helped that much on the boards anyways.

No, we are not.  Al in that lineup instead of Amir is superior.

Agreed. The problem isnt Al, it's that Amir and Al are a bad combo

Al and Amir are +7.7 per 100 possessions when on the court.  No player has a better net rating when paired with Horford.  There might be some noise in there, of course, but the data doesn't show that they are a bad combo.

What are the offensive and defensive ratings for that combo? They're good offensively, but I think that combo is a source of a lot of our defensive issues

I think it's matchup specific, too. Like against Love and Cleveland, that's a bad matchup, as we saw in the only matchup they've both been available where Love torched Al.

Both of the Morris twins have had bouts of success against Horford's perimeter D, too, along with Marvin Williams in Charlotte. Essentially, Al struggles with the stretch 4's that are quicker and can stretch beyond the three point line.

Al leads all NBA centers in 3-point shots defended.

Does that account for both makes and misses, or does "defended" mean missed threes?

EDIT: And calling Al a "center" is a bit of a misnomer, too, because he plays a lot of his minutes as the PF next to Amir.

It accounts for makes and misses.  Players shoot 32.6% on 3s when defended by him, which is 17th of 69 centers who defend at least one three per game.

NBA.com calls him a center -- I just filtered by his position.  But he plays fewer than half his minutes with Amir on the court, so he's appropriately classified.

Do they have particular matchup statistics? I'd be interested to see which teams' players he defends better and worse.

[jpotter33]

Bae and Amir!!

[liam]

Bae and Amir!!

That was something!

[footey]

Brown an underrated passer

[jpotter33]

OMG AB! Two Sportcenter highlight reels tonight on Paul!!

[liam]

Brown an underrated passer

Yeah, he sees the floor well.