Blazers weak

[danglertx]

They clearly looked like they ran out of gas.  Fourth game in five nights is pretty rough.  They played well early and then crashed in the second half.  Going 4 and 1 on a five game road trip is pretty outstanding, even if you get rolled in the second half of game 5.

[oldtype]

They're on a very similar path to us, only they managed to skip over the part where they actually have to be bad for a year.

[PhoSita]

They're on a very similar path to us, only they managed to skip over the part where they actually have to be bad for a year.

They already did that a couple years ago when they were in the lottery due to injuries.  I think that's when they got McCollum.

They got Lillard courtesy of the Nets.  We're all hoping the Nets do the Celts a similar favor this summer.

[Rosco917]

I think we saw the results of back to back games on the last night of a road trip. The Blazers have been playing well the last month or so. They're really not as bad as they looked.

The fact is, many teams in the NBA do not really work at playing defense. That's the reason teams with superior size, and talent, have worse records than we do, and the organization can't figure why.

Offense gets you big contracts, and defense wins championships. I consider us fortunate to have a team that mostly works hard on D. And our results show it.

[PhoSita]

I think we saw the results of back to back games on the last night of a road trip. The Blazers have been playing well the last month or so. They're really not as bad as they looked.

The fact is, many teams in the NBA do not really work at playing defense. That's the reason teams with superior size, and talent, have worse records than we do, and the organization can't figure why.

Offense gets you big contracts, and defense wins championships. I consider us fortunate to have a team that mostly works hard on D. And our results show it.

I think getting players to buy into the idea that playing the right way within the team concepts, giving maximum effort, and focusing defensively every single night, even when the ball doesn't fall your way on offense, is the hardest challenge for a coach in the NBA.

Stevens got most of these guys to buy in to doing just that last year, and the team has had continued success since then.  The Celts have played above their talent level and enjoyed plenty of wins at this point, and I think now the players trust that if they play the right way, it will pay off in the long run.  This is a testament to Stevens and to the players.

The next test for the Celts is how they respond to adversity, when things don't work out for them even as guys are playing with energy and focusing on defense.

[CelticPride2016]

That was an interesting game. Sometimes we are so good that the other team's spirit is crushed. Houston fired McHale because of the Celtics. Portland got abused.

The NBA is a rough league. The Knicks got pounded by Portland. They are falling apart. We pounded Portland. It'll be unfair if Stevens doesn't get coach of the year. We just have to finish strong.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/sports/basketball/carmelo-anthony-disowns-the-knicks-apology.html

We will get a good look at solid teams soon. The schedule is about to get bumpy. I put their current power win ranking projection at 50, maybe 52 wins. We just have to remain healthy, get Olynyk back, and don't be afraid to play anyone on the roster, especially Jordan Mickey. He looks ready made.

[Celtics18]

Our record in back-to-backs is fairly well known at this point.  Playing well on the second night is something our team excels at.

What I don't know, but would like to, is how do we fare, overall, against other teams on back-to-backs? I would suspect it would be something we would rank highly in.  I haven't seen any numbers on that, though. 

If someone does have that info, you'll definitely get TPs for sharing.

[max215]

I'm surprised the Blazers have been as good as they have been. Their backcourt is awesome, but doesn't play defense. Nobody in their front court scares me. Allen Crabbe might be their third best player, and he's a role player coming off the bench.

And yet, more often than not, it has worked.

The Blazers suck. It's basically two guys playing basketball while the other three stand around and watch. It's not like they are a good defensive team either. Probably  the worst frontcourt in the league. I don't understand how they are .500

Good coaching, and therefore passable team defense, elite offense on the back of their awesome backcourt, and not going up against teams as well coached and with as good defenses as the Celts every night. It's exactly how we had a middling offense early in the year, but an elite defense, and were just over .500. Our offense is now excellent, our defense is still excellent, and we rank among the NBA's elite. Playing one side of the ball, provided the other side is passable (i.e., not Houston) allows you to win a number of games.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

What did we do in our last game of our 4 in 5 on the road this season?