Celtics (39-16) at Lakers (42-12) Game #56 2/23/20

[Neurotic Guy]

Brutally tense game to watch.  Love that the C's played well enough to win in LA.  The Hayward missed layup and missed follow with about 50 seconds left was a killer.  Would have put C's up 4.

Bad call on the ball underneath -- off Davis.  Also bad missed call on the push on Tatum with 15 seconds left. Should have had FTs to tie it -- but pass was a bad one by Jaylen.   The Tech on Brad was ridiculous but the T was missed.   Nice turnaround by Lebron.  Tough shot. But he made it.

I hate the Lakers.

[liam]

I should never watch games were Marc Davis is a ref. It's always junk.

[SparzWizard]

We really missed Walker's offense tonight

[liam]

Brutally tense game to watch.  Love that the C's played well enough to win in LA.  The Hayward missed layup and missed follow with about 50 seconds left was a killer.  Would have put C's up 4.

Bad call on the ball underneath -- off Davis.  Also bad missed call on the push on Tatum with 15 seconds left. Should have had FTs to tie it -- but pass was a bad one by Jaylen.   The Tech on Brad was ridiculous but the T was missed.   Nice turnaround by Lebron.  Tough shot. But he made it.

I hate the Lakers.

Don't forget the phantom out of bounds call on Jaylen! Too many bad calls to count them all!

[blink]

good game

not the refs faults

learn from this lost

get better

*sippin*

You serious??

Brown out of bounds

Anthony Davis over the back/off pinky

KCP push on Tatum

I agree with Triboy -
It wasn't just one bad call it was multiple ones.  Jaylen was not out of bounds on that save to Tatum, that was a horrible call too.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I believe we have a Superstar in the making in Jayson Tatum....and JB isn't that far behind.

Proud of how the 21 YO stepped up today.

Except neither Tatum nor any other Celtic gets superstar calls. LeBron ALWAYS get them.

[KGs Knee]

We really missed Walker's offense tonight

Very true

Also, having at least one of our top 5 come off the bench mitigates what a disaster they otherwise are.

[SCeltic34]

As transcendent as Tatum was tonight, this game also exposed the next step he needs to take:  punishing teams with his vision.  When the Lakers sent two bodies at him, it largely stymied our offense.  We need to do a much better job of finding the open man when that happens, and it starts with Tatum.  I know it's not fair to ask even more of a guy who was already our best player tonight by far.  But if we're going to contend, that's a part of his game that he needs to unlock. 

Frustrating to lose this one, but it was a great game nonetheless.  I didn't like how the referees involved themselves in the game the way they did.  But it is what it is. 

Let's get the next one.

Agreed.  I'm actually glad Tatum had some in game experience seeing double teams and different looks.  Hopefully it helps him grow as a player and be able to read the defense quicker and make the right pass at the right time.  If he can make his teammates consistently better that's what will make him a true superstar.

[konkmv]

Lebron and co do understand that every call has value at this stage.. and they are using the refs for their favour.. we need guys to step up and challenge them not only physically but mentally too.. we will reach there.. give more time to langford and Williams.. and more shots.. both playing defence.. and unafraid to challenge.. I think next year they will score more.. for me they are rotation guys already.. I am delighted with romeo.. he is unafraid and challenged lebron..

[Atzar]

I believe we have a Superstar in the making in Jayson Tatum....and JB isn't that far behind.

Proud of how the 21 YO stepped up today.

Except neither Tatum nor any other Celtic gets superstar calls. LeBron ALWAYS get them.

Man, it's hard to say that on a night when Tatum had 15 FTs. 

[jpotter33]

Thanks Brad! Yet another game you've blown for us because you hoard your dang timeouts. Every single person watchign saw that possession was going nowhere, yet you stand there with your hands in your pocket. Such a joke. Should be held accountable for your continued flaws in in-game management.

There's only 1 timeout left and you are down 1. If you call a timeout and you do not score you are immediately screwed with that much time on the clock.

If you hold on to your timeout you always have the option of fouling and still can have a timeout so you can bring the ball up for a sidecourt throw in.

You think about scenarios like this and give yourself a chance and not put all your eggs in 1 basket.

Naw. That possession was clearly disjointed from the get-go, and you absolutely call a timeout there, let alone after you see how disjointed it starts off. You absolutely take the sure thing there when you know for sure you have possession. You can't guarantee that you even get the ball back with that little time left, as it just takes a single errant pass for a turnover (we had 17 tonight) and you don't get another chance to win it.

[RockinRyA]

Sometimes I wish Brad would just unleash JT and do away with his substitution patterns, specially when the other Cs aren’t doing much. It’s frustrating when you see JT going off and then Brad sits him down for a long stretch. He had like 37 points at the end of the 3rd and ended up with just 41.

Tatum almost played the whole 3rd. He needs to rest as well. We dont want more injuries. Also him scoring just 4 points has more to do with the Lakers doubling him as soon as he makes a move.

Now that Tatum is seeing double team, the next step is his playmaking. Its going to get challenged. He will need to learn to make the right reads and make a good pass out of the double. The Celtics will also need to tweak their offense to account for this. Its easier with Kemba instead of Smart, but he will still need to let go of the ball quicker.

[tenn_smoothie]

Brutally tense game to watch.  Love that the C's played well enough to win in LA.  The Hayward missed layup and missed follow with about 50 seconds left was a killer.  Would have put C's up 4.

Bad call on the ball underneath -- off Davis.  Also bad missed call on the push on Tatum with 15 seconds left. Should have had FTs to tie it -- but pass was a bad one by Jaylen.   The Tech on Brad was ridiculous but the T was missed.   Nice turnaround by Lebron.  Tough shot. But he made it.

I hate the Lakers.

Don't forget the phantom out of bounds call on Jaylen! Too many bad calls to count them all!

Why did Stevens not challenge that call. Brown was obviously in bounds and made a good save?

[apc]

good game

not the refs faults

learn from this lost

get better

*sippin*

You serious??

Brown out of bounds

Anthony Davis over the back/off pinky

KCP push on Tatum

I agree with Triboy -
It wasn't just one bad call it was multiple ones.  Jaylen was not out of bounds on that save to Tatum, that was a horrible call too.

Not on the refs - good game overall , needed more from Hayward.
Bench is not good enough. Very silly turnovers !!!

[GreenFaith1819]

I believe we have a Superstar in the making in Jayson Tatum....and JB isn't that far behind.

Proud of how the 21 YO stepped up today.

Except neither Tatum nor any other Celtic gets superstar calls. LeBron ALWAYS get them.

I hear ya, Brother....

I think Tatum is starting to get "some" love from the officials...but he clearly has a ways to go, though..

I had a scary feeling that if the game was close the refs would game us and they did.