Celtics (29-26) at Lakers (34-21) Game #56 4/15/21

[celts55]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

[PAOBoston]

The 3rd stringers literally almost blew a 24 pt lead in 3 minutes. That’s on the players, not Brad. I’m tired of watching Tremont Waters. He’s the worst player on the roster by a wide margin. He’s hopeless as an NBA player. He has so regressed so much it is crazy. Literally pushed the ball up the court and took quick shots.

Overall, those guys really should be ashamed. That was an implosion.

[Surferdad]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

[jambr380]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Doesn't help we traded a starter for two 3rd stringers for absolutely no reason (we would be under the tax regardless of that trade). Luckily we've been playing well w/o Theis, but he's clearly better than the Kornet/Wagner duo.

[Sophomore]

A Waters-Edwards backcourt should only be seen in an audition for the Chinese NBL.

Too many turnovers for playoff basketball. Otherwise, we're going to be a tough out if our top 7 are healthy and we clean that up.I'm not afraid of anyone but BKN.

More proof, if we needed it, that Tremont Waters should be playing abroad. It’s possible that in a few years he could be ready to come back (think Brad Wanamaker) but he needs to work on his game. A lot.

[ozgod]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

[Surferdad]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

Yes, of course.  Deep playoff teams generally don't have a lot of injuries.

[Neurotic Guy]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

Yes -- when you have 2 of the top 5 players in the league like the Lakers or 3 top 10 (KI is close if not top 10) like the Nets, it's less of a concern to have injuries to supporting cast.  And is there any reason to believe that the C's will have a healthy 8/9-man rotation throughout the playoffs? So digging deep into the bench will be necessary at some point.

BTW - Fournier is starter level, the Thompson of late is borderline, and Pritchard -- not yet.  These 3 aren't a championship 6-8, but aren't a disaster either.  Wish Danny could have pulled off another good rotation guy at the deadline.

[Sophomore]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

Yes -- when you have 2 of the top 5 players in the league like the Lakers or 3 top 10 (KI is close if not top 10) like the Nets, it's less of a concern to have injuries to supporting cast.  And is there any reason to believe that the C's will have a healthy 8/9-man rotation throughout the playoffs? So digging deep into the bench will be necessary at some point.

BTW - Fournier is starter level, the Thompson of late is borderline, and Pritchard -- not yet.  These 3 aren't a championship 6-8, but aren't a disaster either.  Wish Danny could have pulled off another good rotation guy at the deadline.

I think you’re leaving out Langford and GWill.

Langford hasn’t been a scorer, but he plays starter-level defense on wings. I don’t know what his peak is on offense this year, but I think if teams just ignore him he will get a few buckets.

G Will’s role is backup power forward. Play him next to Thompson and you have an effective backup frontcourt. Per Jared Weiss: “Over his last 12 games, the Celtics have outscored teams by 15.8 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the court, thanks largely to all the stops they have picked up during his minutes.” People seem to remember his bonehead plays and limits and forget the good plays, which lately outweigh the bad.

Both of these guys have limits, but in the right situation they’re really useful - let us play to matchups. GWill can’t stop Bam or Giannis, nobody does, but he’s a pretty good option to slow those guys down for 10 minutes a game or so.

[Surferdad]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

Yes -- when you have 2 of the top 5 players in the league like the Lakers or 3 top 10 (KI is close if not top 10) like the Nets, it's less of a concern to have injuries to supporting cast.  And is there any reason to believe that the C's will have a healthy 8/9-man rotation throughout the playoffs? So digging deep into the bench will be necessary at some point.

BTW - Fournier is starter level, the Thompson of late is borderline, and Pritchard -- not yet.  These 3 aren't a championship 6-8, but aren't a disaster either.  Wish Danny could have pulled off another good rotation guy at the deadline.

I think you’re leaving out Langford and GWill.

Langford hasn’t been a scorer, but he plays starter-level defense on wings. I don’t know what his peak is on offense this year, but I think if teams just ignore him he will get a few buckets.

G Will’s role is backup power forward. Play him next to Thompson and you have an effective backup frontcourt. Per Jared Weiss: “Over his last 12 games, the Celtics have outscored teams by 15.8 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the court, thanks largely to all the stops they have picked up during his minutes.” People seem to remember his bonehead plays and limits and forget the good plays, which lately outweigh the bad.

Both of these guys have limits, but in the right situation they’re really useful - let us play to matchups. GWill can’t stop Bam or Giannis, nobody does, but he’s a pretty good option to slow those guys down for 10 minutes a game or so.

Well, I'm not sure about that.  I can't see GWill or Langford starting on any team in the NBA, and that's what you need for 6 through 8.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Our bench didn't give away the lead, it was our G-League rotation.

Our bench is so much better than it was a month ago, due to the return of Langford, trading for Fournier and Kornet, and TT not doing weird things off the court that prevent him from getting on the court.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

Yes -- when you have 2 of the top 5 players in the league like the Lakers or 3 top 10 (KI is close if not top 10) like the Nets, it's less of a concern to have injuries to supporting cast.  And is there any reason to believe that the C's will have a healthy 8/9-man rotation throughout the playoffs? So digging deep into the bench will be necessary at some point.

BTW - Fournier is starter level, the Thompson of late is borderline, and Pritchard -- not yet.  These 3 aren't a championship 6-8, but aren't a disaster either.  Wish Danny could have pulled off another good rotation guy at the deadline.

I think you’re leaving out Langford and GWill.

Langford hasn’t been a scorer, but he plays starter-level defense on wings. I don’t know what his peak is on offense this year, but I think if teams just ignore him he will get a few buckets.

G Will’s role is backup power forward. Play him next to Thompson and you have an effective backup frontcourt. Per Jared Weiss: “Over his last 12 games, the Celtics have outscored teams by 15.8 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the court, thanks largely to all the stops they have picked up during his minutes.” People seem to remember his bonehead plays and limits and forget the good plays, which lately outweigh the bad.

Both of these guys have limits, but in the right situation they’re really useful - let us play to matchups. GWill can’t stop Bam or Giannis, nobody does, but he’s a pretty good option to slow those guys down for 10 minutes a game or so.

Well, I'm not sure about that.  I can't see GWill or Langford starting on any team in the NBA, and that's what you need for 6 through 8.

I disagree. Langford is not that far away from being a starter on THIS team. It's going to be hard for him to get offensive reps when he's typically on the court with Tatum and Brown.

[Silas]

We all know Celtics got the worst bench in NBA, so the starters got to play extra minutes which will be their downfall in playoffs..it’s ashamed..but hope Fournier comes back

I don't think a bench of Fournier/Smart, Pritchard, Thompson and Langford is a bad playoff bench

I’ll throw Grant Williams in there also. The problem is really players 10-17. That’s a bunch of G leagues. Bring back IT please.

Sorry, but players 10-17 are completely irrelevant.  It's the top-8 that matter the most in the playoffs.  IMO, top-8 ALL need to be NBA starter-level talent.  When Fournier and RWIII come back, the first 3 off the bench will be Fournier, Pritchard and Thompson.  That's not good enough.

That's assuming no injuries, too.

Yes -- when you have 2 of the top 5 players in the league like the Lakers or 3 top 10 (KI is close if not top 10) like the Nets, it's less of a concern to have injuries to supporting cast.  And is there any reason to believe that the C's will have a healthy 8/9-man rotation throughout the playoffs? So digging deep into the bench will be necessary at some point.

BTW - Fournier is starter level, the Thompson of late is borderline, and Pritchard -- not yet.  These 3 aren't a championship 6-8, but aren't a disaster either.  Wish Danny could have pulled off another good rotation guy at the deadline.

I think you’re leaving out Langford and GWill.

Langford hasn’t been a scorer, but he plays starter-level defense on wings. I don’t know what his peak is on offense this year, but I think if teams just ignore him he will get a few buckets.

G Will’s role is backup power forward. Play him next to Thompson and you have an effective backup frontcourt. Per Jared Weiss: “Over his last 12 games, the Celtics have outscored teams by 15.8 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the court, thanks largely to all the stops they have picked up during his minutes.” People seem to remember his bonehead plays and limits and forget the good plays, which lately outweigh the bad.

Both of these guys have limits, but in the right situation they’re really useful - let us play to matchups. GWill can’t stop Bam or Giannis, nobody does, but he’s a pretty good option to slow those guys down for 10 minutes a game or so.

Well, I'm not sure about that.  I can't see GWill or Langford starting on any team in the NBA, and that's what you need for 6 through 8.

A premature assessment about Romeo at 21 with only 37 games played.

[Ogaju]

My issue with Brad is that he didn't pull the third stringers out of the game fast enough - he allowed the Lakers to cut the lead to single digits before subbing our starters back into the game.

No issue with the way it was handled at all. I don’t think he should have re-inserted the starters. The team would have held on, and if they didn’t it would have been on them. That was an epic choke job.

[Ogaju]

My issue with Brad is that he didn't pull the third stringers out of the game fast enough - he allowed the Lakers to cut the lead to single digits before subbing our starters back into the game.

Brad is a player's coach first and foremost. Doubtless he subbed in those young men to give them an opportunity to earn some playing time, or to try and showcase themselves to stay in the NBA next year. Also he probably wanted to reward his starters and rotation players by sitting them early at the end of a 3 game road trip, and reward those end of bench guys who probably work hard in practice but never see the court. What he didn't expect was for them to implode with consecutive turnovers, fouls and poor decision making.

Here's the timeline for the subs. At the time the Fakers had this team on the floor: Cacok (2.4ppg), McKinnie (3ppg), Antetokounmpo (0.8ppg), Horton-Tucker (8.7ppg), McLemore (10.6ppg)

• 7:01 - Wagner checks in for Kornet, score is Celtics lead 113-86 (27 point lead)
• 6:16 - Nesmith checks in for GWill, score is 113-89 (24 point lead)
• 5:33 - Waters checks in for Pritchard, Ojeleye checks in for Langford, score is 113-89 (24 point lead)

Between 5:33 and 1:50 (3:37) Wagner, Nesmith, Waters, Ojeleye, and Edwards gave up 17 points, turned the ball over 5 times (3 to Wagner with offensive foul, traveling and bad pass), 1 to Edwards (traveling), 1 to Waters (bad pass), committed 4 fouls, and shot 1-5. And this was with Brad calling (others would call it wasting) a timeout with 3:29 to go with the score 115-102.

Finally Brad had enough after the Fakers scored 6 more points in the 1:41 after his timeout and he put his Big 3 back in along with GWill and Kornet. Clearly to try and make a point.

• 1:50 - Kornet checks in for Edwards, GWill checks in for Wagner, Jaylen checks in for Nesmith, Smart checks in for Waters, Tatum checks in for Ojeleye, score is 115-108 (7 point lead)

So looking at the sequence of events above, I'm not sure on what planet Brad takes the blame over and above the players who were on the court from the 7:01 mark to the 1:50 mark. The lead was nearly 30 points against the Fakers 3rd string. Cacok, McKinnie, the baby Antetokoumnpo, these guys play like 5 mins a game. And Horton Tucker and McLemore are hardly LeBum and AD. They're not even Kuzma and KCP. Vogel had raised the white flag long ago. So we're going to blame Brad for not leaving starters or rotation players in against these guys? He's trying to preserve players for the playoffs. Imagine the outrage if someone gets injured, whether it's a starter or a key player like Pritchard or Langford. The outrage would be far, far greater than the stick Brad is taking right now for putting in guys who he wants to try to give some playing time that would ordinarily never see the court, some opportunity in case we DO get injuries and these guys have to play more minutes than they are right now.

I know Brad gets a lot of hate and criticism here, more so because the team has performed poorly this season. But honestly, we have many other, more valid things to blame him on than this. He didn't do anything that 99% of other coaches wouldn't do: sub in reserves during a blowout to give them some PT and an opportunity to earn more PT; call a timeout to compose those guys, who were probably panicking because they haven't been in a garbage time situation where the other team (of 3rd stringers too) make a run; give them an opportunity to dig themselves out of the hole they created and hopefully avoid having to send his starters back out there and increase the risk of them getting injured; and finally making the decision to send them back out there to preserve the victory.

Hindsight is 20/20 and it probably felt different to us who were watching the Fakers catch up in real time but if you look at the sequence of events above, in my humble opinion there has to be some personal responsibility, and it rests with the 5 guys who were on the court and who ended up with +/- of -17 and -20 when everyone else was a +11 to +20 and Jaylen being a +36. And to me it's not even so much that they don't have the ability, sure they're end of bench guys but they're playing other end of bench guys. They came in thinking it was going to be Gino time cakewalk and they got a rude surprise, and Brad gave them every opportunity to get themselves out of it before he had to step in to preserve the win.

In any case, way too much time has been taken hashing this unsavory end to the game (including by me  ) it's a shame it's taken away from what has been a great road trip and a solid run by the team. We have our two stars firing on all cylinders and the rest of the team, end of benchers aside, seems to be heading in the right direction. And this has all happened without Fournier, so there's only more upside to go.

TP Oz, great post. My only issue with Brad is bailing out those miscreants. He should have left them in there to see if they would really blow that game. It was 100% on them. Brad did nothing wrong.