Hawks (26-29) at Celtics (32-25) Game #58 2/13/22

[Goldstar88]

11-38 from 3pt, 29.8%. Guess we should be happy any game the C’s attempt less than 40. Wish they would get down to 30 per game, especially now that Richardson (who was shooting 40% from deep) is no longer on the team.

[slamtheking]

watched on tape delay.  today's hot takes:
- big second half by Tatum.  needed him to get untracked because the team's offense was crap.
- JB had second straight game where his head was up his butt.  a lot of bad/dumb plays.
- White was ok. 
- Smart made some really big plays.
- Timelord is just continuing his growth this season.  fantastic to see his development.
- PP is not the answer at back up PG (at least this season)

big picture take: biggest need this offseason is shooting.  pure and simple.  too much reliance on Tatum and Brown to both have good games to have a good chance of winning.   White's showing to be a nice addition but he's one guy that we need to produce as much as JRich and Schroder and that's asking too much.

I would suggest that on the current team we should no longer think of PP as a PG. They need a shooting guard so they need him to fill that role. So far it hasn't been happening.

no matter which guard position he plays, he needs to hit the open shots he's given.  he isn't running an effective offense, providing a lot on D nor rebounding.  his bread and butter is his ability to hit shots and right now, he's an unbuttered roll.

[Goldstar88]

White great on D not so good today on O.

Yeah, 2-10 from 3pt is not going to cut it. Way too many 3’s for someone that is shooting 31% from deep. Either needs to shoot better from 3 or start taking midrange/shots in the paint.

They were good shots mostly. He's got to take them to keep the defense honest.

Just because he’s open, that doesn’t make them good shots, though. Open, yes, but when you can’t make them at a decent clip, they are not good. There is a reason Teams intentionally sag off players that shoot a low percentage.

[slamtheking]

best part of the game -- C's have finally climbed out of the play in bracket.  need to keep climbing that standings ladder

[Celtics4ever]

Basically a 7 man rotation -- PP the 8th guy playing 10 minutes.   I'd so love to see Payton jump in and hit a couple 3's.  He's capable and once he does I think his confidence will carry over.

Not a big fan of the early fourth lineup with Pritchard, the offense stalled with him at point.   He is not a great defender either.  This was not as bad as the three guard lineup the game before.  He needs to hit shots when he is out there or move the ball better.   He has going to have to be used to coming into a game whether he has confidence or not.    Being a starter is not in his future as I see it.   He needs to be able to hit shots cold as he is a basically a shooting specialist and that is his job.   The same is true of Nesmith.

He needs to do something when he gets the opportunity, other than just run up and down the court.  I'd love to see him hit a shot too.  Today, 11 min O points, 1 rebound and 1 assists does not cut it, he was a +10 during that stint but it is clear that was more a function who he was playing with and not his contributions.   Yeah, we won, hoping he gets it.

Today was a great example of why sometimes plus/minus is worthless

There are plenty of reasons to skeptically view a player’s plus-minus — a measure of the game’s point differential while he is on the court — over a one-game sample size. But to pooh-pooh plus-minus entirely, especially after it has been carefully fine-tuned by basketball-savvy statisticians, would be a grave mistake.

Popovich listed a few common causes of noisy results within a single game: A player’s plus-minus can be greatly affected by the play of one of his teammates or one of his opponents, or by the relative strength of a lineup. Garbage time can skew results, as can a brief run of exceptionally strong or poor play.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/19/gregg-popovich-has-point-plus-minus-has-its-value/

- PP is not the answer at back up PG (at least this season)

Agree, he is a SG in a PG body.  He's got room to improve but he has to be able to hit shots when he comes in.   He simply does do enough in other areas of the game to justify being out there if he is not hitting threes.

Grant needs to produce more when he is out there as well.   He has improved immensely but 5 Pts, 4 rebounds and 1 assist and steal in 27 min does not cut it.  Theis can't be ready soon enough.    We do need to rest Al so I like seeing the guys spell him.

[SparzWizard]

Atlanta blowing a double digit lead to a Boston team on Super Bowl Sunday

What’s new?

    

Ouch. Atlanta blew double-digit lead to Boston on Superbowl Sunday. Atlanta fans will never hear the end of it.

[JumpingJudkins]

Not a big fan of the early fourth lineup with Pritchard, the offense stalled with him at point. 

I find it hard to blame Pritchard for the early fourth quarter offense which consisted of the other Celtics bricking five straight threes and then Jaylen dribbling into traffic and throwing a couple of airballs/passes to no one.

That's the way we've played in fourth quarters for almost the entire season ...

[Celtics4ever]

Not a big fan of the early fourth lineup with Pritchard, the offense stalled with him at point. 

I find it hard to blame Pritchard for the early fourth quarter offense which consisted of the other Celtics bricking five straight threes and then Jaylen dribbling into traffic and throwing a couple of airballs/passes to no one.

That's the way we've played in fourth quarters for almost the entire season ...

The offense stalled with him at point..  Smart and White get guys in better position to score when they're ball handling.   Hence, you get better shots.  We started winning when we shortened the rotation.     PP was not a big part of that. 

I do think we need to play Nesmith and Pritchard more at times.   I would play them more in blowouts rather than winnable games when we are playing for a playoff seed.   The three guard lineup last game was terrible, he did not do so hot in the early fourth, that is two strikes as I see it.   

Guys have to produce, it's the way it is in pro sports.

[radiohead]

8 straight wins! We’re learning to win the ugly games with our tough D. On to Philly!

[SHAQATTACK]

Woo hoo …mo wins , mo wins

Missed most of the game due to husbandly Valentines dinner that fell during the game. 

Looks like Tater went off on the Hawks .

[KG Living Legend]

Funny a lot of people were saying if we could just go in a ten game win streak we will be a top four seed. Do you here us knocking? Well let us in!!!

[tenn_smoothie]

Did not see the great ball movement today that we have seen recently. Games get tight in the 4th, I'm afraid Brown and Tatum revert back to their awful "bag of tricks" habits that have been such a huge part of our offensive problems this season. Almost like this "new" way of playing offense is so unfamiliar with them that they panic and go back to the iso style when under pressure. Hopefully, Udoka is persistent and does not allow that to happen. The new style of offense has been so much more effective and fun to watch.

Jaylen Brown, especially, started up with his reckless drives into traffic that result in turnovers or bad shots. A couple of times, however, he pulled himself up short of barreling into the lane and instead pulled his dribble out and passed the ball. It was a little strange to see him make that smart play because he has done it so rarely. Great to see improvements though.

Rob Williams continues to be a big plus for this team - real happy to see him improve like he has.
Continuing to get stronger and developing a little post offense should be next on his to-do list.

[Celtics2021]

I thought Smart played a really good game.  His shot wasn’t falling (although at least two of his misses were heaves when he got the hall with a couple of seconds left on the shot clock), but what I particularly liked was his getting to the line.  I was not happy with how the refs were calling fouls, but Smart seemed to figure out what was a foul this afternoon and got some easy points, which helped stabilize a few possessions.  I was also surprised to see a 7:0 assist-turnover ratio considering how much it felt like the ball stuck with the Js today.  I remember one bad shot early in the first quarter when he ISO’d and bricked a three after Tatum and Jaylen had had their terms with that strategy, but after that, he looked great, and while Trae Young got 30, it was not an efficient 30.

[letsgoblue86]

Did not see the great ball movement today that we have seen recently. Games get tight in the 4th, I'm afraid Brown and Tatum revert back to their awful "bag of tricks" habits that have been such a huge part of our offensive problems this season. Almost like this "new" way of playing offense is so unfamiliar with them that they panic and go back to the iso style when under pressure. Hopefully, Udoka is persistent and does not allow that to happen. The new style of offense has been so much more effective and fun to watch.

Jaylen Brown, especially, started up with his reckless drives into traffic that result in turnovers or bad shots. A couple of times, however, he pulled himself up short of barreling into the lane and instead pulled his dribble out and passed the ball. It was a little strange to see him make that smart play because he has done it so rarely. Great to see improvements though.

Rob Williams continues to be a big plus for this team - real happy to see him improve like he has.
Continuing to get stronger and developing a little post offense should be next on his to-do list.

Rob is MVP this year. But you’re definitely right, if he could add to his offensive arsenal that really changes the equation.

[pablohoney]

Did not see the great ball movement today that we have seen recently. Games get tight in the 4th, I'm afraid Brown and Tatum revert back to their awful "bag of tricks" habits that have been such a huge part of our offensive problems this season. Almost like this "new" way of playing offense is so unfamiliar with them that they panic and go back to the iso style when under pressure. Hopefully, Udoka is persistent and does not allow that to happen. The new style of offense has been so much more effective and fun to watch.

Jaylen Brown, especially, started up with his reckless drives into traffic that result in turnovers or bad shots. A couple of times, however, he pulled himself up short of barreling into the lane and instead pulled his dribble out and passed the ball. It was a little strange to see him make that smart play because he has done it so rarely. Great to see improvements though.

Rob Williams continues to be a big plus for this team - real happy to see him improve like he has.
Continuing to get stronger and developing a little post offense should be next on his to-do list.

I think Jaylen is vulnerable as a playmaker to turnovers because his handle gets too loose.  His handle is really good when he is singleminded about getting to rim on a fast break.  I think he is learning and still getting better.  He has to be willing to accept the growth pains (fans too) because in long run team will be much better.