Celtics (2-1) at 76ers (1-2) Round 2 Game #4 5/7/23

[tenn_smoothie]

The key to beating Philly is taking harden out of the game. Not embiid.

And the only thing that beats you is a three. Cannot even allow that shot to happen. Give up the two. Tie game.

CALL TIMEOUT and play to win the game.

All that takes smart players and a coach who is on top of his game without his head up his ass. Simple requirements that we don't have. Half of this is on Brad and the worst part is he will not fire Joe, even if we were to lose this series.

[libermaniac]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Ya. He’s terrible. 18 boards. 4 blocks. Makes the go ahead 3 with 35 seconds. Find Marcus for the wide open look to end regulation. He’s downright awful. 🙄

[Mahk E Mahk]

Joe shoulda called a TO at the end of regulation.  We needed one point to win, not a 3.

Joe shoulda emphasized NO helping off of Harden or anyone at the 3.  Play straight up D and force them to tie.

Joe should called a TO at the end of OT.  I really believe it's arrogant on his part.  As if he wanted to be able to say "I trust my guys" in the post game conference. 

Just dumb coaching.  He needs to put them in a better position to win.  That's on him.

The lack of timeouts is to keep the mismatches on the floor. Harden is likely not on the court if Joe calls a timeout either time there, and the Sixers likely have a plan to double or catch the Celtics flat-footed right away on the catch.

I think no TO was the right move at the end of regulation. It's something both Brad and Ime did a lot. I'm not sure if this was the right move on the last play of the game, but their offense was doing really well attacking mismatches down the stretch and I liked the look they got (just too late). I'm not sure I like our chances any better if we have an inbounds play with 4 seconds left, those are very tough to execute.

Fair point.  But Joe gave them a chance at end of regulation and it was a bad shot.  We didn't need a 3.  Plus, I'd rather have a designed play even with Harden subbed out than no shot at all.

100%. the C’s are notorious for really bad iso, step-back threes when they need a bucket, so a timely TO and a few minutes to calm down and review their best situational ATO was the appropriate call. the sixers defensive matchups aren’t a concern; they’re significantly outgunned by the C’s talent. give me our best five on the floor vs. whomever doc wants to trot out as “defensive stoppers” and i like our chances.

in the final analysis, not calling a TO both times was the wrong call, as we witnessed marcus failing to convert twice. this is a disgrace when you have the J’s on the floor, as well as brogdon, who would have been the perfect third option, if the sixers sold out to stop the J’s.

consequently, it’s 2-2, instead of 3-1, with the pivotal game five looming and the sixers still very much alive. disgraceful.

Both of those final plays were called for Tatum. It’s not like they called Smart’s number. The shot at the end of the regulation was a great look. The best you can hope for even if you called a timeout.

The end of OT was a failure on Smarts part to take too long getting the ball in Tatum’s hands and subsequently a failure on Tatum’s part not recognizing that there was no time for a kick out. Bug overall that’s either an issue with the coach not instructing them to push the pace given they were down or that’s on Smart. Hard to tell without being in the locker room.

you’re making my point in favor of a TO. the reason for a TO is to game plan the off-ball action (screens, picks) in order to get your best player a clean look, and prevent the team from taking too long, not pushing the pace, not being aware of the clock and the situation (i.e. we need a two, not a three). you also game plan the plan B, which should have been JB, not marcus, as well as the option if the sixers foolishly sell out to stop both J’s.

remember phil jackson calling a TO to draw up a play for jordan against the jazz in game six, but also planning the backup in case the jazz double teamed jordan?. kerr was the backup plan and the team knew what to do when jordan was double teamed and kerr hit the game winner. phil got the play he wanted, even when the jazz D sold out to stop jordan. kerr knew his spot and jordan knew where kerr would be to make the game winning shot because they drew it up during a TO. if a TO and ATO are appropriate for a seasoned championship team with the greatest player of all time, it’s probably prudent for joe and the C’s.

[celticinorlando]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Ya. He’s terrible. 18 boards. 4 blocks. Makes the go ahead 3 with 35 seconds. Find Marcus for the wide open look to end regulation. He’s downright awful. 🙄

9-20 today shooting and zero first half points. That’s not good enough.

[scaryjerry]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Agreed. I think we all expect him to eventually take some sort of next level jump. Might not happen, is he even as good as Carmelo or Tmac were? Meh

[Who]

How do you not try and get a quick shot off rather than waiting to run it down?

This coach is a freaking moron. You shouldn't need exp to know what to do here.

Gotta give yourself a chance for an offensive rebound if you miss.

Shooting with no time left is fine when it is a tie game. When your down, you leave a little time in case you miss so you can get a 2nd shot off an offensive rebound.

[libermaniac]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Ya. He’s terrible. 18 boards. 4 blocks. Makes the go ahead 3 with 35 seconds. Find Marcus for the wide open look to end regulation. He’s downright awful. 🙄

9-20 today shooting and zero first half points. That’s not good enough.

45% shooting for a career 45.8% shooter is just inexcusable. What a bum. 🤦‍♂️🙄

[radiohead]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Ya. He’s terrible. 18 boards. 4 blocks. Makes the go ahead 3 with 35 seconds. Find Marcus for the wide open look to end regulation. He’s downright awful. 🙄

Had we won, this would be called a monster game for JT. He led the comeback and made the right plays. Imagine if Al made that three to put us up 4? Or if Smart actually made that three at the end of regulation? But that’s how basketball is. I’m disappointed with the loss yes, but I still think we get this series.

[celticinorlando]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Ya. He’s terrible. 18 boards. 4 blocks. Makes the go ahead 3 with 35 seconds. Find Marcus for the wide open look to end regulation. He’s downright awful. 🙄

9-20 today shooting and zero first half points. That’s not good enough.

45% shooting for a career 45.8% shooter is just inexcusable. What a bum. 🤦‍♂️🙄

Never called him a bum. But they need more consistency out of him. Was a no show in game 2. Was a no show in the first half today.

[Mahk E Mahk]

The key to beating Philly is taking harden out of the game. Not embiid.

And the only thing that beats you is a three. Cannot even allow that shot to happen. Give up the two. Tie game.

CALL TIMEOUT and play to win the game.

All that takes smart players and a coach who is on top of his game without his head up his ass. Simple requirements that we don't have. Half of this is on Brad and the worst part is he will not fire Joe, even if we were to lose this series.

wholeheartedly agree and would respectfully add that it takes smart and disciplined players. the C’s woefully lack discipline, which is their undoing.

[scaryjerry]

Not gonna win this series, never mind an nba championship if this is the peak level Tatum is going to get to. He ended up with 25, but the complete no show in the first half, the lack of urgency and impact in the defining moments is pretty brutal.
Glad he made everything in the all star game though.

Unfortunately in too many games Tatum is inconsistent. Disappears for long stretches and then tries to make up for it late. If he has 5 points in the first half Celtics probably win.

Two of the four games Tatum’s been a no show for a half or for the game

Ya. He’s terrible. 18 boards. 4 blocks. Makes the go ahead 3 with 35 seconds. Find Marcus for the wide open look to end regulation. He’s downright awful. 🙄

You trying to act like he was good enough today is about as shocking as the result of this game

[libermaniac]

Joe shoulda called a TO at the end of regulation.  We needed one point to win, not a 3.

Joe shoulda emphasized NO helping off of Harden or anyone at the 3.  Play straight up D and force them to tie.

Joe should called a TO at the end of OT.  I really believe it's arrogant on his part.  As if he wanted to be able to say "I trust my guys" in the post game conference. 

Just dumb coaching.  He needs to put them in a better position to win.  That's on him.

The lack of timeouts is to keep the mismatches on the floor. Harden is likely not on the court if Joe calls a timeout either time there, and the Sixers likely have a plan to double or catch the Celtics flat-footed right away on the catch.

I think no TO was the right move at the end of regulation. It's something both Brad and Ime did a lot. I'm not sure if this was the right move on the last play of the game, but their offense was doing really well attacking mismatches down the stretch and I liked the look they got (just too late). I'm not sure I like our chances any better if we have an inbounds play with 4 seconds left, those are very tough to execute.

Fair point.  But Joe gave them a chance at end of regulation and it was a bad shot.  We didn't need a 3.  Plus, I'd rather have a designed play even with Harden subbed out than no shot at all.

100%. the C’s are notorious for really bad iso, step-back threes when they need a bucket, so a timely TO and a few minutes to calm down and review their best situational ATO was the appropriate call. the sixers defensive matchups aren’t a concern; they’re significantly outgunned by the C’s talent. give me our best five on the floor vs. whomever doc wants to trot out as “defensive stoppers” and i like our chances.

in the final analysis, not calling a TO both times was the wrong call, as we witnessed marcus failing to convert twice. this is a disgrace when you have the J’s on the floor, as well as brogdon, who would have been the perfect third option, if the sixers sold out to stop the J’s.

consequently, it’s 2-2, instead of 3-1, with the pivotal game five looming and the sixers still very much alive. disgraceful.

Both of those final plays were called for Tatum. It’s not like they called Smart’s number. The shot at the end of the regulation was a great look. The best you can hope for even if you called a timeout.

The end of OT was a failure on Smarts part to take too long getting the ball in Tatum’s hands and subsequently a failure on Tatum’s part not recognizing that there was no time for a kick out. Bug overall that’s either an issue with the coach not instructing them to push the pace given they were down or that’s on Smart. Hard to tell without being in the locker room.

you’re making my point in favor of a TO. the reason for a TO is to game plan the off-ball action (screens, picks) in order to get your best player a clean look, and prevent the team from taking too long, not pushing the pace, not being aware of the clock and the situation (i.e. we need a two, not a three). you also game plan the plan B, which should have been JB, not marcus, as well as the option if the sixers foolishly sell out to stop both J’s.

remember phil jackson calling a TO to draw up a play for jordan against the jazz in game six, but also planning the backup in case the jazz double teamed jordan?. kerr was the backup plan and the team knew what to do when jordan was double teamed and kerr hit the game winner. phil got the play he wanted, even when the jazz D sold out to stop jordan. kerr knew his spot and jordan knew where kerr would be to make the game winning shot because they drew it up during a TO. if a TO and ATO are appropriate for a seasoned championship team with the greatest player of all time, it’s probably prudent for joe and the C’s.

Agreed. In OT he should’ve called a time out.

[Phantom255x]

After going out with my family for a walk in this beautiful weather and grabbing bubble tea beverages, I've cooled down a bit and come to this conclusion. It's not worth my time trying to stress about this team.

It sounds dumb to say as I love and root for this team daily, but when this team has so many of these letdowns/unserious stretches, and the coach is also making dumb decisions every other games but constantly defending them in postgame and sounding nonchalant, then why should I feel stressed? This team clearly doesn't seem angry or annoyed about things. Tatum is basically taking an entire half off (2 points, 1-9 shooting today first half). Like why let this team effect my real life.

In terms of this series, I'm still not worried. They'll win it. And we did steal back HCA this weekend which was the goal. My main concern though is the upcoming rounds. We definitely won't beat Miami or any of these West teams if we're sleepwalking through and losing multiple games that way. We can get by Atlanta and probably Philly, but that's about it. 

[celticinorlando]

After going out with my family for a walk in this beautiful weather and grabbing bubble tea beverages, I've cooled down a bit and come to this conclusion. It's not worth my time trying to stress about this team.

It sounds dumb to say as I love and root for this team daily, but when this team has so many of these letdowns/unserious stretches, and the coach is also making dumb decisions every other games but constantly defending them in postgame, then why should I feel stressed? This team clearly doesn't seem angry or annoyed about things. Tatum is basically taking an entire half off (2 points, 1-9 shooting today first half). Like why let this team effect my real life.

In terms of this series, I'm still not worried. They'll win it. And we did steal back HCA this weekend which was the goal. My main concern though is the upcoming rounds. We definitely won't beat Miami or any of these West teams if we're sleepwalking through and losing multiple games that way. We can get by Atlanta and probably Philly, but that's about it.

Pretty much. It’s quite exhausting with this team.

[Who]

Tough situation for Jaylen there on that double team. Tatum was overmatched by Embiid in the post, Embiid had worked his way into the paint and could shoot over Tatum easily enough. There was nobody else on that side of the floor except for Jaylen. Nobody who get that double team over in time.

That is a tough call ... whether to stay with Harden or go down and double.

I'm not sure that is an open and shut case of a mistake by Jaylen to go down and double team. If that was Horford or Rob Williams in the post against Embiid, yeah I'd say stay home ... but Tatum? Hmm ...