Interesting take from Gabe Vincent on the Celtics in the ECF

[celticinorlando]

“I think first off, Boston is a hell of a team and was a hell of a team these last two years,” Vincent said. “Tatum and Brown raise a lot of havoc for the defense.

“It almost seemed like to me, truthfully, they had something going on over there. Despite our gameplan, so much has to go right to win in this league and if you aren’t fully right internally, it shows in different ways.”

“I obviously don’t know if they were or weren’t right internally but that was my feel I had,” Vincent. “There were moments of attack, you get the right matchup and you attack. Jimmy leading the way with his paint touches and Bam being aggressive and keeping them out of transition. That was a huge one for us. If we can get you into the half court, we have a chance.

“I think last year, they were better defensively when we lost to them in the East Finals. This past year, something didn’t seem as right whether it was their rotations or connectivity, whatever the case may be. I think any bit of weakness we saw, we jumped on it.”

[Phantom255x]

“I think first off, Boston is a hell of a team and was a hell of a team these last two years,” Vincent said. “Tatum and Brown raise a lot of havoc for the defense.

“It almost seemed like to me, truthfully, they had something going on over there. Despite our gameplan, so much has to go right to win in this league and if you aren’t fully right internally, it shows in different ways.”

“I obviously don’t know if they were or weren’t right internally but that was my feel I had,” Vincent. “There were moments of attack, you get the right matchup and you attack. Jimmy leading the way with his paint touches and Bam being aggressive and keeping them out of transition. That was a huge one for us. If we can get you into the half court, we have a chance.

“I think last year, they were better defensively when we lost to them in the East Finals. This past year, something didn’t seem as right whether it was their rotations or connectivity, whatever the case may be. I think any bit of weakness we saw, we jumped on it.”

Vincent isn't wrong at all. Something definitely felt off, and also they definitely didn't all buy in to the coach and his schemes. Funny enough, it seems the guys who were against Mazzulla were the ones who are either no longer here or have been dangled in trade talks (Brogdon, Smart, G-Will, Jaylen to an extent).

I also found it odd that guys like G-Will, Hauser, PP, Muscala, etc. could barely find ANY playing time during the postseason. Mazz was super strict on 6-7 man rotations while the Heat and other teams (even the Nuggets) are going 8, 9, even 10 guys. Also, I remember in 2022 when we made the Finals, we did get contributions from guys like G-Will, PP. But for some reason I guess Mazz didn't want to use them much in the postseason. Even when nothing was working and they needed something.

I will say though, this thing won't change unless the C's get over the hump. Teams like the Warriors, Heat, etc. probably look at the Celtics as "mentally soft" and don't fear them. Sure, they can win a bunch of games but when it matters most, the C's have sadly folded many times.

[Roy H.]

[celticinorlando]

Yep. Totally lost in the sauce.

[jpotter33]

Yeah, feels like lack of trust/confidence in the coaching staff is the obvious answer.

Some of the roster decisions seem to make sense in this light. But if this is true, not sure that doubling down on Joe was the right call, even with the excellent assistants brought in.

[SparzWizard]

I think the C's should've probably been swept, and Joe gets canned immediately due to the P/R lol. Them extending the series to 7 games and now Joe gets to coach another year...it would be disappointing to be eliminated before the NBA Finals again in 2024

Brad better have a good explanation or plan on doubling down on Joe and trading for all these second round picks.

[hpantazo]

I think Smart lost a fair amount of his defense last season. Whether it was nagging injuries or what, he had a mediocre defensive year, and he admitted so himself. Not blaming him, he gives it his all, but one can only do that for so long before it catches up to you physically. Rob taking the whole year to get somewhat back to normal hurt too, and Horford showed his age. Grant Williams was playing to showcase himself for his next contract more than anything else, and Brown was playing to make all-NBA to qualify for the supermax. I think none of these guys were totally against the team concept, but individual goals/issues all contributed to less team cohesion and a much weaker defense.

Shipping Smart and Grant out , replacing Smart with White, getting Porzingis to replace Horford and send Horford to the bench to replace Grant all help. Brown getting paid will also help.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

One rolled ankle away from this comment not mattering.

[radiohead]

One rolled ankle away from this comment not mattering.

I’m really interested to see how he does with the Lakers. Miami was such a selfless team and the players and coaches seemed to trust everyone 100%.

[Roy H.]

One rolled ankle away from this comment not mattering.

One of us is misremembering that game.  I didn't see anything that made me think we'd win, even with a healthy Tatum.

[LilRip]

I think Tatum would’ve been the difference maker. Not the hottest take, I know. But if Tatum doesn’t get injured on Gabe Vincent, X’s would’ve gone to the finals (and got crushed lol)

[LilRip]

One rolled ankle away from this comment not mattering.

One of us is misremembering that game.  I didn't see anything that made me think we'd win, even with a healthy Tatum.

Disagree on this. Tatum generally shows up to the biggest games. If anything, it showed us how this team would look if JB was our main guy. He’s an allstar and one of the best 1v1 scorers in the league but he can’t carry the load Tatum does. The handles, vision, and decision-making do him in

[ChillyWilly]

One rolled ankle away from this comment not mattering.

One of us is misremembering that game.  I didn't see anything that made me think we'd win, even with a healthy Tatum.

Disagree on this. Tatum generally shows up to the biggest games. If anything, it showed us how this team would look if JB was our main guy. He’s an allstar and one of the best 1v1 scorers in the league but he can’t carry the load Tatum does. The handles, vision, and decision-making do him in

TP thank you !

[SparzWizard]

I think Tatum would’ve been the difference maker. Not the hottest take, I know. But if Tatum doesn’t get injured on Gabe Vincent, X’s would’ve gone to the finals (and got crushed lol)

I'd rather the C's get in the Finals and get crushed (by the Nuggets) than to lose to a #8 seed in Game 7 at home in the ECF

[Roy H.]

One rolled ankle away from this comment not mattering.

One of us is misremembering that game.  I didn't see anything that made me think we'd win, even with a healthy Tatum.

Disagree on this. Tatum generally shows up to the biggest games. If anything, it showed us how this team would look if JB was our main guy. He’s an allstar and one of the best 1v1 scorers in the league but he can’t carry the load Tatum does. The handles, vision, and decision-making do him in

We got blown out, though, and Tatum still played.  A healthy Tatum turns a 19 point loss into a win?  To me, that's pretty hard to envision.