I think it was an example of... "Greg Stiemsma is a good player lets give him some minute against Demarcus Cousins".
Celtics need to get some big guys NOW... or just throw the season to get a higher pick.
Sorry, but I just don't think you can hang this one on Stiemsma ... the guy only played just over fifteen minutes, and while he didn't score, (scoring was not our issue tonight), he
did have four boards and three blocks in those few minutes.
It'd be nice to have a sweet excuse for our starters lack of effort and execution, but it's certainly not Greg. The C's knew they'd pretty much be able to score at will against the Kings, and so assumed their defensive play would take little effort as well.
Add to that the passing of the trade deadline and the emotional let-down following, a tough road schedule, and a Sacramento team that basically had nothing to lose and a chance to beat a franchise team like the Celts, and you may come close to that excuse.
Still, this is a game they should have blown out, not the opposite, and there really is no good excuse. They gave little effort, played absolutely no defense, had no heart or sense of urgency, and for whatever reasons, just never showed up for this one.
Every team has a stinker-or-two during each season, so this was bound to happen, but it's too bad it couldn't have happened against a Miami or a Chicago, and not a youthful, immature, mistake-prone team like the Kings ... the embarrassment was magnified by ten as a result.
Here's hoping they learned something from it, and got the wake-up call that they needed to, (and that they
never become the kind of team it takes to throw a season for the sake of a higher pick).