The Celtics Intangibles

[keevsnick]

Watching this series the thing that has stood out to me most is the character of our guys. Tatum is just so clutch, and plays with a steadiness that is beyond his years. Brown is clearly still not 100%, yet he's out there giving a warrior's performance because he wants to win. I mean he's beaten healthy 76ers to lose balls time and time again. Rozier plays with a confidence that would be completely absurd if not for the fact that he's backing it up. And Horford as always is just a complete professional.

Contrast that with the 76ers who seem to be more concerned with winning their individual matchup than winning the game (cough cough Embiid). Or Simmons who just completely falls apart under pressure. I mean contrast their complete lack of self awareness whether its comments about the Celtics defense not being as physical as Miami's, or the garden crowd not being that great with bascially anything Jaylen Brown says post-game (not one to play with his vegetables lol) and you get the idea

I don't think the talent gap between our youg guys and their is as big as most pople think, but the character gap is huge.

[CelticsElite]

Tatum is steady but he lost steadiness with free throws when he missed those. Rookie jitters but he will get better with time

[fairweatherfan]

Character is excellent, and a testament to how good the organization is under Danny and Brad. I'd add poise as a big piece of that. Philly did well enough to win if they hadn't taken multiple dumps on the court in crunch time. Our young guys consistently executed with no dumb turnovers.

One other game intangible I've noticed - how in the last game and a half we've consistently run their shooters off the 3 pt line. Ever since Redick got hot early in Game 2, we've had their perimeter guys constantly shooting within a step inside the line. Notably Bellineli's buzzer-beater tonight.  Can't tell how much is us blowing up their screens and how much is them executing poorly, but it's been an underrated factor.

[mr. dee]

Tatum is steady but he lost steadiness with free throws when he missed those. Rookie jitters but he will get better with time

I don't think its rookie jitters. He's been carrying the main offense of the team for 41 minutes. It takes a toll on his body since it hasn't been fully developed yet. College basketball doesn't have the length of NBA game minutes.

[Kuberski33]

Ainge likes players who grind.  Smart, Rozier, Morris, Brown, Baynes, Semi, Tatum and yes, Horford - the Celtics have a roster full of these guys and this year there's (still, despite the injuries) enough offensive skill among that group to win in the playoffs.  Throughout the season, they play hard and work on defense more often and more consistently than most teamS.

They had plenty of grinders in the past but not enough offensive talent. 

I do think many here are selling Philly a little short. This is their first time in this type of environment and if they play their cards right (no guarantee btw) they'll learn from this and shore up their roster to get the right supporting cast.  They are a product of media hype - but they've got lots of talent and should be very good moving forward.

They still need to figure out how to win against good teams and in this league it takes time.  I think their coach is on a bit of a learning curve too. It wasn't long ago he was coaching one of the least talented teams in the NBA.