The Celtics Simply Can't Stop Kicking The Shit Out Of The Brooklyn Nets After Their Latest Blowout Win Makes It 10 Straight
Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.I have to say, it's been a long time since I've experienced such a stress free 2.5 hours watching the Boston Celtics play basketball. It was a very unusual feeling watching what this team did to the Nets last night to cap off their 10th straight win over BKN. I think part of it was probably the fact that we just lived through 3 straight OT games at the Garden (2-1), but we really haven't seen this team blow someone out like this since the January 5th 29 point win on the road against Luka and the Mavs.
Normally when you sit down to watch this team play, you are making the conscious decision that for 2.5 hours you are going to experience every human emotion possible. You're going to be happy, you're going to be sad, mad, aroused, confident, insecure, you name it and this team gives it to you every single night. Given the years that takes off the body, I appreciate the off night. It felt great to just sit back and relax never having to stress for even a single second.
It also helps that this team keeps beating the shit out of the Brooklyn Nets. It'll always be fuck the Nets as far as I'm concerned. It's not even about Kyrie either, I can't imagine Celtics fans still care that Kyrie isn't still in Boston, it's more about the whole package. I'm old enough to remember when the Nets were dubbed the powers of the East and everything was going to run through them. OK, if this is what that looks like then fine by me. I know Kevin Durant didn't play, but he's also played in 6 of the last 10 vs BOS and the Nets are 0-6 so I'm not sure what else you need to see. Nobody is going to save them in this matchup I'm afraid.
What this game showed us is that when the Celts come close to hitting their ceiling, it's as if they are playing a different sport, but in a good way. It's a level of dominance that no team in the league can match. Now they won't always reach this level which is why these types of performances are rare, but you know it's happening when you see it. They play flawless basketball, they have great energy, and every shot they take goes in. You add all that up and you legitimately get one of the best Celtics performances in franchise history
You know how sometimes you see a final score and say "it wasn't as close as the final score dictated"? That was the case here. You may think 43 points is a lot, but things got as high as 49.
It was an ass-whooping in every sense of the word, so let's talk about it.
The Good
- While some people cry about random Jaylen Brown turnovers and other people try and twist themselves into a pretzel and parrot sports radio to debate that Jayson Tatum doesn't show up in big moments or whatever bullshit they're onto now, I am simply asking these people to wake the fuck up and appreciate what is currently happening in front of them when it comes to the two best players on this team.
Not only are they going to do down as one of the greatest duos in Celtics franchise history, they are going to fuck around and go down as one of the best duos in NBA history. The time has come to accept that
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You see how that says "all time"? That means ever. You see that part that says "any duo"? That means every single duo you can think of throughout ALL of NBA history. Pick one, I dare you. Shaq/Kobe? Never did it. MJ/Pippen? Nope. Bird/McHale? Nope. Steph/Klay? Heavens no. LeBron/Wade? They wish. Magic/Kareem? In their dreams. Shaq/Penny? Sadly, the answer is still no.
A generational duo like you read about, and both were at the top of their shit in this game
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31/9/5 on 12-19 (7-12) and a +46 for Tatum in his 29 minutes and 26/3/3 on 8-16 (7-12) and a +26 in his 31 minutes for Jaylen. Let me be very clear about something here. It does not matter what team they play, if the Celts are going to get 57 points on 20-35 (14-24) shooting from Tatum/Brown, the Celtics are not losing. Period.
When you not only get the point total, but the efficiency and 3PM to match, you're cooked. Plain and simple. No need to get complicated, this was just a repeat of what we already knew and why all these games against BKN seem to go this way. They have no one to guard the Celtics best players. This is a matchup issue for BKN and always will be even if Ben Simmons plays. We've seen that happen and the results were the same. They're too small. Asking Kyrie Irving or Seth Curry or Joe Harris or Patty Mills to try and guard these dudes on the perimeter is asking for death. Nic Claxton is having a hell of a year defensively, but just like the playoff series when this team forces a switch and one of the Jays has him in space, it's over.
Oh, and I should probably mention the Jays did this all in 3 quarters. Everyone has been freaking out about rest and all that shit, well one easy way to get it is to simply kick the shit out of everyone you play before the fourth quarter even starts. What a plan by Joe!
- It's hard to pick an area of this game where the Celts weren't dominant. You could go with the 139 points in regulation, or the 57/48% splits, or the 26 3PM, or the 28 AST and only 10 TOs, or the 54-40 points in the paint, or the 15-2 2nd chance points, or the 30-10 fastbreak points, or the 57-32 rebounding battle….
I think you get the idea.
A wire to wire ass kicking, this game was never tied, there was never a lead change, and the largest lead was 49 points. Last time I checked, the Nets were a 4 seed. That seems good.,
- Of course, it all comes back to the Celts' start. I'm someone who loves witnessing something we've never seen before, and that's what we got.
Think of all the 1st quarters you've watched in your life. You've never seen the Celts be up 30 after one of them. Ever. Nobody has. Not your parents or their parents or their parents. In fact, this was the 7th highest point total the Celts have EVER scored in a quarter in Celtics history
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What was insane was how fast it all happened. If you just so happen to blink, you probably missed it.
After 1:46 seconds, the Celts were up 7-0. After 3 minutes, it was 11-3. After 4 minutes, it was 16-3. At the midway point of the first, so just 6 minutes in, the Celts were up 24-4. Call me crazy, but building a 20 point lead in half a quarter seems pretty fucking good.
And because we've all been hurt many times before, I don't think any Celts fan truly felt confident, even as the lead grew to 34. I'll admit, I was scoreboard watching when the Nets cut it to 21-22 points, I've seen enough Celts games to know what might be possible, so it was nice to see them get it back up to 34 at the half and then never really below 30 for the entire second half.
- Shoutout Joe for showing he can adapt by leaving in Tatum past his usual first sub at around the 5 minute mark. I normally don't have an issue when he normally pulls Tatum at that spot because that's been his sub pattern for a while now, but every once in a while when he's cooking like we saw last night, it's OK to leave him in. He only played 5 minutes in the 2nd and didn't miss a shot, so it was clear that he didn't lose his rhythm or anything like that which can sometimes happen with that mid first quarter sub.
- I don't care if I say it every time he plays, I'll continue to scream it for as long as he continues to do it.
Rob is perfect.
16/9 on 7-8 shooting in his 19 minutes, Rob was the best big on the floor and it wasn't paticularly close. Again, Claxton is having an awesome year and will probably be in the DPOY top 3 when the season is over, but Rob owned this game. Claxton was a non-factor, and you'll never believe this but Rob made some NBA history himself
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The more we see Rob play the more reassured I get that his knee is totally fine. His conditioning is ramping back up as is his timing, and so far his body appears to be holding up as well since returning as long as someone doesn't dive into his knee.
This is the type of Rob the Celts are going to need if they want to win the title. Everyone knows that, and it's why it was the first thing Tatum said in his postgame interview. This team with a healthy Robert Williams reaches levels that nobody can touch.
- Early in the year while the Celts were cruising, I heard a lot about "sample size". It was early! It was just a hot streak! They'll come back down to earth! Blah blah blah.
Well, I have to ask, is a 52 game sample large enough? Can we start to put some stock into what we're seeing yet? Because…
It appears that a lot of the things myself and others were suggesting through the first 20 or so games are still true now as we enter the 50s.
Here's why I love it. Anything other than an NBA title is now a failure. While that was always kind of the case heading into the year, how they've played through 52 games has pretty much stamped it. I think it's cool that those expectations shift. It's no longer about getting to the Finals. For the first time in a long time, it's legit title or failure. That's it.
I say embrace that challenge. That's what you want. The Celtics have proven to be the best team in the NBA, at this point that is not a debate, but their goal is not to be the best regular season team, it's to be the last team standing.
- This team is at their best when the pieces around Tatum/Brown are aggressive. Whether that's Brogdon or Derrick White, it's extremely important that whoever surrounds the Jays is establishing themselves as a threat on offense. With how much attention the Jays get, having those "others" show up is how you open up the defene for your best players.
I thought Derrick White filled that role to perfection in this game
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It wasn't just his 14/10/5 that I loved, it was how often he called his own number. Then once he did that, instead of settling for jumpers, Derrick attacked the paint. When he plays inside/out is usually when you see this team get off to a good start/build a huge lead, and when I look at his shot chart that's exactly what I see
A majority of those makes around the rim came in the first quarter, and when defenses are so focused on Tatum/Brown it leaves driving lanes for the Celts bigger guards. Remember, the Nets are throwing out perimeter defenders that can't stop shit, so using your size and athleticism to get to the rim is how you have to attack this defense, and that's exactly what White did.
Then once Brogdon comes in and he immediately starts knocking down shots and executing some flawless dribble penetration and dishes to the bigs, you can see why no matter the unit that's on the floor the Celts have the talent available to be dominant.
The Bad
- I dunno, maybe the fact they lost Joe Harris in transition a few times and he continued to bury shots from deep? Feels like he's one of those guys who only really makes 3P against the Celts. That sounds insane because he's shooting 40% on the year so it's not like he sucks, but that number is 57.9% in the 3 games this year against BOS. That's a little outrageous. I feel like it should probably be on the scouting report to find Joe Harris and make sure you have a body on him.
- As will be the case every time Kyrie enters Boston for the rest of his career, obviously there was your typical Kyie sucks chant and whatnot. I get why people still do it, I do think it impacts him mentally, but me personally?
I'm bored with it. Who gives a shit about Kyrie anymore really. People can do whatever they want, I just find it boring at this point. Him leaving and stepping on the logo were some of the best things to ever happen to this franchise. In a way, I've become thankful for Kyrie.
- We're really scraping the bottom of the barrell here, but I guess the 7-10 from the line fits? Didn't love Jaylen missing 2 in a row which helped spark a 7-3 run, but I mean even I can admit I'm stretching things here just to fill this section.
The Ugly
- Most Celts fans I imagine were hoping to see Hauser/Pritchard play a bunch in the second half to maybe try and get them going in terms of their shooting rhythm. They don't get many opportunities, so a massive blowout was their time to shine.
Unfortunately, they went a combined 5-12 (3-10).
That's…not great. Most were fairly open looks too, so I felt a little bad for them. On a night where no one on the roster could miss, those two really couldn't buy a bucket.
With the Bucks starting to heat up (5 straight wins) it's important that the Celts take care of business on this homestand. They're 2.5 up on MIL and 3 up on PHI with the Suns coming to town tomorrow, and I need the Celts to be on high alert in terms of a letdown game. This win was awesome and a whole lot of fun, but it's over. Time to re-focus and make sure you're ready to go tomorrow night. The goal should be to build on this momentum, not take an immediate step back.