There's No Need To Sugarcoat It, The Celtics Went Into Milwaukee And Received One Of Their Worst Ass Kickings In Over 20 Years

Stacy Revere. Getty Images.

Coming off one of the largest ass kickings we've seen the Celtics experience in over 20 years (it's the 4th highest, tied with last year's OKC blowout), there are a few ways to look at last night. I've seen some people freak out a little bit over what happened, I've seen some people completely write it off due to the schedule, and I've seen some people be more down the middle.

My stance is pretty simple. What I care about is consistency and telling the truth. 

For example, all of us, myself included, were very happy with the result of the MIN OT win. The way they fought back against a tough team was impressive, and as fans, we wanted to put a LOT of stock into a win like that. That's fine to do, but you also have to acknowledge that MIN was without Gobert/Conley, was on the 2nd night of a back to back, and had played 3 games in 5 days. Not too different from what the Celts dealt with last night (no Al, 5 in 7 nights etc).

I don't really remember anyone (again, myself included) caring about their tired legs or who was out. No Celtic fan called that a "schedule loss" for MIN. 

We also should mention that the Celts had the NBA's best record on the 2nd night of B2Bs heading into last night. We shouldn't pretend like winning in this spot is unheard of, because nobody in the league has done it more. That doesn't mean the Celts will always win on the second end of a B2B, but it also doesn't mean you should completely throw their losses out the window when they do happen. They've shown us an ability to play high level basketball and execute, even if it's a B2B.

But it's also true that the Celtics were clearly gassed last night. I don't really view it as an excuse to point out that one team was on a B2B and played 5 games in 7 days, playing in 3 cities in 4 nights. It's just describing the situation heading into the game, and it's something that's tough for any team in the league to deal with. That's not even factoring in that the other side hadn't played since losing Monday night at home. The Bucks had been some since Sunday, and you're lying to yourself if you suggest that stuff doesn't matter/impact a game. The same way it would help the Celts if the roles were reversed. How do we know that? Just look at what happened the last time these two teams faced off in the Bucks building

That 3/30 game was a 2nd night of a B2B and the Bucks' 5th game in 7 days. It's not surprising that the score/and the production were nearly identical now that the situations were reversed.

We're not done, there's also a third truth that I feel needs to be addressed. The Celtics played like shit. Absolute dogshit. You want to say it was all dead legs, I'm not sure I would agree. That was a factor, but so was their approach and execution on both ends of the floor. It's OK to say that this was a poor performance, which rightfully resulted in a complete ass kicking. 

So in totality, it's not one thing. It's not just the schedule, it's not just that the Celts were tired, and it's also not something that should have you suddenly freaking out or overly concerned. In addtion to all those factors, it's also true they played some of the worst basketball of their season, and paid the price for it. At 29-9, I'm going to suggest the Celts have earned the benefit of the doubt when they have a stinker, especially at this part of their schedule. Do I wish it happened? Hell no. Do I understand why it maybe did? Yes. 

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With that said, let us begin.

The Good

- New blog rule. If you get your ass handed to you in a way that has you benching your starters at halftime, you do not get any spinzone in this section for anything that might have been positive from this game. Sorry, we have standards.

We will now move on to the real part of this game/blog.

The Bad

- I'd like to start with something that didn't just show up last night, but has been an issue for this entire stretch of games since the OKC loss. I know there will be some out there that keep talking about how this was a schedule loss and all that, so I want to take a step back and take a bird's eye view and something that has been a bit of a glaring issue.

The Celtics defense has been nowhere close to good enough since the calendar turned to 2024 (6 games). Just see for yourself. 

Since the start of the new year, the Celts currently own the 16th ranked defense in the NBA with a rating of 115.6. To put that into perspective, in the 32 games prior the Celts owned the 3rd best defense in the NBA with a rating of 110.4. That's a pretty sizable drop, and their record (3-3) over that span isn't all that surprising.

Over this stretch, the Celts are giving up 118.8 points a night, good for 18th in the NBA. They've allowed 120+ a total of 4 times, and are 1-3 in those games

Sorry, this isn't good enough. OKC, IND, MIN, and MIL are all playoff teams with good offenses. The Celts for the most part have had all their guys for the majority of those games. So while it may be true that the Celts were tired and had no legs last night, that doesn't really excuse how they've been defending since we got to 2024. 

- A big contributor to these point totals is something we've seen the Celts really struggle with since December 1st. Again, this isn't about last night, it's about the larger sample. Since Dec 1st, the Celts have played 20 games. In those 20 games, they've allowed a team to shoot at least 40% from three in 12 of them. They rank 27th in the NBA in opponent 3PM and 17th in opponent 3P% since that date, and it's no surprise that outside shooting was a big factor in each of those recent losses.

vs OKC: 18-40 (45.0%)

vs IND: 19-40 (47.5%)

vs MIL: 18-42 (42.9%)

I don't really care how loaded the Celts might be, you cannot be this poor at limiting your opponent's 3PM and expect to win consistently. Whether it's experimenting with the 2-1-2 zone or being slow in rotations/closeouts, the fact remains that the Celts have been awful at defending the line for the last month and a half.

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- No Al in the lineup had Giannis feasting. He finished 10-13 and generally got wherever he wanted, which shouldn't really surprise anyone either. Joe tried to get creative and have Jrue guard that matchup the most (22 possessions), and Giannis finished 4-6. Nobody else forced him to miss more than 1 shot, and considering the last time these two teams played we saw Horford hold Giannis to just 6 points on 17 possesions in the Celtics win, I'm going to suggest that was a pretty important absence. 

- Calling last night anything other than a complete ass kicking is a bit of denial. The Bucks led wire to wire, had a lead of 43, won the points in the paint battle, the 2nd chance points battle, the fastbreak points battle, the rebounding battle, had way more AST and shot 56/42%.

If the Celts checked all those boxes against an opponent, we would describe it as a complete ass kicking. This time they were on the other end of it. It sucks, but it's what happened. They were outplayed in every single facet of this game, and the score reflects that.

- What I didn't really understand was seeing some people upset with Joe for pulling everyone at the half. Saying it was "soft" or whatever. I'm sorry, but I thought we cared about being healthy for a title run? Given the schedule situation and the score, I personally thought it was the best decision Joe made all night. Take you ass beating, get out of there healthy and turn the page. Can you imagine how bullshit we would all be if Tatum or Brown or Porzingis turned an ankle while down 36 points? All it takes is one reckless closeout and your season can get all fucked up.

To question the toughness of this team because Joe made that call is crazy to me, and I'm willing to chalk that up with someone maybe being a little emotional. The important thing is to think big picture when this stuff happens. If it was a 20 point game my guess is Joe doesn't do it, but a 37 point halftime lead? I want the team putting health and rest above all else, especially given the stretch we're in.

- The most embarrassing part of this entire game was probably the fact that it allowed Thanasis to see the floor, foul people and then scream like he was the reason they were up a billion. If anything should piss the Celts off, it's that. 

The Ugly

- It's hard to put anything other than the shooting in this section. I mean holy shit was this awful. 

I don't think we've ever seen a game where every single starter was this bad, all at the same time. It didn't matter what type of shot the Celts were taking in that first half, none of them went in. 

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While we were watching this unfold, all I could do was laugh. I mean how many times are you realistically going to see this team have a shot chart that looks like this???

That is legitimately insane. The fact that this was a 4 point game at the 5 minute mark of the first quarter and turned into a 37 point blowout is just not something that happens all that often. 

A 25-0 run, I mean be serious. 

- The Derrick White slump rolls on I'm afraid. Not surprising that the team's record (3-3) aligns with White going through the worst slump of his season, and we're now at 30/26% splits through his last 5 games. It's not just his 3pt shooting either which is what makes it tough to stomach.

White is shooting just 14% in the paint over this stretch, a brutal 2-14. Those 14 FGA are the second highest on the team, and if you wanted to look one name further, you'll see Tatum is just 3-11 from the paint over this same timeframe (also 2-11 from the midrange).

Usually, you can tell when White is in his slump because not even his floater drops, and 2 of his 3 misses last night came in the paint. Derrick is too important to have this sort of slump, and boy will I be happy once it finally ends.

- In November, I think we all gave Jrue the benefit of the doubt for his poor showing against MIL given that it was his first time playing his old team. I'd say last night was more of the same considering it was his first time back in that building, but his 2-9 certainly wasn't great either.

Now that he's done both, I'm going to need him to be a whole lot better in this matchup as well. It's slightly concerning that he was a nonfactor in both matchups, even if you are willing to accept the human element part. His play was no different from any other starter as they all sucked ass, but it is something to put a pin in. At some point, he's going to have to be the Jrue we see against everyone else when this team plays the Bucks.

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Whenever a game like this happens, what I care most about is the response. Do the Celts let things snowball, or do they reassert themselves immediately. The fact that their next game is the Ime reunion, tomorrow should be a great test. You know the Rockets are going to come ready to roll, and Ime is going to have his team prepared and motivated. If we see the Celts fuck around on both ends like we saw last night, things will snowball. If we see them respond the way they have ALL YEAR after losses, then last night is just a blip on the schedule and is mostly whatever. The Celts are still owners of the best record in the NBA, they are still 3 games up on MIL in the standings, and the H2H is tied.

But man, did they get their ass kicked.