The Celtics First Loss Of The Season Served As A Reminder Of What Happens When They Play Like Assholes

Michael Hickey. Getty Images.

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen at some point.

Last season, the Celtics undefeated 5-0 start came to an end with a 5 point OT loss on the road to the Wolves. This year, the Celtics undefeated 4-0 start came to an end with a 3 point OT loss on the road to the Pacers. Heading into the year we already knew that every team was going to have the defending champs circled on their calendar, and for the Pacer that could not have been more true. This was by far their best performance of their young season, putting up a season high at the half (67), getting 30/10 from both Siakam and Benedict Mathurin, where one guy hit 6 3PM (didn't do that in any game last year) and the other guy had a combined 10 points in his previous two games.

On the flip side, the Celts had perhaps their worst showing of the year for about 90% of this game, and it started from the very first possession. Tipping the ball to the Pacers on the opening tip which led to a layup, then immediately coming down and smoking their first bunny, it was in a weird way a sign of what was to come for the majority of the game.

In some ways, this was pretty standard. This is a Celtics team that for their last 100+ games, pretty much have won at an .800 clip. So it should surprise no one that the Celts have started the year winning at an .800 clip. The price to pay for this team is one stinker at some point over the course of 5 games, and even in that stinker they still find a way to have a chance to win at the end. That's not exactly the end of the world or something that should cause even an ounce of panic. I hate to break it to you, but something like this is going to happen a dozen or so more times this season. 

Having said that, I don't think after these 5 games you can completely ignore what we're seeing. Quite frankly, they haven't been anywhere close to good enough, especially defensively. While other fanbases and other franchises are doing the whole "just fast forward to April" bullshit, that is NOT what I want this team to do. The reason they were so successful last year is because they didn't skip a single step. The whole "they aren't going hard defensively yet because it's early" bullshit makes my blood boil. To me, that's unacceptable. 

I consider last night a good learning experience. It's one thing to say all the right things about how teams are going to be targeting them and that they're ready for it, and it's another to actually do it. Did they look ready to handle IND last night? Until their monster comeback, did that look like a team playing their best basketball in a big game? Not to me it didn't.

Last night was a night of firsts. The first time they lost, the first OT game of the year, the first time the Celts truly played like shit on both ends, the first time they were punched in the mouth and challenged to come back, and all those experiences matter on the journey back up the mountain. You learn from it, you correct what you did wrong, and you move on. Now we have the Celts first test of whether or not they can stop the bleeding or let things spiral a little bit. Last year, they never lost more than 2 games in a row, now we get to see how this version of the team does with that same challenge. 

With that said, let us begin

The Good

- In a game that was mostly filled with shit, at least we can all feel great about the fact that Derrick White not only exists, but he's a member of the Boston Celtics

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For my money Derrick was the best Celtic to touch the floor last night, finishing 8-9 (5-5) with big shot after big shot and overall a player who actually showed up on both ends. White was a perfect 3-3 (2-2) in the 4th quarter and then another 2-2 (1-1) in OT, all while holding Haliburton to just 2-5 shooting. There were a lot of shitty moments and players who played mostly like they'd never touched a basketball before, but for me all those conversations do not include Derrick White. His huge 3s, his savviness defensively to pull off big time steals in big moments, if this is the level of Derrick White the Celts continue to get, there's nothing to worry about.

- While it's just one game, I think we've entered a world where it's time to give Neemias Queta real run until KP comes back. While I think Luke Kornet has been mostly fine in his fill-in role, I haven't exactly loved Xavier Tillman's start, and I certainly don't love the Kornet/Tillman lineups. 

Lineups with those two have played 26 minutes together and have a 117 ORTG / 140 DRTG / -23 net rating. That, is very bad. Admittedly we're talking about a small sample of minutes, but given how Queta looked last night and the skillet he provides in terms of rim protection defensively and elite offensive rebounding/rim running threat, I think it's time to give him a real look

It may sound crazy, but the game really did start to swing once Queta went in and made shit happen on both ends. When Tatum isn't in the game and Jaylen is running the show, he needs to be paired with an elite rim runner. We saw that success with KP, we saw what he was able to do with Rob, and the same is true with Queta. Kornet isn't really a lob threat and Tillman certainly isn't, and there's no denying that the Queta lineups last night were by far their most successful.

When he was the center in the Tatum/Brown lineup, the Celts had a 142 ORTG / 95 DRTG / +47 net rating in those 10 minutes (2nd most). In the 4th quarter before Tatum checked in and it was Jaylen and the bench, with Queta at center it was once again a 136 ORTG / 42 DRTG / +94.6 net rating (4 minutes). 

To me, he should be the primary backup to Kornet. He's going to make mistakes, he's going to foul, but he also is showing a skillset that I think is extremely valuable for this team to have given how they want to play. Get rid of the Kornet/Tillman double bigs and play Queta as the solo big. That is the way.

- Outside of those two, the only real positive to take away from this game is the fact that even once the Celts got down by 24, they didn't quit. While it sucks they came up just short, it's that type of fight that you can't help but respect. I think we'd all prefer a world in which they didn't get down 24 in the first place, but it was great to see that even once that happened there wasn't that old "woe is me" bullshit and everyone sulks and gives up. In reality, it was the opposite. 

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Then after the game, we got exactly what everyone should want to see. Accountability from their two best players.

“I just really didn’t like the way I started the game,” Tatum said. “I set the tone in a negative way and my energy wasn’t where it needed to be and I just felt like that had a domino effect. We were a step behind on offense, on defense, so I take a lot of the blame for that. I just wanted to pick it up in the second half.”

While some stars across the league immediately go to finger-pointing to other players/coaches etc when they play like shit and lose, the one thing I've always loved about both Tatum and Brown is they never, ever, run from their failures. They take it on the chin, they take accountability, and they correct it. It's been that way since Day 1 and why they are some of the best leaders in the Association. They know the deal, everything starts and ends with them, both good and bad.

The Bad

- OK, where do we begin? How about with how the Celts began this game. Right from the jump it was possession after possession of lazy passing. You simply cannot do that against a team like the Pacers who love to get out in transition, and that was one of the biggest reasons the Celts dug their early hole. Passes like this are just not what you're looking for

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Not to mention we also saw them almost throw the ball away after crossing half court because Al Horford wasn't looking when the ball was passed to him, we saw Derrick get the ball tapped from behind while dribbling in transition, it was a game filled with lazy play which we all know leads to losing basketball. The Celts weren't crisp from the jump and that's what helped give the Pacers confidence, and once that happened it was an uphill battle the entire way.

- Then of course we had their shooting performance. The first true stinker of the year. Even with their big comeback and big 4th quarter, the Celts finished at 40/33%, not to mention the 6 missed FTs. I'm sure there will be a whole bunch of crying about their 57 3PA, but to those who actually watched you'd see their getting back to the 3PT shot is what got them back in the game. 

What we saw is basically what happens in any Celtics loss. For that to happen, you need to essentially pray they have an off night shooting the ball. Between how pathetic they were at the rim and the 33% from deep, to lose by 3 in OT tells you just how good this team is. That should have been a blowout, and yet they were there until the end. 

I can live with poor shooting nights if they come as a result of good process, but that's not what last night was to me. In fact, I haven't really loved their offensive process since the opener. 

For example, it's hard to get too mad at someone like Jayson Tatum who finished with 37/8/4, made the biggest three of the night to tie things in the final seconds and someone who got to the line 15 times, but I didn't love his process. The 18 3PA doesn't really bother me, but the type of 3s he was taking does. They were the same sort of low percentage looks you live with because there are times he makes them (like the side step 3 with 15 seconds left), but those cannot be the basis of his shot diet. I'll have no problem with 18 3PA if 15 of them come as a result of good process, ball movement, high screens etc. That wasn't the case last night and it showed.

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Same thing with Jaylen. Even his makes came via high degree of difficulty. While he did finish with a team high 5 assists, it certainly wasn't the best ball movement game we've ever seen Jaylen have, and it was easily his worst finishing game of the season.

- Winning at a championship level is about dominating the margins. If you don't take care of the margins, nothing else really matters. The Celts got killed in terms of defensive rebounding, allowing 16 OREB which led to 13 2nd chance points. In OT especially when you have to make sure you end possessions cleanly, they allowed multiple 2nd chance opportunities. Those are killer.

When it comes to taking care of the basketball and limiting transition scoring, the Celts were poor here as well. A total of 14 TOs and 29 fastbreak points, the Pacers completely owned the margins in this game.

The Ugly

- While we often pair them together, there's no getting around the fact that Jaylen's overall performance has him in this section. 11-30 (1-11) is simply not even close to good enough. You add that with the two big missed FTs in OT and well, if we're going to be fair then we have to tell the truth and the truth is that this was easily Jaylen's worst game of the season. 

The frustrating part of course is the fact that while the 1-11 from deep was painful, the paint production is truly what killed them

I cannot remember a time seeing Jaylen miss so many point blank layups. On the season, he's shooting only 54.2% in the restricted area, which is horrific. For comparison, he was at 66.6% last season. In the paint (non RA) he's shooting just 43.8%. Overall just a really tough showing.

- He wasn't alone when it came to missing point blank layups. This was an everyone problem. I mean, what the fuck is this?

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In the end, the Celts finished 22-47 (46%) in the paint. That naturally led to a points in the paint difference of 62-44 and there's your game. Sometimes, it's just not your night. I'm fairly certain there won't be too many games where the Celts miss 10+ layups in a single game, but as we learned, execution matters.

- The missed layups and missed open 3s are whatever. Those are random occurrences you live with over the course of 82. You know what isn't random and has been pretty awful for the majority of the season?

The Celtics defense.

It stinks. Another half of 60+ points, the Celts 1st half defense ranks 21st in the NBA. Their defense overall? Outside the top 20 currently sitting 11th. Opponent FG%? 23rd. Opponent's points? 17th. 

None of that is good enough and until the Celts get back to being elite defensively, nothing else really matters. Their defense has always been and will always be the foundation of their success. With no KP on the back line to give rim protection, the point of attack defense is crucial, and frankly it's been awful. Jrue hasn't been all that great, the Jays haven't been all that great, and we saw the Pacers get to the rim with ease time and time again. 

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Through 5 games, I'd say we've had 8 quarters of good defense? Maybe? 

- Jaylen/Tatum missing 3 FTs in OT and losing by 3 points was quite the kick to the dick. If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. FTs are important and now we saw why.

- On the final shot, I actually didn't hate the play design. It got you a fairly clean look

You can gripe over who got the call for the shot, but I have no problem with Joe trusting one of his best players at that moment. Good process, bad result. I think if White had passed to Tatum there Siakam just fouls, so you need that play to be something that goes right into a 3PA. Tatum had missed all 4 of his 3PA in OT so you roll the dice and see if Jaylen can bury it. Granted he was 1-11 and cold all night, but he's proven he can make big shots like that before, this one just wasn't anywhere close.

In the end, coming back from 24 was awesome and it was extremely annoying they did all that work just to fumble it away in OT, but it was a reminder of just how important execution is. Poor shot selection in OT is pretty much the same as a TO, a lack of focus at the rim and from the FT line will always bite you in the ass, and poor defensive execution is how you get your ass blown out.

So while the loss is annoying, there's nothing wrong with winning at an .800 clip. Now we get to see if they can stop the bleeding, because you know the Hornets are going to bring the offense.