Blowing Out The Mavericks To End Their West Coast Trip Was Exactly What The Celtics Needed

Sam Hodde. Getty Images.

It's not exactly a secret that over the last 20 or so games, the Celtics have most definitely not been consistently playing up to their standard. You'd get it in spurts, but inconsistent play translated into an inconsistent record, and with that inconsistency brought the frustration and all that comes with it.

At the end of the day, I think all we're asking for is that this team simply play to their standard on a consistent basis. They don't have to overachieve, they don't need to be "perfect", just stop being inconsistent. Make a jumper. Get a couple of consecutive stops. Take care of the ball. You know, basic level stuff that any functioning NBA team let alone the defending Champs and title favorite should be able to do regardless of who is in or out of the lineup.

I say that because we know with certainty, that when the Celts play to their standard they are nearly impossible to beat, and I'm not even talking about a team needing to beat them 4 times out of 7. I'm just talking about on any given night in the regular season. If this team doesn't play like assholes, chances are they are going to walk away with a win. If they simply just be themselves and be "normal", things will drastically look a million times better.

How do I know that? Aside from the 200+ games of evidence that exists, there was also last night's win over the Mavs. I'm not sure when this became a "rivalry" considering in addition to the gentlemen's sweep in the Finals, the Celts have now won 5 straight in the regular season against the Mavs, including 3 straight on their own floor. For those counting at home, that's 9 of their last 10 games against DAL which ended in a win. Kyrie is 1-15 in his last 16 games against BOS, so that "rivalry" angle doesn't really work either.

At the same time, this was a pretty damn important game for the Celts to win for a few reasons. None of that rivalry bullshit, but the fact that there's a big mental difference in ending a trip 3-1 compared to 2-2, especially coming off getting their dick kicked in by the Lakers (a real rival). It's only 1 game, but the entire feel of the trip changes coming back 3-1. It's no different from their last West Coast trip that they also ended 3-1 after the tough loss against OKC. When you have two West Coast trips in a month and both include a B2B, to walk away 6-2 out of that is nothing to sneeze at. 

This win also got us one step closer to the all important 40/20. The Celts now need an 8-5 stretch to do it, and seeing as how they've currently won 4 of 6, it feels like they are getting closer and closer to consistently playing to their standard. If that's the case, then 8-5 should be doable. 

And perhaps the best part of this win was, of course, the Celts looked like themselves. Not perfect, plenty of things to correct, but you saw a team that played closer to their standard. Nobody did anything insane, there was no historic Jokic level 35/22/17 through 3 quarters, everyone sort of just did what we expected them to. Guys made the shots we've seen them make for 200+ games. They got stops. To no surprise, that team blew doors.

Let's begin.

The Good

- New blog rule (I really hope someone is keeping track of all these because I most certainly am not). If you become the fastest Celtic to do something major in Celtics history, you start the blog. What does that mean? It means we begin with Jayson Tatum

Advertisement

In terms of Tatum's actual game? Eh. Like a B/B-. He didn't shoot all that well (8-22, 4-12), only had 6 rebounds, turned it over 3 times and was a -4 in his 35 minutes. So why is he in this section?

1. The Tatum + bench minutes were great in both of their shifts

2. Just being on the floor helps everyone else

3. Everything you just read above in that tweet

So while his in game performance didn't exactly blow your dick off, this is a great opportunity to take a step back and understand what we are seeing with Jayson Tatum. I feel like a broken record with this, but Tatum continues to do things that put him in some of the rarest company in NBA history. We already know about him being 1 of 6 to lead his team in points, rebounds, and assists while leading that team to a title, there's a million of lists just like that and now here we go. Youngest ever, in NBA history to crack 13,000 points. Look at those names! 

LeBron - Hall of Fame

Durant - Hall of Fame

Melo - Hall of Fame

Kobe - Hall of Fame

T-Mac  - Hall of Fame

Wilt - Hall of Fame

As you can see, there are no other Celtics on that list. So aside from being one of the youngest players in NBA history to crack 13,000 points, he's officially the youngest Celtic to do it. Why does this matter? Because when we talk about where Tatum is (imo 4th already) in terms of being an All Time Celtic, one assumption is that he's going to take over the scoring lead.

To do that, he's going to need to pass John Halvlicek's 26,395 (Pierce is second at 24,021). As of now, Tatum sits at 13,017, with Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens officially in his sights

So at 26, Tatum is just about halfway there. Based on how he scores, he should be a few hundred behind Russell at the end of the year and that's being conservative. At around 2,000 points a season which is where he's been since 2021-22 (2,046, 2,225, 1,987), that means by the end of next season barring injury, you're talking about knocking on the top 5-6 by 28. Now in your NBA prime, I think 2,000 points is a logical expectation, so that gets you knocking on the door to the Top 3. The big dogs. Bird, Pierce, Havlicek. 

Advertisement

As a reminder, at this point, it's the end of 2026-2027. Tatum has 2 more guaranteed years + a player option left on his extension. So 3 more years through his age 31 season.

To take over any of the top 3, Tatum will have to be healthy, consistent, and of course remain a Celtic. At this current pace, he can probably get to around Pierce's total by the end of his current deal I would think. 

So please, appreciate what we are watching. Not just a generational Celtic, but a player who is proving himself to be one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. These things are objective facts, backed up by both his production, and his ring.

- Unless you watch this team every night, you really wouldn't understand the importance of Derrick White. You see, Brad Stevens built a basketball wagon that presents the following challenge. You, as the opponent, have to figure out how to consistently stop two All NBA caliber wings who can score at all three levels. If you can't stay in front, they will finish at the rim. If you give them space, they will bury you with threes. They can iso, post up, create their own shot, you name it they can do it.

As a result, you are left with a choice. Either send help, or die. 

Because of this attention, defenses are now forced to rotate. What makes what Brad has built so diabolical is around those two wings are all 40% shooters. Now, there is no good choice. But in order for this entire system to work, those "others" have to produce. They have to make their open shots. That's where Derrick White comes in. He's the X factor. When this team gets a productive Derrick White you can't defend them.

If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. As Derrick goes, the Celtics go. It's all right there for anyone to see

Aggressive Derrick White = wins

This is why I'll always be in favor of White shooting through his slumps. I know it looks rough at times, I now each miss is like a dagger to your heart, but he's too important. His threat as a scorer is what helps the Celts offense become overwhelming, and we haven't even mentioned KP yet. 

Advertisement

It's not just the C&S 3s either. The pull up 3PM he made when Dinwiddie/Gafford were too low on that screen is the exact shot Derrick had been missing for the last month and is the one shot that he always made when this team was rolling. It's one of the barometer shots this team has, along with Tatum's pull up from the top of the arc and Jrue's corner 3. The threat of Derrick being a 3 level scorer and then him actually converting and being efficient changed the entire feel of the Celts offense. I can only imagine what it did for his confidence to finally see the ball go in, because I know it sure as shit was a relief for me. He's too good a shooter to simply miss every shot he takes. That's just not a thing that happens to a player of his caliber.

- On a scale of 1 to 10 how infuriating do you think it is as a Mavs fan that they not only are watching Kristaps Porzgingis win a ring with Tatum, but that he also destroys them a long the way. It's not like he was bad as a Mav, he was just always hurt. Now he's still always hurt, but they have to be playing the "what if" game every time they see him perform like this

As I said in the previous blogs, I love how KP was open and honest in terms of calling out their dogshit play and then immediately turned around and backed it up on the court. As a fan, that's all I want. Accountability. Don't just say the right things, go out and do the right things and ever since KP has returned from his injury in early January, he's been lights out. 

We have no idea how long this is going to last considering every second he's on the floor is stressful as fuck, but when he is on the floor his impact is undeniable. The outside shooting has fully returned to the point where for stretches there he was the only Celtic who could make a 3 and that production is what kept them attached. He continues to be an absolute monster in the post while attacking switches, averaging 1.20 PPP and ranking in the 89th percentile. Defensively his rim protection is as good as ever, and I'd say if we were to grade everyone's season, KP might be having the 3rd best season on the team in his limited games.

If Derrick White is the X-Factor, KP is the cheat code. He's what breaks the spirit of the opponent. There's no answer for him other than to just hope he misses. The Celtics are going to force you into a switch and that'll be that. If you don't switch, congratulations you now have an undersized defender on Jayson Tatum. Surely that will work out well for you! If you do switch, congratulations you now have a 7'3 center on a 6'4 or shorter player. Good luck?

Brad Stevens, you diabolical bastard

Advertisement

- For how bad they were against the Lakers, the backcourt in this game was sensational (offensively), and boy was it nice to see Jrue Holiday get back to making big time shots in big time moments

I'm not sure what it is, but every Jrue 3PM seems to feel massive in the moment. It doesn't always have to be late 4th quarter ones either. Sometimes it comes in the 1st or 2nd quarter when the Celts are on a 4 minute scoring drought and they just need to see something go in. His 3PM allow you to exhale a little bit if that makes any sense.

The thing with Jrue/White is when KP is active, their FGA are going to be limited, especially Jrue. You're looking at 10-12 max, and that's if he's super aggressive. Considering the shot quality he gets as an off ball player, he has to be efficient. Can't miss every shot you take, especially the open ones. So for Jrue to come back and put up 6-12 (5-10) while not turning the ball over is an A+ for me.

In fact, the starting backcourt as a unit finished with 0 TOs. Wild what can happen when the guards don't play CTE basketball isn't it? Then on the other end, Kyrie was once again in hell, finishing 11-23 (0-3) with 3 TOs. When this team gets good guard play, and good KP play, and the Jays combine for 46, that's how you get blown the fuck out.

- For the first time all season, we finally saw the starting five all play well in the same game. That feels like a crazy sentence to type, but it's the truth. First time all year they all had at least 15+. Can this please be the thing that lifts this roster wide shooting slump? Have we not suffered enough?

- Which brings me to my next point. While there seems to be such a rush to figure out "What's wrong with the Celtics"?, do you all see the answer is and has always been….shotmaking.

It's a boring answer to say "the Celts are just in a shooting slump", but really it's so blatantly obvious when you watch them play. As long as they don't shoot 38/29%, they're most likely going to win. Just be average. That's the bar. Finally we see them not miss every wide open 3PA and would you look at that, they were great!

They finally got back to the right balance of 2s and 3s, and wouldn't you know it, things got back to being a wagon!

Advertisement

You saw ball movement, you saw shooting without hesitation, you saw playing with purpose, you saw Mazulla Ball. 

Once you finally start making your shots, you're no longer dropping your head. Your energy is different. Teams are now taking the ball out instead of getting off on a break, which allows you to set your defense. Made 3s means teams can't cheat off shooters which increases driving lanes for your best players. It's all connected back to shotmaking. That's why you hear Joe reference their spacing and their offense whenever defensive struggles happen.

When this team executes offensively, everything else falls into place. So no, there's "nothing wrong" with the Celts outside of a horrific shooting slump that hit every single player on the roster for like 6 weeks. When that doesn't exist, they are as tough to beat as they ever were.

- Really really strong minutes from the non-Tatum lineups in their shifts to cut into the deficit early, and then the Tatum + bench units were just as solid. To me, this is how you know the Celts are getting back to normal. Those lineups crushed last year, and this is why Joe has gone back to the old rotations and stays committed to it. They work.

As with any team and their superstar, surviving the minutes when they go to the bench is about as important as anything else about your roster. That's what makes the contenders tough to beat. Their best players can get rest, and things won't go to shit. 

Then in the Tatum + bench minutes, it's his opportunity to be aggressive. He's surrounded by shooters (who finally made their shots) and has the ball in his hands, so that's his time to cook, and he does. Sometimes that's by scoring or sometimes that's by creating for others. Those minutes were great last year and were great last night.

Coming out of the half, it's back to the best starting 5 in basketball. To me, that's why I like these rotations split. When the starters are all out there, it's time for KP/Derrick to inflict their damage while eating off the Jays' gravity. When the subs start, that's when the Jays pick it up. You leave KP out there for Jaylen to play off of and then let Tatum run the bench units since he's more comfortable being the only shot creator on the floor. That's the balance that brought them a title, and it's the balance they need to continue to play with.

- I'm still not seeing how the Mavs addressed any of the issues that plagued them in the Finals. Klay Thompson was supposed to be the wing defender/shooter that swung this matchup? That's what I was told, but that is not what I saw. He was a non-factor on either end really in his 26 minutes.

I still don't see the wing defenders on this roster, their guard defense still stinks even if you add in Luka, so much like DAL is a bad matchup for OKC, the Celts are a terrible matchup for the Mavs. 

- We can't have a game in DAL without reliving Game 3. What a moment that changed all of our lives forever. 

The Bad

- One thing that did annoy me was how poor the on ball defense was in this game from a lot of the starters. Call it tired legs, call it saving your energy for the playoffs, call it whatever you want. I'll choose to call it an unacceptable level of individual defense. 

Advertisement

If the Celts are going to be tough defensively, they have to be better at their point of attack defense. Part of what made them so devastating defensively was the fact that you couldn't attack any of them off the dribble. Does that look like what's happening here?

Let's all be honest. When Luka was defending like this on the perimeter in the Finals, we crushed him for it. Tatum is too good a defender to just let his opponent go by him like that so often all with no resistance. 

It was all night too. Pick a Mav and they all had zero problem getting to the rim with ease

Advertisement

In the end, the Mavs put up 52 points in the paint without Lively or Luka which is pretty embarrassing for the Celts defense, and a lot of it is because they were extremely weak on the perimeter.

The only reason things got "tight" in the 4th was because they opened the quarter allowing 3 or 4 straight buckets at the rim with zero resistance. So while the Mavs only scored 107 points which is good, I still didn't feel like this was the best defensive effort we've ever seen, especially from the guards and Tatum on the perimeter.

- Classic Scott Foster special to keep an undermanned team close. Or at least try to. Very normal that the Celts would suddenly have their highest foul total (24) of any game this season and the FTA difference being 28-19 when the Celts commit the 4th fewest fouls in the league compared to the Mavs being 16th totally make sense. Nothing to see here. Forget being put in the bonus for 8+ minutes after 3 straight fouls were called on single possession, two of which were rebounding fouls. Totally normal.

Meanwhile Jayson Tatum can be aggressive and gets to the line 4 times, one of which was a tech FTA. 

- Speaking of FTs, tough showing for Jaylen with a brutal 2-6. He'd been shooting the ball better lately from the stripe, but this was not one of those nights. He did finish with 22/8/6 and a +10 so overall he was fine, but from the FT line he was a disaster. 

- Offensive rebounding still continues to be a problem, regardless of lineups. We're seeing the double big units still struggle on the glass, we're seeing KP as the lone center struggle with it, I mean at some point the entire team has to get back to being committed to finishing possessions off cleanly. 

DAL finished with 13 OREB for 22 2nd chance points, Gafford himself had 8 OREB. That simply cannot happen, it's losing basketball. You allow bad teams to hang around if you can't finish possessions cleanly. That's Day 1 stuff really. What good is forcing a miss if you can't get the ball? It almost always leads to points, and for this entire month their OREB issues have been a problem. It cost them the game vs ATL for example. That needs to be figured out.

The Ugly

- Another game the Celts were really awful at the rim. Coming off a 10-26 showing against the Lakers, the Celts were just 7-19 in this game

Advertisement

This is easily the most bizarre part of the Celts struggles offensively at times. How can so many good rim finishers somehow be so bad? Tatum getting blocked at the rim, Holiday missing wide open layups, Luke fumbling around the rim, it's all so frustrating. 

League average is 66% from this zone and the Celts have put up 38% and 36%. That feels impossible.

But at the end of the day, they were up by as many as 25 and won by 15 on the road to end a long West Coast trip. We needed to see them play well, and they did. Now if they can finally figure out how to play this way at home, that'd be great. A red hot Rockets come to town tomorrow, and you know they'll be motivated for revenge after what took place earlier this month.

The Cavs have lost 3 straight and 5 of 8, so there is a window. The Celts just need to get serious and take advantage of it.