Game Thread – Pacers @ Celtics – Fri. 7:30PM, Dec. 27, 2024

[165bows]

For the game thread...

Celtics play Pacers in Boston tomorrow but they have a home game vs. OKC tonight. Jackson, Nesmith, and Wiseman are OUT. Turner is QUESTIONABLE. Looks like Cs would have to deal with their speed and movement again. Not much size available for the Pacers.

Thanks for the Updates.

Interesting that Scheierman, Davison, and Watson are listed as OUT but Peterson is not.

Yup he seems to have the firm lead on that pecking order.

[Fierce1]

We should just trade for a back up rim protector, so KP and Al can get their load management. I don’t think sitting KP for long stretches would do well for his conditioning and confidence. Lets just accept the fact that he is injury prone. Best we could do is find a legit rim protector. Kornet, Queta and Tillman won’t cut it. Heck, I would even get and play Tacko Fall, and let him just stand in the middle and bother shots. Plus we need that added energy. Our guys are playing bored and lazy on D.

The rim protection is fine.

It's not playing good defense on the perimter that's a problem.

I’m inclined to think this is the actual issue - KP came back and started protecting the rim, and then immediately everyone else forgot that they still have to play defense.

A bit of a taking things for granted situation is my take.

The next 10 games will tell us more about this Celtics team.

[phincsfan]

The rim protection is fine.

It's not playing good defense on the perimter that's a problem.

I’m inclined to think this is the actual issue - KP came back and started protecting the rim, and then immediately everyone else forgot that they still have to play defense.

A bit of a taking things for granted situation is my take.

The next 10 games will tell us more about this Celtics team.

KP may miss time which will continue to show the defensive inconsistencies. I also think Sam isn't 100%. Lets just say they go 7 and 3 with losses to OKC and Den. How's the feeling? Or they go 5 and 5 and they beat OKC and Den but have losses to Sac, Indy and the Raps. What's the feeling? IMO, it's still Dec and Jan ball. I don't think it's the personal accolades for the core guys, it may be Joe falling into the trap of leaning into the starters too much because he's getting his first test of regular season injuries for the main rotation.

This is where I respect and hate Spo at the same time. He was blessed to have prime LeBron, Wade and Bosch, but his excellent coaching came during the Jimmy era except Jimmy's knees were well past his prime and Spo, although he coached up his bench they weren't the star caliber player that Jimmy was.

[Fierce1]

I’m inclined to think this is the actual issue - KP came back and started protecting the rim, and then immediately everyone else forgot that they still have to play defense.

A bit of a taking things for granted situation is my take.

The next 10 games will tell us more about this Celtics team.

KP may miss time which will continue to show the defensive inconsistencies. I also think Sam isn't 100%. Lets just say they go 7 and 3 with losses to OKC and Den. How's the feeling? Or they go 5 and 5 and they beat OKC and Den but have losses to Sac, Indy and the Raps. What's the feeling? IMO, it's still Dec and Jan ball. I don't think it's the personal accolades for the core guys, it may be Joe falling into the trap of leaning into the starters too much because he's getting his first test of regular season injuries for the main rotation.

This is where I respect and hate Spo at the same time. He was blessed to have prime LeBron, Wade and Bosch, but his excellent coaching came during the Jimmy era except Jimmy's knees were well past his prime and Spo, although he coached up his bench they weren't the star caliber player that Jimmy was.

We can't pretend the Olympic snub of JB and the benching of Tatum didn't happen.

JB didn't even make 3rd team all-nba.

If personal accolades is not part of the reason, the Jays should only be playing 32 minutes per game.

It's not a secret JT wants MVP, JB wants all-nba, and White wants to be an all-star.

Maybe it's not the main reason, but it's part of the to do list this season.

[Fierce1]

When the Cs beat the Bulls in Chicago last week, JT had a 40-point triple-double.

So if it's not about personal glory, there was no reason for JT to play in the 4th qtr.

JT checked back in with a little over 7 minutes left in the 4th and the Cs were leading by 25 points.

But JT was one assist shy of a triple-double.

[ThePigeon]

The weak link on defense is White.

White is great at blocking shots, but he gets blown by easily and he gets scored on if he ends up defending in the low post.

KP on the perimeter is the weak link. He gets blown by with ease
There were also many times that he did not switch and stuck 2 player on one resulting in an open 3

We need some other defensive scheme. I think that the little zone we play is to tackle this problem
Jrue, JT and JB are the only ones that keep their players in front of them. All the others just get blown by or called for a foul (Hauser is playing good defense but gets called for non existent fouls)

I hope that Joe will not play the double bigs today
Just play hard

[phincsfan]

When the Cs beat the Bulls in Chicago last week, JT had a 40-point triple-double.

So if it's not about personal glory, there was no reason for JT to play in the 4th qtr.

JT checked back in with a little over 7 minutes left in the 4th and the Cs were leading by 25 points.

But JT was one assist shy of a triple-double.

On 11/13 they were blowing out the Nets, JT needed one more rebound for a triple double. Joe takes him out with 1:44 to go in the 4th up by 24. They were off after that game until Sat.

It's a speed bump during the season IMO.

[phincsfan]

The weak link on defense is White.

White is great at blocking shots, but he gets blown by easily and he gets scored on if he ends up defending in the low post.

KP on the perimeter is the weak link. He gets blown by with ease
There were also many times that he did not switch and stuck 2 player on one resulting in an open 3

We need some other defensive scheme. I think that the little zone we play is to tackle this problem
Jrue, JT and JB are the only ones that keep their players in front of them. All the others just get blown by or called for a foul (Hauser is playing good defense but gets called for non existent fouls)

I hope that Joe will not play the double bigs today
Just play hard

The double bigs are here to stay. If it's a square hole with a round peg Joe's make-up is he'll make it fit. He expanded his rotation early on but something caused him to pull back from that even after Sam was hurt.

[Parliament10]

Thanks for the Updates.

Interesting that Scheierman, Davison, and Watson are listed as OUT but Peterson is not.

Yup he seems to have the firm lead on that pecking order.

Maine has a Game at 7:00PM today; that's probably why the 3 of them are OUT (of Boston).
Peterson is more in "ready now" mode. He should play, especially if Hauser is OUT, or still hampered by Injured.

[Fierce1]

When the Cs beat the Bulls in Chicago last week, JT had a 40-point triple-double.

So if it's not about personal glory, there was no reason for JT to play in the 4th qtr.

JT checked back in with a little over 7 minutes left in the 4th and the Cs were leading by 25 points.

But JT was one assist shy of a triple-double.

On 11/13 they were blowing out the Nets, JT needed one more rebound for a triple double. Joe takes him out with 1:44 to go in the 4th up by 24. They were off after that game until Sat.

It's a speed bump during the season IMO.

I remember that game.

Would have been too obvious if Joe didn't take him out.

[Fierce1]

The weak link on defense is White.

White is great at blocking shots, but he gets blown by easily and he gets scored on if he ends up defending in the low post.

KP on the perimeter is the weak link. He gets blown by with ease
There were also many times that he did not switch and stuck 2 player on one resulting in an open 3

We need some other defensive scheme. I think that the little zone we play is to tackle this problem
Jrue, JT and JB are the only ones that keep their players in front of them. All the others just get blown by or called for a foul (Hauser is playing good defense but gets called for non existent fouls)

I hope that Joe will not play the double bigs today
Just play hard

It's a given KP is weak when it comes to perimeter defense.

But hard to believe White can't stay in front of his man when he's very athletic.

[phincsfan]

Read on Twitter

[ConstableGeneva]

Isaiah Jackson, Nesmith, Wiseman, and Toppin are OUT. No changes with Celtics injury report. Holiday and Porzingis still QUESTIONABLE.

[redslastlaugh]

Read on Twitter

It’d be nice to see him for a few minutes. I think he was leading the Maine prospects in +/-

[ConstableGeneva]

STAT OF THE DAY: Since the start of Joe Mazzulla's tenure as coach, the Celtics have lost ALL the games they didn't win, including playoffs. 100% losing rate when they do not win.

Cs gotta be better than that.

[Parliament10]

Read on Twitter

It’d be nice to see him for a few minutes. I think he was leading the Maine prospects in +/-

That's interesting. He must be with Boston tonight? -- I figured that they were just going to leave him in Maine, all Season.
He's getting comfortable playing with the Minor League. Give him a shot, with the big boys.

[ConstableGeneva]

Saw this somewhere, forget where...

Celtics are the 1st team in NBA history to make 500 threes in 30 games or less. White (39.0%), Pritchard (41.4%), and Tatum (37.5%) each have 100+ each so far. JB (32.2%) is next with 57.

Team should try and create more open looks for Horford and Hauser tbh. Holiday, Brown, Porzingis all shooting poorly from 3 so far.

[ThePigeon]

Saw this somewhere, forget where...

Celtics are the 1st team in NBA history to make 500 threes in 30 games or less. White (39.0%), Pritchard (41.4%), and Tatum (37.5%) each have 100+ each so far. JB (32.2%) is next with 57.

Team should try and create more open looks for Horford and Hauser tbh. Holiday, Brown, Porzingis all shooting poorly from 3 so far.

Horford gets open looks every game. Hauser is just running around not getting open at all
We need to run some plays for him

[playa-hater]

I have an idea.. Let's play lot's of Double Bigs and only 8 players. They will have to eventually get it right... Right??

* Sam Hauser is averaging 1/2 shots per game since he has came back. I say he doubles that output tonight!

[Shak_Celts]

Read on Twitter

It’d be nice to see him for a few minutes. I think he was leading the Maine prospects in +/-

That's interesting. He must be with Boston tonight? -- I figured that they were just going to leave him in Maine, all Season.
He's getting comfortable playing with the Minor League. Give him a shot, with the big boys.

I know yall know how I get with Celtics players but hear me when I say, he can help NOW! I feel like he can slide right in with the good players and not do too much and will do the little things that make things gel. Watched all of the Maine games and my mind has not changed.

One bad part may be that he won’t stand out, he’ll do all he does and you may not know he’s out there unless you’re looking for him. I think that’s good, but maybe not for nba standards. You gotta make yourself shine in big ways to play on this team especially.

I know that they think he’s hesitant on shooting the 3, but note he’s much less hesitant today. He’s letting it go if he’s open. He reminds me of Al, he’s going to try and do everything the team needs, he’s more of a team player. He’s trying to play in a league that thrives on being more selfish, if he doesn’t believe in himself as an individual he’ll probably never make it.

He’s not going to hurt us imo, but he might not stand out enough for Joe to be ready just yet. If Peterson’s solid play didn’t get him another shot then I don’t know what Anton can do to stand out. If he does play, he may get one LOOK at a three, he must take it and make it.

One thing I don’t like about always winning, the deep bench guys never get a chance. Sure, that is nothing to cry over when you’re winning, it just feels like some players might do something if they went to a bad team from go. Look at some magic and piston players who people were laughing at a couple season ago, now they’ve had their chance to grow they are shining.