Celtics 120 @ Rockets 123 Post-game Notes (44-20)

[Captain_Caveman]

Smart had two critical mistakes down the stretch that contributed to this loss. We also have a much higher winning percentage in games where Smart keeps his field goals under 10. I didn’t see anything at the end of the game where Tatum helped contribute to the loss. Late in this game, Smart took a contested 13-footer where his miss led to Harden layup at the other end. Our 113-110 lead went down to 113-112 at the 2:30 mark.

That was an unnecessary shot that Marcus didn’t need to take, and I was pointing out he took too many in that game. 11 is too many shots for him. Especially when used an ill advised one to help choke away the game. Especially when he’s had problems all year taking shots he has no business taking. Especially when he didn’t do any of that in his first 4 games after the break. All valid criticism. If you think the worst shooter on our team deserves double digit shot attempts per game, and our young rookie who’s at the top of the league in 3pt fg% should take half of what Smart takes per game, I can’t help you.

Terrible.

Stop posting.[/quote

Smart did play bad in the 4th. Had like 3 costly turnovers. But he could do no wrong your eyes, I get it.

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.
I know you are a very intelligent person. So please try and not call or insinuate that people are stupid because they don't agree with you. Thanks. Canman.

[GoCeltics123]

Terrible.

Stop posting.[/quote

Smart did play bad in the 4th. Had like 3 costly turnovers. But he could do no wrong your eyes, I get it.

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

Tatum played pretty well last night. He wasn't great, wasn't bad. Overall solid.

Smart made some mistakes down the stretch but the fact remains Harden really struggles against him. He's super important, especially on defense.

Consider who the Celtics are likely facing in Round 1 too: Bucks or Heat. Fans here that really don't think we're going to need Smart against Dragic/Bledsoe/even Giannis to an extent are delusional.

[Iguodaladon]

I think we went with the awful 3 guard lineup for too long late in the 4th. Jaylen wasn't having the best game, but him or Tatum would've added some nice length and an extra offensive angle. Having Smart, Kyrie and Rozier on the floor at the same time makes many of their skills redundant

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

I really thought this hot take would have died after the playoffs last year, but I see it's still making the rounds. Why in the world do people keep griping about the idea that Horford is overpaid? Were you guys not around in 2016?

Danny needed to sign Horford for Durant to even take us seriously. And we paid Al based on what the market that summer dictated. He had max offers from Detroit and Washington, as well as a 5 year deal from the Hawks. Want to know why he chose Boston over Atlanta, despite them offering more money overall? Because they didn't offer him the max per year like we did.

No Al means no shot at Durant. If this is the hill you want to die on, then be my guest.

[Feed Your Head]

I really thought this hot take would have died after the playoffs last year, but I see it's still making the rounds. Why in the world do people keep griping about the idea that Horford is overpaid? Were you guys not around in 2016?

Danny needed to sign Horford for Durant to even take us seriously. And we paid Al based on what the market that summer dictated. He had max offers from Detroit and Washington, as well as a 5 year deal from the Hawks. Want to know why he chose Boston over Atlanta, despite them offering more money overall? Because they didn't offer him the max per year like we did.

No Al means no shot at Durant. If this is the hill you want to die on, then be my guest.

But but he doesn't score enough! And hes not a great rebounder! He may be an elite defender, and yeah his shooting/passing gives the offense the necessary spacing it needs to thrive, but he's no Greg Monroe.

And yeah I know about Durant, but facts aren't important.

[ThirtyFour]

I really thought this hot take would have died after the playoffs last year, but I see it's still making the rounds. Why in the world do people keep griping about the idea that Horford is overpaid? Were you guys not around in 2016?

Danny needed to sign Horford for Durant to even take us seriously. And we paid Al based on what the market that summer dictated. He had max offers from Detroit and Washington, as well as a 5 year deal from the Hawks. Want to know why he chose Boston over Atlanta, despite them offering more money overall? Because they didn't offer him the max per year like we did.

No Al means no shot at Durant. If this is the hill you want to die on, then be my guest.

Taking that further you probably don’t get Hayward and Kyrie could have threatened not to resign with us if traded to Boston if we hadn’t been as successful as we were and love him or hate him but Horford was an integral part of us overachieving.

[Curmudgeon]

I'll ask again: where was Daniel Theis?

[return2glory]

I'll ask again: where was Daniel Theis?

Injuried like the last game, no? Not having Theis in the game was not an issue at all in this game. The bench players amazing. Season high in points. The role players like Morris, Monroe, Rozier, and Smart kept us in the game.

It was the starters like Kyrie and Horford that didn’t play too well. Tatum and Brown had strong 1st quarters then both disappear after that.

We had a chance to beat arguably the best team in the league on the road. It was a good game. We just needed a little more from the 2 all-stars in this one.

[Green89]

Terrible.

Stop posting.[/quote

Smart did play bad in the 4th. Had like 3 costly turnovers. But he could do no wrong your eyes, I get it.

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

Tatum played pretty well last night. He wasn't great, wasn't bad. Overall solid.

Smart made some mistakes down the stretch but the fact remains Harden really struggles against him. He's super important, especially on defense.

Consider who the Celtics are likely facing in Round 1 too: Bucks or Heat. Fans here that really don't think we're going to need Smart against Dragic/Bledsoe/even Giannis to an extent are delusional.

Anyone have Harden stats with Smart defending him from last night? I didn’t see Smart on him very much, especially in the first half.

[Scarletfire81]

I really thought this hot take would have died after the playoffs last year, but I see it's still making the rounds. Why in the world do people keep griping about the idea that Horford is overpaid? Were you guys not around in 2016?

Danny needed to sign Horford for Durant to even take us seriously. And we paid Al based on what the market that summer dictated. He had max offers from Detroit and Washington, as well as a 5 year deal from the Hawks. Want to know why he chose Boston over Atlanta, despite them offering more money overall? Because they didn't offer him the max per year like we did.

No Al means no shot at Durant. If this is the hill you want to die on, then be my guest.

So that’s means we can never criticize him? He has played awful for like a month. He looks old all of a sudden. Still 2 years left on his deal.

[StojkoVrankovic]

This thread makes me miss Humblebum, thanks a lot guys

[Captain_Caveman]

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

Tatum played pretty well last night. He wasn't great, wasn't bad. Overall solid.

Smart made some mistakes down the stretch but the fact remains Harden really struggles against him. He's super important, especially on defense.

Consider who the Celtics are likely facing in Round 1 too: Bucks or Heat. Fans here that really don't think we're going to need Smart against Dragic/Bledsoe/even Giannis to an extent are delusional.

Anyone have Harden stats with Smart defending him from last night? I didn’t see Smart on him very much, especially in the first half.

Honest questions here.

Do you place any value on being the top defensive team in the league?

And what do you attribute that stat to?

[KumaJG]

Terrible.

Stop posting.[/quote

Smart did play bad in the 4th. Had like 3 costly turnovers. But he could do no wrong your eyes, I get it.

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

A rookie gave you 12pts 4rbs 3assist, but you claim did jack **** all night? You always go into mode complete agenda/stan mode with Smart and have the nerve to call someone in stupid and dishonest? Have at it, just leave me out of it from now.

[CelticsPride18]

Terrible.

Stop posting.[/quote

Smart did play bad in the 4th. Had like 3 costly turnovers. But he could do no wrong your eyes, I get it.

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

A rookie gave you 12pts 4rbs 3assist, but you claim did jack **** all night? You always go into mode complete agenda/stan mode with Smart and have the nerve to call someone in stupid and dishonest? Have at it, just leave me out of it from now.

Smart was putting the clamps on Harden and running the offense on the other end. Tatum was alright while Smart was one of the reasons we almost won that game.

[KumaJG]

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

A rookie gave you 12pts 4rbs 3assist, but you claim did jack **** all night? You always go into mode complete agenda/stan mode with Smart and have the nerve to call someone in stupid and dishonest? Have at it, just leave me out of it from now.

Smart was putting the clamps on Harden and running the offense on the other end. Tatum was alright while Smart was one of the reasons we almost won that game.

He played bad down the stretch along with that **** lineup Brad threw out there. Smart played a good game overall

[Green89]

Tatum played pretty well last night. He wasn't great, wasn't bad. Overall solid.

Smart made some mistakes down the stretch but the fact remains Harden really struggles against him. He's super important, especially on defense.

Consider who the Celtics are likely facing in Round 1 too: Bucks or Heat. Fans here that really don't think we're going to need Smart against Dragic/Bledsoe/even Giannis to an extent are delusional.

Anyone have Harden stats with Smart defending him from last night? I didn’t see Smart on him very much, especially in the first half.

Honest questions here.

Do you place any value on being the top defensive team in the league?

And what do you attribute that stat to?

1. To a point, but it’s regular season and teams need offense a bit more in the playoffs. Great team D may not be enough to stop offensive juggernauts like Golden State and Houston. You have to be able to fire back, too.

2. Our length and size at each position is probably the biggest factor. Losing Jae and Avery and we’re better this year with Tatum and Brown getting all those minutes. Early in the season we contested and bothered shots a lot more. Lately, and in these games where we give up 100 points or more, I see guys with their hands down (Baynes last night) and watching guys shoot instead of contesting. Smart is a big factor on D because he’s probably the most vocal defensive leader out there, calling for guys to get into position and pickup open men. I’ve never doubted his value on D and my criticism is always on his offensive side of things.

[Ed Pinkney]

This thread makes me miss Humblebum, thanks a lot guys

It's a bit like accidentally finding yourself in a thread on the Raptors board.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

I really thought this hot take would have died after the playoffs last year, but I see it's still making the rounds. Why in the world do people keep griping about the idea that Horford is overpaid? Were you guys not around in 2016?

Danny needed to sign Horford for Durant to even take us seriously. And we paid Al based on what the market that summer dictated. He had max offers from Detroit and Washington, as well as a 5 year deal from the Hawks. Want to know why he chose Boston over Atlanta, despite them offering more money overall? Because they didn't offer him the max per year like we did.

No Al means no shot at Durant. If this is the hill you want to die on, then be my guest.

So that’s means we can never criticize him? He has played awful for like a month. He looks old all of a sudden. Still 2 years left on his deal.

Go for it. So long as it isn't about his contract. Save that for when he opts out in a few years and wants more than what Danny is willing to pay him.

[Captain_Caveman]

Terrible.

Stop posting.[/quote

Smart did play bad in the 4th. Had like 3 costly turnovers. But he could do no wrong your eyes, I get it.

First of all, he was a big reason we were still in the game until the end. Our bench was great across the board and he was a major reason that the likely MVP was held down to less than ordinary status. No biggie, right?

Contrast with Tatum, who did jack and **** all night once again.

To try to blame Smart while absolving Tatum, you have to be stupid AND dishonest. Goes for anyone defending that point as well.

A rookie gave you 12pts 4rbs 3assist, but you claim did jack **** all night? You always go into mode complete agenda/stan mode with Smart and have the nerve to call someone in stupid and dishonest? Have at it, just leave me out of it from now.

You are calling me out for being a stan despite being the one with the bias. Smart was objectively much better than Tatum last night. Why are you even trying to argue that? More than happy to leave you out of it if you aren’t calling me out with a stupid opinion.

[chrisab123]

Well AD is not available.

Neither was Kyrie last year...

Point is depending on where NO finishes it seems like an easy sell with all of the picks etc. Still keep defensive stopper Smart instead of S&T

If I am New Orleans and looking to deal AD, I DEFINITELY want to trade him for a lesser big man like Horford who makes a lot more money. The fact that he would also kill my team's ability to tank for the next two years would just be a bonus.

You obviously want more than Al. But point blank if AD is coming then Al has to go the other way to make salary work.