Game Thread – Celtics @ Grizzlies – 8:00PM, Sun, Nov. 19, 2023

[Shak_Celts]

Brown was a poop show on offense but he shut that second half on his D assignments. clutch after clutch D stop. He screwed up after a huge block for their 3 but he was in their ass on D that second part.

[JaMarco]

Why would Tatum not just hold the ball? That was crazy

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

[AlCelticFan]

KP was amazing all game. Everyone else was garbage

Except Hauser.

[Triple7]

This was classic playing down to your opponent. Ugly but i’ll take the W. Don’t know if i could sleep, if they hit that game winner 3.

[lon3lytoaster]

That three by Aldama should’ve gone in. We owe one to the gods.

Well when you give a guy open 3s all game, sometimes the law of averages will be in your favor

[Triple7]

Why would Tatum not just hold the ball? That was crazy

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

[VeryMuchWoke]

Holiday really was possessed by Marcus Smart trying to dunk on Jaren Jackson there what in the actual ****

We played like we wanted to make sure Smart never felt bad about all our late game collapses

[JaMarco]

Why would Tatum not just hold the ball? That was crazy

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

Not if there's a wide open dunk there.

[VeryMuchWoke]

KP was amazing all game. Everyone else was garbage

Except Hauser.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Hauser because he didn't touch the ball in the second half

[Kaykoose]

Why would Tatum not just hold the ball? That was crazy

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You just hold the ball in that situation 100% of the time. Thankfully it doesn't matter because they won

[Hal14]

Why would Tatum not just hold the ball? That was crazy

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

Idk, I can see it from both sides. What if he gets fouled and misses both FT's? In that moment, Jrue saw a wide open lane to the basket with no defender in sight. He felt like it was an easy 2 points by going in for the dunk - he saw it as more of a guaranteed 2 points, rather than getting fouled and trying to hit 2 FTs..

I've seen plenty of times where in a situation like that, the guy goes in for the layup or dunk to make it a 2 (or even 3) possession game, rather than getting fouled and it's still a 1 (or 2) possession game.

Plus, if you stand there waiting to get fouled, you never know - maybe the defender knocks the ball loose while trying to foul you, and the dude steals the ball from you..that's one reason why sometimes guys go in for the dunk/layup if they think they have it in that situation.

[Green89]

Why would Tatum not just hold the ball? That was crazy

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Up 2 with the shot clock turned off, you don't pass unless it's a wide open layup or dunk. Jrue was up near the free throw line. Not a smart play there.

[Cuban Pete]

This was classic playing down to your opponent.

I'm not so sure about that. I think the Celtics improved by replacing Smart with Jrue. Sans Smart, the Grizzlies crushed the Spurs on the road and almost beat the Cs tonight.

One thing that was disturbing. The ghosts of Celtics Past Drafts materialized. Bane (appropriately named) killed the Cs while Pritchard continues to suck. Moreover, Santi Aldema was a terror tonight. The Cs caught Memphis at a bad time. The Grizz is waking up.

That said, last year's team loses this one. Imagine the general attitude on this forum had the Cs stood pat over the summer.

[shackles10]

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

Idk, I can see it from both sides. What if he gets fouled and misses both FT's? In that moment, Jrue saw a wide open lane to the basket with no defender in sight. He felt like it was an easy 2 points by going in for the dunk - he saw it as more of a guaranteed 2 points, rather than getting fouled and trying to hit 2 FTs..

I've seen plenty of times where in a situation like that, the guy goes in for the layup or dunk to make it a 2 (or even 3) possession game, rather than getting fouled and it's still a 1 (or 2) possession game.

Plus, if you stand there waiting to get fouled, you never know - maybe the defender knocks the ball loose while trying to foul you, and the dude steals the ball from you..that's one reason why sometimes guys go in for the dunk/layup if they think they have it in that situation.

Agree with the bolded part, but it doesn’t make it a good play imo. We see lots of bad/not smart plays plenty of times lol.

[Triple7]

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

Not if there's a wide open dunk there.

Well it’s not there is it?

[Triple7]

This was classic playing down to your opponent.

I'm not so sure about that. I think the Celtics improved by replacing Smart with Jrue. Sans Smart, the Grizzlies crushed the Spurs on the road and almost beat the Cs tonight.

One thing that was disturbing. The ghosts of Celtics Past Drafts materialized. Bane (appropriately named) killed the Cs while Pritchard continues to suck. Moreover, Santi Aldema was a terror tonight. The Cs caught Memphis at a bad time. The Grizz is waking up.

That said, last year's team loses this one. Imagine the general attitude on this forum had the Cs stood pat over the summer.

Nope. It’s playing down to your opponent. You could see the lack in effort, like they were bored or something. I agree, if this was last year, we lose this one.

[celtxman]

Honestly Holiday was wide open, was the right play, NBA player needs to be able to finish a dunk.

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

Not if there's a wide open dunk there.

It wasn't wide open. You had the reigning DPOY in Jackson ( who lead the NBA in blocked shots) challenging the shot. That's why he missed a dunk. Thats why you hold the ball, take time off the clock until they foul. They had virtually the whole shot clock to use up

[Cuban Pete]

Shame on this team. Disgraceful performance

They won. That's all that matters.

Brown was, likely, less than 100%. Tatum was bad for the second game in a row. Bane and Aldema deserve some credit as both had outta-this-world performances. They weren't flukes.

If this team can have a "disgraceful" performance on the road while under the above conditions and still walk away with a win, be proud and rejoice.

One more thing. I've always considered Memphis to be one the NBA's smarter teams and have no doubt they are a rising team in spite of their record. We saw a glimpse of that tonight. Their one miscalculation was taking Ja Morant in the weak 2019 draft and extending him afterwards. He's a mediocre shooter and a slasher. Those guys are best coming off the bench, but should never be taken above the late first round. Memphis should have realized sooner that they should have traded him to the Knicks before Brunson was a FA. Now, they can't get a peeling old B-ball for him. Alas.

[JaMarco]

Nah. You hold that ball till they foul you.

Not if there's a wide open dunk there.

It wasn't wide open. You had the reigning DPOY in Jackson ( who lead the NBA in blocked shots) challenging the shot. That's why he missed a dunk. Thats why you hold the ball, take time off the clock until they foul. They had virtually the whole shot clock to use up

If the dunk wasn't wide open then Holiday should've have held the ball.

If you just hold the ball waiting for a foul the other team doesn't have to foul you, they could also steal the ball.

[shackles10]

Not if there's a wide open dunk there.

It wasn't wide open. You had the reigning DPOY in Jackson ( who lead the NBA in blocked shots) challenging the shot. That's why he missed a dunk. Thats why you hold the ball, take time off the clock until they foul. They had virtually the whole shot clock to use up

If the dunk wasn't wide open then Holiday should've have held the ball.

If you just hold the ball waiting for a foul the other team doesn't have to foul you, they could also steal the ball.

They could steal the ball but that would be the same outcome as a block and a fast break opportunity? They could also be forced to foul and even if you miss both free throws your defense is set up. I’ll take my chances taking time off the clock while making free throws too. Those generally aren’t contested by the reigning DPOY.