Pelicans 116 @ Celtics 113 Post-game Notes (34-11)

[3D Chess]

Fun game, enjoyed it.

Coach Rondo > Coach Brad.

Our transition D was laughably bad, not something you can say very often.

Up 5 with 2 mins left, game was ours. We played absolute junk ball from that point forward.

Probably due for a loss like this, we have snatched plenty that we didn't really deserve to win.

AD is a beast. Please Danny?

I would never want to have to watch and root for Cousins on a regular basis.

Have to mention the refs... Was this a replacement crew for a replacement crew? Think we got the short end of the stick, but overall it was a very poorly reffed game.

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

Just watched on replay. Wow,what a fun game. Disappointing loss but exciting to the end.

Rondo is our kryptonite. 3-0 now in the last 3 games. Does anyone know what his record is against the C's?

Drew Holiday is a serious talent. Broke us down every time they needed a bucket.

Did Brad limit Tatum's minutes on purpose? If he would have played and shot a little more we would have had the win. No one on the Pels can come close to stopping him.

Kyrie was super sloppy tonight.

Props to the Pelicans. They're better than I thought.

I don't know what was going on with Tatum, but less Jayson means more shooting from Smart and Morris, never a good thing.
One of the frustrating things this season is the continual minimal number of shots taken by Tatum. Second Steven's annoyance is his propensity for small lineups. Maybe they should trade for Drummond? Whiteside?

[Patsfan1081]

During the twenty game win streak the ball goot spread around about more to end the game. I could be wrong but I believe Tatum was in the top ten in scoring with five minutes remaining or something like that. The latest trend seems to be ISO Kyrie or a two man game with Horfor and it just becomes so predictable. You want the ball in Irvings hands but not to the point where he can't get open looks.

[Patsfan1081]

I also don't understand why Brad stuck with Rozier when he was so ice cold, I guess he liked how the whole rotation played rather than individual players.

[John Murdoch]

45/16/2 from AD ..jeezus

[TheOGJabroni]

I don't know if this is the best place to post it but man, is Kyrie streaky...

In game, he was ice cold in the first half, third quarter came and he was lighting it up, then cold again in the 4th.

He has yet to shoot 40% from the field in any of the five games of the new year, while in November/December he shot 50%. Started off the year shooting around 40% if I remember as well.

I don't think it's anything to really worry about, just seems like he bunches any bad games in a season all together. Just interesting to me & inevitably, I also fully expect him to start lighting it up again.

[Jammer]

My key point is that Morris' 5-13 shooting and Smart's 5-14 shooting lost this game (when they could have passed to better shooters).

There were plenty of opportunities for these two self-centered players to pass to better shooters, or slightly adjust their passing angle with a dribble or two and get the ball to Al Horford (5-9), Jayson Tatum (3-6) or Jaylen Brown (7-14), all of whom were having better shooting days. Kyrie may have been forced to go 8-24 because Morris and Smart were not giving it up and Kyrie was taking shots late in the clock.

[Celts17Pride]

My key point is that Morris' 5-13 shooting and Smart's 5-14 shooting lost this game (when they could have passed to better shooters).

There were plenty of opportunities for these two self-centered players to pass to better shooters, or slightly adjust their passing angle with a dribble or two and get the ball to Al Horford (5-9), Jayson Tatum (3-6) or Jaylen Brown (7-14), all of whom were having better shooting days. Kyrie may have been forced to go 8-24 because Morris and Smart were not giving it up and Kyrie was taking shots late in the clock.

Marcus Smart continuing to think he his a good shooter is a growing problem for the Celtics in my opinion.

[Infinite Llamas]

Smart took three 3’s in a row in the first quarter. You can probably count the times Klay has done that this year on one hand.

[3D Chess]

These dudes ate our lunch.

[Shak_Celts]

It has been bothering me for a while now, this game makes me think of it more. Why don't we put JB on a guy like Holiday in those moments? They went to that same set a bazillion times with AD and Holiday and we just kept Ky on him. I think length could have been a solution there. If Holiday got past JB (likely), Horford slows him like he did for Ky but instead JB recovers or at least has a chance to get a hand in there! Why aren't we taking Kyrie out on these possessions? Offense/Defense rotations like we did with IT? We don't have to do it all the time because (slightly surprising) Ky has held his own when we have had to shut shat down in the clutch but in moments like last night, they killed us the same way and we stuck with it. How does that happen? We didn't use Smart because IIRC he was in Cousin's skin.

We had this game, it's bugging the hell outta me, I hope it's doing the same to them. Maybe we can stop coming out sleepwalking. Slow starts plagued us last season too and I remember CBS basically saying we were full of ourselves. I hope that isn't a problem with a whole new team. If that's the case, a message from CBS is being lost in translation. I know we are young but these guys are very mature, I thought young guys come out ready to bite early? I don't know what it is but it's weird as hell to carry over like it has. Hopefully, it's a sign that they will try hard for more of the game in the playoffs because every game and moment is clutch time then! Teams aren't going to let down in the playoffs, most of the teams know what the playoffs are about and they focus more, for longer periods, especially after the first round!


One more thing in closing, Roze is the new AB, why doesn't CBS draw up plays for last shots for him like we did with AB? They know Ky is taking it, why is it mainly him? Over CBS's career, he would have given it to your momma on the last shot but now it's mostly give it to Ky to figure it out. Not saying it doesn't work but I want something different now and then. A surprise with Morris or somebody. I don't think we had a timeout to try it at the end but a few plays before coulda used a CBS ATO Special or 2. I don't know if MM is clutch but I do know that somehow CBS makes people seem clutch with his plays! We had everyone and their momma to Zeller hit clutch buckets with ATO god at the helm, why not this season? I can't remember one guy doing it this season that shocked me and made me think WTH was CBS thinking but OMG thank you for thinking it and fooling them and us! MM wouldn't shock me BTW but a Yabu or Semi 3 would LOL. Maybe a cut and dunk by Semi or something haha. I know the shooting hasn't been there but that hasn't stopped ATO god before!

[Shak_Celts]

These dudes ate our lunch.

Yet, they had to eek it out in OT. They better get more killers because our zombies aren't scared!

[shackles10]

I’ll never understand what seemed like a continuous 2 man game between Theis and Smart while Al and Kyrie do nothing and Rozier sits in the corner. That group of 5 is strange down a stretch in general. while I don’t enjoy a Kyrie/Al pick and roll over and over, partly because it’s not Kyrie’s strength, it made little sense for the 2 weakest offensive players to be running it.

[KumaJG]

My key point is that Morris' 5-13 shooting and Smart's 5-14 shooting lost this game (when they could have passed to better shooters).

There were plenty of opportunities for these two self-centered players to pass to better shooters, or slightly adjust their passing angle with a dribble or two and get the ball to Al Horford (5-9), Jayson Tatum (3-6) or Jaylen Brown (7-14), all of whom were having better shooting days. Kyrie may have been forced to go 8-24 because Morris and Smart were not giving it up and Kyrie was taking shots late in the clock.

Jaylen was actually terrible shooting the ball, was like 2-7 from three. We just got outplayed here, nothing to fret about

[Jammer]

It has been bothering me for a while now, this game makes me think of it more. Why don't we put JB on a guy like Holiday in those moments?

The Wolves are 3-0 against OKC simply because the Wolves sick 6' 7" Jimmy Butler against 6' 3.5" Russell Westbrook while 6' 0.25" Jeff Teague or Tyus Jones guards OKC's inept shooting guards.

[Tiny ball]

Can't really expect Horford/Theis/Morris to slow down talents like Davis and Cousins.

Sure you can.

Er, not really.

Davis and Cousins pretty much get their numbers on most nights, it’s the rest of the team that typically lets them down.

Davis is a top 5 player and far too big for Horford to contain. Likewise Cousins. Who do we have who can keep up with the speed and strength of Cousins?

I’m glad they’re in the West because they’re a genuine matchup nightmare for us in the front court.

If they didn’t do some genuinely dumb things with their roster, they’d be a top 4 team in the West. Cousins and Davis are fantastic and Holiday is a underrated guard.

Games like this just reiterate how badly Danny would love to draft a big like Ayton.

Davis scored what 8 points tonight in Atlanta. I'm real scared. 38 minutes and 8 points.
Brad screwed that game up refs didn't help and the hero ball at the end game is a main reason we lost.

[Tiny ball]

These dudes ate our lunch.

Yet, they had to eek it out in OT. They better get more killers because our zombies aren't scared!

They forgot to eat in Atlanta.

[GrandTheftRondo]

Sure you can.

Er, not really.

Davis and Cousins pretty much get their numbers on most nights, it’s the rest of the team that typically lets them down.

Davis is a top 5 player and far too big for Horford to contain. Likewise Cousins. Who do we have who can keep up with the speed and strength of Cousins?

I’m glad they’re in the West because they’re a genuine matchup nightmare for us in the front court.

If they didn’t do some genuinely dumb things with their roster, they’d be a top 4 team in the West. Cousins and Davis are fantastic and Holiday is a underrated guard.

Games like this just reiterate how badly Danny would love to draft a big like Ayton.

Davis scored what 8 points tonight in Atlanta. I'm real scared. 38 minutes and 8 points.
Brad screwed that game up refs didn't help and the hero ball at the end game is a main reason we lost.[/quoter]
That’s on his teammates. He had 7 shot attempts which is flat out ridiculous.

Also shows how fickle things can be for a star big. You can get held out of games by your teammates if they don’t get you the ball.

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

It was a terrible game to behold, because it exposed the Celtics weaknesses: up front and perimeter shooting,
and Stevens out-coached/out-smarted himself, eliminating Tatum from a needed 4th quarter offensive production,
this was one time it made little sense to go small... and yet because New Orleans is a very flawed club outside of a few select players and the Celtics are very good, it wasn't decided until overtime.