Light up that big ass victory cigar! vs Pacers 1/12

[zoyathedestroya]

Random... This is the first time in their career both Jays scored 30+ in the same game while each taking less than 20 FGAs.

Pierce and Walker never did it once in their 5 seasons playing together.

[Feed Your Head]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because Indy couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

Tatum dominated both ends of the floor

His defense was stupid good tonight.

33/7/4 with 2 steals and 2 blocks.

can you or zoya put up the stats for his D like was done for Rob g1? Was it as good or better than Rob last game?

If you take out the two possessions where he switched onto Sabonis at the rim (post defense on switches is more of a Jaylen strength than JT), pacers went 6-15 against him.

But with Tatum, it’s all about the team defense IMO. When he’s right, he’s a good man defender, but elite team defender, and that’s what we saw last night. He used his length and anticipation to throw the pacers offense out of whack over and over. But Rob has been even better than that recently, as a big will always impact the game more on that end.

[zoyathedestroya]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

Smart is dispensable when our top 3 scorers combine for 90 points on really high efficiency. I wonder how many times that's happened in the past and how many more times that will happen this season.

BTW, Smart's still second on the team in oncourt offensive rating (behind Kanter) and 2nd in on-off difference in ORtg (behind Tatum).

[Feed Your Head]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

Smart is dispensable when our top 3 scorers combine for 90 points on really high efficiency. I wonder how many times that's happened in the past and how many more times that will happen this season.

BTW, Smart's still second on the team in oncourt offensive rating (behind Kanter) and 2nd in on-off difference in ORtg (behind Tatum).

People just see what they want to see. People think I get carried away with stats, and it’s true that stats can be manipulated, but nothing can be manipulated more than the eye test.

[Larry_Russell]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

Smart is dispensable when our top 3 scorers combine for 90 points on really high efficiency. I wonder how many times that's happened in the past and how many more times that will happen this season.

BTW, Smart's still second on the team in oncourt offensive rating (behind Kanter) and 2nd in on-off difference in ORtg (behind Tatum).

People just see what they want to see. People think I get carried away with stats, and it’s true that stats can be manipulated, but nothing can be manipulated more than the eye test.

Apparently you have never witnesses a Flabulanch

[Fantaxp7]

Fun game and a very necessary one to get our guys feeling good and comfortable out there before Philly/Bulls games.

The only negative I think was not seeing more of the bench play.

I feel like both Brown and Tatum needed a handful of games to get back to looking good post Covid. I won't say 100% there until there is a string of games that they both look normal. This season is just one weird roller coaster ride...But, knock on wood, hopefully we start to truly turn things around. They looked so damn good last night.

Same goes for some of the supporting cast in Grant, Richardson, Pritch and Rob. Seemed like they all found themselves playing well then BAM Covid. Rob maybe more so injuries. Schroeder I hesitate to put with this bunch but he did look great, got Covid and came back not looking the same, though I attribute some of that to playing next to Smart.

To the point I made in the second sentence...I was always optimistic the players I mentioned would turn back to form post Covid or injuries...But this years Nesmith and Romeo...These two have been major let downs. End of last season felt like an awakening of them. Nesmith looked like a great shooter and defender albeit a wild man and Romeo was finally healthy and comfortable, knocking down 3's and playing good defense on Harden in the play offs. I had high hopes for them season they would continue to look like NBA players and because they have regressed I think our shooting woes are so glaring. We'd be more focused on trying to improve on maybe another backup center and real point guard.

Hopefully we continue to play well where we see our main guys play consistently well and Ime can find time for Nesmith and Romeo. Just feels like a lost cause right now...

[Hal14]

I think for this game you have to let Tatum and Brown be co-winners! So many people trying to split them up or. say who's better than who.

In this game, they were both on point.

Part of me says give it to Brown, because I feel like he took better care of the ball - Tatum forced some drives and had some careless turnovers (and near turnovers).

With that being said, I feel like Tatum was the one who really set the tone for us early on, got us off to a good start, early lead with his hot shooting in 1st quarter (4/4 from 3 only 8 mins into the game). That gave us the momentum and got the guys playing with some confidence out there.

Give it to both of them.

Schroder was good too. 4/5 from 3 was awesome. Possibly my favorite play by him was where it looked like maybe he should have just pulled the ball back out to the perimeter and set something up - but instead he just took it to the rim, got the defender (lamb i think) leaning, thinking he was gonna drive it all the way to the rim, but then Schroder stopped on a dime and hit the step back mid range jumper. That was sick and smooth.

Rob with some nice blocks and awesome dunk putting his arm through the basket like Vince Carter in the dunk contest, off the good lob by Horford!

3 wins in a row. Let's keep it going!

[SatchSanders]

Fun game and a very necessary one to get our guys feeling good and comfortable out there before Philly/Bulls games.

The only negative I think was not seeing more of the bench play.

I feel like both Brown and Tatum needed a handful of games to get back to looking good post Covid. I won't say 100% there until there is a string of games that they both look normal. This season is just one weird roller coaster ride...But, knock on wood, hopefully we start to truly turn things around. They looked so damn good last night.

Same goes for some of the supporting cast in Grant, Richardson, Pritch and Rob. Seemed like they all found themselves playing well then BAM Covid. Rob maybe more so injuries. Schroeder I hesitate to put with this bunch but he did look great, got Covid and came back not looking the same, though I attribute some of that to playing next to Smart.

To the point I made in the second sentence...I was always optimistic the players I mentioned would turn back to form post Covid or injuries...But this years Nesmith and Romeo...These two have been major let downs. End of last season felt like an awakening of them. Nesmith looked like a great shooter and defender albeit a wild man and Romeo was finally healthy and comfortable, knocking down 3's and playing good defense on Harden in the play offs. I had high hopes for them season they would continue to look like NBA players and because they have regressed I think our shooting woes are so glaring. We'd be more focused on trying to improve on maybe another backup center and real point guard.

Hopefully we continue to play well where we see our main guys play consistently well and Ime can find time for Nesmith and Romeo. Just feels like a lost cause right now...

I think there's some showcasing going on right now. Smart's injury was convenient in that it let Schroder have expanded minutes to do his thing. Richardson and Horford are also likely to pick up interest from buyers at the deadline, though for different reasons the price would be higher for each of them. Of course last night looks good thanks to the unusually strong Celtics shooting from distance coupled with Indiana being so cold.

If the C's are sellers now, then Langford and Nesmith's value matters more at the end of the season than it does at the moment. For now let them watch and learn from Richardson in particular. Then let them play once we reach the deadline.

[Shak_Celts]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because Indy couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

His defense was stupid good tonight.

33/7/4 with 2 steals and 2 blocks.

can you or zoya put up the stats for his D like was done for Rob g1? Was it as good or better than Rob last game?

If you take out the two possessions where he switched onto Sabonis at the rim (post defense on switches is more of a Jaylen strength than JT), pacers went 6-15 against him.

But with Tatum, it’s all about the team defense IMO. When he’s right, he’s a good man defender, but elite team defender, and that’s what we saw last night. He used his length and anticipation to throw the pacers offense out of whack over and over. But Rob has been even better than that recently, as a big will always impact the game more on that end.

Thanks. I thought Rob would win last game is why I asked, I thought for sure if this was a better defensive outing than what Rob had the other night, then Tat would definitely win this one.

I liked the breakdown of what Zoya did for Rob, I would love to see more posted on every guy in the running for VC in the future, it could help people add to what they were seeing.

I still say Kant was shafted a VC his first stint with us, I think it was a game against Embiid. Defense doesn't get enough love for sure.

[JJHondo17]

I admit I've been burned too many times lately by being sucked in by big leads only to see them evaporate in the 4th quarter. Last night, I was checking in on the game from afar with the full intention to watch the whole thing tonight. Based on the little I did see which was the end of the 2nd quarter when a 51-37 lead was whittled down to 54-49 at the half and the the end of the 3rd when a 83-64 lead started going south to 85-71. During those time periods Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroeder were horrendous, thus I'm giving the Cigar to JB. Of course I'm allowed to change my mind once I watch the game

[Feed Your Head]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because Indy couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

can you or zoya put up the stats for his D like was done for Rob g1? Was it as good or better than Rob last game?

If you take out the two possessions where he switched onto Sabonis at the rim (post defense on switches is more of a Jaylen strength than JT), pacers went 6-15 against him.

But with Tatum, it’s all about the team defense IMO. When he’s right, he’s a good man defender, but elite team defender, and that’s what we saw last night. He used his length and anticipation to throw the pacers offense out of whack over and over. But Rob has been even better than that recently, as a big will always impact the game more on that end.

Thanks. I thought Rob would win last game is why I asked, I thought for sure if this was a better defensive outing than what Rob had the other night, then Tat would definitely win this one.

I liked the breakdown of what Zoya did for Rob, I would love to see more posted on every guy in the running for VC in the future, it could help people add to what they were seeing.

I still say Kant was shafted a VC his first stint with us, I think it was a game against Embiid. Defense doesn't get enough love for sure.

I assume with this VC, people just voted for who they like more, because the stat lines looked really similar. To me, 33/7/4 with 2 steals and 2 blocks is more deserving than 34/5/3 with no steals or blocks. But really, they both were awesome, so whatever lol.

[Celts17Pride]

Random... This is the first time in their career both Jays scored 30+ in the same game while each taking less than 20 FGAs.

Pierce and Walker never did it once in their 5 seasons playing together.

Antoine probably scored 30 points on 46 shots

[Celts17Pride]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because Indy couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.



If you take out the two possessions where he switched onto Sabonis at the rim (post defense on switches is more of a Jaylen strength than JT), pacers went 6-15 against him.

But with Tatum, it’s all about the team defense IMO. When he’s right, he’s a good man defender, but elite team defender, and that’s what we saw last night. He used his length and anticipation to throw the pacers offense out of whack over and over. But Rob has been even better than that recently, as a big will always impact the game more on that end.

Thanks. I thought Rob would win last game is why I asked, I thought for sure if this was a better defensive outing than what Rob had the other night, then Tat would definitely win this one.

I liked the breakdown of what Zoya did for Rob, I would love to see more posted on every guy in the running for VC in the future, it could help people add to what they were seeing.

I still say Kant was shafted a VC his first stint with us, I think it was a game against Embiid. Defense doesn't get enough love for sure.

I assume with this VC, people just voted for who they like more, because the stat lines looked really similar. To me, 33/7/4 with 2 steals and 2 blocks is more deserving than 34/5/3 with no steals or blocks. But really, they both were awesome, so whatever lol.

Should have been Tatum this game.

[Half-Full]

Cutting the cigar in half and splitting it between the Jays. Ime going with a 7-man rotation, pretty much forgetting about his bench. Not too happy about that. Romeo seems to be all but forgotten. Pritchard with 10 minutes of PT. Nesmith? Who needs his energy and rebounding? His shot may not be dropping, but there is no confidence to be gained when playing time is restricted to 3 minutes of garbage time.

[Joshyjess]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

Smart is dispensable when our top 3 scorers combine for 90 points on really high efficiency. I wonder how many times that's happened in the past and how many more times that will happen this season.

BTW, Smart's still second on the team in oncourt offensive rating (behind Kanter) and 2nd in on-off difference in ORtg (behind Tatum).

Who's this "Kanter" you are talking about???? Is there someone on the team named Kanter???

[playa-hater]

First off, anyone saying they didn’t miss Smart because of a game where Schroder was uncharacteristically hot from three is being intellectually dishonest, especially because couldn’t hit anything from deep.

Secondly, hopefully this thread puts an end to that asinine talk that Jaylen somehow gets too much hate in VC threads.

Smart is dispensable when our top 3 scorers combine for 90 points on really high efficiency. I wonder how many times that's happened in the past and how many more times that will happen this season.

BTW, Smart's still second on the team in oncourt offensive rating (behind Kanter) and 2nd in on-off difference in ORtg (behind Tatum).

People just see what they want to see. People think I get carried away with stats, and it’s true that stats can be manipulated, but nothing can be manipulated more than the eye test.

edit

[playa-hater]

Cutting the cigar in half and splitting it between the Jays. Ime going with a 7-man rotation, pretty much forgetting about his bench. Not too happy about that. Romeo seems to be all but forgotten. Pritchard with 10 minutes of PT. Nesmith? Who needs his energy and rebounding? His shot may not be dropping, but there is no confidence to be gained when playing time is restricted to 3 minutes of garbage time.

Using our stars to play near or above 40 mins per, is risking long term health and almost never playing/giving our young "investments" a chance to play/develop is both selfish and dumb by our coach.

I am not sure if playing 7 + a half players is even better for a game or 2, but for long term it is a disaster waiting to happen. Is there even one single Ime apologist who can defend this??

[TommyPointGawd]

My eye test is unmanipulatable.

[bisme37]

Hey I meant to mention... I rewatched the game with the Pacers broadcast and they said a few things I thought were interesting.

First off they scoffed at breaking up the Jays. Said it was click bait and made no sense.

Then, about Schroder, I think Quinn Buckner is their color commentator and he said in the Pacers game the other day in Boston he could tell right away that Schroder had no interest in even playing that day and wasn't going to do anything. Just an observation on body language and effort I guess. On the other hand, in yesterday's game he could tell right away that Schroder was motivated and locked in, and of course Dennis had a great game last night.

One more thing, when Jaylen hit back to back long 3's (several feet behind the line), Buckner said Jaylen had been practicing that exact shot from the same spot in warmups.

I like watching the other teams feed when I can because I enjoy these types of observations.

[Hal14]

Hey I meant to mention... I rewatched the game with the Pacers broadcast and they said a few things I thought were interesting.

First off they scoffed at breaking up the Jays. Said it was click bait and made no sense.

Then, about Schroder, I think Quinn Buckner is their color commentator and he said in the Pacers game the other day in Boston he could tell right away that Schroder had no interest in even playing that day and wasn't going to do anything. Just an observation on body language and effort I guess. On the other hand, in yesterday's game he could tell right away that Schroder was motivated and locked in, and of course Dennis had a great game last night.

One more thing, when Jaylen hit back to back long 3's (several feet behind the line), Buckner said Jaylen had been practicing that exact shot from the same spot in warmups.

I like watching the other teams feed when I can because I enjoy these types of observations.

Good tid-bits. Yeah, Schroder has definitely been kind of like a dr. jekyl and mr hyde type of player lately. Hopefully he gets more consistent..

Quinn Bucker knows his hoops, clearly. Not surprising. Pretty much every guy who played or coached for the C's during the 60's, 70's and 80's is a who's who of legendary basketball minds.

I mean, look at all the players who went on to be coaches or front office execs (Bird, Russell, Heinsohn, Carr, Cowens, Ainge, McHale, Carlisle, Ford, KC, Nelson, etc.)