Victory Cigar!!! BOS 118, HOU 102 (24-25)

[zoyathedestroya]

Been saying it for a while... Dust off the 2016-17 Celtics playbook!

Horford --> Timelord (he is the key that unlocks our half-court offense)
IT --> Kemba
AB --> Fournier
Jae --> JT
Smart --> much-improved Smart
KO --> Grant
Amir --> TT/Kornet
JB --> much-improved JB
Jerebko --> Semi
TRo --> PP

But again, our stars have to buy in. Will the Jays be content playing a more team-oriented, less-iso-oriented game? And it might be hard to do this in the middle of the season.

[Fierce1]

Marcus Smart was focusing on defense and playmaking.

Excellent game from Smart.

This is the kind of game Smart needs to have every game.

Kemba was not forcing shots, that's why he only had 11 points.
But he had 8 assists.

This is one of Kemba's better games.

[Fierce1]

Been saying it for a while... Dust off the 2016-17 Celtics playbook!

Horford --> Timelord (he is the key that unlocks our half-court offense)
IT --> Kemba
AB --> Fournier
Jae --> JT
Smart --> much-improved Smart
KO --> Grant
Amir --> TT/Kornet
JB --> much-improved JB
Jerebko --> Semi
TRo --> PP

But again, our stars have to buy in. Will the Jays be content playing a more team-oriented, less-iso-oriented game? And it might be hard to do this in the middle of the season.

Just let Tatum and Brown be the focal point of the offense.

Smart and Kemba didn't take a lot of shots in this game and it led to 18 assists by both Smart and Kemba.

What makes the Jays special is they can score in a number of ways.
So as long as Smart and Kemba don't get in the act of jacking up 3s, the offense will be better.

[Ill News]

Been saying it for a while... Dust off the 2016-17 Celtics playbook!

Horford --> Timelord (he is the key that unlocks our half-court offense)
IT --> Kemba
AB --> Fournier
Jae --> JT
Smart --> much-improved Smart
KO --> Grant
Amir --> TT/Kornet
JB --> much-improved JB
Jerebko --> Semi
TRo --> PP

But again, our stars have to buy in. Will the Jays be content playing a more team-oriented, less-iso-oriented game? And it might be hard to do this in the middle of the season.

While I would love to see this again, it's just too much to ask for an overhaul of the offense this close to the playoffs. The players need a real training camp for that, and I don't think they're instinctive or smart enough to adopt this on the fly anyway.

That's why this year is really just a bridge year at this point. Where we finish at the end of the season is really irrelevant (we're not winning the title with this squad); what matters is that the locker room doesn't disintegrate that it affects the next season as well. My hope is that our core players (mainly Tatum, Brown, and Smart) and Brad come out of this hellish season with great motivation to improve for the next, and they become a dominant team next year. I believe Tatum, Brown, and Time Lord still have another level to reach, and integrating Fournier (hopefully he re-signs) and slight improvements from the rest of the young guys should do wonders for the team. I don't know where Kemba fits, hopefully he's gone by next season.

That's really all I'm looking forward to. Brad managed to coach the 2020 team to the ECF a year after the toxic Kyrie season; hopefully he can pull it off again with a brand-new offensive scheme, and a more mature Tatum and Brown leading the way.

[Fierce1]

The Celts had 35 assists in this game.

Reason for that is Smart and Kemba focused on playing team ball.

There's really no need to overhaul the offense, Smart and Kemba just need to realize that they don't have to shoot a lot for the Celts to win games.

[Tatumfor2]

Dime Lord

[return2glory]

Nice win.

VC goes to Rob. He was great. Best game of his career with 20 points on 9-9 FG, 9 rebounds and 8.

I want Celtic fans to understand one thing. When this team is struggling and when sharing the ball is the main issue, the true leaders of this team stepped up.

I loved what Smart and Kemba did. Smart took only 6 shots. He was 3-6 with 10 big assists.

Kemba only took 8 shots going 4-8 and getting 8 assists.

Smart and Kemba sacrificed for the team and made a conscious effort of passing and getting everyone involved.

Rob Williams as I mentioned was great with 8 assists.

Meanwhile Tatum had 0 assists. Brown had 2 assists. Which is ok because they should get the ball less and less. Guys like Smart, Kemba and Rob along with Pritchard need to handle the ball more because they are better than moving the ball around.

And props to Evan Fournier with 20 4th quarter points. I said in the game thread minutes before the game started that I felt Evan would get 16 points or more. Going into the 4th quarter he had 3 points. I wasn’t even doubting him. I was calculating that he needed 13 points or more to get to 16 or more and he caught fire.

[robdog_5]

Rob won it for me. But Smart was a close second. This is the exact type of role he needs to play. Defensive pest who leads the team there and play maker within the flow of offense. He's a good passer (when he's not getting too cute) and cuts well.

Tatum and Brown are still selfish at times. I'm ok with it on occasion but need to continue to move the ball. I thought Brown especially went for his instead of making the right unselfish play. Couole times he missed easy lobs to try to finish himself over contested hands and the one break went 1 on 3 instead of passing to either guy who was open on Perimeter

[makubesu]

Hopefully this settles Fournier a bit. He doesn’t have to be a good offensive player, just not awful like he has been since getting here. If he hits a few more shots and keeps it up on defense we will be in much better shape.

[Topbins]

Got to give it to Rob Williams. The potential is there for him to be an all star center.

[Captain_Caveman]

The Celts had 35 assists in this game.

Reason for that is Smart and Kemba focused on playing team ball.

There's really no need to overhaul the offense, Smart and Kemba just need to realize that they don't have to shoot a lot for the Celts to win games.

Lemme guess... Cs had all 3 of their 20-25ppg scorers for a change, and Smart could just play his game without trying to make up for 20-45 missing ppg like he's had to do in 70% of his games the last 4 years.

LMAOOOOOOOOOO. The lesson that will never be learned.

[grindtime22]

I thought it was pretty obvious it was Smart through 2/3 of the game. The way Timelord closed changed my mind.

It seemed like everything that you would put in the "good basketball" column had Smart at the heart of it in the first half. HIs assist number is probably even lower than it should be. Kemba blew a layup, Jaylen blew a layup, etc. Smart made the primary pass, Smart made the extra pass, Smart made the kick ahead pass. We got stagnant without the ball in his hands and Smart was the one to cut. His defensive intensity was great as well. Great game from him.

Timelord was even better in the end. The scoring was nice. He ended up with some easy buckets, but also some really nice finishes. The passing is the skill that could take our team up a level. His passing in the 4th quarter was next level stuff. Our primary guys need to learn to hit the roll man. Everybody knows we need to the throw the lob better, but we also just need to hit him on the roll period. He is such a good passer that he should be getting the chance to play decision maker on the roll far more than he does.

Grant had some nice passes as well to continue the theme of making the right play.

[3D Chess]

20+ pts, 8+ rebs, 8+ asts, 2+ blks, 0 tovs by a Celtic since 1983: Bird (38 mins), Tatum (37 mins), Timelord (26 mins).

Check out Rob's mins lol. Oh, and he didn't miss.

Holy **** ****. I missed the game, but this line is insane. 8 assists?? Said earlier this year that Danny's chance for a cheap extension was blown. Now I'm just hoping he can get pen on paper.

[FlatearthZorro]

Read on Twitter

Way to make up for the 0-10 shooting in his debut. We need more of this Fournier.

Hopefully the trend with passing continues.
Really enjoyed Smart taking only 6 shots, playing defense and moving the ball. I said he needs to stay under 10 for the most part.
Kemba did a decent job moving the ball , too.
Tatum NEEDS to stop shooting the **** 18-20 footers.

[grantlongforpresident]

Nothing like a blowout win vs a crap team to make you feel better lol

Nice to see Evan tear it up! Rob is only getting better. Love it

At this point in the season, wins vs committed tankers like Minnesota, ok city, Houston, orlando and detroit don’t mean anything.

Winning vs bad teams that are still trying like Cleveland and Washington I’ll give slight kudos.

[cl2117]

Timelord smokes it. He is the key to unlocking this team's potential.

He gets the ball out of his hands so quickly and it creates great ball movement. He doesn't need to average a ton of assists a night he just keeps the ball from sticking. Between that, his defense and the scoring he brings, especially off the lobs, he's a monster.

It's up to Kemba/Marcus to up their facilitating game to 7-8 assists a night. The Jays aren't at the stage in their development where they're making other guys better. Tatum has too much hero ball, Brown plays with blinders too much. It'll hopefully change in time, but it's up to the vets in the backcourt to adapt and fill the gaps. Smart is already having one of the best seasons of his career in assists running the point, but if he trims back the shooting he can be even better. It's certainly not Kemba's game, but if he just saves 3 shots off his game and focuses on being a passer it'll make all the difference.

With Fournier in the fold and Rob playing like this we've actually got the players to make that work. Lob's to Rob, Fournier consistently knocking down open 3's. Those are easy wins we didn't have consistently before and take the pressure off the Jays'. Previously it was hero ball vs. watching Semi/Grant brick a 3, but now there's more options and makes it easier for those guys to play within the offense.

Great to get the win. Even in the losses lately there has been some bright spots. I'm hopeful things start turning around. Just need a hot streak.

[Wes-J]

Didn't watch the game tonight but I've mentioned before that I feel it's a bad idea for Tatum or Brown to have the responsibilities of creating shots for others. Although they may have improved it's not their thing and ultimately that haven't shown the ability how to make the right play at the right time.

Love how Timelord, Smart, and Kemba shouldered that load tonight. I believe PP will get involved. Schematically that is how it should be, Tatum, Brown, and Fournier being the primary shot makers.

We'll be hard to stop if Brad catches on and moves away from Tatum/Brown heavy usage. I'd have a different view toward that if they were elite playmakers and elite at getting to the line.

[flintsky21]

Hope Jaylen Brown is fine.

[exculpatory]

This was my favorite game by Smart all season. I think I'm his only vote at the moment. He was a leader and set the tone on both ends. Loved the game by Rob of course; his finishing was exceptional. He needs to be the starter.

Timelord was spectacular & Evan scored 20 in freaking 5 minutes!

But Marcus was absolutely brilliant last night - with focus on energy, leadership. D & many assists.
This is the Marcus we need to see on a daily basis - NOT the Marcus who occasionally shoots us out of games!

[Fierce1]

The Celts had 35 assists in this game.

Reason for that is Smart and Kemba focused on playing team ball.

There's really no need to overhaul the offense, Smart and Kemba just need to realize that they don't have to shoot a lot for the Celts to win games.

Lemme guess... Cs had all 3 of their 20-25ppg scorers for a change, and Smart could just play his game without trying to make up for 20-45 missing ppg like he's had to do in 70% of his games the last 4 years.

LMAOOOOOOOOOO. The lesson that will never be learned.

Part of the reason why the Celts had so many assists was because of Kemba passing the ball more.

Kemba only attempted 8 shots and he had 8 assists in this game.