This Thanksgiving We Should All Be Thankful For The Brain Of Brad Stevens
Brian Babineau. Getty Images.First and foremost, happy Thanksgiving everybody. I hope everyone has a tremendous day. Now if you're trying to avoid family and are in need of something to keep you away for a bit, you have come to the right place because we have a lot to talk about.
Since the second the NBA schedule came out, Celtics and Bucks fans all circled November 22nd. Just like with the Sixers and the Heat, every time these teams play it's a big deal. It could be November, January, or the Spring, these are big games for everyone involved. To suggest otherwise would be a form of coping all because you don't like the result.
Last night was our first look at the two teams most say are the best in the East. #1 vs #2. Two supposed title contenders who both underwent massive changes this offseason in some sort of quasi-arms race. You had people like Jay Williams saying shit like this after the first fucking game of the year
What did I see? I saw the exact same thing I've seen the majority of the time the Celtics have played the Bucks. Last night marked the Celts 7th win in 11 games against MIL, and you'll remember that one of those losses was the OT game where it was Derrick White/Celts bench + Bucks fully healthy roster. You could make the case they should and very well could be 8-3, but 7-4 ain't too shabby.
Not only that, but once again we saw the Celts build a 20 point lead. That has happened in the majority of those 11 games and it's very simple to explain why.
The Bucks do not have the personnel to guard the Boston Celtics.
Think of when it comes to stopping each team's best player. Look at how it matches up and then compare that to what we saw in our first instance of it. If you don't have perimeter defense, especially at the wing, and you are tasked with playing the Boston Celtics, things probably aren't going to be fun for you. If you can't stop either guy from getting to the rim, it's over. If you then double and allow yourself to fall into rotation which leads to an open 3PA, it's over.
Anything and everything when trying to beat the Celtics comes down to being able to slow down Tatum and Brown. What did we all say before the season? The Bucks roster does not have a single person who can do that. What did we see in the first game? Zero Bucks being able to slow down Tatum and Brown. Shit, Tatum outproduced Giannis and that guy is practically on his deathbed with mono or something.
Our first look between these two teams was pretty much what we expected. Celts were going to get tons of looks at three, we expected nobody on the Bucks to be able to guard the Celts two best players, we knew the size and rebounding/2nd chance points were going to be a factor, we expected Jrue/Bald Derrick to have Dame in hell, and with Al Horford still breathing, we knew Giannis was going to be handled.
Is that not exactly what happened?
The Bucks are now stuck with a problem so many other teams have. This is a matchup problem for you. Sure you could say to yourself "oh well if we did X then we'd win", but that simply does not change the reality of what these rosters look like. It's a bad matchup on both ends. Defensively, the Bucks wings are not quick or strong enough. Dame and Cam Payne are a negative against the size of the Celts backcourt. Offensively, the Stock Exchange isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and neither is Al Horford, so the Celtics have a way to handle the Bucks' two best players.
See the issue?
That is what the first meeting of the year told me. It just confirmed what we already knew heading into the season. Things played out basically to a T, including the classic Celtics 4th quarter collapse. I feel just as confident today after seeing the new and improved Bucks team as I felt before they'd even played. Because guess what? The Celts can play better too!
More importantly, this team remained perfect at home. 6-0. Let's talk about it.
The Good
- It's unfortunate that instead of enjoying one of the best talents in the league, it feels as though people are going to spend their time all season long arguing back and forth about Jaylen Brown. Things have gotten to a point where it's almost laughable. Is it your $300M? I didn't think so.
Seriously, what are we doing? Do you know how fortunate the Celtics are to have both wing players? Big spot right? Tatum feeling sick, Jaylen coming off a dogshit game against the Hornets, what do we see? Arguably one of the best performances of Jaylen's entire career
Spectacular. That is how I would describe Jaylen's night. In the biggest game of the year you need your stars to show up, games like this are why you pay them the big money and why you give them the keys to the franchise. To say Jaylen Brown delivered doesn't even do it justice. He set the entire tone right from the opening tip, literally. Suddenly with the ball in his hands, he was making the right decision every single possession. We saw patience, we saw him keep his head up and not play with tunnel vision, we saw him make the easy play rather than make things harder on himself, we saw the dominance, we saw the two way impact.
Quite frankly, we saw the version of Jaylen Brown that makes the Celtics unstoppable.
The best part? Even on a night when it was clear Jaylen had it going offensively and it was probably "his" night, I lvoed the final shot distribution from the top 3 guys.
Jaylen: 16 FGA
Tatum: 17 FGA
Porzingis: 15 FGA
That told me that even on what looked like a big Jaylen night, he didn't have to take every shot for it to be that way. Instead, he took what was there, made plays for others, and to me that shows the willingness to sacrifice. Similar to how Tatum played last night as well.
And the lob to Hauser? That was just the icing on the cake
- It's no secret that part of what made Jaylen's night so incredible was the two man game with Porzingis. It really is incredible what Brad Stevens has done for Jaylen by giving him KP. It's changed everything about how Jaylen plays really. I cannot EVER remember him consistently looking to make passes to someone the way Jaylen works with KP. It has unlocked the exact part of Jaylen's game that we ALL having been hoping to see progress in for years.
The connection these two have after 15 games looks like they've been playing together for 15 years. When Brad made this trade we all immediately went to what it meant for Tatum. In reality, I am now certain the trade wasn't just for Tatum, he can fit next to any player in the league and thrive. This trade was more for Jaylen, so he could have that option to play off of, both with Tatum on and off the floor.
The proof isn't just in the clips, it's also in the numbers. Jaylen Brown has made 101 passes to KP this season, accounting for 21 assists. That doesn't even include all the times a Jaylen pass led to FTs either. A total of 27.8% of Jaylen's passes go to Porzingis, far and away the highest on the team. The next closest Celtic is Tatum with 6 AST from Jaylen. The two man game with Porzingis is what has been the foundation of pretty much everything Jaylen does as a passer.
- Speaking of Porzingis, I think we can all agree that he proved to be the exact cheat code we were hoping for against this Bucks lineup.
The rim protection was there, the interior defense was more than good enough, and then offensively it was exactly what you wanted to see. KP's range brings Lopez away from the rim which once you do that, the Bucks defense has no shot. The Celts feasted at the rim pretty much all night, and that's part of the value Porzingis brings. You then add in his three point shooting which finally started to come around in the big moments, and I'm not sure how the Bucks stop KP either.
What's the matchup there? Brook is too slow/isn't going to want to truly go out to 26ft, if you put Giannis on him that means someone shitty is going to have to try and guard a Jay, so what's the solution?
I also have to give KP credit, he's way tougher than I ever though. He was going through people last night whether it was the poster on Lopez or the finish right through Giannis. I feel like his rebounding is aggressive. Maybe it's because he's filled out and is entering his NBA prime years, maybe it's because of the team he's on he feels he has to step his shit up, I'm not sure. His toughness has just been much more noticeable than I ever thought he played with. That certainly wasn't his rep.
- It was great to see the Celts get back to their Mazzulla Ball roots. Unselfish play, good ball movement, toughness, and when you're open, you shoot that thing
Compare how the offense looked last night to what we saw in the Hornets loss. This is Mazzulla Ball. The Bucks entire defensive philosophy is to let you shoot. OK you morons, I will gladly take a game in which the Celtics are going to be able to take a shit ton of open threes. The best part is every time these teams play the Celts make 17-20 3PM and Bucks fans keep talking about a shooting outlier. They won't shoot like that again! Certainly NBA players won't keep making open 3s!
No man, your defense just stinks and the Celts are built with 40% three point shooters. That's the whole point of Brad's plan.
- We need to talk about what the Celtics defense did to the Bucks two best players
This was one of the biggest questions heading into this matchup. How would the new look Celts handle the two best players of the new look Bucks. I'd say the results were pretty good, even with Dame catching fire late.
The most notable thing for me was Jrue's performance against Giannis. Look, Holiday's offense has been a disaster to start the season. But let me make this very clear. If Jrue Holiday defensively is going to completely remove players like Joel Embiid and Giannis from a game, then I do not give a single fuck what he does offensively. Just don't turn it over. I am willing to make that deal with him. You keep putting the best players in the NBA in a maximum security prison, I will look the other way with basically everything else.
What Holiday has been doing defensively this season against bigs has truly been special. That wasn't even supposed to be his strength. That was supposed to come in terms on on ball perimeter defense, and the thing about that is the Celtics are currently getting both. How many times did we see Jrue basically absorb and completely shut down a Dame drive by staying in front and not fouling? An overall defensive masterclass from him last night.
It's also incredible that in the span of a week or so Al Horford can bury both Joel Embiid and Al Horford even though he's currently playing in his 50s. It's like a father always being able to dominate his kids. They can try all they want, but the father is older and wiser and knows all their tricks. He's two steps ahead of you before you've even decided what move you want to make. Oh and his three point shot is also back which rules.
- It wasn't quite the Jordan Flu Game, but what we got from Jayson Tatum was pretty damn close
Just like with Jaylen it was very clear that nobody was going to be able to stay in front of Tatum, especially not Khris Middleton. This is what I mean when I talk about a matchup problem. What's the solution for MIL here? Middleton can't do it, so are they really going to rely on Jae Crowder once he's back? That's supposed to make someone feel good?
I continue to be impressed with how Tatum rebounds, especially in games where he's taking things seriously. I'm now more surprised than anything when he doesn't finish with at least 10, and given that's going to be pretty important all season it's good to see Tatum making this type of consistent commitment to rebound.
I do wish Tatum stayed aggressive towards the end and didn't keep going for the knockout three, but I'm not going to complain about 23/11/4 on a night where the guy was probably holding in diarrhea all game.
I will say enough with the late game FT misses though. Time to cut the shit.
- Very quietly, the Celtics bench has been sneaky good. It was bound to happen once both Pritchard and Hauser got out of their shooting slumps, and I'll absolutely take 31 bench points on great splits. The bar is very low for what the Celts are going to need from their second unit, they just need timely buckets and low mistakes.
Sure if they want to throw in a Sam Hauser lob or two that's cool
Over the last 4 games, the Celts bench is putting up 28.5 points on 56/55% splits with 6.5 3PM a game (3-1). That my friends, is exactly what I'm sure Brad envisioned when he built this roster.
Now that Pritchard's shot looks back, it's really changed the perception of his season. Over his last 5 games, we're seeing 9.6/3.3/2.2 on 47/45% in 22 minutes from Pritchard. That's all he has to do. Make his open looks, get into the paint and then either shoot it or create for others. His defense has been fine and really it was just about his shot not dropping. Now that it is, he's maknig a real impact.
The Bad
- Ultimately I'd say Jrue's offense gets a pass not just because of his incredible defense, but also because I am willing to allow a guy who is facing his former team the benefit of the doubt. He was way too amped in this game, you could tell he wanted to force his way into making an impact and it just wasn't there. A completely normal thing to expect for someone in that situation. It had to be weird as well. So for now, I don't care about the 1-8 (1-5) and only 1 assist with 2 TOs. I can't sit here and say it was good, but I'm more than willing to look the other way.
I will say though, the larger concern is on Holiday's offensive season as a whole. He currently has the 4th lowest TS% of his career to start the season at 51.2%. It hasn't been this low in over a decade. That's not great. The good news is the Celts don't need his offense because there hasn't been much offense to give, and really at the end of the day all I need from Jrue is for him to make a couple C&S threes and maybe exploit a mismatch in the post every once in a while.
It's also very early still so we shouldn't lose patience just because KP has fit seamlessly. Let's give it time but at some point Jrue's offense needs to wake up for this team to reach their full potential.
- Another game another opponent who finishes with double digit OREB (13) and way too many 2nd chance points (19). I'd say this is fine because the Bucks are one fo the rare teams with legit size, but it's not fine because it happens to ever team the Celtics play.
The way you make games harder on yourself and ultimately find ways to collapse is giving up extra possessions. That shit leads to points. The Bucks took 17 more FGA thanks to those OREB and the 15 Celts TOs, and the 19-9 2nd chance points difference is how they were able to hang around/get back into the game.
As long as the Celts continue to have that type of issue on the glass, teams will always be able to stay attached.
- Very rare 6 TO game by Derrick White. It doesn't happen often, but he got hit with come CTE at times in this game. Just very unusual decisions by a guy who almost never makes a bad decision, the good news is Bald Derrick was awesome everywhere else so it more than made up for it.
But I can't lie. I expect to see a 6 TO game from guys like Tatum or Brown or Holiday. I feel like Derrick usually has 6 TOs in a month let alone a single game. Gotta clean that up.
- The War on Theis has now morphed into the War On Porzingis. These techs are getting flat out insane. NBA needs to grow up already with that shit. At the same time, I'm also going to need KP to now realize he's under Daniel Theis treatment and what that means. The War isn't easy, but you can get through it.
The Ugly
- Everything about the 4th quarter. Of course because these are the Boston Celtics and they refuse to ever truly just let us enjoy a night of basketball, you knew the 21 point 4th quarter lead was going to evaporate. It's sad that my brain and my heart knew it was coming, but I've watched a lot of Celtics basketball in my life. They can't help themselves.
The difference maybe is now this version actually holds on and doesn't quite blow the result, but the lead? Yeah those things are still never safe. I'd say that's pretty annoying because as a fan I should be able to trust a 21 point 4th quarter lead with this type of roster. If I can't trust that then what can I trust?
Part of what made it so annoying was the fact that it wasn't all just settling for 3s. The Celtics couldn't make a shot in the paint to save their fucking life either
Just 40/28% splits with 4 TOs, the Celts picked a bad time to have their worst quarter of the game. They lost the 4th 37-25, and I don't have to be the one to tell them that not getting stops on one end and then not scoring on the other isn't exactly a recipe for closing a game strong.
And hey, maybe this is the thing that will still let Joe rage on the team in film sessions as a way to make sure they now aren't getting overconfident. It's a nice wakeup call that with Dame, you have to play the Bucks with full effort and focus until the clock hits 0.0. Dame Time is real, and it is to be respected. That's my other takeaway from this game. If you don't play the full 48 against MIL, Dame has the ability to catch you.
But overall? A fantastic win. Exactly what the doctor ordered heading into the best day of the year. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go eat and watch this game over until I pass out. Have a great day everyone.