Watching The Celtics Dismantle The Lakers With Ease Will Never, Ever Get Old

Andrew D. Bernstein. Getty Images.

The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have played a total of 373 games against one another throughout history, with a total of 299 being in the regular season and 74 in the playoffs. How do things stack up?

Well, of those 299 regular season games, the Celtics have won 166 of them (55.5%). In the playoffs, of those 74, the Celtics have won 43 of them (58.1%). They also don't have to lie and pretend they have more titles than they actually do because they're insecure. Remember, for a LONG time the LA Lakers never acknowledged the Minneapolis Lakers titles as their own until they got close to the real title leaders, the Boston Celtics. Then all of a sudden they count. How embarrassing for them that they couldn't even win enough in their own city that they had to go back and try and claim all those MIN titles. Shameless really.

Anyway, as you can see when it comes to Celtics/Lakers, this battle is pretty one sided. In fact, yesterday's demolishing of the Lakers on their home floor marked the 3rd straight win the Celts have had over the Lakers, which also means Joe Mazzulla has never lost to LA since he became the head coach of the Boston Celtics, which is a pretty important box to check in my opinion. It's always going to be fuck the Lakers for as long as I'm alive, and it's good to see the coach lives by a similar mantra. 

But last night wasn't just about beating the Lakers (again). I mean it's cool and all but they're a 9 seed that is barely over .500 (16-15). They are the only team in the top 10 seeds out West with a negative point differential. They kinda stink. The reason last night was a big deal was what it meant for the overall West Coast trip.

To finish that thing 3-1 (GS/SAC on a B2B/LAC/LAL) playing some of the best offensive basketball the franchise has ever seen

is a pretty big deal. We all looked at this trip as sort of a measuring stick opportunity to see how for real this team might actually be. No cupcake games, a tough B2B, an extended stay in LA to battle the LA nightlife, I cannot imagine a single person not being over the moon with their 3-1 finish. All that crying about the 3pt shooting against GS, and what did the Celts do? They didn't change a goddamn thing because why would they? They averaged 48.8 3PA on this trip, made 19.3, and responded to their lone loss exactly how a championship team should. 

If anything, this trip confirms what most of us already knew about this team before they ever took off for GS. This is what a true Tier 1 title contender looks like. It's why when fans say it's a title or bust season, it actually is. This isn't like a team who never makes it out of the second round talking about winning a title, we saw why the expectations for the Celtics are what they are. That should be worn with a badge of honor as far as I'm concerned. 

We have a lot to get to so no need to waste more time, let's dive in

The Good

- The idea that the Celts look like this unstoppable wagon isn't exactly new. We've been here before with previous versions that had similar records up until this point of the season that were loaded with talent. So why are things different this time around? Pretty simple. Those teams did not have Kristaps Porzingis

Say hello to the needle mover/missing piece/savior/gift from the Basketball Gods/etc. We said it when the trade first happened, and Porzingis has done nothing but solidify the fact that he is the true difference maker for this version of the Celts. Don't take my word for it, just listen to Jayson Tatum

Now take that quote and store it in your brain for a second. I'm now going to ask you to go back to June, immediately after Brad Stevens pulled off this trade when he was asked about Porzingis and what he brings

Live look at me

What we're seeing is Brad's vision coming to life. You know how he talked about those Porzingis post up numbers? What if I told you they were even better 

Just yesterday we saw exactly what Brad was talking about in that clip. Porzingis attacking switches in the post by simply shooting over them, and then also stepping back and shooting it from 25ft quickly. Then you combine that with everything we're getting on the defensive end from Porzingis, and this is why he's a cheat code. I'm going to firmly say the Celts haven't had this type of shit at the center/power forward position since KG.

Let's be very clear about something. Anthony Davis is a tremendous defender. He should be on the shortlist for DPOY, and that's not even a hot take. Porzingis got basically whatever he wanted vs AD, finished with 8 points on 3-6 shooting in that matchup, and the 3 misses were wide open 3s. Against smaller defenders in a switch? KP was 3-4 against Taurean Prince and 3-3 against Cam Reddish. It didn't matter who the Lakers threw at him, Porzingis gave them all buckets. You can't even go zone with Porzingis is in the floor because all you have to do is give it to him at the nail, and guess what? That's a wide open FT jumper, aka buckets.

There's a reason the Celts are 15-1 in games Porzingis plays, and that lone loss is a close game he left after getting hurt. It's because he changes EVERYTHING.

- If Porzingis is the player who takes the Celts over the top, then Derrick White is the ultimate connecting piece. Whether you think White is an All Star or just an elite role player or perhaps the second coming of Michael Jordan, I don't really give a shit what you call him. I just care about how he's playing, and what I'm seeing is one of the most impactful two way guards in the entire NBA

That sound you heard? That was Derrick White's extension price continuing to go up. At this point whatever that max extension number looks like, it might not even be close to enough. As a point guard, Derrick White is tied for 21st in the entire NBA in blocks per game. Everyone else is either a center or a big as you would imagine. That is fucking nuts. 

Offensively, what more could we ask for? Derrick is giving us career highs in FG% (49.5%), 3P% (42.4%), TS% (66.0%), while also taking the playmaking jump given his new role. Yesterday he led the Celts with 11 assists and only 2 TOs while also going 8-13 (3-5) from the field with 2 steals and 2 more blocks. Can we just take a minute, catch our breath, and understand how ridiculous this is to witness? 

We're seeing a player make the leap into his NBA prime years that night in and night out not only helps this team win games, but is oftentimes a big reason why they do. 

Call him whatever you want, I think I'll just go with winning player. 

- As I've said before, if the Celtics are going to get elite guard play in addition to all the other ways they can hurt you, good fucking luck. It's just too much for 99.9% of the opposing teams in the league. You're already worrying about Tatum/Brown, now you have to worry about a 7'3 unicorn, and then here come the guards. They're bigger than most opposing guards, they're smart, and they just so happen to be playing the best basketball of their seasons.

We saw what Derrick did, and things were just as dominant when we turn the focus over to Jrue

Through his first 10 games that were a little shaky (for obvious reasons), I couldn't wait to see what things looked like once it was clear that Holiday was comfortable in his new team, system, role etc. Would you all like to see what that looks like?

Just like it was for Jaylen, the 11/22 MIL game was the turning point for Holiday. That had to feel weird as hell, and you'll remember he struggled, going just 1-8 (1-5) in that Celts win. Since that moment?

12 games: 14.2/4.8/4.8 on 52.8/51.8% splits and a +8.3

We're seeing the player Brad was trading for. I don't even remember that guy in the first 10 games. During this stretch when the Celts needed Holiday to adjust his role into being more of a scorer with guys out, he not only responded, but he responded in an extremely efficient manner. The ball security, I mean I could cry looking at that number. Under 2 a game this month? Even that feels high. Nothing seems out of control or forced, and while there are turnovers here and there, you never feel as though Jrue is reckless with it. You add that to all the other areas where Jrue is having the best start of his career

and I pretty much have zero complaints with Holiday's season so far. Last night was simply another example of what things now look like for a player who gets more comfortable by the second. We saw what that improved comfort level did for White, and now we're seeing it with Holiday. Will he always shoot 50/50%? Of course not. But it does feel like we're just scratching the surface with him. The fit has been seamless for both Holiday and Porzingis, and I do feel like the stars deserve a lot of credit for that. Everyone seems to be on the same page and everyone feels empowered to do what they do best on the floor. 

When all that hits at the same time, the Celtics become unstoppable.

- I imagine a lot of people will come away from yesterday thinking this was a bad Jayson Tatum performance. I personally couldn't disagree more. Yeah he shot the ball like shit, but I thought Tatum did everything else at an elite level

On a night where his shot isn't falling, what do we want to see? 

We want to see Tatum be aggressive and attack the rim, hopefully getting to the FT line.

He went 12-13 from the line in this game.

We want to see him be committed to the glass and make an impact with his rebounding.

He was second on the team with 8 rebounds.

We want to see him move the ball, use his gravity offensively to create for others 

He finished tied for second on the team with 7 assists and 8 potential assists.

We want to see him take care of the ball and not force things offensively, leading to turnovers

He finished with just 1 TO in his 41 minutes.

We want to see him show up in the 4th quarter and find a way to help put a team away

He finished tied for the team lead with 6 points on 3-4 shooting in the 4th quarter

If you see all that and come to the conclusion that Tatum was bad in this game, sounds to me like you're not really watching. You're just looking at his 6-15 (1-6). 

On a night where pretty much all of the starting five had it going, that changes the burden that Tatum has to carry. Brad built this team to survive these 6-15s as long as Tatum makes the conscious decision to impact the game in other ways until his shot comes around. They are no longer so reliant on the Jays offensively, and that's only going to help them once the games truly matter. 

Sure there were maybe some shots you didn't love over the course of the game, but that's basketball. What I care about is that on a night where Tatum couldn't buy a bucket, was he able to still make a winning impact. The answer? Yes. 

- I would say the same with Jaylen. Didn't shoot the ball all that well (7-17, 1-5) but still found a way to make a winning impact in his 32 minutes

- If there's one stat from this West Coast trip that I love the most, it might be this

Everything changes for this team when they move the ball. For the trip, the Celts averaged 31.8 AST and just 8.8 TOs, and when that type of ball movement combined with ball security happens, I don't know how you beat them. The AST number tells you the Celts are making their shots, and if they aren't giving the ball away and allowing easy transition points, instead forcing you to beat them in the half court…..well then good luck.

Celts dominated in the paint 58-50, won the 2nd chance points 13-9, won the fastbreak points 23-14, and only allowed 3 points off turnovers. That's called winning the margins folks, and when the Celts do that they cannot be beaten.

- For those keeping track at home, the Celts are now 53-5 (including playoffs) when they score at least 120 points. You want to know why the Celts shoot so many 3s? There ya go. Get to 120, and chances are things are ending up in a win.

The Bad

- Despite the fact that we all know it happens in every game with every team in the league, I still can't say I love blowing an 18 point lead because you miss every shot you take for the final 3:11 of the first quarter and then throw up a rather disgusting second quarter. A team can't keep a 18 point lead for a full 48 minutes so you knew there would be some fluctuation there, but man did the Celts go cold there for a stretch. 

The problem there was in addition to the inability to make a shot, the Celts allowed 60/62% splits in the second quarter. It was similar to what we saw in the Warriors game, where the Celts had this 17 point lead with Curry on the bench, but heading into the 4th it was only 11. Then Steph woke up and the tides turned.

Well in this game the Celts had an 18 point lead that was only 11 heading into the second quarter. Then AD/Prince woke up and that lead evaporated, turning into only a 1 point lead at the break. I could understand if that quarter gave you PTSD, but as it turns out the Celts morphed into the best 3rd quarter team in the NBA during this trip

so ultimately it didn't matter, but that doesn't mean I can sit here and tell you the stretch from 3:11 in the 1st quarter to halftime was good. It was actually pretty gross.

- It would drive me insane having to play the Lakers more than twice a year. Their whistle/non-whistle is crazy to live through. Every time you blow on AD he yells and it's a foul. LeBron can travel 7 times in a game and only be called for it once. That has to be exhausting to see 4 times a year. 

- If there's one thing I need to see the Celts improve defensively it's still going to be opponent 3P%. Even if you think there's variance there, they did allow another opponent to shoot 40%. That's where the Celts have been all month, and it's had them around 25th in the league in opponent 3P%. I'd like to see that come down to league average if possible.

- I know I'm the only one who cares the Celts missed 7 FTs, but that's my curse in life. Porzingis missing 3, Jaylen missing 3 total including 2 in the fourth quarter, if those had come back to bite the Celts I'm probably not here today. 

- We're most definitely stuck in a Sam Hauser funk. Not only is his shooting going through it (1-5, 0-4), but defensively it feels like there's been a slight dropoff as well. My guess is he's really going to benefit from being home, because we can't have both things going on at the same time. If your shot isn't going to fall, you need to defend. If you aren't going to defend, I need the open 3s to drop. You get one or the other, we can't have both.

The Ugly

- I really only want to talk about one thing in this section, and that is this possession right here

The Celtics had the ball for the final 21 seconds of the 3rd quarter. What did they do? You guess it! The Tatum hold the ball at halfcourt, let all the time run out, and then try a dribble iso fallaway 3 at the buzzer. Guess what? It didn't work. The most predictable end of clock approach didn't trick a soul, imagine that. Doesn't it feel like whenever Tatum does this and dribbles at the top of the arc it always feels like he gets it poked away, which leads to that low percentage shot? It's because the defender knows he's not actually going to drive. It's dribbling to set up his jumper, that's it.

Here's the thing with this play. I have no problem with Tatum creating for himself, he's elite at it. I want Tatum taking the shot in these moments. I am just BEGGING them to try to generate it a different way. Just see what it looks like. Screen with Tatum, have a guard initiate a drive and kick, I dunno, just ANYTHING other than having Tatum hold the ball at midcourt until there are 6 seconds left into a heave 3PA. 

The reason I want this is because now is the time to get those types or reps in. We all know Tatum can iso into a pullup 3. But what we need is for everyone on the roster to feel comfortable in those moments to try something else. They need to fail at it and learn from their mistakes. They need to succeed with it so they can see there are other options out there. Because guess what, at the end of a close game in the playoffs at the end of the clock, the Celtics need to feel confident to go with multiple approaches. 

Wasting these regular season possessions by just doing the same thing they've done for 6 years isn't the best use of those opportunities. THAT is why I want to see something different. Not that I don't want Tatum shooting, I just want to see a different type of shot.

The good news is the Celts return home after this gauntlet of a schedule and see that things get a whole lot easier for the next 3-4 weeks. If there was ever a time to really start to gain some separation in the standings, this is it. They finally play the DET/SA/UTAs of the league and the time has come to take advantage of the weak stop of their schedule. Play like we just saw on the West Coast, and things should go rather swimmingly. 

And finally, as always, fuck the Lakers.