You Can Try All The Shady Bullshit You Want, The Celtics Are Still Going To Kick Your Ass

Jacob Kupferman. Getty Images.

If there was one thing you could bank on last season, it was that coming off a loss, the Celtics almost always immediately responded and handled their business. In their 101 games played last year, the Celts never lost more than 2 in a row, and they only lost consecutive games a total of 4 times in 8 months.

Last night was the first time this season we had the opportunity to see how they respond to losses, after that brutal OT loss to the Pacers (who magically came back down to earth on Friday night, shocker!).

The result?

Pretty much what you probably expected. Say what you want, but the Hornets can be a tricky opponent if you catch them on the right night. They did beat the Celts in OT in their own building last year, and they're one of those teams that can get hot offensively and put up a shit ton of points. Plus, I respect Charles Lee so it's not like the Celts were going to be able to come into this game, sleepwalk, and then win by 30. They were going to have to bring it and execute on both ends if they wanted to stop the bleeding and get back into the win column. 

Knowing it was a back to back and that meant they'd be doing it without Al Horford, that just meant there was an opportunity for others to step up, and boy did they.

Over the course of an 82 game schedule, you're going to have to win a variety of different ways, execute in a variety of different situations, and get contributions from 1-12ish on your roster based on who's available. Every. Rep. Matters.

Last night pretty much had it all, the Celt came out and looked incredible, then we went through blowing a big lead, then we saw how they responded and rebuilt that lead, we saw the deep bench come in and contribute in big ways, the stars did their thing and to cap it off we got to see their mental toughness and composure at a time where all hell seemed to break loose. 

So yeah, it's the 5th win of the year against the Hornets. I imagine there won't be a parade anytime soon so no need to get the duckboats ready. But you know what? It meant something to me, man. As we work our way back up the mountain, these are the types of games and situations that help plant the seeds of things you hope will blossom come the Spring. 

We all know what things look like when that happens, yes?

But in the meantime, let's talk about what we saw

The Good

- Coming off a loss, my initial focus goes to the best players. Part of the deal of being the leader and the franchise guy is taking the responsibility of making sure this does not turn into consecutive losses. The good news is part of the reason the Celts are so good in this spot is largely due to their best players being up for that challenge. 

Let me be very clear about something. Jayson Tatum is off to an MVP caliber start to his season. I don't give a shit where you have him ranked in that race or who you think is better. What I care about is the production and the impact, and there is no denying we are watching MVP caliber play

You wanted consistency? OK, no problem, Allow me to show you consistency

You wanted higher efficiency? OK, no problem. Tatum on the season is shooting 48/37% with a 63% TS%. That 48% is a career high, that 37% is the highest he's ever shot with this much volume (11.8 3PA), and that 63% TS is a career high.

In this win, I thought it was pretty much an ideal Tatum performance on both ends of the floor. You know he's locked in when he finishes with double digit rebounds, and offensively I had zero problems with his shot diet. We saw a handful of the transition catch and shoot 3s which are by far the best ones Tatum takes, he was aggressive and attacked the rim providing consistent rim pressure and rotations. Even if you take away all those FTA at the end with all the flagrants, Tatum still had 8 FTA which is a great number for him. If he's able to get into that 7-10+ range, that's an easy 30 ball. 

I also loved how he completely dusted off the Grant Williams bullshit. One of the most insane decisions you'll ever see on a basketball court

Tatum's reaction was perfect. It was just like the Caleb Martin play in the playoffs last year where he undercut Tatum at the rim. He popped right back up, shrugged it off and went directly to the FT line. I know there are some that want him to get in people's face for some reason and be loud in his reaction. Sort of like this

Adam Glanzman. Getty Images.

but to me I see that as mentally weak. You've let the opponent break you and get in your head. Not responding and letting them know their bullshit is pathetic and doesn't impact you is way better, and I'm not sure how anyone could disagree. We know Joe doesn't

- When the Celtics get that version of Tatum, they are damn tough to beat. When they also get the good version of Jaylen too? They are virtually unbeatable. It took until his second stint for Jaylen to snap out of his early funk, but once he did and he started playing way more under control, it was back to business as usual

25/6/5 on 8-19 shooting in his 36 minutes, you're simply not going to be able to hang with the Celts when the Jays are giving you 55 efficient points. This was the 87th time the Jays each had at least 25 in a game, which is the 5th most all time. 

There are a few noticeable parts of Jaylen's start to his season (other than the fact this three point shot has completely disappeared), and I need to start at the FT line. Jaylen was 9-10 from the line in this win, and is now shooting a career high 80.9% from the line. That, is a very, very big deal. Compare that to his 70.3% last year and we're talking about a completely different player at the line to begin the season. Even if this settles somewhere in the 76-77% range, that's a big deal for a guy who is getting to the line around 7.8 times a game.

We also can't ignore what Jaylen is doing on the glass. A career high 7.2 rebounds, Jaylen finds himself in pretty rare company

There's no getting around how poorly he's shot the ball (40/26%), but his activity everywhere else has been the best we've seen from Jaylen to date. Aside from his career high in rebounding, we're also seeing him have a career high in assists (3.8) while slightly lowering his TOs to 2.2 a game. 

Coming off a game in which he missed no fewer than 10,000 shots at the rim, it was nice to see Jaylen get back to being the finisher we expect him to be

The Hornets don't exactly have elite rim protection and it got even worse after Nick Richards went out, which meant that Jaylen was going to be able to feast in the paint and at the rim. That's a much better night of paint production compared to what we saw against IND, and in addition to his finishing I thought his passing off drives was great in the second half of this game. He took his time, he didn't force things, and once the defense committed he knew exactly where and how to send the ball to a teammate for an open dunk. 

I'm not sure how to explain the outside shooting, because his looks have been pretty good. I want to think the muscle has fucked up his form, but 80% from the line tells me that can't be it. Maybe it's just mental, but remember Jaylen shot in the 20s from deep in the Finals and didn't really shoot all that well from deep during the entire playoff run. That needs to be AT LEAST 35% given his volume, so he's going to have to figure that shit out quickly.

- The more Neemias Queta plays, the more my Rob-Lite declaration looks to be pretty accurate. Rewarded for his effort against the Pacers, Queta hasn't just seized his opportunity, he's thrived

There are definitely some weak spots that you hope would sort themselves out with more experience. Queta still struggles in certain coverages, he can often times find himself out of position when guarding one on one, but whatever. The upside is too good to not continue to give him legitimate rotation minutes. He's won the 3rd center spot when Al plays and the 2nd center spot when Al sits and I'm not even sure it's remotely close. 

For a team that shoots a lot of threes, offensive rebounding is pretty damn important. You know who rules at offensive rebounding? Neemias Queta. He currently has an OREB% of 22.5% and is 6th in the NBA in OREB per game at 4.0. That seems pretty damn good to me! Offensive rebounding is not only a skill, it's a weapon. If you're able to get this team 2nd and 3rd possessions which are probably going to be 3PA that turn into 3PM, that's how you break the backs of your opponent.

On the defensive end, without Porzingis the Celts have really struggled in rim protection. Teams are feasting at the rim and are converting at an alarming rate. Queta helps solve that problem until KP comes back. It's not just about the blocks, it's about guys thinking twice when getting into the paint rather than knowing it's an automatic two points. Having a deterrent there was a big part of why the Celts defense was so good this season and it's no surprise they have a 100 DRTG with Queta on the floor this year. 

- Uhhhh, Jordan Walsh can hit C&S threes now. In real games against real NBA competition. I'm not lying I swear. Here, see for yourself

That form looks pretty damn good to me and I love the fact that there was zero hesitation from Walsh in both of those moments. That's how you earn minutes. You defend at a high level, you play hard as shit and when you're open you shoot that shit with confidence. If you trust Mazzulla Ball, you will be rewarded. 

I'll say this about Jordan Walsh and his start to the season. Every time he's played, he's held his own. At the end of the day, that's all I'm really asking for when it comes to his minutes. We all know it's only going to be a short stint, around 10-12 minutes a night, but in those minutes can he hang on an NBA court? So far the answer is yes. The goal here is to get to a point where you can continue to steal more and more minutes with Walsh to give your wings a rest. Someone behind Hauser needed to step up and show they were playable, and now with Lonnie Walker gone, it was essential that Walsh proved to be that guy. So far, that's how things look. I trust Walsh with the Oshae Brissett minutes from last year based on what we've seen, and that's all I was looking for. 

- Eventually, the Celts are going to lock in defensively, and hopefully, the second half of this game was their way of starting to figure their shit out on that end. I'd say this was a game where the defense was respectable in 3 of the 4 quarters, but we're definitely not at the point yet where the Celts are playing 4 consecutive quarters of elite defense on a consistent basis. 

Part of this is they were so much better in terms of finishing at the rim and in the paint that it limited the Hornets in transition. They only had 6 fastbreak points all night. When you have to take the ball out of the basket and the Celts are able to get back and set their defense, scoring is a whole lot tougher. But when you miss layups and teams get out and run, that's when you see the Celts start to give up 115+. 

- If there were a way to track who has made the most "big momentum" shots of the season, not just in clutch time but even in the earlier quarters during the flow of a game, I'm not sure anyone has more than Jrue Holiday. It just feels like time and time again when a game is in the balance and the Celts need that jolt of a momentum make, Jrue has delivered. Sometimes it's a pullup in transition, sometimes it's a corner three, sometimes it's an iso stepback. 

Very quietly, Holiday is off to a 53.8% start from three on 4.3 3PA a night. He's been shooting the hell out of the ball and I feel like it's gone mostly unnoticed. 

The Bad

- Just a horrendous all around 12 minutes in that second quarter. In no world should the Celts ever allow 42 points on 64/56% splits with 9 3PM. Play with an ounce of intensity for me one time. After all that beautiful work in the first quarter to build a 15 point lead, only the Celts could go from scoring 40 in one quarter to allowing 42 in the next. Awful ball security (4 TOs) 3-10 from deep, the Hornets got wherever they wanted, just a very bad 12 minutes of basketball from everyone involved.

- This is apparently out of bounds. 

Sick officiating to start the season. It's honestly incredible how there's always something in every one of their games to start the year. Their whistle is bullshit, Joe has to waste challenges left and right on easy calls that everyone can see in real time, and the refs just blatantly make shit up on a nightly basis. From phantom fouls, to shot clock violations that hit the rim, to being out of bounds while actually being in bounds. You can't make this shit up.

- I touched on it earlier, but there's nowhere else to really put Jaylen's 0-6 from deep. He's now 1 for his last 21 from behind the arc. That's brutal. 

I also didn't love how he started the game either. Too sped up, had some issues finishing, wasn't really playing at the right pace or with the right approach. I'm wondering if the new 1st quarter rotations without KP are impacting him since the sub patters are different from last season, but that also doesn't excuse playing bad basketball. 

- The Celts point of attack defense to start the year has certainly left more to be desired. Oppoing guards/wings look way too comfortable attacking for my liking. I get it's early, and I get it's a long season, but with limited rim protection it's imperative that the perimeter defense not be dogshit. Jrue has to hold his own, Derrick has to hold his own, Jaylen and Tatum have to guard. We know what this team looks like when that part of their defense is locked in, and so far it's nowhere close to that level.

- It really does feel like the Celts are going to get the magnet ball game from everyone. We saw it against the Pacers, the Hornets went 19-48 from deep last night. Part of it may be the poor defense, but part of it is definitely some magnet ball bullshit. Rookies hitting 3-5 from deep, LaMelo hitting prayers from the corner while falling out of bounds, there's been some bullshit in all 6 of the Celts games so far.

- Tough night for Pritchard which I suppose he was due for. You aren't going to get a whole lot of nights where he finishes 1-6 (0-5) when almost all of his 3PA were wide open. I have no doubt he hits 3-4 3PM tonight as a response, because that's what he does.

The Ugly

- Aside from Grant Williams being a complete bozo, there really wasn't much that I feel like fits this section. The Celts won by 15 after all and really that includes a garbage time make. 

With these two teams playing again tonight, it presents another challenge. The Hornets will surely come out motivated after how last night ended, so how do you respond? Can you punch first again and break their spirit before they have a chance to get going? Give your stars a light night on a B2B and keep the train moving? That certainly would be nice, and something tells me after all the shady bullshit in the final minutes of this win, that's currently on the table.