Between The Wins And The Rest, The Celtics Not Advancing In The NBA Cup Has Been A Blessing In Disguise

Kenny Giarla. Getty Images.

By not making the NBA Cup knockout round because they lost a game to the Hawks by a single point, the Celtics were "rewarded" with a shit ton of rest and two extra games against the Pistons and Wizards. We've seen them give both Jayson Tatum and Al Horford essentially a full week off while also securing two blowout wins, so as disappointed as I'm sure you are that the Celts aren't in Vegas, the big picture result was about as good as it could possibly be.

I don't want to make it seem like I don't t think the NBA Cup provides value just because the Celts aren't in it. I hate when people do that. Oh what, now it means nothing just because you lost early and didn't advance? That's lame. There's always value in competitive games. But if you aren't going to make the trip to Vegas, I'm not sure I could have asked for a better outcome. There's also value in stacking Ws and getting a SHIT TON of rest for your best player and ageless wonder PF which will help you moving forward. It's not often you can buy guys another All Star break in December all while not missing a ton of games, and considering how important it is for the Celts to finish the season as healthy as possible, that's a huge plus.

As a fan, while my brain knows the rest is good and is much needed, waiting around for these games is brutal. Now we have to wait another 3 days before we see this team again on Thursday, and it makes me long for the normal schedule where you could bank on your favorite team playing every other day. Giving me a taste of the defending champs and then taking them away for half a week is fucked up 

Now, when it comes to what we witnessed last night, there's no reason to sugarcoat it. It was disgusting. I feel pretty confident that if we saw the type of performance the Celts put up against the Wizards against probably any other team in the NBA, that would end up in a loss. While I imagine some may see that as a concern, I view it as the Celts were clearly not emptying the tank against a 2 win team. It's not like this is the first time we've seen pretty much this exact performance when the Celts went up against WSH

and the fact that they still win by double digits is very funny. Annoying because like, stop playing like assholes, but funny in the sense that no matter how terrible they play, their margin for error against the Wizards is essentially the Grand Canyon. 

And hey, nowhere does it say they all have to be pretty. Despite a genuinely disgusting performance, the Celts were still able to build a 20+ point lead until the deep bench came in (sigh). What I cared about during this stretch was rest and wins, and the Celts got rest while adding two more Ws to their record. Hard to do better than that, but feel free to check my math because I'm not exactly a math guy.

With that said, let's dive into what was some of the grossest retina burning basketball your eyes have ever seen.

The Good

- There are a lot of things you can point to when you want to talk about the evolution of Jayson Tatum. His passing and the leao he's made as a playmaker and offensive engine is pretty high on the list. The consistency and efficiency this season have been nice and his two-way impact continues to improve. All good options.

To me, last night was a great example of his continued growth as a player. It was pretty clear early on that coming off a week of rest Tatum was pretty rusty offensively. His handle was loose, his jumper wasn't even close, and it took him a little while in the first quarter to shake the cobwebs off. Just 7-17 (1-5) in the first half, a younger Tatum probably would have let that carry over into the second half, resulting in a "dud" of a performance by his standard. 

Now? NBA Champion Jayson Tatum? We got this instead

Don't let that 2 AST fool you, Tatum finished with 7 potential assists and his final number looks a lot better if guys knock down the open looks he created. 

What I liked about how Tatum played was that even when his jumper wasn't falling, he remained committed to the glass. I'll go to my grave believing that we can always tell how engaged Tatum is by his rebounding numbers, and as long as he stays engaged, the scoring will come around. We all remember what it looked like early in his career when his shot wouldn't fall early and he would check out mentally. Now, it doesn't seem to phase him. He's still making the right plays, he's still doing the little things to impact winning, and eventually, water finds its level and the offense comes around to the point where you look down and he's flirting with another 30 ball while playing under 35 minutes. 

I would argue a lot of his early struggles came from him settling a little bit which is understandable. Why go all out against the Wizards? But once it came time to get serious and put the ball on the floor, Tatum was as effective as we would expect against a dogshit defense. 

This was also a chance for anyone who was maybe nervous about his knee to exhale. I can understand why you may have felt that way, but that was as obvious a scheduled rest day as you could possibly have. Tatum's knee issue is the same thing as Al's big toe. When the Celts want to give Tatum rest, that's what they'll go with so they don't get fined. 

- As we know, when it's time to see the Pistons/Wizards on the schedule that means one thing. It's Payton Pritchard Time

What the hell are we witnessing? I'm not even trying to be hyperbolic but we're talking about one of the greatest bench players in Celtics history right? Hondo, McHale….Pritchard? Why is that not a totally crazy sentence to type out? Shit, Malcolm Brogdon won 6MOY as a Celtic and even he wasn't doing shit like this! It's every single night, regardless off the opponent.

I put this in the blog after the Pistons win, but it deserves to be dropped into this one as well. We are currently dealing with something VERY serious when it comes to the production of Payton Pritchard since around Thanksgiving

Here's a fun fact for you. During Steph Curry's first MVP season, he averaged 3.6 3PM on 8.1 3PA, good for 44%. Payton Pritchard this season? A cool 3.9 3PM on 8.9 3PA good for 43.5%.

Do with that information what you will. Personally, I like to ignore how the game has evolved and instead push the agenda that Pritchard is giving the Celtics a Curry-MVP-esq performance…..off the bench. 

Seeing as how watching Pritchard make 5 3PM off the bench is nothing new, what stood out to me most in this game was his rebounding. The fact that Payton Pritchard can finish a game with 11 rebounds (4 OREB) just goes to show you this is not a player who gives a shit how big or small he may be. Payton Pritchard wants it more than 99% of anyone else on the court. His activity on the glass is all pure effort. While defenders may think they don't have to go hard on the glass, here comes Pritchard flying in to get an extra possession because it's simply not in his DNA to give up on a play. 

Perhaps my favorite part of Pritchard's night didn't even come on the floor. Just listen to the mentality of this dude and what he does on the floor starts to make a whole lot of sense

DAWG.

- It may not last forever, so I suggest you enjoy the Luke Kornet wave we're currently riding. Granted he's doing this against the worst teams in the league, but remind me why I'm supposed to give a shit about that? He's the 3rd center, yet his impact has been undeniable these last few games

7/11/4 with 1 TO and a +20 in his 26 minutes, the only bad thing I have to say about Luke's performance was the trolling he did at the FT line as a 90% shooter (missed 3). Outside of that, it's hard to complain. While his athleticism may not be at the Queta level and his hands may not be as soft as KP, what I love about Luke's game is he knows exactly who he is. He never tries to do too much, he goes out there and ONLY plays to his role while being an extremely smart player. The way he sees the floor and understands what his role has to be as a ball moving big who hits the glass and catches lobs is perfect. 

- Love how Joe kept Jrue's minutes down (23) even on a night where I thought he played pretty well, Nothing flashy, just an efficient 12 points. With Derrick, it does feel like we're starting to crawl out of his brutal shooting slump. A solid 5-10 (3-7), we're back to seeing him knock down his open C&S 3PA which is always going to be important, and the fact that when you watch him play he never seems to make the wrong decision is truly incredible. 

The way he manipulates a fastbreak to set up a teammate, whether that was KP in the post like in the DET game or Pritchard in the corner for an easy 3PM in this one, there is not a player on the roster who has my full trust with the ball more than Derrick White. I'm obsessed with how he sees the game and how he understands what the game needs at any specific moment, and he does it all with a smile. I'm not sure it gets better than that.

- I know it's the Wizards so you have to take it with a GIANT I MEAN GIANT grain of salt, but I'll always be happy seeing the Celts keep an opponent to under 100 points. Even dogshit teams in 2024 find a way to crack 100, and seeing as how they didn't have KP for the entire second half and the Wizards only scored 46 points is good enough for me. 

Part of that was the fact that the Wizrds shot selection was genuinely horrific, but my theory on that is they needed t try and get hot from deep (40 3PA) because they knew that was their only hope of staying close. Unfortunately they stink, so that strategy wasn't all that effective.

The Bad

- Jaylen Brown had a weird game. Not awful so it's not going to live in the Ugly section, but not quite good enough to where I think it should live in the one above. It was a "meh" night. Offensively he didn't shoot the ball all that well (4-14, 2-5), while smoking an insane amount of bunnies near the rim

which is certainly not the norm for one of the best paint scorers in theleague. That wasn't great. On the other hand, he led the Celts with 10 potential assists, so it's not as if he was playing hero ball and not looking for others. We know what those selfish types of games look like, and that's not what this was. But then he also had 3 TOs and missed 3 FTs, so it wasn't exactly his best showing either.

I didn't mind him only playing 25 minutes since he didn't get a game off during this stretch, and I do like the idea of him changing his approach when his shot isn't falling, but I need the paint production to be much better. Considering almost all of these attempts came against a smaller defender, it just wasn't his night I guess.

- Yes, like you, I'm back to being nervous about Porzingis' health. I can't help it. It's our life for as long as he's a Celtic, and seeing him hobble off with a "heel" injury didn't exactly make me feel great

I'm not sure why, but it made me think back to when Payton had a heel injury and then he missed a shit ton of time. That's probably not fair considering they're most likely not the same thing, but it's where my brain went.

The good news is the team is off until Thursday and he doesn't seem to concerned, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned. Every minute of my day consists of being concerned about the health of KP. We see how unstoppable they are with him on the court, and even with a FUCK TON of rest, there's still no stopping something from popping up. I don't know how you couldn't be nervous about that, but here's to positive thoughts that it's nothing serious.

- I'm going to need someone to sit the deep bench down and explain to them that if they want to see the floor, they cannot keep blowing these big leads. OK, blowing the lead is dramatic, but they're killing the point differential boost every time they play the 4th quarter. A 21 point lead when they came in got down to what, 12? Embarrassing. 

The minutes all look the same. Jordan Walsh misses some open 3s, Xavier Tillman is a disaster offensively that almost always ends in a TO, there's no defense, there's a few AND1s and now all of a sudden a 20+ point win is back to a more respectable difference. Fuck that. I need the differential boost, we're trying to make history here and the deep bench simply cannot hold a lead if their lives depended on it.

The Ugly

- When I say this was one of the grossest wins the Celts have had all year, all you have to do is look at the margins. 

18 TOs

10 missed FTs

45 second half points

17 OREB allowed

52 points in the paint allowed

This team should never have a game, especially against a terrible team, in which they finish with 18 TOs an miss 10 FTs. What the hell even is that? Speaking of the FTs, did you know over the last 5 games the Celts are 27th in FT%? A horrific 72.6%. Sorry, this team is filled with too many great FT shooters to be among the worst FT shooting teams in the NBA over the last week or so. 

So even though the Celts were able to get up by as much as 22, how they did it was still pretty gross. The Jays combined for 7 TOs through mostly lazy passes/loose dribbling, they only shot 43% from the floor as a team so pretty much everyone was a brick, and I'm not going to say the Celts were lucky to win, but I do know this type of stuff is going to get them beat against a team with better talent.

At 21-5, the wagon continues to roll on into this next little mini-break. From here on out it's a sprint to All Star weekend, so getting all the rest you can while still winning isn't exactly the worst thing in the world. Some might even call it a blessing in disguise.