Celtics Review - Game 24
Matchup - Philadelphia 76ers
Results - 109-115 (L)
Record - (17-7)
This one hurt. This one hurt bad. There isn’t a team in the NBA that I despise more than the 76ers. We looked okay through the first couple quarters, but then everything went to sh*t in the fourth. It’s exactly what happened in the game against Indiana. We kept it together, played pretty good basketball, and then sh*t ourselves in the fourth quarter. I see a lot of people complaining that Brad went too far with all the intentional fouls in the fourth, but I didn’t really see a problem with that. The problem was that we couldn’t make a shot on offense after we fouled them. Aside from that one clutch Tatum three, we couldn’t get anything to go.
Our big guys played amazing, despite not being able to stop Embiid. Theis and Kanter both had amazing games, but they just couldn’t manage to stop the force that is Joel Embiid. He had his way with both of them, especially Kanter. The one play that summed up their matchup perfectly was when Kanter got backed down, Embiid put a post move on him, and Kanter just had to foul. He’s just not a good enough defender to guard someone as good as Embiid. Kanter made a couple good plays, like when he got that jump ball on him, but the fact that Embiid dropped 38 should tell you that we did not do a good enough job defending him. This is the one place where the Celtics lack skills. We don’t have a big guy who can guard those really dominant bigs. This is why we need to trade for a Myles Turner or Andre Drummond. And yeah, I know Drummond isn’t the best defender in the world, but he’s better than Kanter and also the best rebounder in the league, which we also need desperately.
And don’t even get me started on those foul calls. Or should I say missed foul calls. I know our shooting was awful, and I have no one to blame but the Celtics themselves, but those refs were pretty questionable. Let me start with that missed 24 second violation. The Sixers shot banked of the backboard, missed the rim completely, and they didn’t call a violation. The refs just let the Sixers keep playing, and it ended up giving them a free basket. Then there was that bullsh*t non-call when Josh Richardson literally tackled Jaylen Brown. I mean, he f*cking fell on top of him for Christ's sake. How can they just not call that? Maybe Tatum shouldn’t have passed it, but that was the clearest foul call if I’ve ever seen one. Jesus Christ.
Ouch Award - Jayson Tatum
Tatum f*cking sucked again. Like he just can’t shoot the freaking ball lately. The only issue is, he still forces up his shots. I think I counted at least 5 shots he took last night that just bricked off the front of the rim. And yet he kept taking those same shots. Like dude if you miss the same shot the first 7 times, stop taking it. I know the great shooters keep shooting until they’re in a rhythm, but he’s not that yet. Tatum’s a guy in his third year who’s playing at an All-Star level, but he’s not one of those few shooters in the league who should keep shooting those stupid little mid-range shots until they go in. I know he hit that clutch shot at the end of the game, but as soon as he shot it I cried out in fear. I think that was a stupid shot. He had been cold all game, and should have let Hayward or Kemba get a good look. Thank God he made it, but it was still not the shot for that point in time, in my opinion.
Love of my Life Award - Enes Kanter
It’s tough to give this award to a guy who got absolutely bullied by Joel Embiid while on defense, but he just played so well on offense. Kanter finished the game with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. If he could even play remotely good defense, I would say he would be in contention for the starting job after that performance. The way he can just get in position to get so many offensive rebounds is incredible. He has a nose for it. On top of that, he’s actually a pretty good post player on offense. He’s mastered that little baby hook shot over the defender. I just need him to play better defense now.
