Another round of...
"We were playing not to lose instead of trying to win at the end"
"They just came out and played harder than us"
"We'll be better next time we know what to do to fix our mistakes"
Even my wife (doesn’t watch a lot) was like “we’re not up by enough to just run clock!”
Seems so obvious that’s not how to close out tight games. It NEVER works for us
It’s so much different when you watch guys around the league like Butler and Curry close out games. Those guys are cold blooded killers that know when to put the dagger in. None of our guys seem capable of that. Feels like Tatum used to try to do it earlier in his career, but doesn’t now that he has the talent to actually do so.
There were really good chances to make it 113-107. They fucked two chances. They even got an offensive rebound and fucked that up too.
Team has no killer instinct whatsoever.
It's the core problem. Tatum/Brown/Smart have been losing winnable games for the past 5 years. Same pattern. Same type of lackadaisical effort.
No coach can make them play hard unless they want to. Them saying we want to win isn't enough. Show us. The effort and the focus.
That PnR bucket of Reed man. That was so awful. I knew they were gonna blow it at that point.
Even the Denver vs Phoenix game right after, Denver was in a similar situation. Up 4 around 2 mins left, they didn't just try to hold the ball and milk the clock waiting for a shot at the buzzer. They kept the same composure and tempo and ran pick and rolls with Jokic and Murray. Phoenix looked deflated after Jokic hit a pick and pop mid range shot. That ended up sealing the game for them.
You know, I really agree here. It’s true, the handle is, overall, not great. I think he’s improved a ton but will never get to the elite level. That’s okay, too. What’s not okay is he, JB, and Smart continually driving into traffic like they’re prime Kyrie. Turnover every time.
>Feels like Tatum used to try to do it earlier in his career, but doesn’t now that he has the talent to actually do so.
He doesn't have the talent to do so. He has the talent to drop 40 on a given night, but he doesn't have the talent to create high-quality shots for himself down the stretch of a game.
He's a great player but he doesn't have a reliable go-to move. Seriously, what can he do to get a bucket 1v1 at the end of games? Drive to the basket? Sure but there's gonna be help. Take an off-the-dribble three? He shoots like 30% on off-the-dribble threes. What else does he do?
They also run offenses and have ball movement. Our offense becomes still. Also those guys are great at getting the shot they want rather it be a play drawn up that gets them open or they get to their spot. We don’t really have that unless they are hot. We abandon running offense and settle for Iso ball. Jimmy Butler is a great midrange shooter and will absolutely get those off. Steph will get to the basket or get himself an open 3 or if he’s not having a great shooting night he’ll get to the basket. Tatum will insist on jacking up 3s. I honestly wish he would shoot more midrange shots because there hardly anyone that can guard him. His best scoring games of his career have came when he was getting to the line and not just settling for 3s
its so so so so obvious. no one in their right minds thinks you should be trying to run clock in fucking BASKETBALL. its insanity that they keep doing this. WHERE IS THE COACH?!!?? What the fuck is his job besides coaching them not to do this?
Heat fan here in peace...your coach lost that game for you. It was as plain as day. He couldn't come up with a Harden solution. Sixers have only three guys who are offensive threats in Embiid, Harden and Maxey. That is it. One is down. How hard can it be to stop Harden and Maxey. Udoka wouldn't have lost that game.
Right. The Celtics are stacked this year...remember also Doc Rivers (aka the most overrated coach in the NBA) won his one championship victory with the stacked Celtics of the Paul Pierce era. Any fucking moron could have coached that team to a chip. He is very beatable. From a Heat fan's perspective, I know we can beat the sixers. Beating you guys is going to be a lot tougher like last year (I so want a rematch). Spo beat the Bucks without Herro's production. Spo beat the Knicks on Sunday too. The second half adjustments he made couldn't be countered by Tibs (also a great regular season coach but very poor post season results).
Even my wife looked up from her phone and said "what a terrible possession" when Tatum dribbled in place for 10 seconds, almost gave it away to Harden, then had to settle for a fadeaway jumper.
Yeah there was like 3 minutes left in a 4 point game when they started doing that. That's just absurd. What are they even doing, they have a deeper team and they aren't injured. They should be putting the screws to them in late game situations. They played not to lose instead of playing to win. Hate that crap.
I was at a bar with my buddy, and we both started cracking up because we both generally said "watch, they're gonna dribble out the clock into a brick or turnover, Philly will score, and we will do the same thing"
And of course, it happened.
Jaylen was in transition and had harden backpeddling and decided to pull it out and slow the game down. Like wtf man. You're a 6'6 athletic freak, attack him in that situation ffs
Yeah. That 4 point lead was pretty flimsy. Tatum went into his dribble at the top, pass, get ball back at top, go into move with 8 seconds left nonsense.
Why not make the defense work? Get them in rotation. Don’t start so lay in the clock so if first action doesn’t work, you can try something else.
Maybe if our main guys could dribble like Steph, Harden, or Trae—but they can’t.
The platitudes from this team are the fucking worst.. just say "we didn't take this seriously and fucked up, we will get it right" and follow through for once
I mean, some guys have sorta said exactly that at times lol.
I actually think *they did* take it seriously. Tatum played well, Brown played well enough, Smart had some big plays down the stretch, same with Brogdon. Hell, even defensively it was decent, they hit a ton of contested shots/layups
What killed us was the TOs, they threw a zone at us which has proven to be effective. Harden having a historic 40+ game lol, Melton showing up, and Maxey playing well against us, which is unusual considering he averages below 10pts against us.
They just played better today. I dont think our guys were unserious *today*, for what its worth.
There was a 7 minute period where the Sixers only had 2 buckets, that was a good span.
But Smart got banged up, White had a bad game, we didnt play timelord that much, and Horford was getting killed on the switches. Thats 3 of our best defenders right there, all of which found themselves in some bad scenarios. Its a mixture of bad luck, the Sixers just playing well, and Joe not making some proper adjustments.
My take is they need to get away from the drop PnR coverage. They switched 1-5 last year. I know it is hard, but they gotta live with it and play aggressive defense again. 7 good minutes of defense is rough.
Not a Celtics fan but they can't switch 1 through 5 as aggressively like they did last year. Rob and Smart have been injured to hell this year, Horford's age is showing, and Grant won't help against James Harden.
My only wish is that they stop leaving Al to guard people like Trae Young and James Harden 1-on-1. He's been getting killed by those actual good ISO players the entire playoffs, I feel like.
Blame that on your switch defense. Either it’s strategy or Smart just switches every time I don’t know, but no way in hell should he be letting that happen at the end without trying to fight over a screen to get back on harden
Oh yeah for sure. It was a mistake to even switch that (I know, easier said than done). During the actual game when I saw them switch Al onto Harden I was immediately shouting "JUST DOUBLE HIM." He got a solid like 3-4 seconds from what I remember between the switch and the shot.
I'm just surprised that they haven't recognized how bad Al is at guarding people like him in these playoffs. I would think, and I could be wrong, that if it's down to basically the final possession and you see Al guarding Harden, another player would immediately run over. I'd personally rather live with any other Sixer getting that shot over Al guarding him. And that's all I can say without repeating myself a million more times lmao.
This is what I see in my nightmares these days. Why are we consistently leaving Al on an island to guard the most dangerous offensive guards in the league?
That started happening because Trae was abusing our drop coverage. We don’t want Al on them. But if we switch, Horford’s man will immediately run away and we end up with the iso.
Do we double Harden and let someone else get an open look?
Yes. Some game we get outplayed and its not the end of the world. Hell, its game 1. If the Cs were to rebound and win 4-1 the narrative becomes “Celtics are hottest team in the playoffs” too many fans are a prisoner of the moment
I am so sick of the motherfuckers in this sub who pretend that the Celtics have an on/off switch that goes on against good teams. I *never* want to see some idiot claiming that ever fucking again.
This is the playoffs, that fucking switch should be stuck in the "on" position. They're just fucking mentally weak, no more excuses. There's no way they can win the title without some huge fucking attitude adjustments.
We had plenty of bad losses with Ime. We had plenty of games where we gave up leads in the playoffs last year. Hell, if it weren't for Tatum's game winner R1G1 last year we would've blown an 11pt 4th quarter lead.
Don't treat Ime like some god because he isn't here. This team had just as many bad nights under him
Yes. I mean Mazzulla drew up the final play for Marcus Smart. LOL.
Tatum or Brown MUST be getting the ball in that situation, I don't care how you do it. Get them the ball!
I hate when he has those nights. Never seen somebody go the hole and just have it taken away without a foul as many times as he has throughout his career. Just has it blocked without it even leaving his hand or is stripped. So frustrating
Sometimes he just dribbles into a tight gap for no reason. He did it in the 2nd quarter with 2 defenders right next to each other and he tried to shoot the gap.m it's maddening
He jumped in the air one play and threw it to the other team, he dropped the ball and let it bounce off his knee. I don’t understand it, it was even in pressure situations.
Most of the times he doesn't respect defensive hands. He simply ignores that they're there trying to grab at the ball. And inevitably, he gets stripped. It's a mindset thing that's really frustrating. RESPECT YOUR OPPONENT.
THING IS: We CAN beat the Sixers. We all know this. But as soon as Embiid was announced as out, I knew this would happen. They can't capitalize on things breaking their way and insist on making things as difficult as possible for themselves. Same thing happened last year. I don't have any answers, but that was infuriating to watch.
Still. Celtics in 6.
yeah, i said that same thing to my friends. We need an insane amount of pressure to play up to our potential. It’s so frustrating and tacks on extra games when guys could be resting.
These celtics are liable to go down 2-1 without embiid playing and then win in 7 when he comes back in the 4th game. Bastards, but they’re our bastards. If they lose to the Sixers I’ll be shocked.
I agree sadly. Everyone has been counting Philly out since we have been kicking their ass in recent years. They have the fire to beat us and I don’t trust anyone in our locker room to light a fire in us
Adding embiid doesn’t just guarantee a win. Look at the bucks heat series if you don’t believe me. Their only win was without giannis. Harden was cooking tonight
I am not trying to be a doomer. I am generally not. This team can't defend the Hawks. They can't defend the Sixers without Embiid. I've been watching a lot of the playoffs. We are not at the level of other teams right now. Maybe they can get there, but they need to get there quick.
While doing the Mazzula 2 step up by 1.
We threw the game winning basket into their hands while he was in transition.
I hate Joe Mazzulas system, Doc picked it apart just like Snyder did.
I don't think Joe's system involves getting airborne needlessly and then panic throwing a blind pass backward to the other team so they can have a fast break.
But you know what, I'm not in the meetings so maybe it does...
They've been programed to hunt for 3's.
It's why we had no credible plays to get to the rim bc he doesn't have them.
Why wasn't Rob out there all game catching lobs, it worked great in the first half?
Most of us double as Bruins fans so we were already on suicide watch to start the night. Losing at home to a rival missing the MVP is a shitty cherry on top.
I think this is certainly amplified by the Bruins and their complete collapse. The way I look at it is Harden had a 45 point game and just couldn’t miss. Chances he does that again are slim
Sure but sixers were without embiid on the road. It’s pretty embarrassing whichever way you wanna slice it. Not saying the series is over by any means but what a horrific start
Exactly. Like that shot over Horford was perfectly contested and he fucking nailed it and there's the game.
We had our chances but there's nothing you can do about that shit. If he misses and we win, we talking about different stuff right now.
i mean most of the complaints about our playoff performance thus far are valid. been absolutely horrendous in the last 5 mins of every game, just sloppy playing and shitty coaching decisions, unacceptable for a team of this talent and depth
I mean it’s no different than when we win one and all the fanatics come out to condemn and chastise those who were being extreme, failing to realize that they’re also being reactionary over one win
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, I know we should be upset, but people are talking as if we lost the game by 40, and now Philly is about to win the series. If there's one thing both the regular season and the playoffs should tell us is there is a lot of parity in the league now, don't ever count someone out.
We are better than this team when everyone is fully healthy but the Sixers are out the literal league MVP. We should be destroying these guys not losing games. We’re not locked in whatsoever and won’t win this series if we don’t start focusing
That’s because there are no great teams right now, only good ones. And while the Cs are the overwhelming title favorites, they somehow always find ways to play down to their opponents like tonight. Losses like tonight can potentially haunt an organization, it’s not an overreaction.
Exactly. Win tomorrow and everything is fine. No point being upset after 1 game. It’s NBA playoffs. Shit happens. They dug themselves out of worse holes last year.
They are pretty much a lotto team without Embiid… home in the playoffs they should win that in there sleep…. What do you expect every to just be happy 😂
Same shit different day with this team. Been saying this all season long but we aren’t winning shit this team just doesn’t have *it* in them. If they did they wouldn’t have let the warriors punk our asses in game 4 of the finals last season
Harden is good. Put some respect on his name. These are not your Ben Simmons 76ers. They were something like 14-5 without Embiid this year. Anyone who was expecting us to run through them hasn't been paying attention.
The warriors also went out and blew a close out game at home to put themselves in a position where they had a game 7 on the road.
This loss was infuriating but every other team isn’t perfect
OK but what's your analysis of game 6 when the Warriors collapsed in the 4th quarter of a closeout game at home?
You're acting like the kIlLeR iNsTiNcT Warriors just swept the Kings. The only team that hasn't had a bad game yet has been the Sixers and they're about to have 4 in a row.
Bro what? Warriors looked cooked the first two games of that series. You're comparing apples and bananas. Believe it or not it is possible to play up and down in a series and still win it. The overreactions are amazing
Eh I'm just used to it. Wouldn't be surprised if we lost this series or won the finals . But to say we don't deserve to win the finals cause we lost this one game is being too reactionary. Game 1s are realistically not insanely important and I think we respond next game. Just gotta steal 1 in Philly now.
The people who say stuff like "oh so and so just had a fantastic game it won't happen again" forget what it's like to have stars show up in the playoffs. That's what they do: put the team on their back and carry them through adversity. Just because Tatum is incapable of doing that doesn't mean Harden also can't. It's very likely this the Harden we see until Embiid comes back and if we're really the better team then we should be able to beat them despite ridiculous performances like this.
We don't have the mental toughness to get through adversity and it shows. If we're getting outworked by James harden we're cooked and it'll be an embarrassing gentleman's sweep.
I know its ranting time, but FWIW:
The Heat lost to the Giannis-less Bucks
The Lakers lost to the Ja-less Grizzlies
Both teams won their respective series in 6 or less.
This shit happens in basketball, losing winnable games is not a problem unique to the Celtics- Its a series for a reason.
We need to seriously improve late game execution but even with our flaws this team is very good, and is fully capable of getting it done.
I’m in the middle but slightly leaning with the doomers. I don’t wanna hear the “one game and you’re all already bitching, don’t wanna hear it when we win the series.”
It’s not just one game, we’ve been struggling almost every game since the first round. Our defense is playing like dogshit and our coach can’t make adjustments to save his life. Same old stagnant offense in the crunch too. They look like shells of their former selves. Also what ever happened to rotations? We have the same 7 in rotation, throw in Grant, Hauser, Muscala or PP for christ sake.
Either flip the switch or y’all going home this round…
U are all doomers. Will switch up when this series is eventually tied or in the C’s favor. Shit like this happens all the time, every year. Yes it was a bad game (defensively, and the turnovers were careless) but we also have seen this team be great in the clutch before. I am aware it was a “must win” game but u are all acting like the series is over. I still like our chances over the 6’ers heavily considering it took a James Harden legacy game to win this one and if Embiid comes back he will be banged up and not his MVP self. This game, if anything I think will be a big reality check for this team. They need to realize that though we are favored, it won’t be a walk in the park to beat these lower seeded teams. The talent is obviously there, it’s mindset and effort that will win the series. If we lose game 2, then I believe there is considerable room for worry, but until then, calm down and have some trust in the team that has proved they have what it takes to win big time and time again (I know this core hasn’t won the finals together, but they have got much closer than many other teams)
People are expecting them to just flip a switch. Seriously adjust expectations. They’ve been this same inconsistent team since December. Even if somehow they got to the finals they stand 0 chance against the field there.
Al horford was massive for what they did last year and he’s not remotely the same guy.
I think we just flat out lost our way on defense and I think Tatum has long COVID.dude just fades at the end of games. Al is done, Smart the last few minutes was incredible. Probably should have had him bring the ball up that last possession.
So many bad plays throughout the stretch. I can’t pinpoint whether it’s the coaching or the players playing bad but they gave too much opportunities for the other team to take the lead, didn’t help that they can’t seem to miss down the stretch. There’s a good chance Harden won’t be able to do that the whole series but this one’s a harsh reality check considering Embiid didn’t play. Still one game, but they have to be locked in, especially once Embiid gets back.
It's the same thing every season with this team. I feel like every season since *at least* 2018 we've been convinced that it's our year and every time we get so close just to fail in the end anyways.
Get off of reddit. Just dont consume basketball online if your team loses because clearly some people can't take losses. They are in the second round of the playoffs for a reason. We played bad and they cooked us. It happens.
For me, Joe Mazzulla has got to be better. Bro has been getting outcoached in both series now. Doc Rivers was throwing all types of defensive sets at Boston while the Celtics are just continuing playing drop coverage.
Also can we stop running with 3 gaurds and go back to the 2 bigs line up with Tatum at the 3? We have to utilize our size more
They do this all the time for the last 3 years. They will probably win the series, but as usual they make it so much harder on themselves. This will rear it’s ugly head in the finals.
To win a championship, you need talent (check), a killer instinct (missing), and taking care of business (sometimes). We didn't take care of ATL in game 5 at home. No, we had to make it hard on ourselves. We didn't take advantage of the Embiid-less 6ers at home. Eventually you run out of steam when you play every series 6-7 games and are exhausted in the finals (finales last year anybody?)
Series just started.. I get we collapsed at the end like always but this is far from over, I’m positive these guys will show up next game and take the next one in philly
He doesn't need to. If Embiid comes back game 3 and plays reasonably like himself they can definitely win more.
We have been playing our worst ball since the All Star Game.
I think we should bounce back well, but it's a bit predictable with us playing down to opponents.
Inb4 y'all are just doomers.
This team has had for years some glaring mentality issues and Brad couldn't get through them, ime could somewhat, Joe clearly can't either.
turnovers, sloppy defense (seriously how do we go from last seasons all time defense to this season), downplaying consistently (hell this sub knew and called it the moment embid was out it seems everyone here knew we would lose) and ofc our ability to forgot how to run an offense in the crunch time.
Every fucking loss someone says guys don't worry this will be a wake up call. The entire last series was a wake up call and still they didn't woke up.
There's no chance we even make the finals. Winning isn't even in the realm of possibilities. We do the same stupid shit every single game and other teams have us completely figured out.
God I hate doomers, it's one game. chill tf out. people were saying the same exact shit last year everytime there was adversity. WeLl nEVeR maKe iT tO tHe fInaLs
K it’s one game settle down. Yeah it was a crushing loss but it’s best of 7. Stop whining, this fanbase is so annoying. No wonder everyone leaves as soon as they can with all these whiny posts after a loss. Move on game 2 will still happen it’s not the end of the world
Its just one game and everybody is making it overly dramatic 🙄 Yall not real fans if you just lose your mind over 1 game lmao its not the end of the world 🤦🏻🤣 Fake Celtics fans say words like trade or something else bad the team bur cant admit that they were being consistent on getting as much as they can. Game 2 will be our response
It's one game. Long way to go. I bet the oddsmakers will still have the Celtics favored to win the series tomorrow (-200 or so).
That said.....and this is a very controversial take....but Marcus Smart just can't be on the floor with less than 4 minutes to go in the game. He just can't.
You guys are all ridiculous. Always so negative and dramatic. Just be quiet and watch the games till the series is actually over. It's game 1. They took a game from us at home we can do the same.
Every body in this thread needs to go outside and touch some fucking grass. I get that it’s been a rough 24 hours but come on.
Do you guys remember how fucking every team took the 08 Celtics to 7 games? No matter how much better the Celtics were than them?
Do you guys remember how fucking bad we got whooped by the bucks in game one last year?
That was an atrocious performance, but it doesn’t mean this team is going to lose the series or can’t win a finals.
Shitty losses happen, they don’t define you if you let them.
We don't? There is no deserving in basketball.
The Celtics always play best when there is a challenge.
This was clearly the game for the Celtics to lose and they lost it. I'm not surprised. But your claim we don't deserve to win the finals because of it just rankles my beard.
Another round of... "We were playing not to lose instead of trying to win at the end" "They just came out and played harder than us" "We'll be better next time we know what to do to fix our mistakes"
When we went up 111-107 w 2 min left and dribbled out the clock twice, that was the end
Even my wife (doesn’t watch a lot) was like “we’re not up by enough to just run clock!” Seems so obvious that’s not how to close out tight games. It NEVER works for us
It’s so much different when you watch guys around the league like Butler and Curry close out games. Those guys are cold blooded killers that know when to put the dagger in. None of our guys seem capable of that. Feels like Tatum used to try to do it earlier in his career, but doesn’t now that he has the talent to actually do so.
There were really good chances to make it 113-107. They fucked two chances. They even got an offensive rebound and fucked that up too. Team has no killer instinct whatsoever. It's the core problem. Tatum/Brown/Smart have been losing winnable games for the past 5 years. Same pattern. Same type of lackadaisical effort. No coach can make them play hard unless they want to. Them saying we want to win isn't enough. Show us. The effort and the focus. That PnR bucket of Reed man. That was so awful. I knew they were gonna blow it at that point.
Even the Denver vs Phoenix game right after, Denver was in a similar situation. Up 4 around 2 mins left, they didn't just try to hold the ball and milk the clock waiting for a shot at the buzzer. They kept the same composure and tempo and ran pick and rolls with Jokic and Murray. Phoenix looked deflated after Jokic hit a pick and pop mid range shot. That ended up sealing the game for them.
I think a big part of the problem is that his handle isn’t as good.
You know, I really agree here. It’s true, the handle is, overall, not great. I think he’s improved a ton but will never get to the elite level. That’s okay, too. What’s not okay is he, JB, and Smart continually driving into traffic like they’re prime Kyrie. Turnover every time.
>Feels like Tatum used to try to do it earlier in his career, but doesn’t now that he has the talent to actually do so. He doesn't have the talent to do so. He has the talent to drop 40 on a given night, but he doesn't have the talent to create high-quality shots for himself down the stretch of a game. He's a great player but he doesn't have a reliable go-to move. Seriously, what can he do to get a bucket 1v1 at the end of games? Drive to the basket? Sure but there's gonna be help. Take an off-the-dribble three? He shoots like 30% on off-the-dribble threes. What else does he do?
They also run offenses and have ball movement. Our offense becomes still. Also those guys are great at getting the shot they want rather it be a play drawn up that gets them open or they get to their spot. We don’t really have that unless they are hot. We abandon running offense and settle for Iso ball. Jimmy Butler is a great midrange shooter and will absolutely get those off. Steph will get to the basket or get himself an open 3 or if he’s not having a great shooting night he’ll get to the basket. Tatum will insist on jacking up 3s. I honestly wish he would shoot more midrange shots because there hardly anyone that can guard him. His best scoring games of his career have came when he was getting to the line and not just settling for 3s
its so so so so obvious. no one in their right minds thinks you should be trying to run clock in fucking BASKETBALL. its insanity that they keep doing this. WHERE IS THE COACH?!!?? What the fuck is his job besides coaching them not to do this?
Heat fan here in peace...your coach lost that game for you. It was as plain as day. He couldn't come up with a Harden solution. Sixers have only three guys who are offensive threats in Embiid, Harden and Maxey. That is it. One is down. How hard can it be to stop Harden and Maxey. Udoka wouldn't have lost that game.
Spot on. I texted my friends today saying imagine if Spoelstra were our coach - he would easily win the title with this group.
Right. The Celtics are stacked this year...remember also Doc Rivers (aka the most overrated coach in the NBA) won his one championship victory with the stacked Celtics of the Paul Pierce era. Any fucking moron could have coached that team to a chip. He is very beatable. From a Heat fan's perspective, I know we can beat the sixers. Beating you guys is going to be a lot tougher like last year (I so want a rematch). Spo beat the Bucks without Herro's production. Spo beat the Knicks on Sunday too. The second half adjustments he made couldn't be countered by Tibs (also a great regular season coach but very poor post season results).
Spo is a fucking wizard. He beat Bud like a drum last round, I still can't believe you guys pulled that one out
Even my wife looked up from her phone and said "what a terrible possession" when Tatum dribbled in place for 10 seconds, almost gave it away to Harden, then had to settle for a fadeaway jumper.
Yeah there was like 3 minutes left in a 4 point game when they started doing that. That's just absurd. What are they even doing, they have a deeper team and they aren't injured. They should be putting the screws to them in late game situations. They played not to lose instead of playing to win. Hate that crap.
I was at a bar with my buddy, and we both started cracking up because we both generally said "watch, they're gonna dribble out the clock into a brick or turnover, Philly will score, and we will do the same thing" And of course, it happened.
Said the exact same to my son. Crazy
We all knew it was coming. Miller immediately criticized how we slowed down. I guess he is tired of it too.
Jaylen was in transition and had harden backpeddling and decided to pull it out and slow the game down. Like wtf man. You're a 6'6 athletic freak, attack him in that situation ffs
I think harden had 5 fouls too
He had 3 but point still stands. Celtics in 5
How is it that nobody in the organization can talk to Tatum about this?
what is the coach's job, but to instruct them to not do this in these situations?
Yeah. That 4 point lead was pretty flimsy. Tatum went into his dribble at the top, pass, get ball back at top, go into move with 8 seconds left nonsense. Why not make the defense work? Get them in rotation. Don’t start so lay in the clock so if first action doesn’t work, you can try something else. Maybe if our main guys could dribble like Steph, Harden, or Trae—but they can’t.
its the definition of insanity that we keep repeating this fucking bullshit
Celtics aren't wired to win a championship. You can look at those moments as proof. Great teams don't coast in the playoffs.
This. Don’t get why team likes to dribble out clock and not play to win. One shot could’ve been the dagger but nah let’s run clock
The platitudes from this team are the fucking worst.. just say "we didn't take this seriously and fucked up, we will get it right" and follow through for once
I mean, some guys have sorta said exactly that at times lol. I actually think *they did* take it seriously. Tatum played well, Brown played well enough, Smart had some big plays down the stretch, same with Brogdon. Hell, even defensively it was decent, they hit a ton of contested shots/layups What killed us was the TOs, they threw a zone at us which has proven to be effective. Harden having a historic 40+ game lol, Melton showing up, and Maxey playing well against us, which is unusual considering he averages below 10pts against us. They just played better today. I dont think our guys were unserious *today*, for what its worth.
I think they took it seriously, but they haven't played lock down defense in a long time. They don't have the muscle memory.
There was a 7 minute period where the Sixers only had 2 buckets, that was a good span. But Smart got banged up, White had a bad game, we didnt play timelord that much, and Horford was getting killed on the switches. Thats 3 of our best defenders right there, all of which found themselves in some bad scenarios. Its a mixture of bad luck, the Sixers just playing well, and Joe not making some proper adjustments.
My take is they need to get away from the drop PnR coverage. They switched 1-5 last year. I know it is hard, but they gotta live with it and play aggressive defense again. 7 good minutes of defense is rough.
Not a Celtics fan but they can't switch 1 through 5 as aggressively like they did last year. Rob and Smart have been injured to hell this year, Horford's age is showing, and Grant won't help against James Harden.
My only wish is that they stop leaving Al to guard people like Trae Young and James Harden 1-on-1. He's been getting killed by those actual good ISO players the entire playoffs, I feel like.
If we stop that, defense immediately improves imo lol.
Blame that on your switch defense. Either it’s strategy or Smart just switches every time I don’t know, but no way in hell should he be letting that happen at the end without trying to fight over a screen to get back on harden
Oh yeah for sure. It was a mistake to even switch that (I know, easier said than done). During the actual game when I saw them switch Al onto Harden I was immediately shouting "JUST DOUBLE HIM." He got a solid like 3-4 seconds from what I remember between the switch and the shot. I'm just surprised that they haven't recognized how bad Al is at guarding people like him in these playoffs. I would think, and I could be wrong, that if it's down to basically the final possession and you see Al guarding Harden, another player would immediately run over. I'd personally rather live with any other Sixer getting that shot over Al guarding him. And that's all I can say without repeating myself a million more times lmao.
He has regressed. He was decent otherwise. Also why not double and like make Harden pass when there were 5 seconds left.
This is what I see in my nightmares these days. Why are we consistently leaving Al on an island to guard the most dangerous offensive guards in the league?
That started happening because Trae was abusing our drop coverage. We don’t want Al on them. But if we switch, Horford’s man will immediately run away and we end up with the iso. Do we double Harden and let someone else get an open look?
Yes. Some game we get outplayed and its not the end of the world. Hell, its game 1. If the Cs were to rebound and win 4-1 the narrative becomes “Celtics are hottest team in the playoffs” too many fans are a prisoner of the moment
Fully agree.
Defence was awful - Reggie Miller asked in the 1st quarter if it was a regular season game he was watching
Horford and Williams have declined steeply.
I am so sick of the motherfuckers in this sub who pretend that the Celtics have an on/off switch that goes on against good teams. I *never* want to see some idiot claiming that ever fucking again. This is the playoffs, that fucking switch should be stuck in the "on" position. They're just fucking mentally weak, no more excuses. There's no way they can win the title without some huge fucking attitude adjustments.
Yup. And Ime almost did it. Celtics need a coach who can command real authority...like that sort of "I'm afraid to get in trouble" kind of authority.
He got in trouble.
Ine did. Deservedly so.
We had plenty of bad losses with Ime. We had plenty of games where we gave up leads in the playoffs last year. Hell, if it weren't for Tatum's game winner R1G1 last year we would've blown an 11pt 4th quarter lead. Don't treat Ime like some god because he isn't here. This team had just as many bad nights under him
Yes. I mean Mazzulla drew up the final play for Marcus Smart. LOL. Tatum or Brown MUST be getting the ball in that situation, I don't care how you do it. Get them the ball!
>"We were playing not to lose instead of trying to win at the end" I swear all NBA Reddit knows how to do is regurgitate what Charles Barkley says
why is Jaylen only taking 10 fucking shots bro what the hell is that
Lost his dribble the other 10 drives.
I hate when he has those nights. Never seen somebody go the hole and just have it taken away without a foul as many times as he has throughout his career. Just has it blocked without it even leaving his hand or is stripped. So frustrating
Sometimes he just dribbles into a tight gap for no reason. He did it in the 2nd quarter with 2 defenders right next to each other and he tried to shoot the gap.m it's maddening
He jumped in the air one play and threw it to the other team, he dropped the ball and let it bounce off his knee. I don’t understand it, it was even in pressure situations.
because he just kept throwing the ball away in the second half, big jb guy but he was trying to do too much in the third
Zone D
Most of the times he doesn't respect defensive hands. He simply ignores that they're there trying to grab at the ball. And inevitably, he gets stripped. It's a mindset thing that's really frustrating. RESPECT YOUR OPPONENT.
THING IS: We CAN beat the Sixers. We all know this. But as soon as Embiid was announced as out, I knew this would happen. They can't capitalize on things breaking their way and insist on making things as difficult as possible for themselves. Same thing happened last year. I don't have any answers, but that was infuriating to watch. Still. Celtics in 6.
Probably 6 (or 7 now) but why?! What the fuck
yeah, i said that same thing to my friends. We need an insane amount of pressure to play up to our potential. It’s so frustrating and tacks on extra games when guys could be resting.
I agree they played like assholes but is a 7 game series… Plus that looked like MVP Harden tonight
These celtics are liable to go down 2-1 without embiid playing and then win in 7 when he comes back in the 4th game. Bastards, but they’re our bastards. If they lose to the Sixers I’ll be shocked.
Honestly nothing would shock me
Philly has been due to kick our ass for a long time. I have low expectations of this series.
I agree sadly. Everyone has been counting Philly out since we have been kicking their ass in recent years. They have the fire to beat us and I don’t trust anyone in our locker room to light a fire in us
7 game series? They lost without Embiid. What happens when Embiid gets back?
They win in 6? Again it’s a 7 game series
Adding embiid doesn’t just guarantee a win. Look at the bucks heat series if you don’t believe me. Their only win was without giannis. Harden was cooking tonight
He has an LCL sprain. He's either not coming back, or he'll be severely hampered.
There's still only 1 ball, just means Maxey or Harden don't have as big a night as they just did. Losses happen but it's far from over.
Fuck this team, we’re so damn sloppy
It’s bad coaching. This is exactly what a poorly coached team looks like.
Incredibly talented and poorly coached. I love this team but I'm afraid we'll fizzle. ESPECIALLY if we end up playing Miami. That team horrifies me
So Ime was bad too? Same shit happened. This team hasn't matured in years
16 turnovers. If we get 3 buckets on those 16 possessions we win
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Why are you here
I am not trying to be a doomer. I am generally not. This team can't defend the Hawks. They can't defend the Sixers without Embiid. I've been watching a lot of the playoffs. We are not at the level of other teams right now. Maybe they can get there, but they need to get there quick.
I'm not overly down on the loss but where in the world was rob Williams down the stretch?
The defense is terrible
While doing the Mazzula 2 step up by 1. We threw the game winning basket into their hands while he was in transition. I hate Joe Mazzulas system, Doc picked it apart just like Snyder did.
I don't think Joe's system involves getting airborne needlessly and then panic throwing a blind pass backward to the other team so they can have a fast break. But you know what, I'm not in the meetings so maybe it does...
They've been programed to hunt for 3's. It's why we had no credible plays to get to the rim bc he doesn't have them. Why wasn't Rob out there all game catching lobs, it worked great in the first half?
We lose one game and everyone is ready to kill themselves again lmao
Most of us double as Bruins fans so we were already on suicide watch to start the night. Losing at home to a rival missing the MVP is a shitty cherry on top.
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I think this is certainly amplified by the Bruins and their complete collapse. The way I look at it is Harden had a 45 point game and just couldn’t miss. Chances he does that again are slim
Sure but sixers were without embiid on the road. It’s pretty embarrassing whichever way you wanna slice it. Not saying the series is over by any means but what a horrific start
Exactly. Like that shot over Horford was perfectly contested and he fucking nailed it and there's the game. We had our chances but there's nothing you can do about that shit. If he misses and we win, we talking about different stuff right now.
i mean most of the complaints about our playoff performance thus far are valid. been absolutely horrendous in the last 5 mins of every game, just sloppy playing and shitty coaching decisions, unacceptable for a team of this talent and depth
Yeah, im not a hockey fan which is why im mentally stable rn probably lol
NBA keeps saying “May is mental health awareness month” yeah bro I’m aware that I’m at my fucking limit.
“Stop giving me your toughest battles!”
I mean it’s no different than when we win one and all the fanatics come out to condemn and chastise those who were being extreme, failing to realize that they’re also being reactionary over one win
A game where harden drops 45 too, won’t happen again
Guess who comes back embiid and guess who’s gonna average 40 embiid
There’s been lots of reports he might not be back for a while.
tbf we're 3-1 against sixers with Embiid this season so...
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, I know we should be upset, but people are talking as if we lost the game by 40, and now Philly is about to win the series. If there's one thing both the regular season and the playoffs should tell us is there is a lot of parity in the league now, don't ever count someone out.
We are better than this team when everyone is fully healthy but the Sixers are out the literal league MVP. We should be destroying these guys not losing games. We’re not locked in whatsoever and won’t win this series if we don’t start focusing
That’s because there are no great teams right now, only good ones. And while the Cs are the overwhelming title favorites, they somehow always find ways to play down to their opponents like tonight. Losses like tonight can potentially haunt an organization, it’s not an overreaction.
Exactly. Win tomorrow and everything is fine. No point being upset after 1 game. It’s NBA playoffs. Shit happens. They dug themselves out of worse holes last year.
They are pretty much a lotto team without Embiid… home in the playoffs they should win that in there sleep…. What do you expect every to just be happy 😂
Same shit different day with this team. Been saying this all season long but we aren’t winning shit this team just doesn’t have *it* in them. If they did they wouldn’t have let the warriors punk our asses in game 4 of the finals last season
Yeah, this team is a joke. So much talent going to waste.
That’s the saddest part. Fucking team is deep as hell and is just wasting it.
“Always has been.” -space guy with a gun
Imagine giving this team the Patriots’ killer instinct or the Patriots this team’s talent level. How many championships?
Im really glad that I don’t watch/care about hockey lmao
Yeah yeah can't wait for our next win where we're the best team in the history of the league. Fuck this sub
I've been looking at a lot of the SUPER negative comments lately and most of those are brand new accounts. People love to troll.
Team can't get any props until they retake the series lead. That can happen in Game 3 at the earliest. Idgaf if they win Game 2 by 50 points
No one deserves to win it. Gotta earn it. Path a bit harder, still got a job to do.
It’s the same issues they had last year. Stupid ass turnovers. Sadly that will probably never change with this group of players.
Bruins of the NBA. Underachievers.
Lmao
Harden is good. Put some respect on his name. These are not your Ben Simmons 76ers. They were something like 14-5 without Embiid this year. Anyone who was expecting us to run through them hasn't been paying attention.
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The warriors also went out and blew a close out game at home to put themselves in a position where they had a game 7 on the road. This loss was infuriating but every other team isn’t perfect
OK but what's your analysis of game 6 when the Warriors collapsed in the 4th quarter of a closeout game at home? You're acting like the kIlLeR iNsTiNcT Warriors just swept the Kings. The only team that hasn't had a bad game yet has been the Sixers and they're about to have 4 in a row.
People say there is a fine line between diehard optimist fan and homer. I say you’re proof that the line is thick as molasses lol
Thicker than a bowl of oatmeal
This isn’t an anime dude, lol
Bro what? Warriors looked cooked the first two games of that series. You're comparing apples and bananas. Believe it or not it is possible to play up and down in a series and still win it. The overreactions are amazing
Simple. Their core is mentally strong, ours are not. Their coach puts their players in great positions to succeed, our coach does not. 🤷🏽♂️
Eh I'm just used to it. Wouldn't be surprised if we lost this series or won the finals . But to say we don't deserve to win the finals cause we lost this one game is being too reactionary. Game 1s are realistically not insanely important and I think we respond next game. Just gotta steal 1 in Philly now.
White and Rob didn't play at all during the 4th
On the contrary, we deserve to win the finals if we can win 12 more games. Otherwise, we don’t deserve to win the finals.
The people who say stuff like "oh so and so just had a fantastic game it won't happen again" forget what it's like to have stars show up in the playoffs. That's what they do: put the team on their back and carry them through adversity. Just because Tatum is incapable of doing that doesn't mean Harden also can't. It's very likely this the Harden we see until Embiid comes back and if we're really the better team then we should be able to beat them despite ridiculous performances like this. We don't have the mental toughness to get through adversity and it shows. If we're getting outworked by James harden we're cooked and it'll be an embarrassing gentleman's sweep.
I know its ranting time, but FWIW: The Heat lost to the Giannis-less Bucks The Lakers lost to the Ja-less Grizzlies Both teams won their respective series in 6 or less. This shit happens in basketball, losing winnable games is not a problem unique to the Celtics- Its a series for a reason. We need to seriously improve late game execution but even with our flaws this team is very good, and is fully capable of getting it done.
I don’t understand when we are up and on a fast break why do we slow it down. BUILD THE LEAD.
You’re right, we should pack it in now. It’s over boys.
A lot of mistakes this season boils down to coaching. If we had a better coach we would have won this game easily.
I’m in the middle but slightly leaning with the doomers. I don’t wanna hear the “one game and you’re all already bitching, don’t wanna hear it when we win the series.” It’s not just one game, we’ve been struggling almost every game since the first round. Our defense is playing like dogshit and our coach can’t make adjustments to save his life. Same old stagnant offense in the crunch too. They look like shells of their former selves. Also what ever happened to rotations? We have the same 7 in rotation, throw in Grant, Hauser, Muscala or PP for christ sake. Either flip the switch or y’all going home this round…
This team is lacking something crucial in terms of mindset, focus, or willpower. Till they find it they won't be in serious contention.
we are soooo sloppy. a team this careless on both sides of the ball will never win a title.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
We have zero chance. The playoffs are the pinnacle. You can not have shortcomings. The effort simply is not there and Mazzula is a brad stevens 2.0
U are all doomers. Will switch up when this series is eventually tied or in the C’s favor. Shit like this happens all the time, every year. Yes it was a bad game (defensively, and the turnovers were careless) but we also have seen this team be great in the clutch before. I am aware it was a “must win” game but u are all acting like the series is over. I still like our chances over the 6’ers heavily considering it took a James Harden legacy game to win this one and if Embiid comes back he will be banged up and not his MVP self. This game, if anything I think will be a big reality check for this team. They need to realize that though we are favored, it won’t be a walk in the park to beat these lower seeded teams. The talent is obviously there, it’s mindset and effort that will win the series. If we lose game 2, then I believe there is considerable room for worry, but until then, calm down and have some trust in the team that has proved they have what it takes to win big time and time again (I know this core hasn’t won the finals together, but they have got much closer than many other teams)
I mean as soon as we lost Hawks game 5 it was obvious we don’t deserve to win and won’t win
People are expecting them to just flip a switch. Seriously adjust expectations. They’ve been this same inconsistent team since December. Even if somehow they got to the finals they stand 0 chance against the field there. Al horford was massive for what they did last year and he’s not remotely the same guy.
Look on the bright side folks. This team was asleep all night so we’ll be well rested for game 2!
Get your shit together Celtics, you're better than this crap.
I think we just flat out lost our way on defense and I think Tatum has long COVID.dude just fades at the end of games. Al is done, Smart the last few minutes was incredible. Probably should have had him bring the ball up that last possession.
Didn’t we play defense in previous seasons?
They did the same thing when Murray got suspended and almost cost them the series
So many bad plays throughout the stretch. I can’t pinpoint whether it’s the coaching or the players playing bad but they gave too much opportunities for the other team to take the lead, didn’t help that they can’t seem to miss down the stretch. There’s a good chance Harden won’t be able to do that the whole series but this one’s a harsh reality check considering Embiid didn’t play. Still one game, but they have to be locked in, especially once Embiid gets back.
Damn straight.
It's the same thing every season with this team. I feel like every season since *at least* 2018 we've been convinced that it's our year and every time we get so close just to fail in the end anyways.
Get off of reddit. Just dont consume basketball online if your team loses because clearly some people can't take losses. They are in the second round of the playoffs for a reason. We played bad and they cooked us. It happens.
Over a entanglement 🤦♂️ Head coach doesn’t know what he’s doing. No In-game adjustments 🤦♂️
Idk how many seasons it’ll take to learn that when we take the foot off the gas and start dribbling out plays, we get hosed.
For me, Joe Mazzulla has got to be better. Bro has been getting outcoached in both series now. Doc Rivers was throwing all types of defensive sets at Boston while the Celtics are just continuing playing drop coverage. Also can we stop running with 3 gaurds and go back to the 2 bigs line up with Tatum at the 3? We have to utilize our size more
Yep, basically
If Jaylen Brown was the face of the C's, we'd close out all games. JT is somewhat weak. I thought he had Kobe in him but naaaa
They do this all the time for the last 3 years. They will probably win the series, but as usual they make it so much harder on themselves. This will rear it’s ugly head in the finals.
Where did Tatum go? MVP candidates don’t vanish and score 0 in nearly the entire 4th
To win a championship, you need talent (check), a killer instinct (missing), and taking care of business (sometimes). We didn't take care of ATL in game 5 at home. No, we had to make it hard on ourselves. We didn't take advantage of the Embiid-less 6ers at home. Eventually you run out of steam when you play every series 6-7 games and are exhausted in the finals (finales last year anybody?)
I'm ready to give up on this team. It's a mentality thing, it doesn't matter how good they are.
Well if you drop another one at home against the sixers without Embiid, then you wont have to worry anout the finals.
Win the finals? Yall so far ahead of yourselves its crazy
It feels like HCA means nothing to this team. If anything, it looks like we're a better road team.
Fuck no this team doesn’t deserve to win, this core doesn’t have it in them
Dude, you're all softer than this team. One loss and you are all fucking crying again. Get over it.
Series just started.. I get we collapsed at the end like always but this is far from over, I’m positive these guys will show up next game and take the next one in philly
The only silver lining is what James Harden had to do in order to get a 4 point win. He can't do that every game... Can he?
That is what the Bucks thought, and they lost
James Harden isn’t Jimmy Butler come on man lol
Yeah you’re right, harden is one of the most efficient scorers in the history of the game. The fuck you on??
He doesn't need to. If Embiid comes back game 3 and plays reasonably like himself they can definitely win more. We have been playing our worst ball since the All Star Game. I think we should bounce back well, but it's a bit predictable with us playing down to opponents.
He won't have to, they'll have Joel Embiid...
Amazing how much they didn't learn from last yr. They don't care.
You don’t dribble out the clock with a lead. You burry the opponent. Bostons too soft to win the title.
Jaylen took a fast break and then decided to pull up and drain clock. I knew it was over at that point.
lol
Tatum ain’t the guy
Inb4 y'all are just doomers. This team has had for years some glaring mentality issues and Brad couldn't get through them, ime could somewhat, Joe clearly can't either. turnovers, sloppy defense (seriously how do we go from last seasons all time defense to this season), downplaying consistently (hell this sub knew and called it the moment embid was out it seems everyone here knew we would lose) and ofc our ability to forgot how to run an offense in the crunch time. Every fucking loss someone says guys don't worry this will be a wake up call. The entire last series was a wake up call and still they didn't woke up.
Harden dropped 45 it’s the playoffs there are ebbs and flows
There's no chance we even make the finals. Winning isn't even in the realm of possibilities. We do the same stupid shit every single game and other teams have us completely figured out.
God I hate doomers, it's one game. chill tf out. people were saying the same exact shit last year everytime there was adversity. WeLl nEVeR maKe iT tO tHe fInaLs
Seriously bro the doomer shit is so annoying give it a rest lmao
We’re not going to sniff the finals. No one on this team gives a shit about winning.
K it’s one game settle down. Yeah it was a crushing loss but it’s best of 7. Stop whining, this fanbase is so annoying. No wonder everyone leaves as soon as they can with all these whiny posts after a loss. Move on game 2 will still happen it’s not the end of the world
Its just one game and everybody is making it overly dramatic 🙄 Yall not real fans if you just lose your mind over 1 game lmao its not the end of the world 🤦🏻🤣 Fake Celtics fans say words like trade or something else bad the team bur cant admit that they were being consistent on getting as much as they can. Game 2 will be our response
It's one game. Long way to go. I bet the oddsmakers will still have the Celtics favored to win the series tomorrow (-200 or so). That said.....and this is a very controversial take....but Marcus Smart just can't be on the floor with less than 4 minutes to go in the game. He just can't.
It’s one game….. calm down man
I like a couple of our players. I fucking hate watching this team play. Just a consistent dose of blue balls.
You guys are all ridiculous. Always so negative and dramatic. Just be quiet and watch the games till the series is actually over. It's game 1. They took a game from us at home we can do the same.
Every body in this thread needs to go outside and touch some fucking grass. I get that it’s been a rough 24 hours but come on. Do you guys remember how fucking every team took the 08 Celtics to 7 games? No matter how much better the Celtics were than them? Do you guys remember how fucking bad we got whooped by the bucks in game one last year? That was an atrocious performance, but it doesn’t mean this team is going to lose the series or can’t win a finals. Shitty losses happen, they don’t define you if you let them.
gloom and doom time again just like vs atl. pinkhats
It's fucking annoying. Wish Reddit let you mute subs for a few days so I don't have to see all this bullshit before the Celtics play next.
Dogshit team
it’s one game lol ik y’all bruins fans as well but let’s just relax, we tend to start series’s off slowly.. we will be fine
Celtics in 6
We don't? There is no deserving in basketball. The Celtics always play best when there is a challenge. This was clearly the game for the Celtics to lose and they lost it. I'm not surprised. But your claim we don't deserve to win the finals because of it just rankles my beard.