Query 1: Say the Boston Celtics misplaced to an Orlando Magic crew with no gamers on it. It was… (select one response)
…a statistical fluke!
…pathetic!
…deeply regarding and justification for widespread alarm — mild the lantern in Outdated North Church!
…completely regular. All groups lose often.
More often than not, possibility 1 and 4 are moderately and measured responses. Sometimes you need to fireplace up reply 2, like when Boston blows a sport at full energy to the Anthony Davis-LeBron Jamesless Los Angeles Lakers, and I actually attempt to keep away from going full Paul Revere with possibility 3. We attempt to hold it easy and rational round right here (many individuals chuckle backstage).
Tonight’s loss, although, necessitates a better look. The Magic have been enjoying with virtually no one, loses all three of Mo Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to harm and beginning two gamers named Tristan Da Silva and Trevelin Queen. The Celtics have been at full energy aside from one, super-seriously-important caveat: a last-second Jayson Tatum absence as a result of an sickness.
All these issues have unmeasurable affect on NBA video games: on one hand, you might say the Celtics obtained smacked within the face by a freak-Tatum illness pregame and have been unable to regulate their sport plan; alternatively, the Celtics have a lot expertise and are skilled NBA gamers, in order that most likely mustn’t have mattered.
And it didn’t matter for the primary half. The Celtics have been assertive, dominant and performed greater. However the Tatum absence was felt big-time down the stretch, with Boston going full I-got-this mode with isolation and no passing in any respect dragging the Celtics down the pit of mediocrity. The Magic proceeded to tug themselves up by their bootstraps and ascended to the identical stage of mediocrity, giving themselves an opportunity towards this no matter Celtics efficiency.
I’m not mad. I’m simply disillusioned. It may have and may have been higher, however Boston performed themselves proper right into a funk and have been unable to bop out of it. The late-game execution was all the pieces this crew used to wrestle with, and underscored how necessary Tatum has grow to be for this crew. The whole lot runs by means of him within the clutch, and the Celtics are liable to interrupt down with out him. It’s not an excuse, however it’s a cheap rationalization.
For those who’re tempted to smash possibility 1 and say it was a statistical fluke — the Celtics have been 8-32 from three, which is… not precisely nice — I’d advise towards that. Boston performed themselves out of the sport schematically, not simply numerically. There was no motion, no intentionality and no one was taking and making threes confidently. On paper, it is sensible, but it surely didn’t cross the attention check. The Celtics’ failure couldn’t be defined with “oh, simply make one!”; it was deeper than that.
The Payton Pritchard quotient can be one thing to actively monitor. He struggled to attain all night time, notching a team-low -12 and sitting out the stretch even when the Celtics wanted a bucket, one thing he’s often nice at. There appears to be a growing correlation between Pritchard enjoying effectively and the Celtics enjoying effectively, so let’s regulate that one as we get nearer to the playoffs.
Ultimate reply? I’ll go for a mixture of 3 and 4. These losses occur, and I’m not almost as freaked out by them as I’d have been pre-Banner 18. However I’m guessing the Celtics gamers have been additionally not as freaked out, which paradoxically freaks me out a bit extra. They’re not going to have the identical desperation accessible, so motivation to not do the stand-around-and-iso-ball factor must be discovered elsewhere.
Query 2 is… from the place?
