Skip to main content

Celtics possible "first-round exit" this season, but bright future

Image
By

 My personal quote, used often, is "A brain can get you through almost anything". Well, Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens have brain power in abundance, but it sure as Hell has not been evident this season. Exhibit A is NBA analyst Jalen Rose stating, "The Boston Celtics look like a first-round exit this year."


I agree. I would not be shocked to see them swept out of the play-in tournament and head home. Hard to believe I am writing about a team that came back from a 32-point deficit versus the Spurs to take a 143-140 victory, with Jayson Tatum exploding for 60 points.

So what's the good news. I'll start with rookie Aaron Nesmith, alias "ThreeSmith". Where has he been all season? It has become apparent this this hard-nosed kid is part of the solution for some of the Celtics shortcomings.

Boston remains mostly a finesse team lacking toughness. Last night, shortly after Nesmith entered the game in the first quarter, he took down a tough offensive rebound for a successful put-back. Second later, he had an open look from the corner, but chose to drive to the hoop - getting fouled and making both free throws. ThreeSmith notched 16 points and four boards in only 19 minutes. 

Beyond toughness, the current Celtics crop lacks seasoning and poise. Yeah, I get it. They are young, and poise comes with age and court time. Well, Evan Fournier has the poise-under-pressure sorely needed by The Green. He is a calculator out there. His 30 points and eight assists last night showed his ability to hit the open shots, create opportunities for himself or get the ball to his comrades at the right time. He could be a keeper.

Marcus Smart was aggressive in the loss to the Heat last night, but made a few bad decisions on a few errant passes. But he was still able to produce 16 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals. He needs to remain in the Celtics fold going forward, but a bit more poise would not hurt his cause. Add me to the list of Jimmy Butler admirers, and Marcus could take a few lessons from the guy that makes things work for the Miami Heat.

But it is Jayson Tatum that remains the major building block for the Boston Celtics. A mediocre performance from him still showed 29 points (11-of-16 FG, 2-of-6 3s), five boards and six assists. Ainge needs to surround him with the right cast to strongly contend for Banner #18. That almost certainly won't happen this season, but the right moves by the Celtics brain trust this off-season could yield that result fairly soon.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
19 comments
Read more

In defense of Marcus Smart

By
 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

By
According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion...
Post a Comment
Read more