Orlando Magic 116, Celtics 108

This could turn out to be the most disastrous loss of the year as, not only did they embarrass themselves yet again with totally inept defenisve play, but they lost both Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart to injuries in the first half and neither was able to return. In truth, the Cs followed their bad-loss script completely in this game. Al Horford and Aron Baynes combined to allow Nicola Vukevic to score 19 points and grab 7 rebounds in the first half. The Cs actually built a 13-point lead in the second quarter, at which time they stopped playing defense, committed careless TOs, and allowed the Magic to cut the lead to 4 points at the half, at 52-48. Then they turned in one of their patented no-defense, turn the ball over, quarters, allowing the Magic to score 35 points in the process, to trail by 5 after three-quarters. Then they came out in the fourth quarter, made terrible defensive decisions, and dug a hole that they could not climb out of. In the end, they went meekly by 8 points.

The scorers were led by Kyrie Irving who finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, along with 3 costly TOs; Al Horford had 18 points and 7 boards; Gordon Hayward had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists; Marcus Morris had 13 points and 8 rebounds, but was 2 for 9 from the floor; and Jaylen Brown had 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Brown also played horrible defense, single-handedly giving Terrence Ross 6 points on fouled trey attempts, and Terry Rozier chipped in with 3 more free throws for Ross along with 4 costly TOs. Also, it would not be surprising to learn that Horford sustained further injury to his sore knee as he was not re-inserted into the lineup in the fourth quarter.

Every time this group appears to have turned a corner, they combine to throw in yet another enormous clunker. Irving has to take responsiblity for this failing because he is the tone-setter as the point guard position and his lack of effort on defense is the root cause of the collapse most of the time. He is continually trailing behind the player he is assigned to guard. For this cranky old fan, they have taken all the joy out of watching them play. What started out as a pleasureable experience this year has turned into a chore. The sooner this season ends, the better.

Celtics 117, Indiana Pacers 97

This was a message game about homecourt advantage in the playoffs and the Cs delivered a clear one, a dramatic change for this inconsistent team. The Pacers were without Darren Collison, their point guard, and the Cs were without Jaylen Brown, who is sidelined with lower back spasms. It seems that ever since Aron Baynes returned from injury and was re-inserted into the starting lineup, the Cs have gotten off to solid starts and have displayed decent defensive energy and rebounding after loafing through most of the second half of the season. With Baynes at center and Al Horford at power forward, the Cs are sound up front defensively and their rebounding is signficantly better too.

This game was only close in the first period. Although Marcus Smart had a poor game offensively (6 points on 1 for 7 shooting with 3 turnovers) he made sure that Bojan Bogdanovich has an equally bad game offensively as he finished 1 for 8 in 24 minutes, after carrying much of the Pacers scoring load since Victor Oladipo went down with a season-ending injury. According to Hubie Brown, Smart simply took Bogdanovich out of the game with his energetic physical defense. The Cs led at all the stops, 27-24, 58-47 and 91-74, before Coach Stevens emptied the bench for most of the fourth quarter.

Gordon Hayward, who has played many games in this arena while at neighboring Butler, had a terrific night off with bench with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, on 9 for 9 shooting from the floor, in just 26 minutes. Since he played his first 6 minutes without taking a shot, he averaged better than a point a minute for the rest of the game. Jayson Tatum had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals; Kyrie Irving had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists; Baynes had another double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, along with 2 assists; Horford had a quiet night with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists; Marcus Morris had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, although he was just 4 for 13 from the floor; and Brad Wanamaker was given 16 minutes of action during which he scored 9 points on 4 for 5 shooting, along with 2 boards and 3 assists. His effort in this big road game tonight only makes me question further why Terry Rozier gets all the backup point guard minutes and Wanamaker rides the bench. It is also a puzzle why Morris insists on taking more shots than Hayward since Gordon is a much better percentage shooter. Two puzzles, to be sure.

The next game is Sunday night at home against the Orlando Magic who are still in the hunt for a playoff berth.

Celtics 112, Miami Heat 102

The Cs were on the road in Miami against the Heat who are vying for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Cs were without Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris, and neither was missed. The Celtics have two candidates for most underutilized player in the NBA, Gordon Hayward, by his teammates, and Brad Wanamaker, by the coaching staff. Because of the absence of two rotation players for this game, Hayward was given more minutes during which he shined on both ends of the floor, and Wanamaker played 13 minutes of error-free basketball after having wasted the entire season rooted to the Celtics bench, no easy task for a 29-year-old NBA rookie. Wanamaker played solid defense and was instrumental in the good ball movement the Cs displayed down the stretch of the fourth quarter.

The Cs led at all the stops, 31-29, 53-49 and 83-81, but each time Heat made a run, the Cs responded both offensively and defensively and won comfortably at the end. Hayward led the scorers with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, which included 5 for 10 from the floor and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line; Kyrie Irving had 23 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists and he was 8 for 19 from the floor; Al Horford had his second strong game this week with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists; Jayson Tatum had 16 points, 7 boards and 3 assists, despite disappearing for the entire first period; and Aron Baynes recovered from his poor outing in Boston with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, and 24 minutes of solid defensive play.

On the negative side, once again Terry Rozier was 1 for 5 from the floor for 5 points in 24 minutes of play. Also, for the first time in recent memory, Irving was taken out of the game with 2:25 left, as he was regularly being blown by on defense and his dribbling was negatively impacting the Cs offensive ball movement, which was outstanding when the game was on the line.

The next game will be a big one, on the road Friday night in Indiana against the Pacers, for the fourth playoff spot and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. This was the best the Cs have played in a very long time.

Celtics 110, Miami Heat 105

After leading by 19 in the first quarter, at 36-17, the Cs did everything they could to try to blow the game but old friend, Kelly Olynyk, now a Heat regular, simply wouldn’t allow it as he made several negative plays down the stretch and the Cs were allowed to escape with a win. Their first-quarter effort on defense was outstanding and they complemented it with a solid shooting quarter of their own. Although the Heat only cut the lead to 14 at the half, at 61-47, and after three quarters, at 88-77, they finally cut it to 3 points before the Cs finally put the game away. Part of the problem in the fourth quarter was the play of Kyrie Irving who turned the ball over-several times and jacked up a few poor quality shots for good measure.

Al Horford led the Cs with a triple-double, 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists; Irving had 25 points because he took 19 shots and he had 8 rebounds, but just 3 assists and 6 costly TOs; Jayson Tatum had 19 points, 6 boards and 5 assists; Marcus Smart had 16 points; and Gordon Hayward had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Once again, he shot 4 for 7 from the floor but only had 7 shot attempts in 29 minutes. It continues to amaze me that his teammates fail to recognize his shooting prowess.

On the negative side, Aron Baynes had a poor game, 0 for 7 from the floor, having several shots blocked, but he did grab 11 rebounds; Marcus Morris, now coming off the bench, was only 3 for 11 from the floor; Terry Rozier, after making a clutch trey in the middle of the fourth quarter, still wound up 1 for 5 from the floor; and Olynyk was 4 for 11 from the floor along with 3 TOs.

The next game is Wednesday night against the Heat in Miami. Jaylen Brown did not play in this game but there was no mention of why from the broadcast crew at NBA-TV.

Brooklyn Nets 110, Celtics 96

My fondest hope for those of you reading this blog is that you didn’t subject yourself to sitting and watching this debacle unfold. Oh sure, they were without Kyrie Irving and Al Horford who both sat with minor injuries and they were on the second night of a back-to-back. However, neither of those excuses can account for the futility they displayed in the third quarter of this important game. Terry Rozier has had plenty of bad games this year but tonight he really outdid himself. In 27 minutes he scored 2 points on 1 for 8 shooting while being torched by every Net player he was assigned to guard. Worse, Brad Wanamaker, who has not seen meaningful minutes for many weeks, scored 8 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, had 2 assists and 2 steals in 8 minutes in the first half and couldn’t get off the bench to re-enter the game until the Cs had totally collapsed in the third period to trail by 17. Even then, he brought energy and physical play before he was given the rookie treatment by the officials, being called for several cheap fouls and causing him to foul out. I have no idea what this Celtic coaching staff is watching that they can allow this kind of incompetence with Rozier to continue.

The Cs actually led at the end of the first quarter, 21-17, because they played solid and energetic defense for the entire period. They then stopped defending hard, but still only trailed by 1, at 49-48, at the half. However, they were defensively horrendous in the third quarter while turning the ball over several times, a time-tested recipe for disaster that the Cs have employed for several weeks lately.

Gordon Hayward led the scorers with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; Marcus Morris, after a poor shooting start, had 16 points and 5 rebounds; and Daniel Theis had 16 points, 4 boards and 2 assists. Hayward was 7 for 12 from the floor and Theis was 7 for 9. Jayen Brown was 3 fo 10 with 4 turnovers; Marcus Smart was 3 for 10; and Jayson Tatum was 4 for 9 with 2 TOs. In the case of Brown and Tatum, the TOs were due to too much dribbling. This was a sad exhibition of quzlity basketball against a much less talented team that is scrambling to just make the playoffs.

The next two games are a home and home series against the Miami Heat with the first game in Boston on Monday night.

Celtics 114, Indiana Pacers 112

As the saying goes, a win is a win, but this game was dangerously close to a loss. Were it not for a defensive breakdown on the part of the Pacers, this game might well have gone into overtime. Also, the Pacers are having great difficulty winning on the road as this was their 10th straight road loss. Kyrie Irving made a layup to win the game on a breakdown play but Marcus Smart, who only had 6 points on the night, made arguably the biggest shot, a deep trey with the shot clock winding down in the final minute of play. Irving has a reputation as a closer, and he’s an extremely creative offensive player, but he missed a number of shots in the final minutes before he hit the game winner. I made a point of watching him on the defensive end of the floor throughout the game and on several occasions, he was beaten by the man he was assigned to guard, causing the defense to break down.

The Cs jumped out to an early lead and led by 10 at the quarter; however, as they are in the habit of doing, they squandered the lead with a poor defensive second quarter, surrendering 35 points in the process, but they still led by 3 at the half, at 63-60. Indiana gained the lead after three quarters, 91-89, and it was nip and tuck from that point to the end of the game.

Irving led the scorers with 30 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals; Al Horford had 19 points, 7 boards and 2 assists; Jaylen Brown had 16 points, on 7 for 10 shooting; Aron Baynes, in 33 minutes, was the difference maker with 13 points and 13 rebounds, along with his characteristic defensive toughness; Jayson Tatum had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, but 4 costly turnovers; Gordon Hayward had 11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, but 3 TOs; and Marcus Smart had only 6 points but he chimed in with 6 assists and 4 steals.

On the negative side, Marcus Morris had just 7 points including just 1 for 5 on treys, which seem to have eluded him of late and Terry Rozier had just 1 point and 5 assists in 15 minutes of play.

The next game is tomorrow night in Brooklyn against the always-hustling, scrappy Nets.

Celtics 116, Cleveland Cavaliers 106

Finally a relatively solid performance on both offense and defense on the road, relatively because there were still some shaky moments down the stretch before Marcus Smart put the lid on the Cavaliers with 2 steals in the closing minute. For a change, the Cs led at all the stops, 32-27, 57-51 and 88-81 and, although they let the Cavs close the gap late in the fourth quarter, Smart led them down the stretch, both offensively and defensively. It should be said that the Cavaliers, while Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson both played, neither appeared to be near top game shape. The Celtics were without Kyrie Irving who remained in Boston after getting the night off for rest.

Jayson Tatum and Smart paced the scorers with 21 points each. Tatum was the Cs main offensive player in the first half when he scored all his points, but he disappeared offensively in the second half. Smart started slowly but also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steal; Al Horford returned after resting his sore knee and had a solid game with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists; Gordon Hayward had 15 points, 5 boards and 4 assists; Marcus Morris had 14 points and 6 rebounds although he was 1 for 9 from the floor early in the game; and Terry Rozier had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Jaylen Brown had another quiet night and missed 3 of his 4 free throw attempts. He surely has been erratic during their 4-game losing streak.

It was a positive that when the Cavs made their run in the fourth period, the Cs responded by making big plays instead of trying to play hero ball which has been their want during the streak.

The next game will be Friday night against the Indiana Pacers, the team above them in the current standings.

San Antonio Spurs 115, Celtics 96

Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, it does. Tonight, the Cs coupled defensive incompetency with offensive ineptness to lose a game that they were truly never in. Oh sure, they were without two starters, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, but that was not an excuse for the lifeless performance they put forth. Lionel Aldridge had 48 points to lead the Spurs who were able to do anything they chose to do throughout the entire game. Kyrie Irving, who ripped his younger teammates and the coaching staff after last night’s debacle in Charlott, led the ineptness with 11 points on 5 for 17 shooting including 1 for 5 on treys. He needs to stop running his mouth and demonstrate consistent leadership for this young team.

Marcus Smart led the scorers with 14 points, but he was 1 for 5 on treys, Marcus Morris had 13 but was 1 for 7 on treys; Gordon Hayward had 13 points, all in the first half; Irving had 11 and Daniel Theis had 11. As a team, the Cs were 7 for 35 on treys, a pathetic 17%, but they kept jacking them up nonetheless.

Both Aron Baynes and Hayward returned from injuries but Baynes was totally ineffective trying to guard Aldridge and his teammates never got the ball to Hayward in scoring position in the entire second half after he scored 13 in the first half. This team is truly a mess and has a very short time to figure things out before they become a first-round casualty in the playoffs which begin on April 14th.

The next game is Tuesday night against the Cavaliers.

Charlotte Hornets 124, Celtics 117

There just seems to be no end to it. Tonight the Cs led by 18 points in the fourth quarter when they stopped playing defense, started jacking up treys and bad shots, with Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier the major culprits, and they simply blew the game, allowing the Hornets to score 35 points while they scored 19. This team has a major leadership problem, no doubt about it. Their inability to hold big leads is becoming legendary. This team is quite frankly no fun at all to watch and they no shame and no pride. Irving and Rozier quite simply fail to supply the leadership this team needs when they need it.

Sure, the team was without Al Horford (sore knee), Gordon Hayward (concussion), and Aron Baynes (sprained ankle), but that was no excuse for the collapse because they led by 8 after three quarters, hiked the lead to 18 in the fourth quarter, and simply got stupid in the final minutes. Irving led the scorers with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. However, he was outplayed by his opposing point guard, Kemba Walker, who had 36 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Jaylen Brown had a strong 29 points with 4 boards and 4 assists; Marcus Morris had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists; Terry Rozier had 12 points, but only 1 assist and 1 rebound; and Jayson Tatum had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. On the negative side, Marcus Smart was 2 for 10 from the floor and 2 for 7 on treys, and Tatum was just 5 for 17 and 2 for 7 on treys. By contrast, Brown was 10 for 13 from the floor. He did, however, preserve his love for the front rim by missing two front-rim free throws down the stretch. He apparently is slow to grasp the concept that 100 percent of front-rimmed free throws do not go in. Also, Tatum took a very hard fall on his hip and back in the game’s closing seconds which may not feel so good when he wakes up tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow night they face the San Antonio Spurs in Boston.

Philadelphia 76ers 118, Celtics 115

What else could go wrong for these Celtics? They began the game with Gordon Hayward being sidelined with a sore neck and in the concussion protocol. Aron Baynes was finally rounding into game shape and was playing well in this game when he turned an ankle, limped off the floor, and never returned. To make matters worse, Marcus Smart was tired of being elbowed by Joel Embiid, lost his composure, and pushed Embiid in the back which result in a Flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection from the game. Then, after leading at all the stops, 39-30, 69-58 and 90-85, they simply couldn’t execute down the stretch. Kyrie dominated the ball but couldn’t get the job of closer done while Jimmy Butler stepped up and closed the game for the Sixers. Key plays down the stretch were a missed layup by Irving, 2 front-rimmed free throws by Jaylen Brown, and a shot-block in the paint by Embiid on Irving. In a game like this, however, the key was the loss of Smart’s defense in the final minutes as Irving was not able to effectively defend Butler.

Irving led the scorers with 36 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, but he was only 12 for 29 from the floor; Al Horford had 22 points, 6 boards and 5 assists; Terry Rozier had his best shooting game of the season with 20 points, 6 rebounds and an assist; and Jayson Tatum had a quiet 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Semi Ojeleye, after endlessly sitting on the bench for most of the season, was pressed into service and responded with 11 solid minutes of defense along with 7 points and 2 rebounds.

On the negative side, Marcus Morris had another subpar game with just 4 points on 2 for 9 shooting in 35 minutes and Jaylen Brown who managed just 6 points in 28 minutes. Also, as he has drawn criticism for, Tatum seemed to fade away a good part of the game, turning the ball over and just dribbling too much. He simply hasn’t matured as quickly as this team has needed him to, and the same could be said of Brown.

While the Cs defense was a positive for the majority of the game, when it mattered most, they were unable to shut the Sixers down. The next game is Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.