Celtics 113, Knicks 104

Let’s face it folks, the Knicks are a terrible organization that has fielded a very poor basketball team which was without arguably their best player, Marcus Morris, for this game. For the Celtics to allow this Knicks team to score 58 points in the first half was embarassing and the Cs were, in fact, embarassing. The poor play even continued through the third quarter, when the Cs trailed, 85-81. However, midway through the fourth quarter, the Cs finally decided to play defense, went on a 15-2 run, and put the game away with three minutes remaining. The Cs offense in the first half featured a dribbling exhibition by Kemba Walker, ending with his forcing up shots and missing or turning the ball over.

Jayson Tatum led the scorers with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals with just one turnover; Jaylen Brown had 28 points, 5 boards, 1 assist and 1 steal and included several strong finishes at the rim when the game was on the line, a tremendous improvement over what he was able to do last year. Walker wound up with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists, but he was just 6 for 18 from the floor; Enes Kanter, in 16 minutes, had 11 points and 11 rebounds; and Brad Wanamaker, in 18 minutes, had 11 points, 2 boards and 3 assists. Grant Williams was given 22 minutes including most of the fourth quarter and, for a rookie, he’s a very strong defensive player. He’s struggling with his shot but just needs some plays to create good shots to build his confidence because he was a decent scorer at Tennessee. Tatum’s 7 assists might be a career-high and is surely a good sign in his development.

Marcus Smart had his worst game of the year, going 0 for 6 from the field along with 2 bad TOs and to make matters worse, he took a hard fall, went to the dressing room in the early third quarter, and never returned.

The Cs offense was ineffective in the first half and their defense frequently broke down. The coaching staff also put players in bad matchups, especially in the third quarter. Thankfully, they finally got the win.

The next game is Wednesday night at home against the Miami Heat.

Nets 112, Celtics 107

The formula for a loss on the road is to play passive defense, especially early in the game, and turn the ball over. In the first quarter, the Cs did exactly that, and the result was that they never caught up because, among other things, they shot just 1 for 12 on treys in the fourth quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie totally dominated Kemba Walker in this one as he scored 32 points and added 11 assists to lead the Nets to the win. One woudl wonder why the Nets would bother with Kyrie Irving, when they already had Dinwiddie, who also plays steady defense, is anybody’s guess. The Cs trailed by 8, at 12-4 after 2:21 and by 31-24 at the quarter. They closed the gap a bit at the half, 58-55, and trailed, 87-81 after three quarters.

The Cs were led by Jayson Tatum who finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 0 assists, and 4 steals, but he had 6 costly TOs, 3 in the first quarter alone, during which he also forced several shots; Walker had a poor shooting niht, 1 for 8 on treys and 6 for 19, for 17 points, 5 boards and 6 assists; Marcus Smart had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, but was 1 for 6 on treys; Brad Wanamaker had another solid game with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in just 18 minutes; and Enes Kanter had 10 points, 6 boards and an assist. When Tatum is patient and takes shots without forcing, he is an offensive force. Perhaps Wanamaker should have been given more playing time.

Jaylen Brown played 34 minutes and only shot the ball 8 times of which he made 4. Clearly, he is not getting enough touches. Robert Williams had some productive moments off the bench but Daniel Theis, who had a solid game in Boston, was missing in action in this game. The Cs had 19 TOs in this game as well as several defensive breakdowns which led to easy hoops for the Nets.

Semi Ojeleye was just adequate as were Grant Williams and Carsen Edwards. It is quite a challenge for the rookies to get their confidence in such limited minutes.

The next game is Sunday at 3:30 in New York against the Knicks.

Celtics 121, Nets 110

This was truly a game of extremes. The Cs played horrid defense which the Nets exploited with 10 made 3-pointers and 40 points in the second period. Then, the Cs proceeded to demonstrate that they can play defense by holding the Nets to 20 points plus a poorly defended trey in the third quarter. However, the Cs had a few defensive lapses in the fourth quarter so that the win was really not secured until the last 3 minutes. Speaking of extremes, Kemba Walker made an extremely powerful return from injury as he led the Cs with 39 points in just 31 minutes.

The Cs led 30-23 at the quarter but sqandered it in the second to trail by 6 at the half, 63-57. They led 91-86 after three quarters.

In addition to his 39 points, Walker had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal; Jaylen Brown had a double-double with 22 points, 10 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals; Jayson Tatum had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal, but missed 12 of 17 shots and turned the ball over 3 times; Daniel Theis had yet another solid performance with 14 points, 8 rebounds, an assist and 2 blocked shots, along with staunch defense in the paint; Brad Wanamaker had a strong bounce-back game with 13 points, 3 boards and an assist; and Marcus Smart had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Enes Kanter did not have a good shooting night, 1 for 5 with 2 missed free throws, but he had 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in just 14 minutes.

Tatum gets a lot of positive press and rave reviews for his potential but he forces far too many shots, most of which result in misses. He has unlimited potential but he needs to watch some game film and become more of a team player.

The next game is Friday at noon in Brooklyn.

Celtics 103, Kings 102

Frankly, the Cs were most fortunate to escape with a win as the Kings had a chance to win the game but couldn’t make a final shot. The reason the game was even that close was because the Cs did a dreadful job of defending Buddy Hield in particular and the 3-point shot in general. Hield set the all-time record of treys against the Celtics and he was wide open on multiple occasions as the defensive game plan for this game came up woefully short. Sacramento led at the quarter, 22-19, and the Cs led at the half, 53-46, mostly due to bench players providing the offensive spark. The teams were tied after three quarters and, with Jayson Tatum jacking up and missing forced shots at crunch time, they were lucky to prevail. He is still forcing shots far too often.

Jaylen Brown led the double-figure scorers with 24 points and 4 rebounds and had several strong moves to the hoop for finishes at the rim; Tatum had 20 points, 6 boards and 3 assists; Marcus Smart was the star of the game with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals; and Enes Kanter had 13 points, 9 boards and 2 assists. Tonight was Brad Wanamaker’s chance to shine and he simply didn’t get the job done, going 0 for 8 from the field with 4 personal fouls and 2 turnovers. Tremont Waters was brought up from the Red Claws and he played very well with 7 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots in 20 minutes in his first-ever NBA game; Robert Williams had 6 points and 6 boards; and Carsen Edwards had 6 points in 13 minutes. The team was without Kemba Walker, who appears to have dodged a serious injury in his out-of-control fall in the last game in Denver, and Daniel Theis who was out with an illness.

The next game is Wednesday night at home against the Brooklyn Nets.

Nuggets 96, Celtics 92

This one was well worth staying up for even though the final score resulted in a loss for these young Cs. Somewhere in the middle of the third period, Kemba Walker lost his balance, was out of control, and he plunged headlong into the mid-section of Semi Ojeleye, fell to the floor, and lay motionless for 15 minutes while he was strapped to a board, loaded onto a stretcher, and transported to a local hospital. Plunging headlong into Ojeleye, the strongest man on the team, is somewhat akin to hitting a brick wall. Now the team is without either of their two all stars, both out with injuries. The Cs continued missing shots, something they did all game long, and fell behind, 66-47, with 2 minutes left in the period. However, they continued to play tough agressive defense and with a minute left in the game, they trailed by 3. In the final minute, Denver made shots and the Cs didn’t, so the final result was a loss, but they surely learned something in the process as the Nuggets are a good team, at home, with a 12-3 record now.

The Cs were simply awful offensively in the first half as both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continued to jack up forced shots and they were both 1 for 9 at the half. Add to that the fact that Kemba was 0 for three and the Cs three top scorers were a combined 2 for 21; yet they only trailed by 11, at 45-34, a testimony to their stout defense.

The Cs were led by Brown who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, quite an impressive second half; Tatum had 16 points, just 1 rebound and 2 assists; Marcus Smart had 15 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals; and Brad Wanamaker, collecting most of Kemba’s minutes, had 14 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, quite impressive for a guy who rode the bench all of last season.

Robert Williams had some creditable minutes as did Daniel Theis. The rookies, Grant Williams and Carsen Edwards, both are struggling with their shooting and really need to work on that part of their games. Both played meaningful minutes in this game.

Word this morning is that Kemba suffered a concussion but had already been plagued with a sore neck as a result of an injury in the pre-season international tournament. He will enter the concussion protocol and his success there will determine when he is able to return.

This game concluded a five-game road trip during which the Cs went 2-3, losing 3 games by a total of 8 points. With several players willing and able to improve, the future appears quite bright for this team. The next game is Monday night at home against the Sacramento Kings.

Clippers 107, Celtics 104 OT

This game turned out to be a tortuous experience for me. I watched the first half live and taped the remainder. With 5 minutes left in regulation, my DVD began to freeze frame and remained that way throughout the overtime period; thus I missed the crucial parts of the game. However, it’s a shame the Cs couldn’t hold on to win this game because this, for the parts I saw, was their best defensive effort of the season so far. The Clippers had the lead after the first quarter at 22-21 but the Cs led 42-40 at the half. This, in spite of the fact that Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown both morphed into excessive dribbling turnover machines and neither could shoot straight either. Walker had 6 TOs for the game and was 4 for 12 including 3 for 9 on treys and Brown was 3 for 14 with 1 for 8 on treys and 3 TOs. Nevertheless, the Cs the led after three quarters, 55-54, and led 81-73 with 8 minutes left in regulation.

Remember, this is the Clippers, at home, with Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Lou Williams all playing lengthy minutes. This game should be a learning experience for the Cs but there was much to feel good about in this loss.

The Cs were led by Jayson Tatum with 30 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots; Marcus Smart, playing with a sprained ankle, had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals, including 1 for 11 on treys and he drew their best players on defense; Brad Wanamaker had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assist; Walker had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, with 6 TOs. One wonders why Wanamaker was not given more playing time last year when he was anchored to the bench. His play has been an important part of the solid start the
Cs have had this season.

Daniel Theis had a terrific game with 8 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals; Enes Kanter, in just 12 minutes, had 8 points and 6 boards; and Robert Williams, in just 9 minutes had 4 points, 2 boards and an assist. I don’t understand the pundits continually wringing their hands about the Cs lack of height at center, as the production of these centers is, and continues to be, impressive and Kanter is still trying to round into game shape and Williams is only a second-year player.

And, of course, the Cs were playing without their highest percentage shooter, Gordon Hayward.

The next game is tomorrows night against the Nuggets in Denver.

Celtics 99, Suns 85

With the exception of a brief flurry of turnovers in the third period, this may have been the best game the Cs have played this year, especially when you consider that this was the second night of a back-to-back and Marcus Smart went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth period. The Cs came out with a defensive mindset in the first quarter, holding the Suns to 22 points, and continued with it to the half, holding the Suns to just 20 points in the second period. They wavered a bit in the third quarter but held the Suns to just 20 points in the fourth quarter while posting a comfortable win.

The Cs were led by Jayson Tatum with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, in perhaps his best effort yet; Kemba Walker had 19 points, 2 boards and 5 assists; Smart had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists while setting the defensive tone at the outset; Jaylen Brown had a tough shooting night, just 6 for 16 for 14 points, with 9 boards and 3 assists; and Brad Wanamaker had 10 points, 1 rebound and 6 assists. Wanamaker has been a pleasant surprise of both ends of the floor. Daniel Theis was scoreless but grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked and diverted shots, and was solid defensively. Grant Wiliams continues to struggle with his shot but he was very solid on the defensive end, and Robert Williams grabbed 7 rebounds in just 15 minutes.

Let’s hope Smart’s injury is just a simple ankle sprain as is presence is extremely important, even more so with the absence of Gordon Hayward.

The next game is tomorrow night in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

Kings 100, Celtics 99

The long and short of it was that Marcus Smart had arguably the worst game of his career offensively and failed to stop Buddy Hield late in the fourth quarter as he made big shots to contribute to the Kings win. Smart’s numbers were awful in a couple of categories: he shot 2 for 16 from the floor, 1 for 8 on treys, and missed a runner at the buzzer that could have won the game for the Cs. Perhaps he got caught up reading recent clipping about his offensive prowess. Really though, this game was lost in the first quarter during which the Cs turned the ball over 5 times and displayed little or no ball movement and far too much dribbling on the part of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker, leading to a 12-point deficit at the quarter, 30-18. They also trailed at the half, 50-48. They finally grabbed the lead 75-71 after three quarters, but gave it back in the final three minutes because they could not stop Hield and Bogan Bogdonovich at the end or could they score themselves.

The Cs were led by Brown with 18 points, 8 rebounds, but no assists and 4 costly TOs; Walker had 15 points, 1 rebound and 9 assists, but was 0 for 3 on treys; Daniel Theis had 14 points, 10 rebounds and an assist and was strong on both ends of the floor; Tatum had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists; Semi Ojeleye had his best game of the year with 11 points, 2 boards, an assist and 2 steals; and Enes Kanter, who still has not rounded into game shape after missing several games due to injury, had 10 points and 7 rebounds. The two centers combined for 24 points and 17 rebounds; it was the other positions which posted subpar performances in this one. Once again, Brad Wanamaker provided decent minutes off the bench and had 8 points and 3 assists in 20 minutes.

The next game is tomorrow night in Phoenix against Devin Booker and the Suns. Devin scored 70 points last year against the Cs and if they defend like they did in this game, the Cs will earn their 3rd loss of the season.

Celtics 105, Warriors 100

This comes late as I had a 7 a.m. tee time this morning; thus, had to tape the game and watch it after I finished golf. This game, which was in doubt until the final seconds, was pretty ugly to watch, especially if you enjoy watching the Cs when they move the ball on offense and dig in on defense. Neither was prevalent throughout this contest and they nearly had a very embarrassing loss to a totally depleted Warriors team. The Cs got off to a poor start, trailing by 9 at the end of the first quarter. They evened things in the second quarter to lead by 1 at the half. They increased the lead in the third quarter before squandering it away in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, Kemba Walker who was 1 for 11 in the first half, found his shooting stroke and made several big shots and plays down to the wire.

The Cs were led by Jayson Tatum, who continues to force shots, with 24 points, 8 boards and 1 assist, while shooting 23 times and scoring on just 8 of them; Jaylen Brown had 22 points, 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals, while make 9 of 17; Walker, after his disastrous first half, had 20 points, 5 boards and 5 assists; and Marcus Smart had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, including 4 of 9 on treys. Daniel Theis, the fifth starter, had 7 points and 7 boards and acquitted himself well on defense. The Cs essentially got little help from their bench as Grant Williams had 3 tunovers and uncharacteristically made several defensive mistakes and Brad Wanamaker committed 2 bad TOs while scoring 9 points.

All in all, they were fortunate to escape with a win. Their next game is Sunday afternoon at 3:30 in Sacramento after the Kings, another young, but improving, team.

Celtics 140, Wizards 133

This was a difficult game to watch because the Cs played poor quality defense all game long and actually allowed the Wizards to close to a 3-point deficit with a minute left in the game. They dodged any further damage after the Wizards had gone on an 11-0 run but this game was much closer than it should have been. The Cs allowed the Wizards to score 34 points in the first quarter and they only led by 2 at the half, 68-66. They moved out by 6 after three quarters.

Once again, the Cs were led by Kemba Walker with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists; Jayson Tatum had 23 points, 3 boards and 4 assists; Jaylen Brown overcame a 1 f or 6 first half to finish with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists; Carsen Edwards was gifted with 20 minutes playing time and he responded with 18 points, 4 boards and 3 assists; Marcus Smart had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists; Enes Kanter, in 25 minutes, had 13 points, 9 boards and 2 assists; and Brad Wanamaker had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Cs combined to allow Bradley Beal to score 44 points to lead the Wizards.

Daniel Theis was inactive with a finger injury and Robert Williams saw no action as well.

The Cs now embark on a road trip beginning in Oakland against the depleted Golden State Warriors on Friday night.