Superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis would not be playing in the Lakers’ historic 300th game against the Celtics on Thursday
night, at least the team said a few hours before tipoff.
The Boston Celtics? They lacked even the decency to notify someone that they would not be attending.
In certain situations, the Celtics’ 114-105 defeat at the hands of James’s Supporting Cast at TD Garden may be dismissed as an
anomaly, an infrequently bad Thursday night in a lengthy season. However, even in the context of this largely fantastic season, those
conditions do not exist at present time.
Among the Celtics’ 12 losses thus far, this one was the worst. Indeed, they lead the Eastern Conference comfortably and have won 37
games. Not that they were defeated. It’s who, and particularly how.
Games against the Lakers are always important. Regardless of which athletes are performing or putting on a fashion display while
sitting on the bench, they are still important. The Celtics undervalued their opponent, which is why this one came down to them like a
ton of bricks. They ought to be more aware.
Even worse, they’ve been more self-inflicted losses, the kind where they’re sloppy with the ball and choose too casually their shots,
which is exactly what condemned them far into previous postseasons.
suddenly that Marcus Smart, the agent of mayhem, is in Memphis and the Celtics suddenly have Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis,
we must question again: Is this a rut or is it still ingrained in their DNA?
I’m in a rut. Since Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett were still agile and wearing green, this is the best starting five for the
Celtics. However, it would be comforting if they could get out of there quickly.
At home, the Celtics got off to a 20-0 lead. Since then, they’ve dropped three out of five games on the court, beginning on January 19
with a two-point loss against the defending champion Nuggets. There is nothing wrong with that. However, they did not play against
the Clippers on Saturday. And thus, in a game against the incredibly undermanned Lakers, who were either injured or
Do you recall that encouraging trip to the West Coast not too long ago, back in December, when they faced the Warriors in OT on the
Steph Curry moonscraper and went on to win games against the Kings, Clippers, and Lakers by a 24-point margin on average? That no
longer seems to be a testament to their true selves, but rather an aberration of greatness.
A determined but improvised lineup consisting of Taurean Prince, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Hayes,
and D’Angelo Hayes outperformed the hosts’ highly anticipated starting five on Thursday. For Lakers fans without cataracts, this
lineup must have looked exactly like Jerry West. Additionally, the hosts’ starting five officially includes another All-Star, Jaylen Brown,
who was announced as a reserve on Thursday. (The actual golden boy of the 1960s Laker team, not
With 32 points, Reeves surpassed the combined totals of Jayson Tatum (23) and Jaylen Brown (8, with 6 coming in the opening three
minutes). Reaves made seven of ten 3-pointers, and the Lakers made a scorching 19 of 36 overall from beyond the arc. In contrast,
only Tatum, the starting point guard for the Celtics, made a 3-pointer until Kristaps Porzingis, who had maybe the most
uncomfortable game of his career, did it early in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers’ starting lineup may have given the Celtics the impression that they could play it cool and still win, as they were careless
from the beginning. They finished the first quarter with a pitiful nine turnovers, committing eight before the Lakers committed one.
This resulted in a significant shot-attempt disparity. The Celtics attempted 21 shots in the
The promised rally never materialized. Early in the second quarter, the Celtics led 31–30, but the Lakers quickly went on a 10-0 run.
All night, there was the recurrent storyline. With just under 4 minutes remaining with the Celtics down 6 in the third quarter, Jayson
Tatum’s diving catch of a loose ball to enthuse the crowd was one of the team’s rare moments of actual inspiration. However, the
Celtics’ close calls were never sustained.
The Celtics had seven trips to the line and shot alright overall, but too frequently from three and horribly from two. They lost too many
battles for the ball when it was loose, gave it away recklessly, and, for some reason (back in the day, nostalgia), are averse to boxing
out. And we
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