See that up in the sky? With the flaming tail? It’s the Celtics crashing back to earth (and reality).
The Jazz coasted to a 107-95 victory over the Celtics tonight thanks to white hot shooting from Ricky Rubio (22 points, 10-15 FG) and Jonas Jerebko (17 pts, 6-8 FG), and no-show effort from every Celtic not named Kyrie, Horford or Larkin. Boston has now lost 3 of 5.
Rebounding (55-31) is a major problem, again. The bench is a disaster. Smart and Rozier totaled 7 points on 3-17 FG. Young guns Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Zzzzzz….. They combined for 13 points on 4-14 FG.
The body count was high in this one. Daniel Theis took an elbow to the nose and left some blood on the Garden floor. He never returned (broken nose – out vs Memphis). Derrick Favors needed six stitches to close a cut over his eye. I saw Semi Ojeleye on the bench with a bloody towel over his mouth. The worst injury may have come minutes into the game when Favors rolled into Rudy Gobert’s knee.
Bottom line: Ainge needs to make a move to bolster this bench. The lack of consistent scoring is killing them.
Game Flow
The Celtics played their best ball in the 1st quarter. Shots were falling and there was defensive energy. The 2nd quarter was a colossal piece of sh-t. They started 0-14 and finished 4-21. A 5 point lead morphed into a 7 point deficit. The Jazz lead ballooned to 17 points in the 3rd quarter. From the start of the quarter to the 7 minute mark, Rubio and Jerebko were the only Jazz players to score. They outscored the Celtics 18-9. Boston made a few mini runs in the 4th quarter but couldn’t get any closer than 6. Credit to Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell for making run stopping shots.
Hot and Not
Irving and Horford combined for 54 points. They were the only Celtics to reach double figures.
Ricky Rubio came into this game shooting 39%. At one point tonight he was 10-11.
What the Hell Just Happened?
Umm the Celtics are going UBER small right now. Semi Ojeleye is playing center. Marcus Smart is playing power forward. Then three guards: Kyrie, Larkin, Rozier.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) December 16, 2017
Highlights
Some stellar defense by Brown leads to a fast break jam! https://t.co/ElAhGS3avr
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 16, 2017
Dance on 'em, Kyrie. pic.twitter.com/1VnG1HoP3C
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 16, 2017
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