Rapid Recap is designed for the busiest of Celtics fans. Whether you canโt stay awake to read 10 paragraphs or your hangover is just too much, Rapid Recap tells the timeline of the game in only a minute or two.
Another Kemba-less game against a struggling team for the Boston Celtics, and this time they had zero luck on their side. They never led once in this contest with the Washington Wizards, a team showing far more verve up and down the roster, on both ends of the floor, than anyone in green, resulting in a 99-94 defeat.
Jaylen Brown scored impressively from a raw-numbers perspective, with 23-12-1, but it was on a grotesquely inefficient 7-22/33% line. Grotesque inefficiency described every prominent Celtics offensive playerโJayson Tatum (17-1-2-2; 40%) Gordon Hayward (10-10-4; 36%) and Marcus Smart (13-2-3-3-2; 21%). The team was obviously tired after a back-to-back just two nights ago, but that alone didn’t explain this anemic performance.
Ish Smith, meanwhile, ate Boston’s lunch to the tune of 27-4-4 on 12-18, 67% shooting. Unreal.
We start with A QUICK LAUGH AMONG FRIENDS:
https://twitter.com/Riffs_Man/status/1214339427063017472?s=20
The first quarter was mostly seesaw offense due to speedy transition plays (because the Wizards frigginย run, man; I feel winded just watching them sometimes):
https://twitter.com/efraincarmelo/status/1214341237022609408?s=20
The Wizards got ahead somewhat while the Celtics were still adjusting to the tempo that’d been created (and failing to make a bunch of wide-open shots). Got a cool Javonte Green moment early, though:
Javonte Green takes just one dribble to get to the rim
๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ (๐ฒ @MetroByTMobile ) pic.twitter.com/XL17F4NDC8— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 7, 2020
With the Celtics struggling, Brad Stevens is close to going full summer Celtics with Carsen Edwards, Grant Williams and Javonte Green out there together.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 7, 2020
I see you Carsen! Keeping your head up, making good reads in transition.
— Bradsketbawl (@bradsketbawl) January 7, 2020
4 defenders can't stop a @jaytatum0 bucket ๐ฅ pic.twitter.com/4jBjhEqrUC
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 7, 2020
The experiment was not a success, and the quarter ended with Washington holding aย 26-17ย lead. But it wasn’t just the young dudes’ fault by any means:
In the first quarter the Celtics committed 6 turnovers and didn't force any.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 7, 2020
Plus the aforementioned bad shooting (about 30% for Q1). Things did got worse on a broader level when Wizards rookie Garrison Matthews appeared to suffer a non-contact injury.
Didnโt look great. https://t.co/LDNjhIppdo
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) January 7, 2020
The Celtics showed greater intensity in the frame, at least to start, with another reserve-heavy lineup (this one featuring Smart, Tatum, Wanamaker, Theis and Grant), but the offense remained stuck in the mud, and the Wizards’ reserves were killing it, as they have been of late:
I have no numbers to back this up, and I'm not going to look them up, but Ish Smith is one of those random role players who kills Boston.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 7, 2020
Offense kept getting gunked up, and there wasn’t strong team defense despite some good moments of on-ball coverage.
This is the least lively basketball game I've ever witnessed
— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) January 7, 2020
The Wizards are confused defensively or playing the worst zone defense I've ever seen. Or maybe it's both.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 7, 2020
Washington didn’tย needย to play good defense, it seemed likeโBoston just couldn’t get close enough for it to matter.
https://twitter.com/MPleasing72/status/1214351320280436736?s=20
It would ultimately be 40, but the point still stands; 51-40ย with D.C. in the lead at the half. At least we had those treys from Smart:
๐๐๐ https://t.co/aGRKg6hhDv
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 7, 2020
(We briefly interrupt this program to extend well wishes to Dangercart:)
I had my kidney surgery today and am on Percocet and need to go to sleep so thank you Celtics for making it easier on me by playing a crap half so I wouldnโt want to watch the second half too badly. Much obliged.
— Ryan Bernardoni (@dangercart) January 7, 2020
The second half had some excellent defense-into-offense moments in its opening minutes:
Good defense leads to JT fast breaks ๐ https://t.co/L0SbE9EUTB
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 7, 2020
Marcus Smart from one end of the floor to Hayward
๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ (๐ฒ @MetroByTMobile ) pic.twitter.com/wn2Vfj6zX3— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 7, 2020
keep that energy up
๐ช๐พ it's comeback time ๐ช๐พ pic.twitter.com/SDLfUyXc5m
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 7, 2020
But in many ways the third quarter was a repeat of what we’d seen thus far:
The Celtics look bad offensively. Their spacing is just off. They're not moving the ball the way they used to. It's like they're putting in about 60% effort
— John Karalis ๐ฌ๐ท๐บ๐ฆ (@John_Karalis) January 7, 2020
So you find the fun where you can:
https://twitter.com/taylorcsnow/status/1214361339465994240?s=20
But there were a lot of moments like this, which was demoralizing:
https://twitter.com/maxacarlin/status/1214362598994587648?s=20
Only in the final minutes of the third could Boston manage to get the deficit down to its lowest point since the game’s earliest minutes, and it was more a case of Washington finally living up to the general atrociousness of their defense.ย 74-72ย Wizards with 12 minutes left.
https://twitter.com/Riffs_Man/status/1214363895542026240?s=20
Him airballing a three was not a treat. GRANT had no such problems:
Grant Williams is starting to hit the corner three with some regularity now. That's a huge shot for him to make with consistency.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 7, 2020
He also did this cool-as-shit thing before that:
https://twitter.com/maxacarlin/status/1214364596875808770?s=20
Celtics rookies Grant Williams and Tremont Waters impacting the game. #Celtics deficit down to 1.
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) January 7, 2020
But. Ish Smith. Would Not. Go. Away. I’m not sure if the Cs were expecting him to start missing or what, but he wasn’t.
Ish Smith is 12-16 shooting for 25 points.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 7, 2020
Again, you take comedy where you find it:
The ball hit the ref which is a good old fashioned blooper
— Handsome B. Wonderful (@JamPackard) January 7, 2020
The remainder of the game, unfortunately, was a much less funny blooper, with a missed triple by Hayward and poor defensive decisions by…well, everyone. All leading to an ignominious defeat.
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