The Celtics trotted out a surprise starting lineup of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, and Jared Sullinger. With Marcus Smart out, I expected a move to go with Evan Turner… but Brad Stevens decided to try his hand with Thomas. And since Thomas and Johnson are joined at the hip, Amir started too. And since they need someone to space the floor, and since he’s played well lately, Jared Sullinger got the nod.
It didn’t start out very well.
Avery Bradley scored 10 of the Celtics 16 points on 3 of 6 shooting. The rest of the Celtics scored 6 points on 3 of 14 shooting. On the other end, Thomas was struggled trying to cover pick and rolls, which had a ripple effect on teammates picking up fouls trying to cover for him. The Pacers missed plenty of good looks, but still managed to close the first quarter on a 16-6 run and a 7 point lead.
The Celtics actually gained a point on Indy in the second half, thanks to Thomas and a weird second unit that, among other things, saw Terry Rozier and RJ Hunter making their debuts. Thomas carried the Celtics in the quarter, scoring 14 points. The Pacers immediately whipped off a 12-2 run to push the lead back up to double digits.
Paul George came out of the half hot from 3, but the Celtics got more of an offensive groove with the refurbished starting lineup, chipping away and taking a lead about halfway through the quarter. Jared Sullinger and Jae Crowder combined for 16 points in the third while Isaiah Thomas played distributor with 3 assists.
A back and forth 4th quarter came down to the last minute of the game. An Avery Bradley jumper tied things at 98 with 1:05 left. It was part of a personal 5-0 mini run by Bradley over 40 seconds. But, after a Bradley foul that led to two Monta Ellis free throws, the Celtics were unable to get a clean look for three, and they fell to Indiana, 100-98.
The Green
Isaiah Thomas continues to score… he had 27 points, though I still don’t like him as a starter. He scored half of those getting his usual minutes in the second quarter. He’s still a liability on D and that cost the Celtics points in the first half. But he was making some amazing plays… and often with his passes (another 7 assists).
Avery Bradley (21 points on 8-16 fg) was on early and late. I’m not faulting him for the missed 3 at the end.
The Gross
Kelly Olynyk is in serious struggle mode. He was 0-5 in the first half and he didn’t play at all in the second.
Tyler Zeller is in serious struggle mode. He was 0-2 in the first half and he didn’t play at all in the second.
Amir Johnson appeared to hurt himself tonight. He played 20 minutes but didn’t have any real lift and he played just 8 minutes in the second half.
19 more turnovers led to 22 Indiana points. The Celtics are wayyyyyyy too sloppy with the ball right now.
The rebounding was also atrocious. The Celtics were outscored 24-11 in second chance points.
The Greenlights
The most awesome turnover ever
i have never seen anything like this pic.twitter.com/h5sibDmgW9
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) November 5, 2015
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The Grid
- Evan Turner: 11 points (5-10 fg), 4 rebounds, 4 assists
- David Lee: 10 points (4-6 fg), 6 rebounds
- Jared Sullinger: 9 points (3-10 fg), 11 rebounds
- RJ Hunter: 2 points (1-2 fg)
- Terry Rozier: 0 points (0-4 fg)
Couple of stray points…
Evan Turner was OK tonight. That’s the best you’ll get out of me. There are people who want to pretend him being OK tonight makes up for him being the worst player on the floor for long stretches of bad losses.
RJ Hunter showed some nice instincts on the floor. His first basket, where he rejected a double screen to instead fly to a corner was a smart play, and indicative that he can read situations on the floor.
Terry Rozier was FLYING all over the court. I think he might have been too amped. He missed makeable shots but he got 5 rebounds.
The Wizards on Friday will provide no relief for the Celtics. Looks like prediction 14 is on the mark right now
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