Some people are positive… some people are negative… some are in between. We’re trying this new feature to look at games from each perspective and maybe get to the heart of what’s really going on. Welcome to the Spin Room.
The Celtics lost to the Bulls last night…
Positive spin: It was the second night of a back-to-back and it was Chicago’s home opener. Of course Chicago was going to come out with more energy, of course Dwyane Wade was going to come out with some fire in his homecoming, and of course the Celtics were going to struggle a little bit having traveled from Boston to Chicago to play this game. This might be the only time ever in which Wade, Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo, and Michael Carter-Willams all hit a 3 in the same game. And after all that, they still had chances to tie the game late. A full-strength squad wins this game, so there’s nothing to really worry about.
Negative spin: Throw out the Bulls’ shooting. That’s an aberration that no one really cares about. That fluke isn’t what cost Boston the game, it’s the fact that they got busted 55-36 on the boards and were outscored 18-3 in second chance points. Meanwhile the team that was supposed to run-and-gun managed 76 shot attempts while the Bulls got out and put up 92 shots. Yeah, we could have used Marcus Smart, but where the hell was the rest of the defense? It’s one thing to play well and get beaten by a fluky hot shooting performance… it’s another entirely to have your hallmark defense really fail you two games in a row.
Amir Johnson didn’t have his best game…
Positive spin: Not his best game out there but early foul trouble hampered him. It’s hard for a guy to get going and be aggressive defensively when he’s got two fouls on him 1:15 into the game. He knows the Celtics are short-handed, and so did Brad Stevens, so that’s why he stayed out there. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision in the world to ask a guy to play with two early fouls like that, but they did and he did what he could while trying to avoid a third foul. The refs kinda chopped his balls off there, and he did what he could with it.
Negative spin: OK sure, he had a couple of early fouls, but Brad Stevens started Tyler Zeller in the second half for a reason. Let’s face it, it’s his 12th year in the league, he’s had health issues, and he’s never been the most mobile guy to begin with. This is something we’re going to have to live with, and something Danny Ainge is going to have to fix, and maybe soon. Younger, more mobile bigs will give us trouble. Did you see those rebounding numbers last night? The Celtics had to use Zeller for most of the second half!!! This is not a good sign at all.
Jaylen Brown had that critical turnover…
Positive spin: Shocker, a rookie got a little overzealous in a big moment. So what? OK yeah, it was a horrible spot for it, but the fact that he’s already trusted in that spot is a good sign. He’s already shown he can get himself to the rim and finish, and this is a teachable moment. A mistake in the clutch is inevitable and it happens to everyone (Remember Jae Crowder’s terrible inbounds pass against the Nets?) so there’s no reason to overreact. And again, on a fully healthy squad, he might not even be out there so let the rookie make his mistakes and learn.
Negative spin: Teachable moments are fine, but not when they directly contribute to a loss. Remember last season when we finished in a million-way tie and slid to the 5th seed instead of the 3rd? Remember how much that hurt? All these avoidable losses add up, and putting a rookie in that spot was unfair to him, and unfair to the team. Injuries or not, putting a kid who just turned 20 in that spot was doomed to fail.
Al Horford was kind of quiet…
Positive spin: Al Horford isn’t a “fill the stat sheet guy,” and even with the slow start he and Crowder were the most effective starters. Remember when he keyed a huge comeback with a couple of shots and a sweet pass to Tyler Zeller? Horford can do a lot to raise everyone’s game and he did it again last night. If you’re looking for a scapegoat, look somewhere else. He led the team in rebounds and assists last night, so his impact was pretty big.
Negative spin: Do you see how much we’re paying this guy? Yeah the rebounds and assists were great, but we needed more points. In a situation like last night, we need to be able to say “hey Al, here’s the ball, we need a bucket.” He’s a good enough post player to get that job done. The Bulls aren’t trotting out DeAndre Jordan or anything, so is it too much to expect a multi-time All Star to go get some buckets for us in a game that was there for the taking? Maybe Al could be this unselfish when he’s got Paul Milsap, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver… all willing shot-takers… to score baskets. But on this team, in that situation, needs Horford to flip whatever switch he needs to flip to become a scorer.
That’s the spin room. Where do you fall on these? Positive? Negative? In between? Continue the conversation in the comments.
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