With only 10 available bodies the Celtics scrapped and clawed in Sacramento, but came up short. The loss now puts the Celtics a full 2 games back for that last playoff spot. Despite a frustrating ending here are some things we liked and didn’t like about the game.
UP
1. Aggressive Tyler Zeller
In the first half Zeller and the Celtics picked on Cousins in the pick-and-roll early and often. Zeller went off for 17 first half points and ended up with 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists on 9/16 shooting. Though he slowed down a bit in the second half, it was mostly due to fatigue from being forced to play 10 minutes more than his season average. All in all, it was a great night for Zeller and hopefully it’s something he can build on during the trip.
2. Avery Bradley feeling it
Right when you think that you’ve seen it all for Bradley and begin to think that maybe he’s a lot more closer to his ceiling than we thought, he goes out and has a jaw dropping performance: 28 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in 40 minutes. Bradley had one of his best games as a Celtic and, at times, looked unguardable coming off those dribble hand-offs. In a game where scoring felt near impossible, he kept the Celtics in the game .
3. Points off the turnover
The Kings gave the ball away a ton (24 times to be exact), and the Celtics took full advantage (38-8 edge in points off turnovers). Against any other team the Celtics wouldn’t have been able to keep it this close, but the sloppy play by the Kings, coupled with the hard-working defense of the C’s, gave us some easy buckets when we needed them most.
4. Marcus Smart staying up after tough offensive display
Though Marcus Smart struggled with his shot (5/15 FG, 4/9 FT) he did just about everything well. Smart never let his bad offensive performance affect his defense, and though he didn’t capitalize on most opportunities he was able to get to the line at a high rate. It’s not always going to go well for the rookie, but the fact that even with his struggles he had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 assists with no turnovers isn’t bad at all.
DOWN
1. Blowing an early lead
After going up by 16-4 midway through the first, the Celtics absolutely got run out of the gym, and ended the first losing 27-26. It’s not too common to see the Celtics blow leads, but blowing a lead in such a short amount of time, while allowing a packed crowd to get back into game was not ideal.
2. Rebounding
The Celtics were beat easily on the boards by a final tally of 57-40, including a 40-21 disadvantage on the defensive glass.
3. Free Throw shooting
Celtics and Kings both shot 26 free throws. The Kings hit 21 and the Celtics only hit 15. In a tight game on the road you have to take advantage of every opportunity, especially free points. The Celtics did a mediocre job in that area.
4. Jae Crowder…. What the hell bro?
Crowder has been a pleasant surprises since coming over from Dallas, but last night he looked as worse as I’ve ever seen. The mechanics in his shot looked a little off, and he made multiple head scratching passes that would have put him on the bench if we had anyone left to sub in. One of those horrendous passes was on a fast break opportunity at the end of the quarter that blew the Celtics chances of making it a 4 point game. Because he’s such a high energy player, and still had a good defensive effort, we’ll give him a pass but man it didn’t look good at all.
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