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The Boston Celtics defense does not exist right now. If it did, it would have stood up Tuesday night, when the Washington Wizards lifted a longstanding beef between the two teams to new heights.
The Wizards decided as a team to wear all-black attire to the game, indirectly suggesting they would bury the Celtics. After all the talk about funerals, though, only one thing looked dead. It was the same thing that has looked lifeless throughout most of the season: the once-proud Celtics defense.
MassLive – Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics attend their own funeral, fall 123-108 to Washington Wizards
When it came time to play, the Wizards backed up all that bury-the-Boston Celtics chatter with the kind of performance that absolutely put the Celtics in a game-long ditch with the night ultimately ending with Washington handing Boston a wire-to-wire loss, 123-108.
Boston (26-18) has now lost three in a row while the Wizards (25-20) extended their home winning streak to 14 in a row.
CSNNE – Wizards Back Up Trash Talk, Bury The Celtics, 123-108
The players admitted they may have lost their toughness. Last season, the Celtics were seventh in the NBA in opponent’s field goal percentage and 13th in points allowed. They have won this season mostly by outscoring teams, but the Wizards were too effective to allow the Celtics to even come close. Their starting five made 59 percent of their shots.
“We’ve got to get our confidence back on that end,” said Isaiah Thomas, who scored 25 points on 7-for-19 shooting. “It might be a confidence factor. It might be that we’ve changed. We play so well on offense that we think we can keep ourselves in the game offensively. We talked after the game and I said a few things.
“Our mind-set last year was like ‘no matter, we’re going to stop guys. We’ll figure out how to score.’ It’s kind of like we got better offensively where we took steps back defensively.”
Globe – Marcus Smart clashes with coaches; Celtics show no fight vs. Wizards
The Celtics might have laughed at the Wizards for dressing in all black before last night’s game, but they weren’t laughing afterwards. In fact, they were disappointed and pissed off, especially Marcus Smart (more about that here).
The pregame hype had suggested this would be a physical battle, but instead the Cs were as meek as could be. They never held the lead at any point in the 48 minutes. They allowed Washington to shoot 73.7% in the first quarter and 57.8% for the game. At no time did they string together more than a couple of stops, and it’s possible they never even did that.
John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 58 points, 23 of 38 shooting, a couple of poster dunks, and a whole bunch of flexing and laughing. Every time the Celts would creep close, they’d throw the ball away and go cold, allowing the Wizards to rebuild their lead to double digits. Even Isaiah Thomas couldn’t save the day; although he tallied 13 assists, he fell short of his scoring average with “just” 25 points, and a pedestrian four in a struggling fourth quarter.
Last season the Celtics allowed 120 or more seven times, but it’s already happened six times this season, and we’re just a bit past the halfway point. They’ve given up 106.7 points per 100 possessions this season, a significant increase over last season’s 100.9. Yes, they’ve been shorthanded lately due to illness and injuries. But even without Avery Bradley, there’s no excuse for allowing a shocking 367 points in the past three games. Yet, that has happened.
Smart summed up the situation clearly:
Smart was asked if Boston has been a tough defensive team this season.
“No, we have not. And that’s the problem,” Smart said. “As a team, we have not. Everybody on this team has had moments to where we haven’t lived up to par. Last year, we were the team where guys hated to play against. This year, everybody wants to play us because we’re not doing everything that we used to do in the past on the defensive end.”
Related: NESN – Celtics Wrap: Boston’s Defense Turns In Clunker In Wizards’ 123-108 Win | Herald – Celtics’ poor defense can’t put a stop to Wizards or losing streak | Celtics Notebook: Wizards’ attempt at hyping matchup goes unrivaled by Green | Celtics.com – Lack of Impact on Ball Could Impact Rotation | MassLive – Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart bash Boston Celtics defense, remembers last season when ‘dudes didn’t like playing against us’ | Washington Post – What happened to the vaunted defense of the Boston Celtics? | Yahoo – Wizards back up ‘funeral’ blackout by beating down Celtics | CSNNE – Stars, Studs And Duds: Wizards ‘Got Whatever They Wanted’ On Offense
On Page 2: Plays of the Week
Check out this week's Top 5 Plays presented by @JetBlue https://t.co/uWkmqFXkeU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 24, 2017
And, finally: Uniform ads are about to get real
A source confirmed that the Celtics will unveil a new uniform logo Wednesday, inking a partnership with General Electric, the corporate giant that is moving its headquarters to the Boston area. The Celtics are among the first teams – Philadelphia originally reached agreement with StubHub – to strike a deal. The patches will be 2.5-by-2.5 inches, and will be placed on the shoulder opposite a Nike swoosh that is also scheduled to be placed on uniforms next year. […]
Like everything else that is collectively bargained, players will get their share of the sponsorship revenue. Basketball related income (BRI) is currently split with 49 percent going to players and 51 percent to owners, Commissioner Adam Silver estimated last summer that sponsorship-generated revenue could reach approximately $100 million annually.
Rest assured the players like that part of the new deal.
“I like free money. Actually I wouldn’t say it’s free money because we’re out there wearing jerseys and representing, but I guess that’s dope,” said Celtics guard Terry Rozier. “I’m looking forward to seeing that.”
Herald – Celtics will wear GE patch on jerseys next season
The NBA is a business and, like every business, is always seeking new revenue sources. We knew that uniform ads were coming; what we didn’t know is that the Cs would be one of the first teams to jump aboard. The owners and players are obviously pleased. Fans and media probably won’t be.
Although, if Wyc Grousbeck takes GE’s money and uses it as an offset to reduce ticket prices, that might change our minds. But that’s about as likely as the Celtics sweeping the Cavs in this year’s playoffs.
Related: ESPN – Celtics to announce sponsorship deal with GE on Wednesday | MassLive – Boston Celtics rumors: Jerseys will soon have GE advertisement on them, according to report
The Rest of the Links:
Boston.com – 30 thoughts for 30 days until the NBA trade deadline
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