The Celtics weren’t expected to win (as evidenced by the fact that Coach Pop gave Aldridge the night off for “rest” despite the Spurs playing in their first game since Saturday) – so anything less than a blowout should be considered a moral victory, right?
But this is Boston. And though Green-Teamers are as patient and understanding as Boston sports fans come, we can only accept so many “moral victories” in a row.
The Game Flow
The first quarter consisted of both teams knocking off the rust – I’ll let you guess which team was able to achieve that first.
Despite their best efforts, the Celtics were unable to slow the Spurs train once it began; San Antonio ended up shooting an unconscionable 65% from the field during the 1st. At one point, the Celtics defense had become so porous that even Mike Gorman began piling on by stating that the Spurs looked as though they were playing against grade school kids. Ouch.
As luck would have it, once the C’s were able to string together a few stops on D, their offense became stagnant. Even the Human Energizer Bunny himself, Mr. Terry Rozier, couldn’t save the Celts during the 2nd frame. A midrange jumper, a smooth 3, and a coast to coast trip leaving just .1 seconds left before half gave Rozier an early 10 points – but the Celts found themselves still trailing, now 47-56.
The Celts offense began looking around and waiting for someone else to take over to start the 3rd (Hint: nobody ever did). The Spurs refused to do the same.
Eventually San Antonio stretched their lead to the largest of the game, 15 points, and Stevens had finally decided to switch up his rotation. With the likes of Rozier, Horford, Crowder, Zeller, and Bradley – the Green were able to mount an 18-4 run and make the game manageable once more, 77-73.
The young guns of Brown, Smart, and Rozier continued their onslaught of aggressive drives and suffocating defense for much of the 4th. The Spurs, however, would not be denied this win. At one point, despite Smart’s best effort, Kawhi Leonard crossed the paint and finished with a soft jump-hook over him – a play that was emblematic of the Celtics night. The Celtics eventually fell to the Spurs with a final score of 101-108.
You can’t say they gave up, but boy do they look ready to welcome back their fearless (5’9″) leader.
The defense.
With IT out, wasn’t the team supposed to improve in this category? Unfortunately, tonight the Celts allowed the Spurs to shoot 55% from the field. They scored on more than half of their trips down the court! Unacceptable. (Honorable Mention “This ALSO Pissed Us Off”: Losing the 11th straight game to the Spurs)
The way that Terry Rozier came off of the bench and delivered cannot go unmentioned. The young guard continues to impress in limited minutes, and Red would be proud of the way he pushed the ball to get his team within shouting distance before half.
Terry Rozier goes coast-to-coast to close out the first half. https://t.co/4nxrLviFtQ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 15, 2016
Rozier finished the game with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and registered a +12 overall while on the court.
While IT continues to sit due to injury (his expected return comes Friday night against the Hornets), he made sure to make the most out of the unexpected time off by visiting his “mentor”.
https://twitter.com/Isaiah_Thomas/status/809121277785030657
By now we all know and love this side of Isaiah, but I think we can all agree that we’re ready to see that OTHER side of him back on the court Friday night.
The Grid
Avery Bradley: 25pts, 10rebs, 6 assists, 3 steals
Kawhi Leonard: 26pts, 3rebs, 6 assists, 2 steals
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