March 17, 2015
Boston wasn’t kind to the Sixers on St. Paddy’s Day Eve. That’s not actually a thing, is it? Regardless, the Sixers laid an egg lost to the Boston Celtics 108-89 on Monday night at TD Garden. Here’s what I saw:
The score was 38-18 late in the first quarter and Malik Rose aptly summed up the state of affairs on CSN Philly’s broadcast. “This is quickly going to become one of those games where you got to look in the mirror and see what’s inside your shirt right now, because the Celtics are trying to embarrass you,” Rose said. “It’s one thing to lose a game, but to get embarrassed like this [is another]. They’re going to have to dig deep.”
The two Atlantic Division rivals have met four times this season, and the Celtics sprinted out to early leads in the three of those games. Hey, that’s life in the NBA. Sometimes, certain teams have your number in certain years. As far as tonight is concerned, the Sixers didn’t match Boston’s energy level early on, which almost always spells doom for a team that has to consistently outwork its opponents.
“The game was determined in the first period, and it almost starts and stops there,” Brett Brown said after the game.
The Sixers competed better in the second half, but at that point Boston was in cruise control. In response to Rose’s earlier comments, Brown’s young group buckled down enough to save face, but they couldn’t make the Celtics sweat at all. These types of nights happen to every team in the NBA, because the 82-game schedule is such a slog. It’s just that the results are uglier for the Sixers than the rest of the league.
OK, not the Knicks.
1. Isaiah Canaan can be a frustrating player to watch. (Hubie Brown voice…) You look at his numbers and say, “Hey, here’s a guy that is shooting 36 percent from three on a ton of attempts since being traded here. That’s not bad!” On the team level, his shooting has statistically been beneficial for the offense, but I wish he were a better shot-creator.
Sometimes, I think writers go overboard when characterizing any volume shooter as “not a point guard.” Russell Westbrook is someone who creates every shot on the floor for himself and his teammates, even if he takes some pretty bad ones. On the other hand, Canaan can mostly only create difficult off-the-dribble 3s of the Steph Curry variety for himself, which is why I’m starting to question whether he’s even a viable backup point guard in this league. I’m willing to watch more, though.
2. Jason Richardson’s recent inability to make shots isn’t surprising, but it’s a bit of a bummer because his return is such a great story. In four games since dropping 29 points against Oklahoma City, J-Rich is 6-37 from the field. I’m no math wiz, but that’s a poor number. In fact, we might have to start calling him J-Poor until he starts knocking a couple down.
3. 16, 4, and a bunch of Ish Smith things from Ish Smith. This is beginning to become a nightly occurrence. How ‘bout that Ish? Brown really enjoys running the side pick-and-roll for his backup point guard. There are a plethora of options Smith can exploit off that play.
4. Nerlens Noel (18 points, 6 boards, 7-15 shooting) was more of a free swinger than usual. Normally, Noel only attempts shots that he can study for a long period of time, but tonight he busted loose a little bit. There was some bad (airballs, bricks) and some good (jump hooks, jumpers), but it was encouraging overall to see him try and not totally fail. Maybe more of the same aggressiveness would behoove the rookie center (and the Sixers) during this last portion of the season. He can figure out what his specific role is when Joel Embiid is on the floor.
5. I’m unsure if Robert Covington’s elbow is still ailing or Brown is slightly discouraged by his defense, but I’m not crazy about leaving him out of the starting lineup. Against the other team’s best, I think that you tend to need your best offensive player on the floor. Anecdotally, Big Shot Bob seems to be more comfortable in the starting five.
1. One of Noel’s best qualities is his ability to positively affect the game in ways that don’t necessarily show up in the box score. He possesses the proclivity to stuff the stat sheet, but things like altered shots and lockdown perimeter defense after switching on the pick-and-roll don’t show up on paper. His final stats look fairly decent tonight, but I thought they were kind of hollow in a Swaggy P sort of way. Tyler Zeller shot 11-15 for 26 points and a lot of that is on Noel. Brown was furious when Zeller burned by the rookie down the floor for a layup early on.
2. The Celtics were smart in how they attacked off the pick-and-roll. With Canaan in the lineup at point guard, the Sixers would prefer not to switch the screen. Well, the Celtics made them, specifically because their guards didn’t waste anytime and got wide. By the time Canaan recovered and Noel could get back to his man, the ball was already in Zeller’s hands for a foul-line jumper.
3. Smart offense is not something the Celtics lucked into. Boston isn’t the most talented bunch, but they do space the floor really well and Brad Stevens is a sharp young coach that runs difficult sets to defend.
4. Thompson did some nice stuff off the ball offensively, but it was the opposite on the other end of the floor. He lost his concentration while trying to keep tabs on Avery Bradley (20 points) a couple of times, but again, part of the reason for that is the Celtics run good stuff. They force defenders to think instead of react.
5. I don’t want to give the Sixers defense too much crap, because they’ve actually been perfectly acceptable defensively since the trade deadline. It’s just that their defense used to be such a unique entity that actively took matters to the opposing offense. Tonight, the opposite largely happened.
“I think that we were screened easily,” Brown said. “They got free looks easily. They didn’t feel us.” I feel you, Brett.
Sixers defensive rating at home: 96.9
Sixers defensive rating on road: 106.2
Since the team has changed so dramatically over the trade deadline, I decided to use the numbers since February 20th. There’s no place like home, huh? Tonight marked the team’s 14th straight loss on the road, and it has become pretty apparent that the Sixers are much more successful inside the friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center. Noel’s offensive production tends to plummet away from Philly, as well. For a frame of reference, this team as constructed, little guards and all, is basically the league’s stingiest defense at home. Anywhere else, they’re the equivalent of one of the five worst. It’s a young team, but I would initially assume that defense travels better than it has for the Sixers.
I was tasked with writing about college hoops on Saturday, so there was no recap for the loss to the Nets, who exacted their revenge for the evil theft (or, yanno, totally legal transaction) of claiming Thomas Robinson off of waivers. Let’s give the POTG to Noel for that one and the hard-charging Smith for tonight. Mark my words: At some point, a terrible Photoshop will accompany this section. Post-Trade Deadline Standings: Noel 7, Smith 4, Grant 3, Covington 3, Thompson 3, LRMAM 1, Sampson 1, Richardson 1, Canaan 1, and Robinson 1.
@Hoop_76 until the 1st round.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) March 17, 2015
After both franchises made major moves on draft night in 2013, I initially thought Boston and Philly would approach rebuilding in the same manner. That largely hasn’t turned out to be the case, as Danny Ainge was never willing to go all-in. Right now, the Celtics are enjoyable team to watch that features a bunch of young players in the rotation, but they’re also playing guys like Isaiah Thomas, Evan Turner, and Brandon Bass extended minutes.
As someone who has followed the Sixers extensively for the past decade, it’s easy for me to wonder if that eight seed really accomplishes anything for the Celtics with their roster constructed as is. If Boston does end up picking at the back of the lottery or at 15, I’m still skeptical of how they plan to acquire “The Guy.” Ainge still has a ton of picks coming his way via the heist of Brooklyn two years ago as well as a bunch of other low first rounders from asset accumulation, so he could possibly be hoping to find another K.G. trade. If so, it would be helpful if Robert Parish became a general manger and hooked him up this time.
To me, it seems like the Sixers are more willing to take their medicine. Marcus Smart is a promising point guard, but he doesn’t have Joel Embiid ‘s ceiling. Stevens got to run circles around Brown tonight, but he most likely won’t have one of Towns, Okafor, Russell, or Mudiay at his disposal next year. Brown will.
Maybe they both end up being right, and the classic rivalry is renewed for real in the playoffs later this decade. That would honestly be so awesome. For now, though, I’m not quite sure what Boston is trying to accomplish. We’ll see how everything turns out.
