Let's start here: The Celtics deserve plenty of acclaim for pulling off a 10-game winning streak in the wake of an ugly loss to the Sixers on opening night. They came within inches of becoming the first team in NBA history to win 11 straight games after losing the opener so let's not diminish what they've done after Sunday's performance. However, after dropping a 100-99 thriller to the Kings on Sunday afternoon to put an end to that streak, it’s hard not to believe Boston blew a great chance of heading to Phoenix with 11 straight wins on Monday night.
Putting the impressiveness of the streak aside for a second, this was simply a game the C’s should have won on paper and in real-time. The Kings were without the head of the snake in De’Aaron Fox and despite the visitors falling into a 15-point first-half hole, Brad Stevens and Co. found themselves in control with a five-point lead and just over three minutes remaining on the clock. All year long, the new-look Celtics have thrived in these kinds of situations, executing on the offensive end while pulling out big stops when needed. This time around? Boston’s play left a lot to be desired on both ends in those critical moments.
Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker made the best out of the team’s final chance at a win on the game’s final possession. Walker rightfully passed out of a double team; Smart wisely got a look heading towards the basket instead of firing up a 3 during a 1-of-8 shooting night from downtown. The ball rimmed out and the winning streak came to an end. However, the Celtics should really never have been in that spot in the first place based on how the final three minutes played out.
“There were a lot of controllables that we missed but they had to also make some incredible shots,” Stevens told reporters in Sacramento when asked about the closing minutes. “So I think it was a mixture of those two and we’ll get to work from a film standpoint on those controllables and hopefully be better in those scenarios tomorrow.”
Stevens declined to elaborate the controllables that the C’s failed to execute, not a big surprise given his style of not hanging out his players to dry in the media. However, a closer look at the film in the final minutes tells the story here. There were a few costly lapses in this one that prevented the Celtics from beating a team that are not on their level. Let's take a closer look at what went wrong and what's to be learned.
Celtics lead 93-88 with 3:15 remaining: The Kings find themselves in a pickle here, inbounding the ball with just six seconds left on the shot clock after a timeout. Stevens comes out of the timeout with his guys playing a zone to help blow up whatever set play the Kings have planned for the inbounds.
However, Luke Walton anticipates this look and sets up a play to counter the zone. He has sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic travel through the zone towards the left corner with Harrison Barnes screening off Jaylen Brown, who is supposed to cover this area.
Daniel Theis trails Bogdanovic initially through the middle (his area) but he doesn’t recognize that Brown is screened here and does not follow through with a strong contest until its too late. Bogdanovic gets the pass and nails a wide-open 3.
It’s tough to accurately divide up the blame pie here between Theis and Brown but given how long Barnes was setting the screen for, you would hope that Brown shows some better fight to get out of it and contest the jumper. That lack of defensive awareness has hurt Brown throughout his career and he took some responsibility for a sluggish effort at times despite a game-high 18 points postgame.
“Obviously I wish I could have that one back," Brown said after the loss. “Definitely some plays and some reads that I made mistakes on and stuff like that, and be more mentally sound even when your body is tired.”
Giving up three points in this situation happens. Giving up a wide-open look from 3 to a top shooter is inexcusable. Theis and/or Brown need to be better here.
Celtics lead 95-91 with 2:40 remaining: After Daniel Theis made a couple of free throws on the other end, the C’s once again would be in great shape if they can manage a stop here. However, after playing sound defense for 15-plus seconds of the shot clock, Brown once again takes his foot off the gas on the defensive end while guarding Bogdanovic coming off a screen. Theis comes up to help after Bogdanovic rejects the screen but has to recover to his man as Bogdanovic goes baseline. Brown is a bit slow with his recovery, allowing the Kings guard to get off a clean baseline look before a contest. Tough shot, but C’s could have made this tougher on him.
Celtics lead 95-93 with 1:52 remaining: Once again, the Celtics come up empty on the offensive end after Smart’s 12th miss of the night (a contested 3 off of a kickout pass), opening the door for the Kings to take the lead on this possession. The C’s yet again do a great job on denying the Kings’ secondary options on this play, forcing Hield into isolation on Smart as the shot clock winds down.
This is a matchup that Brad Stevens will take any day of the week but Smart leaves Hield a little too much room here at the 3-point line in the midst of a red-hot shooting night. Instead of forcing the drive, Smart gives Hield some breathing room and he makes him pay with his seventh 3 of the night. It’s hard to get on Smart for defense ever but he could have been better here against a hot shooter.
Celtics lead 99-98 with 35 seconds remaining: Boston had the chance to give themselves some breathing room while running down the clock in the game’s final minute here. Smart makes a great play to storm in for the offensive rebound after Kemba Walker missed a pullup (his only shot of the fourth quarter) but Smart really undoes his good work here by putting up a shot immediately in the trenches. He gathered the rebound with 14 seconds left, which meant the C’s could have essentially run out the clock or force the Kings into fouling if he pulled the ball out. Instead, he went up and was blocked by Richaun Holmes, the best shot blocker on the Kings' roster. He followed that up by getting called for a foul while going after the loose ball, giving Holmes a chance to hit the go-ahead free throws to win the game. It’s hard to fault Smart for going after the loose ball after his miss (it could have been a jumpball) but putting a shot back up right away was simply not the right play.
Marcus Smart is a madman pic.twitter.com/MggtOInDZ2
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) November 17, 2019
