The Celtics are 9-8, which is remarkably the first time this season the Celtics are above the .500 mark. They have packed a lot into these 17 games, making them feel like an entire season.
We’ve really got 65 of these things left?
Frankly, there’s not much more to be said about this win over OKC. The Thunder are bad but scrappy. They’ve caught a bunch of teams with comebacks because one team stops trying as hard as they do.
I’m not writing the “please try harder” piece anymore.
Nope. Instead, this is my three-hour spoken word jazz opera -- or some collection of thoughts, anyway.
- I’m amused by how we love to nitpick the finer details in games like this one but we can be very dismissive of other teams going through similar issues.
When it’s the other team, it’s “oh, they were missing two starters and were on a back-to-back? Okay, that OKC comeback makes a little more sense.”
When it’s your team, it becomes a referendum on each player and coach’s personality. The lesson, I guess, is that when we’re watching these guys so intently every single day, it’s easy to get too close. Getting too close can produce some exaggerated results.
Just ask Tobias Fünke.
That’s not to say the Celtics are fine, but there is something to be said for the “it’s hard to win in the NBA” concept.
- To that end, maybe I’ve been too hard on Josh Richardson. He’s shooting solidly lately and has had a positive impact on the floor.
- Also to that end, they are, indeed, figuring some things out.
Here’s Al Horford: “I think we’re starting to understand the level that we need to play night in and night out. We should never question our level of effort and commitment and over the past games, that’s what’s been consistent and that’s something that now that we have that there, now we can start building from there. The defense is getting better. Our offense, the ball movement has been better the last few games. I think we’re starting to understand what we need to do offensively and how we need to play. So it’s nice to see that starting to come together.”
He put the emphasis on “starting” there at the end. He was very clear to say “nice to see that starting to come together. So naturally, I asked him why he emphasized that.
“I think there’s still a ways,” he said. “I just think it’s something that almost has to become something that’s like clockwork. We do it at spurts at times and sometimes we kind of get off to the side a bit still on the offensive end. It takes time but I have been encouraged. Especially tonight, I felt like we moved it pretty well tonight as well.”
They had 28 assists on 41 makes. They did move the ball well. If they wanted to, they could have won by 40.
- It really is tiring to see them not want to, though.
“It’s just a bunch of different things,” Horford said. “You can’t say one thing. It can be we have a big lead and the possession may not mean as much. That shouldn’t be the case, but it’s, ‘I’m gonna take this shot’ or ‘I’m gonna do something different’ instead of keep doing what you’ve been doing and what got you there. Sometimes you can lose sight of that. Little things like that start adding up and I feel like that’s kind of how we go sideways sometimes.”
Human nature is what it is, and I’m certainly not going to go too far off the deep end about some guys letting up a little. It happens all the time in all sports.
Just, maybe, do it a little less often.
Oh, wait, I said I wasn’t writing the “please try harder” piece. These things really are like the milkshakes in The Good Place.
- Grant Williams is a lesson about judging that we just will never learn. People reaaaaaally wanted to write him off after struggling last season. He was 4-6 on 3-pointers against the Thunder and now he’s up to 43.1% shooting.
GRANT WILLIAMS IS BOSTON’S BEST 3-POINT SHOOTER 20% INTO THE SEASON!
Even when he went through a little slump for a few games, his teammates didn’t feel the need to have to encourage him as they did in the past.
“Back in the day, it would be like, 'Keep shooting.' Now, it's just like they kind of let me be because they know it's going to turn around,” he said. “It makes me feel confident even more because they let it happen. They know shots are going to fall eventually and it just worked out. I turned it back around.”
He’s even proving to be a defensive plus. He was pretty good switching onto Shai Gilgeous-Alexander early in the game.
I’m totally taking a victory lap on this because I tried to tell people not to judge anyone based on two seasons disrupted by the pandemic. This was the season to see what he had and it turns out that with a full offseason and a chance to work on something specific, he can be alright.
- Marcus Smart is settling in, too. This will raise some hackles, but Smart has been really good during this 7-3 stretch for Boston. Even if the shooting isn’t there yet, Smart has been mostly selective with his shots.
Tonight, he hit the very first shot of the game, a 3-pointer, and instead of launching 11 more, he only took 1. He’s figuring it out. With Dennis Schroder playing well and picking up the scoring load, Smart clearly doesn’t feel like he needs to put shots up.
- So where are they now, exactly?
This team can be good. They’ve proven that. When Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams return, the dynamics will change, which will be very interesting to watch. Schroder will go back to the bench and Richardson might see his minutes reduced.
What happens then?
There might be a dip as they try to figure out how to get back into their normal roles. There might be a jump by adding two starters. It’s hard to say exactly because nothing is impossible with this team.
However, I’m going to give Ime Udoka some credit here. I think he has their ears. I think they’re starting to do what he’s asking them to do.
How far will that get them? I don’t know. But the progress is real. Jayson Tatum has awakened from his slumber and, mostly, he’s doing it without a ton of those momentum-killing iso jaunts. He’s listening to Udoka and the staff.
Maybe we should have expected a lot of turbulence upon this season’s takeoff. We’ll see if they can land this thing in a good place when the season is over. Right now, they might be finding some less-choppy air.
It’s not always fun, and there will certainly be some more infuriating moments. But I can see it coming together.