Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics 114-111 loss to the LA Clippers with BSJ insight and analysis:
IN A NUTSHELL
The Celtics had a decent first quarter but then the turnover machine started cranking out missed opportunities for the Celtics and easy chances for the Clippers. Brandon Boston, Jr. capitalized with a monster first half to build a big lead. The lead was extended early in the third before a frantic Celtics run cut the lead down to four. The Clippers built their lead back up to double digits but the Celtics again staged a massive comeback that got the lead all the way down to one before basically running out of time.
HEADLINES
Celtics shot themselves in the foot: They gave up 33 points on 23 turnovers, which is just ridiculous. There are a certain amount of turnovers that come with playing aggressively, and that's something teams accept, but the Celtics handed the Clippers nearly 30% of their offense in this game.
Ugly effort: I understand that this is their second back-to-back on the trip, which is tough. But to have this level of inconsistent effort is just tough.
"The effort and the inconsistency is frustrating at times," Ime Udoka said. "Playing the way we did in the second half and not muster up that energy in the first half, or really the second quarter is a little frustrating."
TURNING POINT
Let’s forget about the fourth-quarter comeback that fell short. The real turning point here came late in the third quarter when the Celtics erased most of a 21-point lead. They got it all the way down to 4 and the Clippers were reeling.
It was 5 after some back-and-forth, then Grant Williams got crossed up with Josh Richardson and turned it over and immediately gave a take foul but the Clippers were in the bonus and the lead grew to 7.
Then Robert Williams turned it over twice and gave up a foul, which turned into two more free throws and a 9 point game.
Then Jayson Tatum committed an offensive foul, and on the ensuing possession, the Clippers grabbed an offensive rebound, which turned into a dunk and an 11 point game.
The Celtics had a real chance to finish off that quarter strong and they botched it. They made a couple of more runs in the fourth, but this is where they could have really taken control. They put in a ton of work and only won the quarter by three points.
SECOND GUESS
The Celtics elected to try to trap and steal the ball after Tatum free throws cut the lead to one. The Clippers were able to milk the clock down to 1.6.
“We were going one trap and possibly a rotation knowing we didn't have any timeouts, we'd have to go the length of the court and they would probably foul," Udoka explained. "We wanted to trap one time and take a foul and leave ourselves some time. But at the same time, the reason why we were trapping instead of fouling straight away was because we had no timeouts left and we knew we had to go the length of the court. That was another season behind that."
Yes, this is true, but it was still risky and the risk didn’t pay off. I think they should have taken the foul and dared a shaky Clippers team to make both free throws.
FOUR UP
Jayson Tatum: I’ll start by saying everyone on this team had bad stretches, so I’m being somewhat generous in general, but Tatum’s second-half attack mode was spectacular. His first half 2-6 (2-4 3pt) was a big pile of blah. Yeah, the Clippers were playing a zone to take away the rim, but Tatum and Al Horford should be instant zone busters. The instant there's a zone defense, Tatum should be in the middle of it and picking it apart.
His second half was the All-NBA level play that everyone is looking for. He was 7-14 and 10 of those shots were around the rim. Do that more often.
Al Horford: Back on track a bit but still only 1-4 from deep, he finished with 11 points on 50% overall shooting, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Dennis Schröder: 19 points and 8 assists for him on the night. Like most guys here, his first half was meh and his second half was pretty good with some clutch shots and no turnovers.
Josh Richardson: He’s playing really well right now. He uses his dribble to attack and he’s operating well in the middle of the floor. He’s starting to get into a nice comfortable rhythm.
THREE DOWN
Robert Williams: He’s had some rough stretches on this road trip. He’s made a bunch of defensive mistakes in the four games and he had 6 turnovers in this game. He had 3 of those in the second half, which led to his benching after seven minutes in the third quarter.
Marcus Smart: This averages out my putting him in the “up” yesterday. He finished well, and he was a big part of the fourth-quarter comeback. He played some really good defense as usual. But I just felt like most of his 6 3-pointers could have been better shots. Even his drives felt off. This was very much a 50/50 game for Smart in terms of good and bad, but I’ll say it’s more like 49.6% good and 50.4% bad.
Grant Williams: The turnover/take foul play was just horrible and he didn’t shoot well. He did other things and he didn’t play horribly, but his job is to make shots, play defense, and make smart plays.
Also, I hate that take foul play so much that I’m docking him extra for it. He is one of the most egregious offenders in the league when it comes to this play, and I hope it gets legislated out somehow very soon.
TOP PLAY
Loved. And. Trusted. pic.twitter.com/TCnWC2EylU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 9, 2021
ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
As I struggle to find a different way to write about the same kind of game the Celtics have played for probably 40% of my time here at Boston Sports Journal, I’ll hit you with a Monty Python…
... and now for something completely different.
The Celtics should be starting Josh Richardson instead of Dennis Schröder when Jaylen Brown (or any other starter except Marcus Smart) is out.
Obviously, Schröder should start when Smart misses time, but Richardson has proven to be a similarly effective slasher/driver and even shooter as Schröder without all the added dribbling that seems to take away from the rest of the offense early in games.
Schröder’s driving skills are important late in games, especially against certain matchups, but early on, the Celtics need their offense to run more smoothly. The Celtics also need Smart to be more balanced, and I think that result comes best when he’s starting and organizing the offense.
Richardson puts the ball on the floor with a purpose when he drives, while Schröder tends to hunt his driving lanes while guys stand and watch. I’d rather see that happen more with second units who need that level of attacking the paint to get some space to shoot on kick-outs rather than when Tatum is waiting for his turn or Smart slowly cycling his way up above the break to launch another 3-pointer that's out of his range.
This isn’t a cut in Schröder’s minutes or a demotion of any sort. He still plays important minutes in this scenario. I just feel like the initial offensive goal for the Celtics needs to be getting Tatum going downhill and keeping Smart in a very specific role. When Schröder starts, Tatum is spotting up and Smart is rotating to the top of the key.
Richardson has shown his worth and is in a good place. Time to make that switch.