Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics loss to the New York Knicks, with BSJ insight and analysis.
IN A NUTSHELL
This followed a very familiar script. The Celtics stormed out of the gates playing great. They gave up some runs, but they ultimately pushed the lead to 25 points. The Knicks made a run in the third as well but Boston still had a 20 point lead about midway through, but then came the predictable pain. The Knicks went on a 21-3 run to end the third and and start the fourth, Evan Fournier rained hellfire from up above, and the Celtics soiled themselves when the going got tough. It all culminated in a wild RJ Barrett buzzer beater to send Boston home with yet another crushing loss.
HEADLINES
This is just ridiculous: That everyone knew Boston’s 25 point lead would be reduced to single digits down the stretch is the most damning thing that can be said of this team. Yeah, they’ve got a lot to figure out, but it’s pretty clear that this team is missing something significant.
What did Boston do to Fournier to deserve this kind of revenge? He’s had three games of 30-plus points. 32 points in each of their other two matchups and then 41 in this one. He wasn’t here long enough to develop this level of vindictiveness against Boston. Were the contract negotiations that bad? This is ridiculous. Also, the Celtics defense against him was awful at times.
“It felt like a little bit of everybody on Fournier,” Ime Udoka said, doling out the blame. “Everybody had their chance on him and either couldn't stay with him or went under pick and rolls and he got those open shots. So, it’s a total team effort as far as that.”
Lineup questions: I’ll get into this later, but there are decisions being made with certain lineups that have to be addressed.
TURNING POINT
A pair of Fournier 3-pointers within :36 of each other cut Boston’s 20 point lead to 14 and triggered a 16-3 run to close the third quarter. Over the course of 4:06, Boston’s lead went from 20 to 7.
SECOND GUESS
The Celtics got away with playing Enes K. Freedom in the second quarter because guys were banging 3-pointers, but his stint on the floor in the third contributed to the disaster run. The Knicks were able to get open 3-pointers on pick-and-rolls because he can only play drop coverage.
There are serious fourth-quarter lineup questions as well, which I’ll save for later.
TWO UP
Jayson Tatum: 36 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and just 2 turnovers. He was the only working piece of the offense down the stretch. He and Marcus Smart were the only players to score in the fourth quarter.
Robert Williams: He was the team’s MVP for most of this game. Frankly, if it wasn’t for his defensive efforts, this game would have gotten away from them sooner. He finished the game with SEVEN blocked shots to go along with 2 steals and 9 rebounds.
THREE DOWN
Al Horford: His 3-point shooting has completely abandoned him. He shot 29% in December and he’s off to a 16.7% start in January. He was 1-6 in this game and the spacing he’s supposed to provide on the floor is non-existent.
Marcus Smart: This wasn’t even really a horrible game for Smart. He shot 40% from deep but at least a couple of his 10 3-point attempts required an extra swing to a better shooter, especially down the stretch.
Jaylen Brown: He took ONE shot in the fourth quarter and he looked like a deer in headlights for a good portion of the stretch run.
TOP PLAY
a lob to get things going ☘️ pic.twitter.com/tw8mgF3vCQ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 7, 2022
ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
I’ve had it with the Schröder/Smart closing combination.
I’m absolutely done with this combination in general, which I spelled out yesterday. But it’s so blatantly obvious that something has to change before Saturday’s rematch in Boston.
The addition of Schröder to the closing lineup is pushing everything out of whack. Let’s look at the three 3-pointers Smart attempted down the stretch with Schröder on the floor.
Sub Schröder out and Grant Williams (or any other shooter) in here and it’s Smart in the left corner with a shooter on the right side. So first thing’s first, that defender is two steps closer to the shooter than he is to Smart. That opens up a lane for Tatum to drive. From there it’s either a finish, a dump off to Robert Williams, or a kick out to the shooter or even Smart in the corner, which is a 3-pointer I’d rather have him taking.
As it was, this should have swung back to Tatum for the 3-pointer, but Smart is in shooting guard mode, and he’s hit a couple of 3’s this quarter by this point so of course he’s launching this. It’s the wrong decision, but no one else is moving or doing anything.
Next up…
Almost the same exact situation. Same set up, except this time it’s both Smart AND Schröder’s guys who converge on Tatum.
And again, Smart has time to drive and kick back out to Tatum up top … or at least drive and see if there's a lob to Robert Williams possible. The Celtics are up four here, they don’t need the 3.
If this was one of the better catch-and-shoot options, then I feel better about that 3. But Smart is put in a spot where he shouldn’t be.
And finally…
With the right personnel, this is a kick to Smart in the corner, which is a swing to a shooter.
Smart should have swung it to a very wide-open Jaylen Brown, which is a bad mistake. But again, when Smart is put into shooting guard situations, he’s going to make decisions like this.
I’m going to keep saying this over and over and over again: Smart is a good point guard, but he’s not good as a shooting guard. Ime Udoka’s decision to go with Smart and Schröder down the stretch continues to be a mind-boggling one.
They are running plays where their best scorer, Tatum, is running the point with Schröder and Smart operating in shooting situations. If they're going to put two point guards on the floor, why not have them handle the ball?
There are plenty of plays out there to capitalize on all the attention Tatum gets before the catch that could lead to easier baskets. Playing Tatum like this with both Schröder and Smart together makes no sense to me.
I asked Udoka about this. Here’s his full answer:
“Yeah, the set we were really running tonight, we have several different options out of where Jayson handles and we slip out and play on the second side. If we don't have anything with the guy in the corner, which was JB or Dennis, we go back and get JT into another step up. So Marcus hit some big shots there, but it's really the play designed to not just go isolation with Jayson, have several options out of it and cause some confusion, which we did and we got some good shots out of it. I think it worked well, that specific play.
“So it's a different thing. So going away from isolation as much and letting other guys be playmakers on the second side of the ball. We got to it a few times and then Marcus hit a few, missed a few at the end. But across the board I think we haven’t had the best shooting year, so regardless of who we have handling out there, it’s not always gonna be the best shooters on the floor, especially when we have some defensive lineups as well.”
Obviously, I disagree that the play worked well because they resulted in Smart taking above-the-break 3-pointers. That's the worst available shot on the floor. Udoka was asked a follow up on that.
“I don't think they were doubling off of Marcus. We had caused some confusion on those first two and he got some other looks out of that,” he said. “But when they do take it out of Jayson and Jaylen's hands, those guys have to be playmakers. they're our point guards for a reason. So if they have the shot there, we played the second side a few times and he knocked a few down. I know there was one he took where Jaylen was open in a high quadrant that he might have missed him there. But he got quality looks playing off of Jayson and that's what we're asking him to do, to either take the shot or be the playmaker on the second side.
“We have confidence in those guys that are in the game, defensively, of course, and then offensively, pick your player, basically. Nobody's had their career shooting year this year, other than maybe Josh (Richardson) and Grant (Williams). So across the board, there's going to be some lack of shooting on the court sometimes.”
As I just detailed, Smart did a poor job being a playmaker on the second side. But also, Udoka acknowledged Richardson is having a career shooting year. He has the size and ability to fill that role and move Smart to his more natural point guard spot. Grant Williams has that ability too. They're better options.
I also disagree that Schröder is a good defensive player. He can make some good plays, but he’s not a good defensive player. He makes more mistakes than good plays.
Boston is an awful fourth-quarter team. This has become Udoka’s standard closing lineup. It’s not working. It’s time to end it.
