Celtics vs Da Culture - Round 1 (FIGHT!)

[benhogan]

That was one of the strangest broadcasts. Stan Van Gundy is NOT a Celtic fan

This is true about Bam. Of course, it's also true about Horford. He sets moving screens every single time too.

Two other quick thoughts: First, at the end of the first and third Q, Celtics have the last possession. What happens? Of course Tatum pull up jumpers. Both missed. I mean, at some point, if they're ALWAYS going to give him the ball in those situations, and he's just absolutely hell bent on taking the shot, can he please do something other than a deep step back jumper? Like, can the Celtics clear one side of the court and let him try to at least back a guy down to the mid post or something? It's always the dribble between the legs, pretending like he's going to drive (never does in these situations and defenders know it), and then launching a step back jumper. (the first Q he at least tried to get a little closer and probably got fouled)

He's got to try something different at some point to at least make them think he just MIGHT drive, which will also have the added benefit of putting defenders on their heels a little to actually open up the step back jumper.

It's just maddening to watch him do the same thing over and over and over.

And then: KP's injury. They should have taken him out as soon as he was hobbled. A bunch of people commented on that in the game thread, and correctly so. If he's not ok, that's enormous. They are still good enough to be an excellent team but when he's present and playing his game, that's when this team is on a whole other level. They'll need him to win it all.

The problem with comparing Horford & Bam's moving screens is Al does it 2-3X a game and Bam does it 20x a game. NBA Refs are going out of their way to NOT call it at this point.

Don't bother enquiring about the end-of-quarter Tatum ISO shot selection. It's gone beyond laughable at this point. Just have to live with it. It's like watching Tatum shoot techs with Derrick White standing there. The team (& Tatum) do an excellent job at the end-of-quarter details (2 for 1s) & burning clock, but JT is launching that last shot come hell or high water (and the entire league knows it)

 

[BaseballJones]

That was one of the strangest broadcasts. Stan Van Gundy is NOT a Celtic fan


The problem with comparing Horford & Bam's moving screens is Al does it 2-3X a game and Bam does it 20x a game. NBA Refs are going out of their way to NOT call it at this point.

Don't bother enquiring about the end-of-quarter Tatum ISO shot selection. It's gone beyond laughable at this point. Just have to live with it. It's like watching Tatum shoot techs with Derrick White standing there. The team (& Tatum) do an excellent job at the end-of-quarter details (2 for 1s) & burning clock, but JT is launching that last shot come hell or high water (and the entire league knows it)

Tatum is an 83% FT shooter. White is a 90% FT shooter. Significant difference, even though Tatum is really good. White is just elite. So why do they have Tatum shoot them? Is this just one of those "the star is going to shoot it, period, end of story" situations? Why not have your actual best FT shooter take the technical free throws? What, other than the "the star has to take it" rationale is there for Tatum to take them instead of White?

Heck, Porzingis, Hauser, and Horford also shoot FTs better than Tatum.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Tatum is an 83% FT shooter. White is a 90% FT shooter. Significant difference, even though Tatum is really good. White is just elite. So why do they have Tatum shoot them? Is this just one of those "the star is going to shoot it, period, end of story" situations? Why not have your actual best FT shooter take the technical free throws? What, other than the "the star has to take it" rationale is there for Tatum to take them instead of White?

Heck, Porzingis, Hauser, and Horford also shoot FTs better than Tatum.

Aside from having a star pecking order the only other variable is that getting to slow down, breathe, focus on the mechanics of a FT can get a scorer into a rhythm following the FT.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

It was a great game overall, but I thought they did revert to their "no pace" style of 4th quarter play and predictably let the Heat cut deep into the lead.

I was digusted by the straight up bias in the officiating tonight. The refs called 2 different games. It's dangerous when you hit a guy in the air from behind, as the Heat were allowed to do without getting on both of Derrick White's third quarter dunks. Meanwhile they were calling the Celtics for tickcy tack shit.

Incredible, career game from White. It was also nice to see Holiday's touch near the basket return.

Most impressive was the defensive effort from everyone.

Closing this out in 5 has to be a priority. With KP likely to be down for a while they cannot mess around.

I agree on the Q4 stuff. I was getting a little frustrated with the stagnation.

Also, absolutely on the officiating. There was one foul called on a Tatum drive where he was pushed from behind. They called the foul but that stuff has to be flagrant. It wasn’t mentioned or reviewed.

 

[lexrageorge]

Tatum is an 83% FT shooter. White is a 90% FT shooter. Significant difference, even though Tatum is really good. White is just elite. So why do they have Tatum shoot them? Is this just one of those "the star is going to shoot it, period, end of story" situations? Why not have your actual best FT shooter take the technical free throws? What, other than the "the star has to take it" rationale is there for Tatum to take them instead of White?

Heck, Porzingis, Hauser, and Horford also shoot FTs better than Tatum.

Career wise, the difference between Tatum (0.844) and White (0.854) is insignificant. White did indeed hit free throws at a career high rate this past season, while Tatum is about 1% below his career rate. However, free throw percentages often vary a few percent season-to-season, and so it's not a given that Tatum's FT percentage will remain at 83% the rest of these playoffs.

Porzingis has been hovering around 85-86% these past few seasons, but, that's only a percentage point higher than Tatum. Horford's career FT rate is in the 70's; he's just having an outlier career season that is certainly due to small sample size effects.

 

[benhogan]

Aside from having a star pecking order the only other variable is that getting to slow down, breathe, focus on the mechanics of a FT can get a scorer into a rhythm following the FT.

Does that kind of approach lead to Jaylen Brown shooting them when Tatum is off the floor?

White has been a better FT shooter than Tatum for the last 4-5 seasons.

Any time you go against the math with some old-school touch-feely crap it will seep into other stuff like end-of-the-quarter tropes. I'm sure we'll get some sports pycho-babble now about deferring to the alpha

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Does that kind of approach lead to Jaylen Brown shooting them when Tatum is off the floor?

White has been a better FT shooter than Tatum for the last 4-5 seasons.

Any time you go against the math with some old-school touch-feely crap it will seep into other stuff like end-of-the-quarter tropes

It’s def not crap and the numbers don’t really seem that significant as a predictor between Tatum and White. I never noticed who shoots them when Tatum is off the floor….is it Jaylen?

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

That was one of the strangest broadcasts. Stan Van Gundy is NOT a Celtic fan


The problem with comparing Horford & Bam's moving screens is Al does it 2-3X a game and Bam does it 20x a game. NBA Refs are going out of their way to NOT call it at this point.
/QUOTE]
It's not just Al. KP also moves every time he sets a screen. Frankly if you watch closely, pretty much every decent NBA screener moves.

I admit that Bam probably moves a few inches more than most - but he's obviously figured out where that line is great screen and offensive foul. KP has not figured out that line, which is why he gets called more often for offensive screens - he should take some tips from Luke, who is pretty good at moving and not getting called.

This is all just based on my watching games - though admittedly I don't watch a ton of non-Cs games.

 

[benhogan]

It’s def not crap and the numbers don’t really seem that significant as a predictor between Tatum and White. I never noticed who shoots them when Tatum is off the floor….is it Jaylen?

I'm half joking, who shoots technical FTs isn't all that important but it does go to show that they don't always follow the math (ie. end-of-quater shot selection).

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

Felt more that Tatum got fouled so, yeah, let him take the shots. It's kinda satisfying to get to seal the game while the idiot who flagrantly fouled you has to watch the door get shut on their comeback bid.

If D White was on the other end of Bam's cheap bs I'd imagine he'd have taken the shots. I think the coach/team would grant that satisfaction.

 

[benhogan]

Felt more that Tatum got fouled so, yeah, let him take the shots. It's kinda satisfying to get to seal the game while the idiot who flagrantly fouled you has to watch the door get shut on their comeback bid.

If D White was on the other end of Bam's cheap bs I'd imagine he'd have taken the shots. I think the coach/team would grant that satisfaction.

Well that didn't take long (apologies for the snark CoffeeNerdness) but this is Exhibit A on psycho sports babble

and Tatum owns that FT line real estate when the refs T the opponent up.
Stan van Gundy was taking shots at Tatum in G3 about it.

 

[benhogan]

Career wise, the difference between Tatum (0.844) and White (0.854) is insignificant. White did indeed hit free throws at a career high rate this past season, while Tatum is about 1% below his career rate. However, free throw percentages often vary a few percent season-to-season, and so it's not a given that Tatum's FT percentage will remain at 83% the rest of these playoffs.

Porzingis has been hovering around 85-86% these past few seasons, but, that's only a percentage point higher than Tatum. Horford's career FT rate is in the 70's; he's just having an outlier career season that is certainly due to small sample size effects.

Derrick White's shooting has been trending in one direction for 4 straight years culminating in 40% from 3 and 90% from the FT line this season. This isn't some outlier season that came out of nowhere.

Tatum hasn't shot better from the FT line once in the last 5 seasons

 

[benhogan]

It’s def not crap and the numbers don’t really seem that significant as a predictor between Tatum and White. I never noticed who shoots them when Tatum is off the floor….is it Jaylen?

I had a good friend who played for Nova (2nd team All BE) and he took me into the details of the lengths players go to stat pad/PointZ. I'm sure you saw it in your career

End of the game FTs & Technical FTs were at the top of his list... sorry I can't unhear what he told me 25 years ago when I see it every game.

 

[BaseballJones]

White should be like, you’re a better basketball player than I am but you sure as hell aren’t a better free throw shooter than me. The techs are mine.

 

[Jimbodandy]

This conversation is about as meta as it gets. Kudos to all.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I had a good friend who played for Nova (2nd team All BE) and he took me into the details of the lengths players go to stat pad/PointZ. I'm sure you saw it in your career

End of the game FTs & Technical FTs were at the top of his list... sorry I can't unhear what he told me 25 years ago when I see it every game.

100%. Stat padding like that is a part of a scorers mentality and aggression which I could have added upthread but you are right. It’s not something you want to take away from the alpha.

 

[Mooch]

Per Forsberg, D White dominated both ends of the court last night:

NBA tracking on White’s defense vs Miami players in Game 4: 3-14 FG (21.4 FG%) 0-5 3PT (0 3PT%) 3 deflections 6 turnovers forced

 

[Curtis Pride]

I didn't hear SVG's announcing, but I just want to point out that his first NBA coaching gig was with the Miami Heat (8 seasons as an assistant under Riley, plus 3 seasons as head coach after Riley was kicked upstairs). He's a Miami/Riley homer.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

If Messi gets fouled in the box in the 85th minute he's not ceding the shot to the slightly better penalty shooter. Sometimes, it's good to be the king.

 

[BaseballJones]

100%. Stat padding like that is a part of a scorers mentality and aggression which I could have added upthread but you are right. It’s not something you want to take away from the alpha.

There’s limits to this of course, right? As an extreme example, Shaq was the alpha in Orlando and with the Lakers but he never shot the techs. For obvious reasons. Hakeem didn’t shoot them. Ewing didn’t shoot them. Robinson didn’t shoot them. Dr J didn’t even shoot them, as far as I can recall. So there has to be a line somewhere.

 

[benhogan]

100%. Stat padding like that is a part of a scorers mentality and aggression which I could have added upthread but you are right. It’s not something you want to take away from the alpha.

That's very fair.

BTW I always enjoy your anecdotal takes & the pysco-sports babble it's not always by the numbers

 

[benhogan]

If Messi gets fouled in the box in the 85th minute he's not ceding the shot to the slightly better penalty shooter. Sometimes, it's good to be the king.

Indeed, and the crown may be too heavy for someone like Derrick White.

Tatum wants it bad and there is no reason to change roles now.

 

[Devizier]

I agree on the Q4 stuff. I was getting a little frustrated with the stagnation.

Big thing is the Celtics are playing not to turn it over, it’s one of the things about being in the lead so damn much. That’s what teams in the lead are going to do, by and large.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

There’s limits to this of course, right? As an extreme example, Shaq was the alpha in Orlando and with the Lakers but he never shot the techs. For obvious reasons. Hakeem didn’t shoot them. Ewing didn’t shoot them. Robinson didn’t shoot them. Dr J didn’t even shoot them, as far as I can recall. So there has to be a line somewhere.

Oh for sure. I rarely pay attention to who shoots these but I think I recall LeBron being the guy most of his career to take them despite him rarely being the best FT shooter on the floor. He’s also one of the more unselfish players to play the game so for him I’d guess it’s about getting a practice shot in to help get into, or stay in, rhythm.

 

[Strike4]

The thing I liked about last night is that the Cs didn’t let the heat dictate the pace or the game overall. When you’re the better team that’s what you do. One of the issues with Game 2 was they let Spo dictate their approach. Loved that the Cs pushed and pushed. Sure it looked a bit frantic at time but it was their pace and approach.

To me, this is the difference between both Game 2 and years past. The Celtics used to either play "their game" or, if their opponent wasn't letting them, they'd try and fight to reimpose their game. With Miami now, they are letting the game come to them because they know they are the better team and how ever Miami wants to do it the Celtics will still run away with it on the path chosen for them. Look at all the wonky stuff that's going on in this series:

• Tatum playing an offensive support role, not being the go-to
• Jrue basically disappearing on offense (but good D)
• Pritchard and Hauser not being a factor at all consistently
• Brown crashing all over the place on offense because he knows that breaks down the defense (even if he's not scoring)

I think the point is that the Celtics are comfortable in this space now. There's no urgency to force the ball to Tatum, or for Jrue to force the offense and get untracked, or force Hauser in there when that's not what's on the table.

 

[lexrageorge]

Derrick White's shooting has been trending in one direction for 4 straight years culminating in 40% from 3 and 90% from the FT line this season. This isn't some outlier season that came out of nowhere.

Tatum hasn't shot better from the FT line once in the last 5 seasons

Never claimed that Derrick White's season FT% was some outlier (Horford's is a different story altogether).

Still, the reality is that the 5-6% difference in FT% is not really all that significant when it comes to shooting technical free throws. In the highly unlikely event of a technical very late in a close game, then CJM may very well direct White to take the freebie.

 

[chilidawg]

Oh for sure. I rarely pay attention to who shoots these but I think I recall LeBron being the guy most of his career to take them despite him rarely being the best FT shooter on the floor. He’s also one of the more unselfish players to play the game so for him I’d guess it’s about getting a practice shot in to help get into, or stay in, rhythm.

I think the in-rhythm thing is part of it. Tatum also shot a lot of FT's last night so maybe they think he's in the zone. DW sure didn't need any help with his shot last night.

The early challenge on a Tatum foul seems to fit in the "placate your star" category as well. Are these guys so insecure they need their egos stroked like that? Tatum doesn't seem that way in general.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Per Forsberg, D White dominated both ends of the court last night:

NBA tracking on White’s defense vs Miami players in Game 4: 3-14 FG (21.4 FG%) 0-5 3PT (0 3PT%) 3 deflections 6 turnovers forced

Even the White plays defense!

/Jrue

 

[Devizier]

or force Hauser in there when that's not what's on the table.

As an aside, I thought Hauser was really bad last night. Just got wrecked on screens, committed some bad fouls too.

 

[tims4wins]

As an aside, I thought Hauser was really bad last night. Just got wrecked on screens, committed some bad fouls too.

Aside from his game 1 outburst, he hasn't been good this series.

 

[SteveF]

I don't think Tatum or Brown have done a particularly good job of creating shots for Hauser outside of G1. Tatum was good in game 1, but as the series has progressed I think his decision making has regressed. Hauser is a very limited offensive player who needs his shot created for him by others. If Tatum/Brown aren't doing that, Hauser isn't going to be very good.

 

[benhogan]

Per Forsberg, D White dominated both ends of the court last night:

NBA tracking on White’s defense vs Miami players in Game 4: 3-14 FG (21.4 FG%) 0-5 3PT (0 3PT%) 3 deflections 6 turnovers forced

The Paddy Mills block at the end of the game was an exclamation point on his night.

Never claimed that Derrick White's season FT% was some outlier (Horford's is a different story altogether).

Still, the reality is that the 5-6% difference in FT% is not really all that significant when it comes to shooting technical free throws. In the highly unlikely event of a technical very late in a close game, then CJM may very well direct White to take the freebie.

I somewhat agree that the Tatum technical FTs is a nothingburger.

I was just pointing it out (rather clunkily) that they don't always follow the math which leads to Tatum taking the majority of end-of-quarter ISO shots

 

[Jimbodandy]

Per Forsberg, D White dominated both ends of the court last night:

NBA tracking on White’s defense vs Miami players in Game 4: 3-14 FG (21.4 FG%) 0-5 3PT (0 3PT%) 3 deflections 6 turnovers forced

Those numbers are awesome.

White was unreal. Jrue was also pretty impactful last night.

Those two guys turning out like that is what's different defensively between this team and last year's team IMO. That's not to say that we won't have letdown games like Game 2, but the overall consistency in creating tougher shots for opponents starts with them.

 

[Strike4]

Aside from his game 1 outburst, he hasn't been good this series.

That's ok though. He was good in Game 1 and helped the Celtics win. Maybe he'll do that again in Game 5, or have a great series next round. And he didn't crap on himself. Same with Jrue.

I think as long as the Celtics can find a repeatable, non-flukey way to win games, it's fine to have players rotate in and out of prominent roles.

 

[bankshot1]

I didn't hear SVG's announcing, but I just want to point out that his first NBA coaching gig was with the Miami Heat (8 seasons as an assistant under Riley, plus 3 seasons as head coach after Riley was kicked upstairs). He's a Miami/Riley homer.

You left out the part where Riley forced out SVG as Heat coach because he wanted to return to coaching and the Heat were legit contenders after floundering under Riley's last few years of coaching the Heat. He may have mixed feelings about Riley sandbagging him and denying him his best chance of winning a ring.

But none of this excuses SVG's color way outside the lines analysis last night, it was beyond partisan babbling, and bordered on delusional obsession.

It was flat out out weird

 

[boca]

If Messi gets fouled in the box in the 85th minute he's not ceding the shot to the slightly better penalty shooter. Sometimes, it's good to be the king.

He 100% is ceding it if he's not the designated penalty taker.

It's not a valid comp though given the significance of a goal versus a free throw in the context of the game.

 

[Return of the Dewey]

You left out the part where Riley forced out SVG as Heat coach because he wanted to return to coaching and the Heat were legit contenders after floundering under Riley's last few years of coaching the Heat. He may have mixed feelings about Riley sandbagging him and denying him his best chance of winning a ring.

But none of this excuses SVG's color way outside the lines analysis last night, it was beyond partisan babbling, and bordered on delusional obsession.

It was flat out out weird

It was weird...it was like the ramblings of obsessed Celtics fan on a Game Thread. At least, that's where my head was going more than he's a Miami homer. He was like he was pissed that the Celtics weren't playing with the pace/intensity that he wanted.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I think the in-rhythm thing is part of it. Tatum also shot a lot of FT's last night so maybe they think he's in the zone. DW sure didn't need any help with his shot last night.

The early challenge on a Tatum foul seems to fit in the "placate your star" category as well. Are these guys so insecure they need their egos stroked like that? Tatum doesn't seem that way in general.

We'll likely never know what happened when/if Mazzulla turned to the second row assistant(s) in charge of replay. This is one of those times when you can pick up on things if you are at the game. The assistant could have seen something in the first replay to suggest a challenge, he could have gave a pct say 80% or 20% for Joe to weigh whether it is worth the risk (I have no idea how they communicate this but knowing how Joe is he may want a pct number), or Joe could have gone rogue to send a message for the purpose of coaching up Tatum later. Something like, "You can't tell me to challenge every questionable call. Look what happened tonight, I trusted you and it cost us a valuable TO that we could have needed later. Pick your spots better and I'll have your back but you can't do what you did on a borderline call."

 

[slamminsammya]

I thought SVG was actually right early in the game harping on the Heat getting good looks and the Celtics kind of not playing as well as the score indicated.

Then the Bam thing happened and he turned into a drunken sports bar psycho. What the fuck was that rant? Stan can fuck off and disappear.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

SVG was equally terrible in the NCAA tournament. He gets fixated on these points, and he will spend 20 seconds on them after an offensive possession talking over what the other team is doing.

His go to move is to criticize the offense, but do it in a way to suggest the defense is actually playing poorly even when they are winning. So team A did not make the extra pass on a possession leading to a break out for team B, and while team B is having an alley oop jam on the other end, he is shitting on their defense after they got a stop. It’s fucking weird.

The craziest example was in the regional final. Connecticut allegedly wasn’t even playing very good defense, according to SVP. It was Illinois being shitty, which he kept harping on while the Connecticut team was having a highlight filled 30-0 run.

My take is that he is not playing favorites. He wants a close and good game. So when it is not, he gets all blamey and weird, denigrating the defense of the winning team because of the offense’s ineptitude. He’s fucking awful.

Edit — he needs to call the game he is watching more, instead of trying to call the game he wishes it was.

 

[Devizier]

It was weird...it was like the ramblings of obsessed Celtics fan on a Game Thread. At least, that's where my head was going more than he's a Miami homer. He was like he was pissed that the Celtics weren't playing with the pace/intensity that he wanted.

I think there is beneath the surface a huge backlash against where the NBA has gone in the last decade or so. I would bet a lot of former coaches, players, front office guys think the league is at a minimum far too tilted to offense. The Heat and Knicks, to use too examples, are kind of throwbacks and are going to get love from this crew.

I also think this is why there was a rules emphasis change this season.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Per Forsberg, D White dominated both ends of the court last night:

NBA tracking on White’s defense vs Miami players in Game 4: 3-14 FG (21.4 FG%) 0-5 3PT (0 3PT%) 3 deflections 6 turnovers forced

DWhite also had 3 blocks according to NBA.com. By comparison, Jrue wasa 6-17, 2-10 3P, 0 TOs, 1 steal, 0 blocks. I don't have TO numbers. White also defended more partial possessions: 80.70 versus 68.90 for Jrue.

See below for full comparison.

 

[lovegtm]

It was a great game overall, but I thought they did revert to their "no pace" style of 4th quarter play and predictably let the Heat cut deep into the lead.

I was digusted by the straight up bias in the officiating tonight. The refs called 2 different games. It's dangerous when you hit a guy in the air from behind, as the Heat were allowed to do without getting on both of Derrick White's third quarter dunks. Meanwhile they were calling the Celtics for tickcy tack shit.

Incredible, career game from White. It was also nice to see Holiday's touch near the basket return.

Most impressive was the defensive effort from everyone.

Closing this out in 5 has to be a priority. With KP likely to be down for a while they cannot mess around.

The 4th quarter offense would have looked a lot better if they hadn't missed literally every layup for a long stretch. It was pretty wild, and I don't know what you do about that beyond "guys, you should make layups."

 

[Eddie Jurak]

The 4th quarter offense would have looked a lot better if they hadn't missed literally every layup for a long stretch. It was pretty wild, and I don't know what you do about that beyond "guys, you should make layups."

I think a lot of those layups were very difficult ones.

 

[Saints Rest]

The 4th quarter offense would have looked a lot better if they hadn't missed literally every layup for a long stretch. It was pretty wild, and I don't know what you do about that beyond "guys, you should make layups."

There was one missed layup by PP, right after he had made an aggressive and impressive move to get there, where I said to myself "Payton never misses layups." Then he missed. So my bad.

 

[lars10]

The 4th quarter offense would have looked a lot better if they hadn't missed literally every layup for a long stretch. It was pretty wild, and I don't know what you do about that beyond "guys, you should make layups."

I thought there was a stretch where Tatum and Brown were sort of trying to posterize the Heat and got away from their normal offense. The Heat got really scrappy.. and by scrappy I mean they were ultra physical and went for a few cheap shots. After a couple possessions JM called a timeout to calm things down and got them back on track.. which they did.

 

[chilidawg]

I thought SVG was actually right early in the game harping on the Heat getting good looks and the Celtics kind of not playing as well as the score indicated.

Then the Bam thing happened and he turned into a drunken sports bar psycho. What the fuck was that rant? Stan can fuck off and disappear.

Agreed that he was right early, but he just kept harping on it all game when it was clearly no longer the case. I usually like Stan but that was just awful announcing.

 

[tims4wins]

I thought the 2nd quarter offense was way worse than the 4th quarter offense. Go watch the last 10 minutes of the half. It was brutal.

- Jrue made a layup at 10:30 to get the Celts to 39
- Celts then went 7 straight possessions without scoring
- Jrue makes crazy off balance bank shot at 6:26
- scoreless next 2
- 4:40 White makes crazy 29 foot 3
- 3:58 White makes heat check 3
- Celts go 2 minutes without scoring
- JB hits 1 of 2 after a loose ball foul
- 50 secs JT hits stepback 3
- 21 secs Al dunk off the fastbreak

They scored 14 points over the final 10:30 of the half.

They also only scored 5 points over the first nearly 5 minutes of the 2nd half.

19 points over 15:30 ish.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

My take is that he is not playing favorites. He wants a close and good game. So when it is not, he gets all blamey and weird, denigrating the defense of the winning team because of the offense’s ineptitude. He’s fucking awful.

Edit — he needs to call the game he is watching more, instead of trying to call the game he wishes it was.

Issue could be that in blowouts, SVG doesn't have a lot to say because his strength - breaking down games - isn't really needed.

Also, his co-announcer kept egging him on and I'm sure the producer was thinking it was great TV. I mean we're sitting here talking about SVG 12 hours later.

 

[BroodsSexton]

There was one missed layup by PP, right after he had made an aggressive and impressive move to get there, where I said to myself "Payton never misses layups." Then he missed. So my bad.

Tatum made one insane left handed lay-up from behind the backboard, though. Would like to see that one again.