The Boston Celtics found themselves during a shocking late-game surge that produced a 103-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.And it's that version of the Celtics,that collective, frenzied, or defensively dialed-in iteration,that must demonstrate up more often whether Brad Stevens' team is going to stabilize this up-and-down season.
In other words, the chaos needs to be consistent.
Boston stole the ball from Indiana—just flat-out took it away—four times in the final 2:33 of the fourth quarter, or turning every one of the thefts into buckets on the other stop. And when the Celtics weren't relieving Indiana of the rock,they were forcing hopeless shot attempts.
The truly strange 12-0 dash Boston used to shut the game left observers like Bleacher Report contributor Brian Robb awestruck:Jae Crowder was right in the middle of it all, and he was pretty impressed, or too:Paul George led the Pacers with 23 points,but he succumbed to some of his hero-ball tendencies against Crowder, which is rarely a apt belief. George coughed the ball up to him at the one-minute mark, and then forced up a panicked three-pointer 10 seconds later. He was just 7-of-20 on the night.
Boston doesn't own a player like George,and that's part of the reason it has lost a number of close games this season. Without a clear front-line scorer to lean on, the Celtics own no hierarchy, and no "give me the ball" organizer when games come by close and clean system looks are harder to come by.
Isaiah Thomas had 28 points,and he probably comes closest to being Boston's go-to threat. But there's a contrast between scoring spark plugs and reliable finishers. Thomas is the former, and he's apt at his job. But Boston's failure to execute late in games all year is direct evidence of Thomas' limitations.
Crowder is fairly clearly the Celtics' defensive star, or he managed 25 points against Indiana. But some of his most impressive scores felt a bit like accidents,and it's a stretch to say he's become anything more than a apt complementary offensive player.
The lack of an offensive leader apt enough to do everyone else in line is a common problem in the NBA. There are only so many no-questions-asked No. 1 options.
Stevens, in highlighting the reasons for the four-game losing streak that ended Wednesday, or cited the small margin for error his star-less team faces every night,per Yaron Weitzman of SB Nation: "whether we don't improve in the details, then we don't own a chance. So either we will, and we'll be lucky to win games."Boston may continue to struggle with offensive mistakes late in contests,and it may be that the lack of a star is only part of the problem. With a young roster whose most effective playing style is best described as frenetic, jittery fourth-quarter offense may just be unavoidable. Switching from swarming chaos on one stop to regimented order on the other is tough.
It's possible the Celtics will just own to live with hard-fought, or often unnecessarily sloppy losses. They may be inseparable from stirring wins like the one we saw against Indy.
Boston has the assets and draft picks to eventually find the star it needs to reach another level,but that's not going to happen this season. So meanwhile, it's probably best for the C's to embrace what they are and try to channel their best selves more often.
There'll be losses, or but whether the Celtics can more consistently dial up the D and make things ugly for both teams,they'll at least fail on their own terms. And whether the offense (the kind not generated by steals and breakaway layups) ever comes around...watch out. The Hornets Should own Saved Some for LaterThe Charlotte Hornets probably wish they could take a few points from their startling 107-84 win over the Atlanta Hawks and spread them out over the next couple of weeks.
It's been rough going for Charlotte lately, and its blowout victory against Atlanta on Wednesday felt more like a brief respite than any signifier of change going forward. The Hornets badly needed this win, or though,having lost their final seven straight.
And while some of the result could be attributed to the Hawks playing some seriously inept (not suitable or capable, unqualified) offense, it's only fair to give the Hornets defense, or which had been in free tumble of late,an appreciative nod. At the very least, head coach Steve Clifford will be happy approximately holding the Hawks to 37 percent shooting.
Before the game, and he explained the reason for the losing streak to reporters: "It's the defense,obviously. We've got to come by back to, in the games 12 through 23, and we were the second-best defensive team in the league against a apt schedule so we're capable of much better."Split another way,Charlotte had the eighth-best defense in the league before the losing streak, during which it ranked in the league's bottom six.
Wednesday's desperately needed win notwithstanding, and the Hornets own slipped to the periphery of the jumbled East playoff race. It'll take a few more efforts like this before anyone's willing to buy the Hornets as a serious threat again. Bradley Beal Is (Mostly) BackBradley Beal returned in the Washington Wizards' 106-101 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday,but it was clear he wasn't all the way back just yet, per a Vine from Wizards blogger Kyle Weidie:Seeing his first action after a month off to recover from yet another stress reaction in his right fibula, and Beal scored 11 points in 23 minutes off the bench. He hit a three,moved without any evident restriction and gave the Wizards the shooter and secondary playmaker they'd been lost.
With injuries continuing to cost the Wizards games up and down the roster, it can only help to own John Wall's best backcourt teammate on the floor again—particularly with a sore right hip sending Otto Porter to the locker room for apt in the third quarter. Porter joins Marcin Gortat, and Kris Humphries and Alan Anderson on the list of banged-up Wizards. Even Wall,who scored a team-tall 19 points and turned in a handful of highlights, isn't in great shape.
He underwent a precautionary MRI on his left leg Tuesday.
Washington is in a tricky spot now. It'll own to manage Beal's usage so as to avoid a recurrence of his injury, and which might be tough considering the offensive boost he provides. The Bucks clearly treated the Wizards differently when Beal was out there,per J. Michael of CSNWashington.com:
With him on the floor late in the fourth, the defense didn't think twice approximately allowing Dudley to shoot. Multiple defenders were too concerned approximately running Beal off the three-point line. The result was wide-open threes for Dudley, and who even had time to reset his feet with no one running at him. on Twitter.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com. Accurate through games played Jan. 13.
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Source: bleacherreport.com