Author: Jacksonrboland

Tatum and Mitchell Duel in Utah

by Jacksonrboland, posted in NBA

Jayson Tatum has been the best player in basketball since he returned from the All-Star break. I don’t want to hear an argument against that because I really don’t see one. Tatum closed out this four game road trip averaging 34.5 points a game on 57 percent shooting. Yes, FIFTY-SEVEN PERCENT from the field…insane. Tatum did it again Wednesday night with 33 points and 11 rebounds in a 114-103 win in Utah. He’s playing like a man possessed right now and I could go on and on about him, but I’ll hold back. I wouldn’t be doing anyone justice without paying my respect to Donovan Mitchell. He was unreal Wednesday night. Mitchell had 37 points 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and the Celtics didn’t have answer for him. Fortunately for the C’s, no one else on Utah could make shots. Really, it was pretty sloppy offensively to start for both teams, but with two top ten defenses going at it, you kind of expect good looks to be at a premium.

Here’s just a glimpse of Tatum’s night:

Courtesy: Boston Celtics

It looked like Tatum was going to need to do it himself after the first half ended. Tatum had 25 of his 33 points in the first two quarters and was shooting 10-13 from the field. The rest of the starters? A BRUTAL 28 points on 8-26 shooting combined….that’s TOUGH, man. Especially considering the Celtics pretty much rely solely on their starters for scoring production. Luckily, the reinforcements were there in the second half. Jaylen Brown took over the third quarter. When Tatum went to the bench, Brown reminded us once again he’s really good, too, and scored seven straight points. It helped ignite a Celtic’s offense that was looking pretty lackluster. Then, it was Marcus Smart’s turn in the fourth. After starting 0-5 from three, he rattled off three straight threes to put the Celts up 13, which seemingly took the Jazz out of it. It wasn’t sexy, but Daniel Theis’ game cannot be ignored. He was consistent and helped keep the Celtics afloat despite some offensive struggles in the first half. His stat line won’t blow you away, 16 points and 7 boards, but they don’t leave Utah with a win without him. Theis was a big reason Rudy Gobert could never get going, and let me tell you, I never thought that would be something I write down.

Courtesy: The Boston Herald

This was a road trip to remember for Jayson Tatum, but no one wants to get back to Boston more quickly than Gordon Hayward. He was bad tonight. It was easy to see from his body language coming back to Utah was hard for him. It’s even tougher considering the Jazz faithful boo’ed him every time he touched the ball. Literally, every time. I mean, I respect it from Jazz fans, but it looked like it got to Hayward and took him out of the game. He still mustered up 12 points, but on a poor 4-12 shooting. He had some really good looks, too, the stroke just wasn’t there.

Don’t get it twisted, this is an impressive win for the Celtics. Game two of a back-to-back closing out a West Coast trip, the Celts easily could’ve phoned it in and said just get us back to Boston. But, they came out with some fire Wednesday night, especially defensively, must’ve read my blog following the Blazers game. They were putting pressure on the Jazz all night and were contesting almost every shot. That’s the Celtics defense I know and love. They head back to Boston finishing 3-1 on the road trip and are now only a game back of Toronto for the 2 seed in the East. The C’s have more than earned this nice two day break before facing the Rockets back at the Garden on Saturday.

Hopefully, they use that time to get healthy. Yes, I’m talking to you, Kemba.

Tatum Does It Again, but We Can’t Forget Jaylen Brown

by Jacksonrboland, posted in Basketball, NBA

Before I get to all the good things the Celtics did in the 118-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, I need to address the problems. Unlike Sunday, the defense was less than impressive. I know what you’re thinking, the Celtics won by 12 and held the Blazers to only 106 points, which in today’s NBA is pretty impressive. But, I thought the Celtics were more fortunate than good defensively. The Blazers had A LOT of good looks throughout the night, especially from three, the shots just didn’t fall. Hayward had a turnover problem, committing 5 and Marcus Smart couldn’t find his stroke going 4-16 from the field. Plus, no Damian Lillard for an already injury-riddled Blazers team really played in the Celtics’ favor. Negativity aside, The C’s took care of business against the shorthanded Blazers and gained some ground on the Toronto Raptors in the standings. Now to the good stuff.

I really wanted to start with Jaylen Brown, I really did, but Tatum stole the show once again. He followed up his 41 point performance in L.A. with 36 points on 14-22 shooting, including 8-12 from three. It was getting to the point I thought every shot he took was going in. Did you know he’s only 21? For the past two games, in which he’s averaging 38.5 points, he’s been wearing a purple arm band to pay homage to his idol, Kobe Bryant. He may never take it off. If he plays like this Wednesday against the Utah Jazz, he may ask for year-round West Coast trips.

Jaylen Brown wanted to remind us all Tatum isn’t the only young Celtic making strides this year. Brown put up 24 points along with 7 boards and was again pretty stout defensively. If he’s able to get to the basket with ease, like he was tonight, you can basically pencil in a solid performance from him. I know I bashed on them to start, but Hayward and Smart did a lot of good things, too. Hayward didn’t put up a lot of shots, but was efficient adding 12 points on 5-7 shooting. Marcus Smart took four of the first five shots of this game and missed them all, but then followed it up with three straight three pointers. That’s what he does. He’ll make you want to pull your hair out and then knock down big shot after big shot. My fellow Oklahoma State Cowboy also continued his case for an All-Defensive team. He came away with 2 steals, a block and forced CJ McCollum to take some tough shots, never letting him get comfortable. Like Brad Stevens once said, I love him and I trust him.

Speaking of Brad, he got his second technical in as many games. Go ahead and fact check me on this, there’s no way that’s ever happened to him before. Do we have a new bad boy in the NBA? I think so. They came away with the win Tuesday, but I’m interested to see how they come out and play Wednesday. They’ll be playing their second game of a back to back to end the West Coast trip, and then will have two days off before playing the Rockets on Saturday. This isn’t to say they don’t want to win, but if they get down, how much energy and fight are they going to show? This team is still trying to get healthy, so I wouldn’t blame them if they coast so they can get home. Of course I hope that doesn’t happen, but this team has aspirations far beyond a February win against the Jazz. The Jazz have been one of the more inconsistent teams this year, but will no doubt be a handful for the Celtics.

Oh, and Kemba missed his third straight game and by the time you’re reading this he’ll probably be ruled out for the game in Utah. I’m not worried, you’re worried.

Shut Down Everyone

by Jacksonrboland, posted in MLB

When the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole in December, it was basically a foregone conclusion the Yankees would represent the American League in the World Series. Now, Yankee fans are holding their breaths once again. Luis Severino needs TOMMY JOHN SURGERY. This is not the news I needed to hear to start my week.

It’s understood we won’t see Severino pitch in pinstripes this year, but at least there’s a bright side. The Yankees won 103 games last year without Severino, and were able to add the best pitcher in baseball in Cole. It’s still an awesome team with a revamped pitching staff, talented young arms and fantastic bullpen. Still, this news sucks.

Add in the fact we probably won’t see Paxton pitch for another 3 or 4 months, and I’m having flashbacks to last year when no one could stay healthy. He’s supposed to start throwing next week and I’m crossing all the fingers I have to make sure that goes well. They’ll also get German back in the summer, so the reinforcements will be there. But, a healthy Severino would have really put this team over the top.

I still see the Yankees as the favorites in the American League, but Sevy going down makes me want to cry. The Yankees need to do all they can to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Shut down all the starters for the rest of spring, let the bat boys play, I don’t care. The Yankees need to protect their players at all costs.

In a Game Full of Stars, Tatum Shines Brightest

by Jacksonrboland, posted in NBA

Back in January, the Celtics dismantled the Lakers by 30, which as fun as that was, it wasn’t what I expected. On Sunday, we got exactly what all basketball fans wanted when the Celtics and Lakers met again, this time in Los Angeles. This game was a dogfight for all four quarters, but the Lakers edged out the Celts 114-112. Whether you’re a Celtics fan, Lakers fan or just basketball fan in general, the only way to start this off is with one player: Jayson Tatum.

Tatum showed us exactly why it’s believed he’ll be a perennial All-Star and could become one of the best players in the league. The 21 year old put up 41 points along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He really showed us everything in his offensive arsenal. He was getting to the basket with ease, efficient from three and was able to go toe to toe with two of the best players in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

It was a playoff atmosphere in Staples Center even before the ball was tipped. I can feel my hair getting grayer as I write this, by the way. The notoriously slow-starting Celtics did just that unfortunately and it took them basically half a quarter to find their groove offensively. Luckily, the defense was awesome, especially Jaylen Brown. He had the tall (literally) task of the guarding LeBron and Anthony Davis. And let me tell you, it was some of, if not the best, one-on-one defense I’ve seen him play.

Despite the slow start and early 11 point Lakers lead, the Celtics headed into the locker room at halftime only down 56-54. For the most part, they were able to hold Davis at bay with only 8 points on 4-11 shooting. Unfortunately for the Celts, Davis came alive in the second half with 24 points. Not to mention LeBron did LeBron things throughout and ended with 29 points, 8 boards and 9 assists. You know, casually. As well as hitting that turn around jumper to give the Lakers a 111-110 lead with 30 seconds left. Trust me, I’ll be seeing that in my nightmares for weeks.

And I hate to be this guy, but I need to rant on the refs for just a second. They called a Jaylen Brown turnover with 15 seconds left and if you were watching on TV, the ball is CLEARLY off Anthony Davis. I don’t know if their camera was blurry down there or what, but man, what an awful call. They immediately follow it up with a technical foul on Celtics coach Brad Stevens. How in the world are you going to call a tech in THAT moment. But, as we all know, ball don’t lie. Davis missed the technical free throw and all was right in the world.

What wasn’t right was my guy Gordon Hayward. This was just a bad Hayward game shooting wise. 5-15, 0-5 from three and only 10 points…yikes. His play making ability was there cashing in on 9 assists, and he was active defensively disrupting passing lanes and grabbing 8 boards. I’m a Hayward apologist, I know. But, much as I love Hayward, he has a bad habit of not scoring in games like these. That’s going to need to change if they want to go anywhere in the postseason.

You can’t win them all, and the Lakers just flat out executed better when the game was on the line. It happens. Not what we wanted to start off this road trip as Celtics fans, but there are still good things to take away from it. If this is the kind of defensive energy they can take to Portland, it’s bad news for the Blazers.

No Kemba, No Problem

by Jacksonrboland, posted in Basketball

You would think having seven days between games would be a good thing for a Celtics team that just can’t seem to stay healthy. The top seven of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis, Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter have played together in about 10 games this year. So, coming out of the All-Star break, I was excited to see what a fully healthy team could do, only bad part is no one told Kemba. He was out of Friday night’s game with “left knee soreness,” which sounds a lot like load management. This really makes you think about why Kemba played 30 minutes in the All-Star game. Was this all an inside job by Nick Nurse to sabotage the Celtics?

Conspiracy theories aside, the Celtics had a real NBA game in Minnesota. The 127-117 win over the T-Wolves wasn’t the most impressive win of the year, not even close. But, I think it was very telling. Gordon Hayward is so back it’s not even funny anymore to think otherwise. When he’s in attack mode, he’s at his best and it showed Friday night. Dropping 29 points on 12-17 shooting, adding on 5 rebounds and 6 assists is a perfect Gordon Hayward game, and he’s starting to look a lot like the guy the Celtics paid for. Can you believe people wanted him traded for Drummond?

Same goes for Jaylen Brown, I don’t think anyone needed the All-Star break more than that guy. Brown last played on February 11th against the Rockets with two sprained ankles. I’ve always thought his game is similar to Russell Westbrook’s in that they’re most efficient when they go full speed to the basket, and that’s what Brown was able to do yesterday. 25 points with 8 boards on 10-17 shooting? I’ll take that every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Tatum’s game wasn’t the most efficient. He shot less than 40 percent from the field, but still added 28 points and 11 rebounds. He didn’t shoot well, but he was able to get to the free throw line. He went 8-8 and you just love to see it. That’s where Tatum’s growth this year has been tremendous. On the chance he has a bad shooting night, he goes to the basket looking get to the free throw line. Last year, he’d take the worst shots possible and try to shoot himself out of a slump. Spoiler alert: that never works.

We’re saving the best for last here, folks. Daniel Theis was incredible. This guy averages 8.7 points and 6.4 boards a game, and Friday night he went for 25 and 16. Now, I know this is more of an anomaly, but without Karl-Anthony Towns on the court, there was a huge hole in the middle and the Celts were able to take advantage.

And I know what you’re thinking, the three seeded Celtics beat one of the worst teams in the league, who cares? As a pessimistic Celtics fan who still has PTSD from the 2018-2019 season and the Kyrie era, I always expect them to lose these kind of games. So, it’s nice to see the Celtics beat the teams they’re supposed to and do it convincingly. You can probably tell, I’m really fun to watch games with. Anyway, starting Sunday, the Celtics head west for three games in four days and are closing out the month against three of the top five teams in the Western Conference. There couldn’t be a tougher way to close out February, but this stretch will show us how much potential these guys have come playoff time. It all starts Sunday at Staples Center. Beat L.A.