Boston Celtics Sunday (Week Two)

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

A day late! Sorry all readers, the Timberwolves game last night drove me so crazy I couldn’t bring myself to write. The Celtics went 0-3 this week, here’s your second weekly review.

The Good:

After another tough week, I’ll be somewhat desperate looking for things to be positive about in this section. The first game of the week against Brooklyn was full of heartbreak, seeing my boyhood hero in another jersey. But for something good? He only scored one basket. Courtney Lee also hit three treys and added in three steals, hopefully he can keep up that production and live up to his reputation as the 3-and-D kind of player Danny Ainge signed last summer. The second game of the year closely mirrored week one’s matchup with the Knicks. The young and resilient Celtics clawed back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth and cut the lead to two with just 24 seconds left. MarShon Brooks provided the good in this game, as his fifteen fourth quarter points showed Boston fans how potent of a scorer he can be when he gets in the zone. Kelly Olynyk also nearly recorded a double-double off the bench. The last game, last night’s contest against the Timberwolves, provided very little content for this section. Gerald Wallace provided much needed energy and contributed 16 points as he was one of just two players to make more than half his shots.

The Bad:

Here we go…. buyers beware: I’m going to be brutally honest here. Tuesday’s game with the Nets was nothing but heartbreak. Seeing the greatest Celtic of all time (on this side of Larry Bird) in another jersey was a tear-jerker, seeing the Celtics lose on a last second free throw was a heart-breaker. Boston allowed 55 points to the Net’s forwards and centers, including a game high 20 to Brook Lopez. Boston shot 35% as a team and had no players score over 14. The second game against the Raptors was good for the fact that it prepared us fans to the kind of heartbreak we should expect in the upcoming season. Big comebacks and single digit losses are sure to take years off my life. On top of the nail-biting loss, only Olynyk and Brooks made more than half of their shots, not very promising in the efficiency category. The Minnesota game was cringeworthy to say the least. The team failed to break 40% shooting and missed TWENTY THREE shots from behind the arc. Missing 56 shots total is a great way to find yourself on the wrong side of fifteen point blowout. Jeff Green’s play was somewhat improved over the week before, but that’s mainly because it couldn’t get any worse. His thirteen points against Toronto represent the most of the preseason. That’s not good for a player expected to carry the team in the scoring category. His percentage is “up” to 32% on the preseason. Yikes.

The Boston:

Another terrible verdict here. The second week was arguably worse than the first. The return of Gerald Wallace represented a spark of sorts, so that can be looked at as a positive… depending on how desperate of a diehard you are. With   just nine days until opening night, the Celtics are running short on time to work out the kinks in the system. Wednesday’s game against Brooklyn will be a last chance for some guys to earn their spots on the roster. The team has only topped 90 points twice this preseason, so if coach Brad Stevens can find a mix of players and a solid system that can squeeze out max efficiency from this Boston team, good results could be right around the corner. But until that happens, expect more bad reviews from this weekly column.