Boston Celtics Still Have Not Reached Their Potential

After two of their worst games of the season to start out the series against the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics finally got back to playing the basketball that put them in a four way tie for the three seed. Despite still missing both Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk, Brad Stevens finally found a rotation that worked and a career performance from Isaiah Thomas gave the Celtics their first postseason win in the Brad Stevens era.

The Celtics have already shown what they are capable of on the defensive end in this series and they finally got things going on offense. The Celtics cooled down in the second half but they, at no point, approached the offensive performance they put out in game two. The Celtics were attacking the rim, finally with some success, and, the biggest difference maker, the Celtics finally hit some shots.

Of course, everything started with Isaiah Thomas who poured in a playoff high 42 points on 12-24 shooting. Thomas finally got back to attacking they way he has all season long as his 13 free throw attempts were as important as any other aspect of his game. The Celtics were finally able to have some success in the paint, and that is thanks to them finally spacing the floor with some shooting.

In addition to Thomas who shot 50% in high volume, the Celtics got at least 5 shots made by Jonas Jerebko, Amir Johnson and Evan Turner. The Celtics finally found effective ways to score and they finally got the best of a Hawks defense that has thoroughly dominated them.

The Celtics finally played a balanced game on both ends and while this was by far their best performance of the playoffs, they still only gave us a glimpse into their potential.

First of all, the Celtics were still without two of their best offensive players and three point shooters in Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk. There is no hope for Bradley to return in this series but Olynyk was the Celtics’ best three point shooter this year. The Celtics need to be able to space the floor against the Hawks and while it is unrealistic to expect Thomas to drop 40 per game, Olynyk alone could change how the Celtics attack the Hawks.

Jae Crowder also had one of the worst offensive games of his career. Crowder shot 1-11 including 1-7 from three in the game and a great deal of those shots were completely wide open. The Celtics were without two of their best thee point shooters and another one of their only competent three point shooters had one of the worst games of the season.

The Celtics found a way to open up the Hawks defense and they did that without the majority of their best three point shooting. It was a vast improvement considering the previous two games, but the Celtics still only shot 34% from three point range. The Celtics did not shoot nearly as well in the second half but they did not allow the Hawks to complete the comeback with a truly dominate defensive performance to close the game.

For the first time this season, Brad Stevens closed out the game with a Jerebko, Crowder, Turner, Smart and Thomas lineup and the way they contested shots and left absolutely no open space down the stretch secured the win for the Celtics. Defense has been the Celtics’ calling card all season long and they put forth their most important performance to close out the game when their shooting slowed down.

The most important thing for the Celtics will be maintaining their defense. As long as the Celtics don’t shoot as horribly as they did in game two, their defense will always give them an opportunity to win the game. Their real potential is then revealed through what happens if they have an all around good shooting game.

The Celtics got a career day from Thomas, Turner was spectacular in all phases and Jerebko had the most important game of his career. Smart was also able to hit more than what is expected of him but if the Celtics get Olynyk back in this series they could finally win a game because of their offense, instead of despite it.

Thomas gave the Celtics everything they could have imagined and then some but they continue to leave a lot to be desired on the offensive end. Unfortunately, the Celtics have given very few indications that they will be able to get a complete offensive game from more than one player. However, they finally gave us a glimpse into what could happen if they put together a complete game of dominant shooting.

The Celtics still have an uphill battle and have another must win game on sunday but it is refreshing to finally see them get through that vaunted Hawks defense. The Celtics need the confidence booster and they needed to find the rhythm that makes them so good. The Celtics had 23 assists on the game and that still does not do their ball movement justice as they missed a flurry of wide open shots.

Next: Celtics New Starting Lineup Keeps the Series Alive

The Celtics are expected to miss many of their open shots but they finally had a game where they were not missing absolutely everything and that finally secured them the first playoff win since the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett days.