The Play that Cost the Boston Celtics their Best Win of the Season

A double-overtime thriller against the Wizards would have been the Boston Celtics best win of the young season. Instead, one play turned triumph into heartbreak.

After a John Wall pull-up jumper cut the Celtics lead to two with 52 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Brad Stevens signaled for a time out. It was in this huddle that the game was lost.

Despite the success that Boston’s scrappy second-unit had been enjoying up until that point, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the group to score, which was a significant factor in the group being unable to hold onto a seven point lead in the first overtime.

Yet rather than milk the clock, Stevens chose to be aggressive, calling for a quick strike. While this decision was debatable, it was the play that the second-year head coach drew up that was the real culprit.

Stevens called for a Marcus Smart three-pointer from above the break. According to NBA.com, Smart, who is not known for his shooting, has made just 7 of his 26 attempts from above the break, which means that he has hit less than 27 percent of these shots.

Conversely, Avery Bradley, who was also in the game at the time, shot 44.6 percent on shots above the break last season, per NBA.com. Granted, Bradley has only made 28.6 percent of these attempts this season, but he is still a much better option from beyond the arc than Smart is.

Instead, the ball was placed in the hands of the rookie. Smart ran through a double-screen set by Brandon Bass and Evan Turner and hoisted a shot that didn’t miss by much, hitting the back rim and bouncing out. Only two seconds ran off the game clock.

Bradley Beal corralled the long miss at the free throw line, passed it ahead to Wall, and the franchise point guard did the rest.

In the blink of an eye, Wall was at the basket. Credit Turner for putting forth the effort to try and swipe the ball from Wall but there was no chance that this was going to be successful.

To make matters worse, Wall was going so fast that even though Turner missed him, to the referee it looked like he made contact and Wall was sent to the foul line where he made the game-winning free throw.

Stevens drew up a good play but for the wrong player. If he wanted to get Smart some experience at the end of a big game, he could have at least put him in a better position to succeed.

Allowing Smart to do what he does best on offense and get into the paint would have created an opportunity that had a much higher chance of being successful than a 26-foot three-pointer.

Furthermore, Stevens decision to draw up a quick hitter displayed poor clock management and a failure to recognize that it was becoming more difficult for the Celtics to score.

Stevens has made significant strides from his first season in the NBA to his second. His team showed great fight to erase a 16-point fourth quarter deficit, something that they should genuinely be proud of.

However, it is unfortunate that all the Celtics can take away from this game is a moral victory.