Boston Celtics Week in Review: 4/7
A lot can happen in the NBA in just one week, and the Boston Celtics are no exception. Here are all the most important things to happen in the last seven days. We’ve attempted to rank them from most relevant to least.
A Disappointing Defeat
The Celtics took on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, and lost in an utterly demoralizing fashion. Boston won the game’s first quarter by a single point, despite a deluge of offensive rebounds allowed and a number of botched defensive rotations. That was the high point of the game, as they continued their sloppy play to considerably less desirable results throughout.
The second frame was particularly painful. LeBron James completely dominated, punishing Celtics defenders with his size and strength, and accentuating his superiority with a two handed block on Isaiah Thomas. It was a stark reminder of just how good of a player James is, and how well Boston needs to play just to compete with him. They were anything but good on Wednesday, and they got throttled for it.
The Marcus Smart Shooting Roller Coaster Continues
Things were really ugly for Smart to start the week. In Boston’s first three games, he connected on just 32 percent of his field goal attempts, including a mere 23 percent from three. He shook his shooting stink a bit on Thursday, going 6-11 from the field and 5-9 from three against Atlanta.
Unfortunately, Smart’s big night against the Hawks seems to be far more of an outlier than the norm. He’s really struggled from deep as of late. The Celtics’ second unit spacing is suffering mightily because of it, and points are becoming fairly hard to come by. They need Smart to stay out of his funk if they want to be competitive in the playoffs. He doesn’t have to shoot like he did against Atlanta every night, but he needs to at least be passable. If not, the Celtics may have to think about benching him. He brings a lot of positives to the table, but right now they’re frequently canceled out by the negative effects of his shooting. Something is going to have to give.
Interest in Orlando
The Magic front office’s worst nightmare came true this week. The team signed Argentine hooper Patricio Garino, a move his agent celebrated with a picture. Unfortunately, that photo included a whiteboard with list that appears to detail Orlando’s trade and free agent targets. The lists focused on what the Magic have deemed hybrid forwards and spread bigs, and included two of the Celtics’ impending free agents, Jonas Jerebko and Kelly Olynyk.
Neither player has been overwhelmingly valuable this year. Olynyk has struggled mightily with consistency, and Jerebko’s three-point shooting has cratered to a degree that playing him major minutes has become somewhat untenable. The Magic’s inclusion of the two players on their whiteboard may mean nothing at all. They’ve claimed that it’s primarily just the result of a brainstorming session, and the lists are extensive enough to suggest that very few decisions have been made around who to target.
Still, Jerebko and Olynyk’s presence on them indicates that at least one team has an eye on them in some capacity. That may mean their tenures in Boston are soon to be up. The Celtics are going to be clearing cap space, and certainly wouldn’t commit to either until any of the big name free agents have been signed. Neither will be a top priority for Boston this summer, and both could be gone if other teams decide to make them one.
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IT’s Cover Shoot
Thomas graced the cover of SLAM magazine’s playoff preview publication. Thomas looks mildly perturbed and thoroughly unimpressed, appearing with his arms cross and a delicate scowl on his face. It’s bit of recognition for his great season from an iconic source.