The Boston Celtics suffered a grueling loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, by a score of 110-106. The game was winnable in the fourth quarter but slipped away in the final seconds with poor execution at the end of the game.
The Celtics have had their fair share of troubles in the AT&T Center, only winning one of their games there since 2011. The Spurs–usually led by their experienced veterans–looked to their young stars to seal the game up and move to 10-8 on the year. Boston now sits in the middle of the pack at 10-7.
The Boston Celtics let a winnable game go in the final seconds.
The game included many errors from the Boston side, causing coach Brad Stevens to state after the game that their defense “couldn’t stop a nosebleed.” Even in a loss, let’s look at three main takeaways from this hard-fought battle:
1. Poor defensive effort from Boston
The Celtics, in their first game fully healthy (minus Payton Pritchard), looked great on both ends of the floor in the first quarter. However, in the second, it was some of the worst Boston basketball of the year. They looked sluggish on defense and were allowing the Spurs to get any open look they wanted.
Yes, the opposition only scored 109 points this game, indicating that the defense wasn’t that bad. For many stretches of the game, it wasn’t. But it could’ve gone much worse if San Antonio could hit a shot from beyond the arc, as they finished 8-of-28 on the night (28.6%).
Gregg Popovich’s squad was moving the ball around the perimeter, causing the Celtics to scramble in their defensive coverage. This led the Spurs to get open shots one after another, leading to a long run for San Antonio at the end of the second quarter.
The interior defense for the Celtics was somehow even worse. Every Spur had a free lane to the rim and finished easily over the likes of Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson. Keldon Johnson was the main culprit, with all nine of his made baskets coming from inside the perimeter. As a team, they shot a ridiculous 27-of-33 in the paint. With that type of efficiency at the rim, two things are happening.
First, the defender on the perimeter is getting beat by his man repeatedly, allowing penetration at the free-throw line. Secondly, the rim protector is simply getting finished over, with no real challenge at the hoop. The Boston Celtics’ interior defense hasn’t been this bad this year, but it can be a real concern if the opposing teams find a rhythm.
The bright spot of the defense on Wednesday was their quick hands, forcing 19 turnovers on the night. San Antonio averages the least turnovers in the league with just over ten, so forcing that many suggests intense activity. Most of these were in the first quarter, where the Celtics got out to a considerable lead.
The Spurs shot 46-of-82 from the floor (56.1%) and 38-of-54 from two-point range (70.4%). That’s horrendous defense.
2. Late Game Execution
With two minutes left in the contest, the Boston Celtics had a two-point lead. With Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown all on the court, their late-game offense should improve. However, there left lots to be desired.
Firstly, after Kemba missed a three, Keldon Johnson completely crossed up Brown on a drive, finishing with a two-handed slam to tie the game up at 101. Jaylen usually doesn’t get beat that bad by anyone, but Johnson made a great move to get an easy two.
After a timeout, the Cs looked to take the lead once again. With the play going to Brown, he drove to the hoop aggressively, and just missed the dunk. Sure, it was a difficult finish, but in those situations, it has to go down.
On the other end, DeMar DeRozan drew a quick foul on Thompson, giving San Antonio the lead by two. The best play of the last two minutes for the Celtics came next, with Brown penetrating the lane and finding Daniel Theis for the dunk. In the past, Jaylen would have tried to force up this shot against two defenders in traffic, but he instead found the open man in Theis, who contributed immediately after coming off the bench.
The Spurs continued with their great execution, with DeRozan hitting a mid-range shot, and now the Celtics had their chance. Down two, with the ball, and it’s inbounded to Kemba. Dejounte Murray has the assignment, and he flat out picks his pocket. That can’t happen, and Murray made the most of it, finishing the dunk at the other end. The Celtics had ball security issues all night, and they came up again in the final moments.
They got another chance to tie the game as time expired, but Marcus Smart missed the open three in the corner, giving the Spurs the win.
The Boston Celtics have had their fair share of great endings to games so far this year, but have also had questionable ones. It’s still early in the season, so it’s not time to panic yet, but the late-game execution certainly looked clunky.
3. Brad Stevens’ Lengthy Rotation
The Boston Celtics called on 13 guys to take the court on Wednesday, with all players but Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters seeing action. The likes of Tatum, Smart, and Brown all saw extended minutes, playing more than 34 each. Walker finished with 27 minutes, following his minutes restriction.
After that, it seems like coach Brad Stevens is still in the process of figuring things out.
For the center rotation, Daniel Theis got the start, but only played in 12 minutes. Tristan Thompson, off the bench, clocked 23, while Robert Williams played 13.
Theis plays well with the four traditional Celtics starters, so it’s odd to see him get such little playing time in a game where he played reasonably well. He did get in foul trouble early, but he only finished with four.
Robert Williams had a very active 13 minutes, recording six points and seven rebounds, four of them being offensive. He fought on every missed shot, tipping almost everything that came near him. He has learned to use his insane vertical to his advantage, out-jumping anyone the Spurs put on him. With two other centers wanting minutes, it’s hard for him to get any more playing time, but he definitely deserves some.
On the wings, Semi Ojeleye and Javonte Green led the pack with 14 and 13 minutes respectively, with Grant Williams recording 11. Green had one of his best defensive games of the year, with two steals, and seemed to always make the correct defensive play. He is also one of the best transition threats on the team, not backing down from anyone at the rim. Between Green, Ojeleye, Nesmith, and Williams, not everyone is going to get the playing time they want.
In this game, it was Nesmith–only getting five minutes–all in the first half. He only attempted one shot, missing a three, and he made no noticeable mistakes when he was out there. That’s good for his development, as he’s coming into his own after playing better the past few games. The Celtics don’t need him to come on immediately, with other rotation-worthy wings on the roster, but anything he adds this year is a bonus.
Finally, the backup guard position is in flux. Carsen Edwards got four minutes in the first half, then wasn’t seen again. Jeff Teague had another poor eight-minute stint and sat on the bench the rest of the game. The majority of the backup point guard duties went to Smart, who handled the ball well. Look for Teague to slowly move out of the rotation, as he looks lost on the court.
Stevens tried lots of things in this game, and he definitely learned a lot.
In a game where none of the Boston Celtics’ Team Shamrock 2019 Team USA quartet shot over 44% from the field, they had a chance to win it at the end. One different bounce and the outcome could be in the Celtics’ favor.
But that’s basketball.
Next, it’s the Lakers on Saturday night.