Sometimes you're the bug. Sometimes you're the windshield, as the saying goes. On Wednesday, the Boston Celtics were about as buggy as it gets. They never quite got going against the Atlanta Hawks, which made for an anticlimactic 117-106 loss at TD Garden.
Here's what stood out:
One of those days
When the Celtics made their trip down to Atlanta 11 days ago, everything that could go their way did. The first 30 or so minutes of Wednesday’s game felt like the exact opposite.
Boston struggled to get any consistent offense going throughout the first half, missing the few easy looks that they actually managed to create. Meanwhile, the Hawks were unconscious from three. They made seven of their first 10 attempts from long range, and wound up shooting 11-23 before the break.
Atlanta’s hot shooting didn’t make it easy for the Celtics to hang around. Neither did their ability to take care of business when the Celtics turned the ball over.
Scheierman steps up
So, as you might’ve been able to deduce from the above, the Celtics spent the majority of the night trying to dig themselves out of a double-digit hole. Their best effort at doing so came in the third quarter, where they actually managed to get within nine of the visitors.
Baylor Scheierman played a sizable role in the post-halftime surge.
He was everywhere.
The second-year forward got himself going by hitting the glass hard, ripping down two offensive rebounds on the same possession. From that point on, his energy was simply on another level.
Scheierman played some of his most aggressive basketball as a pro, trying to get his team back in the game. Like, I’ve never seen him put the ball on the floor and get to the paint so frequently. He legitimately looked comfortable initiating offense for the Cs.
It might sound niche, but I hope we see more of this from him in upcoming games.
Bench boosted
Scheierman was part of a larger group that gave Boston their best energy of the evening. Joe Mazzulla eventually turned to his bench after his starters didn’t provide sufficient energy to start the second half.
A lineup of Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Sam Hauser, and Derrick White battled with the Hawks for the final seven or so minutes of the third quarter and helped get the Celtics as close as they’d been since early in the game.
They weren’t able to cut the lead all the way down, but the sheer amount of hustle from this group was impressive.