Boston isn’t going to get much bigger. The Celtics leaned heavily on Tyler Zeller on Thursday, but he’s a fringe rotation player when the team is at full strength. Boston has been playing without 7-footer Kelly Olynyk, who is rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, but he’s a below-average rebounder even when he is on the floor.
(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Blame tired legs on the second night of a back-to-back, but Boston got manhandled on the glass as the Bulls outrebounded the Celtics 55-36. There was one sequence in the first quarter in which both Horford and Johnson were under the basket on a shot attempt and both were haphazard with trying to box out Robin Lopez, who simply muscled his way between the two and tipped home a miss.
It’s condemning that, through two games, the player with the best defensive rebound percentage on Boston’s roster is Gerald Green at 19.4 percent. Horford (16.7 percent) and Zeller (16.2) are the next closest but both need to be better because of Boston’s lack of size. Johnson, who got moved to a bench role in the second half on Thursday’s game in part because of his rebounding struggles, also needs to be better, having pulled down only 11.8 percent of available defensive rebounds through two games.
ESPNBoston – Boston Celtics have a small problem, and it shows in rebounding
Look, the Celtics defense is going to be something at which opposing guards groan when they look ahead and see Boston on the schedule. Once Marcus Smart returns, the Cs perimeter defense is going to wreak havoc, cause turnovers and force scoring guards into tough shots late in the shot clock. Couple the defensive-minded guard depth with the addition of Al Horford, a defensive anchor, and it’s not surprising that the rhetoric from Cs camp was that the team expected to have an elite level defense. By season’s end, the stats should show they do, indeed, have one.
The problem with not rebounding is that the Celtics can play 23 stellar seconds on the defensive end– switching and trapping and forcing an opponent into a bad shot, but if they then allow an opposing big to corral the miss two feet from the basket, it’s all wasted effort. When you check the box-score the following morning, that defensive effort doesn’t show up– the second chance point do, and the final score does. And really, that’s the only number that matters.
Amir Johnson was a mess on the boards last night. He wasn’t great on Wednesday, either, when Justin Hamilton was feasting on the offensive glass. Al Horford was out-muscled on a few occasions by Robin Lopez. It’s early, but an elite defense isn’t going to steal two out of every three passes. Shots are going to go up. Hopefully, due to the tenacity of the Celtics’ defense, many of those shots will miss. The Cs need to do better than gobbling up only two out of every three of those misses, or they’re going to be in some trouble. The good news is, these statistical disparities emit a far brighter glare when there is only a two game sample size, but short of smuggling Sully back across the border, the Cs need to commit to rebounding with the small-ish group of guys they have on the roster.
Related links:
CSNNE – Boston Celtics hope to rebound after being outplayed by Chicago Bulls on the boards
On page 2, If Dwyane Wade can hit four 3s in a game maybe Trump will win this election
Dwyane Wade had 22 points in his Chicago homecoming, and Jimmy Butler went for 24. Old pal Rajon Rondo went 1-for-9 with nine assists.
Wade and Butler each hit 4-of-6 3-pointers, which is noteworthy in the case of the former because Wade made just 7-of-44 from behind the arc all of last season.
“I don’t think anybody on the team thought he was going to make four 3-pointers,” said Crowder.
“Ah, man, that hurt,” said Isaiah Thomas, who led the Celts with 25 points. “That hurt, because we just couldn’t get over the hump. We did what coach wanted us to do, but I think we gave them too many dare shots.
Boston Herald – Celtics get boarded in loss in Chicago
Really, Dwyane??? I guess it’s only one game, and so in terms of fan-bases that should be flipping out about Wade’s four 3s (he hit 7 all of last season), Celtics fans should be about 50 notches below those in Miami, who are wondering where the hell that outside shooting was for the last 13 years.
It’s true, though, the Celtics looked sluggish and out of sync much of last night, but found themselves in a one-possession game in the final 90 seconds. The shooting of usual clankers– Wade and Jimmy Butler were ultimately the difference.
And finally, the life of a rookie
Jaylen Brown on getting caught in the air during the 4Q: “I should have just shot the ball, but I was thinking it was a bad shot.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 28, 2016
The good news, long term– Brad Stevens trusts his 20-year-old rookie with meaningful minutes late in the second game of that rookie’s career.
The bad news, short term– That rookie’s bone-headed turnover effectively lost the Cs their best chance to extend and/or win the game.
Through two games I’ve found myself thinking “wow, this guy looks like he can be really good” more than “wow, what is this young guy doing?”
Brown earned those late-game minutes with his inspired play during the Celtics mini-comeback last night and so while one can blame him for his decision-making at the end of the game, collectively, it was another positive performance from a rookie with whom we’ll all experience the tantalizing highs and scream-inducing lows this season.
The rest of the links:
ESPNBoston – Wade scores 22 in Chicago debut
CSNNE – Stars, Studs & Duds | Boston Celtics late rally falls short
Herald – Celtics Notebook: Former teammates happy for R.J. Hunter landing with Chicago Bulls
Mass Live – Jae Crowder ‘not in a good mood’ after getting ‘punked’ in loss to Chicago Bulls | Boston Celtics Jae Crowder on altercation with Jimmy Butler: ‘I don’t know’ | 10 things to like/dislike
