Celtics Journal: Game 11 of 82, Fri 11/21, Celtics @ Grizzlies (Systematic Destruction)

Game 11 of 82 (13.4%), Friday, November 21, 500 PST

Celtics @ Grizzlies

There are very few teams in professional sports that attain a level of consistent excellence and remain in the shadows. Win enough games and the shadows become the spotlight. The small market status of the San Antonio and Memphis make it easy for ESPN and TNT to overlook these cities and their dominant teams. The old-school Spurs of 2003-2007 (pre-Kawhi, pre-Danny Green) who relied on suffocating defense and Tim Duncan’s post-up stability were not easy on the eyes. And neither are the Memphis Grizzlies of today.

Zach Randolph is all flying elbows and back-to-the-basket butt-rams. An up-fake or two and back to the foul line. Old friend Tony Allen’s jump shot is nothing less than a construction project, though his defense continues to cause all kinds of problems for wing scorers. The Grizzlies “grit-and-grind” sensibility has meshed perfectly with Memphis’ citizenry. The Grizzlies are a wrecking ball and they wreck offenses on a nightly basis.

Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are the exceptions. Though they play just as physically on the defensive end as any point guard and center combination in the league, they have legitimate offensive artistry in their respective repertoires. Marc Gasol, whose high-post passing skills are rivaled by few bigs other than his older brother Pau, hits backdoor cuts seamlessly. Mike Conley’s ambidextrous dribbling and passing acumen are a sight to behold. Conley’s stifling defense neutralizes the best point men in the game. Tonight would be no different.

Despite having five members of their roster suffering through the stomach virus from hell (I know what that’s like), the Grizzlies were going to beat the Boston Celtics on Friday night, November 21st. It wasn’t a matter of if, but how. The how turned out to be systematic destruction. Points in the paint. Coming into the game, both Memphis and Boston were among the league’s top 5 teams in paint production. Memphis is no surprise. The Celtics, on the other hand, who have no post-presence, are scoring at close range thanks to the following: the Celtics have one of the best passers in the NBA in Rajon Rondo, and they’ve surrounded Rondo with capable shooters and ball-movers. Sadly, Conley’s defense prevented Rondo from even starting his engine.

That fluid Celtics ball movement sputtered its way to 43% shooting against Memphis. At halftime, Memphis was 15 of 19 from the paint, en route to a 55-41 halftime lead. The game moved quickly, as if both teams knew the inevitable outcome and refused to prolong the agony. By halftime, only five free-throws were attempted in total.

Jon Leuer’s Early Thanksgiving Feast

Furthering a trend we’ve seen in the first 10 games, Boston’s lack of defense enabled an opposing reserve big-man to have himself a career night. Jon Leuer was the beneficiary on this night. In the second quarter alone, the 6’10” stretch forward from Long Lake, Minnesota had himself quite the feast. Leuer, who has played in Germany (during the 2011 lockout), Milwaukee, Cleveland and Canton (D-League), has found a home in Memphis. Facing a combination of Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk, Leuer scored 10 points on 5 of 7 shots (three uncontested 10-15 footers, and two lay-ups), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Leuer did that damage in 9 2nd-quarter minutes. Leuer finished with 19 points on 9 of 13 shooting. I’m not sure he needed a towel when he sat back down on the bench.

Marc Gasol devoured Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, and Tyler Zeller. He also got away with some serious roughhousing because he’s Marc Gasol. It comes with the territory. The good teams get to physically abuse the bad teams, especially down low. Gasol finished with 32 points on 13 of 22 (10 of his first 16) from the field.

At least Olynyk got some measure of revenge, heating up in the 3rd quarter with 14 points, including a pair from deep, as he and Gasol traded baskets.

The Celtics kept this game from falling to pieces, losing with as much dignity as a 117-100 final score might allow.

Upcoming Game and Smart’s Return

Sunday, 11/23: vs. Portland

Monday-Thursday: practice time and Marcus Smart’s likely return from a sprained ankle

Sunday brings another brutal test: the Portland Trail Blazers.

Soon enough it will be December and the Celtics will see some daylight in the schedule.

24 (Slightly Absurd) NBA Certainties for the 2014-15 Season

The following twenty-four NBA-related events will most certainly occur over the course of the next eight months. 

1. On October 30, Blake Griffin “retaliates” against Serge Ibaka‘s third take-down of the game by blowing him kisses. Later in the game, Glen Davis crushes Ibaka and then pins him to the court in a wrestling maneuver. Davis is suspended for five games, but coach Doc Rivers buys Davis a new Tesla for his troubles.

2. The Minnesota Timberwolves will not be all that exciting in general, but Ricky Rubio to Andrew Wiggins and Rubio to Zach LaVine lob passes will be a nice distraction from the standings. Coach Flip Saunders gives Rubio an ultimatum in mid-November: “Get to the free-throw more or we’ll all start calling you, “Marco.”

3. Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd comes out of retirement in late-November because he wants to, “Teach Jabari the pick-and-roll.” Jabari Parker continues to pick-and-pop but refuses to “roll.”

4. Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob introduces pre-game three-point contests involving Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and new coach Steve Kerr. The Warriors start selling tickets for the pre-game event only.

December

5. Philadelphia 76ers second round pick K.J. McDaniels becomes first NBA player to have a 10 block, 10 turnover game against the downtrodden Orlando Magic.

6. Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau embraces the fact he finally has a deep bench and plays everyone 25 minutes per game, saving them for the playoffs. Derrick Rose will play the entire season.

7. ESPN.com crashes for several days in mid-December due to advanced metrics malfunctioning and causing panic.

8. In a New Year’s Eve special, longtime TNT commentator Marv Albert has a breakdown. After months of rotating broadcast partners, Albert retires mid-season, forcing Ernie Johnson into an awkward play-by-play role. Back in the studio, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal won’t listen to Kenny Smith. Shaq keeps shouting, “Barbecued Chicken!” The ratings have never been better.

January

9.  The Boston Celtics take a league-record 53 three-pointers in a game against the Toronto Raptors, including 19 by Jared Sullinger. They make only 7. Sullinger finishes the game with 18 offensive rebounds.

10. LeBron James tells Dion Waiters that Waiters won’t be joining the Cleveland Cavs on their ten-day road trip in January, because he will be enrolled in anger management classes. Coach David Blatt simply nods in the background.

11. ESPN declares they will air every Cavs game from February 1 until the end of the season.

February

12. At the All-Star Break, the NBA announces the details of its new television deal on the salary cap, but the cap number keeps increasing every week, like it does with the Mega Millions. By June, the number is $140 million. Every team will have an inordinate amount of cap space and twelve assistant GMs will quit right before free agency begins in July, 2016.

13. The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-92. Only two Rockets score points in the game. James Harden gets 58. Dwight Howard scores 46. Kobe Bryant scores 31 points, taking 57 shots, in the least-efficient performance in league history. Lakers guard Jeremy Lin finally complains to the media about Kobe’s selfish ways. Rookie Julius Randle gets a DNP-CD from coach Byron Scott because he accidentally took a corner three-pointer the previous game. Phil Jackson‘s laughter can be heard from coast-to-coast.

14. The Indiana Pacers, who are averaging 64 points per game, trade away Roy Hibbert and David West to the Sacramento Kings for Ben McLemore and a future second-round pick. Larry Bird goes AWOL as soon as the season ends.

15. The Boston Celtics do not trade Rajon Rondo. Bill Simmons yells at Celtics GM Danny Ainge on The Grantland Basketball Hour. At 25-29, the Celtics make a run at the 8th seed in the weak Eastern Conference. In an ironic twist, the Celtics and Nets will fight it out for the final spot.

April

16. The Philadelphia 76ers play a regular season game in which the arena is completely empty. The television commentators leave the booth in protest early in the second quarter. The Sixers forfeit their final five home games, but refuse to refund those tickets to the 43 remaining season ticket holders. Instead, they barter with those fans, hoping to secure second round picks. Sixers GM Sam Hinkie sits down with SI’s Lee Jenkins in April, at the end of the Sixers 6-76 (fitting, isn’t it?) season. The tell-all essay is titled, “Vision 2020.” Sixers fans organize an event where they set fire to a pile of this issue of Sports Illustrated. Joel Embiid is asked to stop using Twitter by commissioner Adam Silver.

17. The Sacramento Kings win 44 games but finish 10th in the Western Conference. Owner Vivek Ranadive petitions for Sacramento to move to the Eastern Conference, but commissioner Silver stops answering Vivek’s texts. A blog is created: http://www.vivekstexts.com

18. The Memphis Grizzlies finish 6th in the West and end up taking the 3rd-seed San Antonio Spurs to Game 7, before losing the final game on two Zach Randolph missed free-throws.

May

19. After much debate, Seattle doesn’t get a franchise but they do get a new Chipotle restaurant.

20. In the middle of the Western Conference Semis between San Antonio and Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant announces he’s moving 5,000 of his closest friends and family to a newly built community outside of Oklahoma City. The rumors that he’s headed to Washington, D.C. persist anyway, because the NBA gossip bubble in the age of Twitter expands like a piece of Bubblicious.

21. The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets finish 4th and 5th in the East. Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson become involved in a staring match that lasts for 45 minutes at center court after the final buzzer of Game 1. Whichever team wins the evenly-matched series loses in 5 games to the Bulls in the East Semis.

22. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers meet in the Western Conference Semis. Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers both agree to do color commentary and let their assistants coach during the second quarter of each game.

23. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavs in 6 games. Jimmy Butler does such a ridiculous job defending Kyrie Irving (holding him to 13% shooting for the series) that he is named series MVP.

June

24. The Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Finals in 7 games. Five of the games come down to the wire. Chris Paul retires (temporarily) out of frustration. Tom Thibodeau is named MVP, due to the fact that every member of the Bulls contributes roughly the same amount to the wins, and the voting ends in a seven-way tie.

***

Western Conference Sun Bubble: Nine Days Left In the Lonesome Crowded West

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”

– John Allen Paulos, American Mathematics Professor

 

They start the season in late October, knowing with certainty that 82 games will be played. And then last year, because of the Boston Marathon attack, the Celtics and Pacers played 81. So even the certainty of 82 games in a modern NBA season is uncertain. Each NBA GM and coaching staff starts the season thinking it would take 46 or 47 wins to make the playoffs.” Only one NBA team in history has won 48 and been left behind to watch the playoffs from sunny beaches and remote mountain cabins. That team was the 2007-2008 Golden State Warriors, coming off a historic playoff upset of the #1 seeded Mavericks the year before. And yet this year, 49 wins may not be enough to slide up into the 8th seed in the brutal Western Conference.

With five games left of the likely 82, three teams remain in the lonesome crowded west (what’s Modest Mouse up to these days?) How will it all shake out? Jeff Hornacek, Dave Joerger and Rick Carlisle have been living with some level of insecurity all season. Hornacek and Joerger are first-year coaches. Hornacek has propelled the Suns to a spot in the standings not even rookie GM Ryan McDonough could have imagined, while Joerger inherited a club that advanced to last year’s Western Conference Finals, before being unceremoniously toppled in as tight a series as possible for a four-game sweep. In all honesty, the Grizzlies might have taken two of the first three games had Zach Randolph been able to connect on his free-throws. The philosophical divide between former coach Lionel Hollins and last year’s new GM/analytics guru John Hollinger was apparently too great to bridge. And thus…Joerger gets saddled with high expectations in his first year as a head man. The Gasol injury threatened to derail Memphis’ season early, but as they have done numerous times over the past five seasons, the Grizz dusted themselves off and went back to work. Rick Carlisle is in both a enviable position (coaching security that comes with the 2011 championship ring and 567 lifetime wins) and a tough spot (how do you get Calderon and Ellis to defend the perimeter with any level of decency?).

However you slice it, the next week will be filled with unstable feelings and a heaping portion of uncertainty.

—

Currently in 9th: Memphis Grizzlies (45-32)

After losing Marc Gasol early in the season, the Grizzlies are right there as always, lurking as a threat to the Spurs and Thunder if they are to crawl up into the ever-elusive 8th spot. The offense is more well-rounded than in years past, with Mike Miller and Courtney Lee providing spacing for the Gasol, the elbow operator, and Randolph smashing and bumping his way around underneath. Sometimes it seems as if Z-Bo prefers to ricochet around rather than have a clean, open look. Since March, the Grizzlies are on a very predictable roll, beating the mediocre and bad teams, but losing to the better teams on the road. A particularly tough-to-swallow loss at Minnesota last Wednesday may be their undoing. Still, it’s crazy to consider they were 10-15 in December after losing their versatile Spanish center. That 35-17 record since is the one that indicates the true level of this Grizzlies team.

Remaining schedule:

Wed, Apr 9 vs Miami (ESPN) (Loss)

Fri, Apr 11 vs Philadelphia (Win)

Sun, Apr 13 @ LA Lakers (Win)

Mon, Apr 14 @ Phoenix (Win)

Wed, Apr 16 vs Dallas (Win)

 

If they can get by Miami, the Grizzlies have a legit shot at running the table and streaking into the second season. More likely, the either drop the Miami game or one of the Phoenix/Dallas season-ending combination.

Prediction: 49-33

***

 

Currently in 8th: Phoenix Suns (46-31)

Jeff Hornacek and the Phoenix Suns weren’t even supposed to be in this conversation. Playing two point guards and three long-range shooters at all times, the Suns have been a nightmare match-up for everyone, insisting teams bend to their up-tempo and unorthodox style. Goran Dragic is playing so well he gets a new nickname: “The Dragon.” P.J. Tucker becomes arguably the best glue-guy in the Association (with apologies to Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Shawn Livingston). Gerald Green can’t stop knocking down 26-footers. Eric Bledsoe fights off one injury or another and maintains his manic intensity and fearlessness. Watching the Suns beat the Thunder on Sunday night, I realized I’ve missed out this year. I wish I’d seen more Suns games. Their intensity and swagger was downright palpable as every loose ball seemed to find its way to P.J. Tucker, and every Gerald Green release was money. I’m a Memphis Grizzlies appreciation machine, but I can’t help it…I’m excited by the idea of seeing Phoenix vs. Oklahoma City at least six times.

Remaining schedule: (with predictions)

Wed, Apr 9 @ New Orleans (Win)

Fri, Apr 11 @ San Antonio (W – Pop rests half the Spurs in 2nd game of back-to-back)

Sat, Apr 12 @ Dallas (Loss)

Mon, Apr 14 vs Memphis (Loss)

Wed, Apr 16 @ Sacramento (Win)

 

My guess is they lose to Dallas on the second game of a back-to-back, and drop the Memphis game (0-3 vs. Grizzlies on season).

Prediction: 49-33

***

 

Currently in 7th: Dallas Mavericks Buyers Club (47-31)

The Mavericks streaked to a 9-4 start in November, feasting on the dregs of the East, before losing 4 of 5. At the halfway point, they were 24-17. Their season has continued on a positive trajectory, winning most of their winnable games and losing to the elite teams. In some ways, the Mavs are the inverse of the Grizzlies, depending heavily on their offensive balance to outplay opponents.

In a regular season game for the ages against Golden State last week, a game that ended in a 122-120 overtime loss, the Mavs simply couldn’t get the stops they needed. After a dominant second quarter in which they dropped in 41 points, the Mavs gave it all back in the third, getting outscored 32-19. The Warriors stifling defense included critical plays from Draymond Green and Jermaine O’ Neal. Even without anchor Andrew Bogut, Golden State held Dallas to 6 points in the first six minutes after the break. Stephen Curry’s clutch shooting and the relentless penetration of Monta Ellis in the fourth made for a memorable night. In the end, Dallas dropped a heart-breaker. Dallas has played a league-leading number of close games. In 20 of their 78, the games have been decided by 3 points or less. The Mavs are an even 10-10 in those games.

Compared to the others, Dallas has it easy these last nine days. The Mavericks face the Grizzlies in what is essentially a play-in, or play-into-insane-tiebreaker scenario on the final day of the season, Wednesday, April 16th.

Remaining schedule:

Tues, Apr 8 @ Utah (Win)

Thu, Apr 10 vs San Antonio (Loss)* (This game will be fantastic. In Dallas, on TNT. Can’t wait)

Sat, Apr 12 vs Phoenix (Win)

Wed, Apr 16 @ Memphis (Loss) 

 

Prediction: 49-33

***

 

So…if all three of these teams finish with 49 wins, the first tie-breaker goes to a team that won its division. None of these teams will do that. Second tie-breaker is record among tied teams. Phoenix would be the odd-team out, having gone 1-4 in games against Dallas and Memphis this year. Dallas would get the 7th seed with the 4-1 inter-team mark, while Memphis would squeeze into the 8th spot. How sweet would the revenge be for the Grizzlies if they were to end up facing the potentially #1 seeded San Antonio Spurs, and toppling them in 7 games after all of this drama leading up to the playoffs?

 

Memphis (3-3)

vs Phoenix (3-0)

vs Dallas (0-3)

 

Dallas (4-1)

vs Memphis (3-0)

vs Phoenix (1-1)

 

Phoenix (1-4)

vs Dallas (1-1)* (The Phoenix vs. Dallas match-up on Saturday would determine the head-to-head winner in that series)

vs Memphis (0-3)

***

 

I hope you enjoyed this plunge deep down into the Western Conference Sun Bubble.

Here’s a little Chris Cornell to take you out…