Parent’s PinPoints

Top Three Take-Aways from Tuesday Night’s C’s Loss

Parent’s PinPoints One: Worst Loss of the Season?

There have not been many gut punches as a Celtic fan this season. Tuesday night’s loss to Brooklyn was that gut punch, and Parent’s PinPoints will break down exactly what led to the loss. There were several contributing factors; the C’s second-half effort was lacking, ball movement slowed down, and most concerning was another night of very streaky shooting. The flow (or lack thereof) felt very much like the game against Houston. The issue is that the Nets are not the Rockets, offensively or defensively, and the Celtics have now collapsed two games in a row.

Marcus Smart with a pointless foul on LeVert to send this to OT… pic.twitter.com/AIBNeb3jQe

— Tony Clements (@TonyClementsTC) March 4, 2020

Most concerning is the appearance of the team. There have been several times watching the last two games where it looks like everyone has been hit with Whack-a-Mole hammers bobbling around the floor. Brad Stevens needs to figure a way to wake the team up, get them to drive the lane, and finish at the rim. Stevens also needs to focus on discipline and restraint from now until the playoffs, fouling a team on a final three-ball cannot happen down the stretch. Frustrated Marcus Smart also reared his head tonight, having to be held back from the officials after fouling to cause OT and fouling out of the game. Keep that man away from framed objects, please.

Marcus Smart had to be escorted off the court after having a heated conversation with the refs ? pic.twitter.com/63KeiFUPkG

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 4, 2020

Parent’s PinPoints Two: Caris LeVert and the Celtic Effect

It often seems that opposing teams (and random players) pull out incredible nights against the Celtics. On the surface, it could be attributed to a bad night by the C’s defensively, a great night by an opposing player or team, or some combination of both. Teams and individual players also hit different levels while playing at the Garden. The history, the championship banners, and retired numbers, the legends that have worn the Celtic Green, all of that can elevate a player who cares about the game and its history.

For a Celtics fan, it can be incredibly frustrating. Caris LeVert is the latest to feel the Celtic Effect, going off for 51 points in the Brooklyn win. LeVert was getting buckets at will, and however, he wanted: driving the lane, hitting jumpers, and draining threes. His break out was a part of the frustrations for the C’s down the stretch. They had no answer for Brooklyn, only getting four defensive stops the entire fourth quarter.

Parent’s PinPoints Three: Rebounds and Lineups

Earlier in the season, Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis were steadily building toward a solid offensive and defensive combo. While that has mostly remained true for Theis, Kanter’s minutes and production have dropped off significantly since injuring his hip. The Celtics have missed his rebounding the most. In Tuesday’s loss, they were out rebounded 63-42, and some of the key factors in the Houston loss were missed rebounds on both ends of the court. Earlier in the season Kanter was becoming a walking double-double between points and rebounds, the C’s need that again.

“This was probably like the worst pain I have ever felt in my whole career, probably my whole life.”@EnesKanter goes into detail about his painful hip injury with @ChrisForsberg_ on The Enes Kanter show.

? https://t.co/Phrfb0PYZg LISTEN/SUBSCRIBEhttps://t.co/ncqrN8tn0Q pic.twitter.com/xSevzlBAvr — NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) February 5, 2020

Kanter has been limited, both in minutes and production, since the injury. There’s a general wonderment in Celtics fandom as to what the issue actually is; is it the injury or has he fallen out of favor with Brad? One criticism of Stevens that pops up since taking over the team has been the lineups he puts out. It can be a mystery as to why certain players get loads of time (Hayward last year), while others get limited opportunities. Why he constantly shuffles the lineups. Robert Williams is one of those guys; Brad didn’t try him once against Houston and gave him limited minutes in the Nets game. There’s also another big man looming in the Side Notes below who also could have made a difference…

Side Notes

That other looming big man, Tacko Fall. For everyone who tried to vote the guy into the All-Star Game with less than a dozen starts, let’s get some things straight. Tacko is not a starter (and may never be), he is not going to be some playoff X-factor this year, and he has A LOT to learn. All that being said, it is hard to believe that in these ice-cold shooting streaks the last couple of games that a 7’6″ dunk machine wouldn’t have helped.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU7mM0V0i7U]

Who exactly would Houston have put on Tacko to prevent him from getting to the rim? What about Brooklyn? Tacko would be situational and limited in use, not the new starting Center. It’s pure speculation, but it’s hard to imagine either of the last two teams having many answers for Fall. He has been putting up close to 20 point, 20 rebound double-doubles for the Red Claws with consistency. It’s time for Tacko Tuesday at the Garden.

This appears to be the play where Gordon Hayward contused his knee pic.twitter.com/KZa0VDfNPA

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 4, 2020

Gordon Hayward may also be injured again, so there’s that too. Truthfully (and this is probably bad) it was hard to even notice he wasn’t playing (yea, that’s a bad thing). Timid Hayward needs to go. It will be an interesting contract situation this off-season. Oh, and Jaylen Brown may have injured his hamstring as well. Great night all around. Thanks for the read, follow me on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest news and posts. The Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Hoops Teams are here to provide you with quality sports news and entertainment.