Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
Jaylen Brown scored 40 as the Celtics defeated their old rivals, the Lakers.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP.)
Don’t look now but the Boston Celtics have won 5 straight and 7 of their last 8 games overall. We keep thinking that THIS COULD BE THE TURNING POINT for Boston. So what makes this any different?
The hotness started when they beat Houston. If you need a confidence boost, you dump on the Rockets. But it was when they blew out Charlotte, a team that is doing pretty good even with the injuries, that seemed a bit eye-opening. Yes, they did lose to Philadelphia after that but they recovered nicely by skating by the Knicks. It took them an extra 5 minutes to defeat the Wolves but Jayson Tatum scored a whopping 53 points in that game.
This followed a 3-game Western swing. They went on to surprise Denver. Then they edged out Portland. Finally, they defeated their forever rivals, the Lakers. Even if the Lakers were out two stars, just defeating them gives them a sense of pride.
Tatum got some criticism from some media during this stretch, which he answered with that 53-point outburst. He’s averaged 27.5 points and 8.1 boards in this 8-game span and that even includes his quiet 14-5-5 game against the Lakers. Jaylen Brown happened to put in 40 in that same contest.
The encouraging thing about this is that they did defeat some quality opposition in the Hornets, Knicks, and all three teams in that Western trip. Again, the Lakers were undermanned but Lakers/Celtics always bring out the best in each other. In any case, they pulled into a tie with the Hawks at the 4th spot. The Celtics have the longest current winning streak in the Eastern Conference.
Their defense has been much better (5th in defensive rating in April). Kemba Walker looks more comfortable. Marcus Smart is returning to form. Evan Fournier is not Gordon Hayward but he can provide some things Hayward did for this team. And rotation players are fitting into their roles (whaddup, Romeo Langford!).
Let’s not forget that this is a team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Their main core is mostly still there (Hayward bolted for the Hornets last offseason and Daniel Theis got traded, which still makes me scratch my head). The Celtics making a bit of a run shouldn’t surprise anybody.
If anything, it’s the down season that they’re having that is weirding us out. But it looks like, for now, all is right with the Celtics world.
Bullet Passes
Stephen Curry scores 30 points for the 9th straight game. He’s only 0.3 points behind Bradley Beal for the scoring title for this season. You remember that Curry won a scoring title in 2016, right?
The Bucks got a big win over the Hawks. Giannis Antetokounmpo returned after missing 6 games. He only played under 25 minutes and went for 15 points.
The Suns won once again as they get their 40th Double U for the season. They are only ONE GAME behind the #1 seed Utah Jazz.
Speaking of Utah, though, Dwyane Wade has bought an ownership stake with the Jazz! That’s awesome to see more former players getting into NBA team ownership. And he’ll be hands-on. I can’t wait to see what his actual title will be.
NBA Scoreboard
Apr. 15, 2021
Watch This Play
Draymond Green is not known for dunking on people but…
(VIDEO CREDIT: House of Highlights.)
…he got one against Larry Nance, Jr. Shouldn’t this be the other way around?!
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.