On Sunday, as the clock dripped towards zero, the Boston Celtics once again found themselves running neck-and-neck with the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Only this time they won, thank the heavens.
After two free throws by Jerami Grant tied the score at 120 with 22 seconds remaining, the Celtics’ go-to crunch time man delivered a game-winner for the second time this season.
Jayson Tatum easily dismissed his defender Blake Griffin, and then a wide open jumper fell through the twine to give the Celtics a lead with 2.9 seconds left. The advantage would hold after Tatum subsequently rejected a Blake Griffin three from way beyond standard range.
If the Celtics keep playing these tight games, I may have to invest in a personal masseuse.
But a win is better than a loss, so I can’t complain too much. Some thoughts on the triumph:
- Unfortunately, the bird brain NBA scheduled a Celtics game for 3:00 during Week 17 of the NFL season, so I missed the first half watching all the one o’clock games end (including the Patriots defeat the foolish Jets). Whoever scheduled this Celtics game probably eats paste for every meal. But I did see all of the second half, so I still wanted to write up a little something. But I had to give this caveat too, because if a dinosaur ate part of the stadium or something in the first half and you’re wondering why I didn’t write about it, it’s because I was busy watching Sam Darnold throw picks and Jake Bailey kill the ball with his left foot.
- While I didn’t see the first half with my own two eyes, I did see the first half box score. And lemme tell ya: Jaylen Brown can play ball. In the first two quarters against Detroit, he continued to play exceptionally and scored 22 points on 9-11 shooting and 4-6 from three. I have been extremely impressed this season with not just the point toals, but also how he has scored. Brown is making shots that I’ve never seen him make before, like post fadeaways turning either direction and a few of Tatum’s off the dribble threes. He’s also proficiently knocking down catch and shoot triples and draining midrangers after getting to his spots. It’s flying a little bit under the radar because Tatum has gotten the ball more down the stretch, but Jaylen Brown has been the Celtics’ best player. He is showing signs of becoming a two-way superstar.
- Not to say that Jayson Tatum hasn’t been impressive as well. After the Pistons randomly decided to double him on nearly every pick-and-roll, Tatum finished with a career high 12 assists and tied a career low with zero turnovers. He’s struggled at times this season when teams bring an extra guy, but he looked very comfortable on Sunday. Hey other teams: keep doubling Jayson Tatum. It’s only going to help him learn how to deal with it and develop more as an all-around player. You might as well put the ball in your own basket, you halfwitted goons.
- Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are living up to the hype and I can’t wait to keep watching them this season. Loving what I’m seeing so far.
- How about Semi Formal knocking down a few threes in the fourth quarter, eh? I don’t want to get too carried away, but wouldn’t that be awesome if Ojeleye could shoot 38 percent and be our three and D guy off the bench?
- After seeing what he could do five years ago, I felt really bad watching Blake Griffin play basketball. His just stands around the three-point line and either shoots it or tries to pump fake and draw a foul. Definitely no more rolling to the basket for an alley-oop jam or posting up and turning that shoulder for a strong finish in the paint. At least it seems he’s really worked on the three-pointer, and hey he can wipe my tears with his fat stacks.
- Can someone in Detroit do me a favor and punch both Saddiq Bey and Sviatoslov Mykhailuk in the face? I don’t care that one is Jason Bay’s son and the other has a name with more letters than a jumbo-sized alphabet soup. Their three-point shooting annoyed the crap out of me and nearly led to another Pistons win over the Celtics. For that, they deserve to get a little love tap.
Right back at it tonight for a little Monday Night Basketball in Tampa Bay to face the 1-4 Raptors. I hope Toronto’s record accurately depicts their talent level, because it would be great not to have to deal with them this year. And I would love to see the pudge brothers, Nick Nurse and Kyle Lowry, at the bottom of the standings.
At least the Celtics won’t have to go to Canada, where they seemingly always struggle (except for that one time when Marcus Smart got a buzzer beater off that Isaiah Thomas “pass”).
See you tomorrow!
CHILL YOURSELF DYLAN WOODS 