This is it. This is the greatest t-shirt we have ever designed at The 300s. This is a completely custom artwork that we designed to give the future 1st Team All-NBA forward his own shirt. Grab your shirt today for the deep playoff run or grab a hoodie, sticker, magnet, coasters, leggings, laptop sleeve, travel mug etc.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, today is the today The Process finally ends, and how sweet it is to be the team that does it. The Sixers were always going to have a hard time beating the Celtics once Simmons went down for the year, but there was a glimmer of hope after Game 1 when Hayward got hurt. However, whatever light was left on their season was thoroughly stamped out by the drubbing in Game 2 and the lackluster finish in Game 3.
Tatum with the clutch block on Embiid! #LetsGoCeltics pic.twitter.com/GdExieyuOV
— Celtics News (@CelticsNewsNBA) August 22, 2020
Just in case you didn’t watch, the Sixers were actually up 94-92 with under two minutes to play. But then they blew it. Embiid forced a terrible pass that was stolen by Smart, then got stuffed by Tatum, who then went on to block Richardson the next time down the court. The C’s finished on a 10-0 run to win 102-94. And that, my friends, is the end of the Philadelphia 76ers as we know them.
Yesterday afternoon, news broke that the Sixers, down 0-3 in the series, actually CANCELLED PRACTICE the day before Game 4. If that’s not throwing in the towel, I don’t know what is.
As much as Embiid seems to fade in the fourth quarter, obviously you can’t blame this on him. As Scal said, Brett Brown should already have sold his house and started looking for a new job, but I don’t think it’s his fault either. The fault lies solely in the hands of Elton Brand.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that Simmons and Embiid are a great core to build around. Beyond that, you need shooters. How easy is it for the Celtics to double team Embiid and just let mooks like Furkan Korkmaz and Alec Burks chuck bricks. You need real shooters around Embiid. Shake Milton and Josh Richardson are solid bench players, but that’s all they are. The real question is, why pay Tobias Harris more than any other Sixer ever with a $180 million max contract, and then pay Al Horford another $109 mil for 4 years on top of that? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??
Al Horford was on his bag tonight 😳
— Not A Troll Doe (@NotATrollDoe) August 20, 2020
4 Pts 👏
2 Reb 💪
0 Ast 🔥
1 Blk ✋
23 Minutes 😱
-11 +/- 😈
Down 2-0 in the First Round 🤩
28 Million dollars received this season 💰 pic.twitter.com/gRRAuTyEQv
Nearly $300 million on Harris and Horford has resulted in a combined 19.6 PPG, 17.3 RPG (fine), 6.7 APG, 1 steal and 1.6 blocks per game. They have hit exactly 0 threes in 13 attempts and have shot 34.9% from the field and 71.4% from the line. To put those numbers in perspective, Joel Embiid is averaging 30 and 13. It’s absolutely mind boggling that Brand thought JJ Redick and Jimmy Butler could be replaced with this kind of production. Sixers fans are crying themselves to sleep thinking about how they drafted Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum.
76ers fan put on a blindfold while getting blown out by Celtics 🤦♂️
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 20, 2020
(➡️ @MichelobULTRA) pic.twitter.com/5lv6UdLURL
What the Sixers need to do is start by firing Brand and Brett Brown. Some people think Embiid will be traded, or even demand a trade, but I think that would be a bad move. Those two aren’t the problem. They need to get rid of the garbage contracts and add wing players who can shoot and play defense. DeMar Derozan, Marcus Morris, Evan Fournier, Goran Dragic, and Jordan Clarkson would all be good fits, assuming they can afford any of them. But they probably won’t, so us Celtics fans will continue to laugh, flaunt Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and bury them once again.
Okay, so maybe the C’s didn’t get the W we were all hoping for. To be honest, if you had to pick one game the Celtics were likely to lose out of the seeding games, this was clearly the one. Yes the Bucks were without Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton, but it’s not all bad. As a matter of fact, I feel pretty good about the first game back. Here’s why:
The Bucks are a great team. There’s no denying that. On the surface they don’t appear to be much more than Giannis throwing down Stretch Armstrong dunks and Kris Middleton chucking 3’s, but they are. They have great depth, plenty of shooters, they protect the rim (how many times did Tatum get stuffed at the rim? 4? 5?), and they get out fast in transition. But, despite all of that, Kemba’s minute restriction and Jayson Tatum playing the worst game of his professional career, this game was tied with 90 seconds to go. And I’m good with that.
Bearing that in mind, here are my takeaways from the game. I’ll start with the things I liked:
-Mike Breen saying BANG!
-Jaylen being aggressive. I always love to see JB attacking the paint. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but he got to the line 9 times, hitting 7.
-Going off that, the whole team did a good job of getting to the Free Throw line, something Celtics teams of the past have struggled at. Smart shot 8 FT’s, and the team as a whole went 27-34. That may be an off night for James Harden, but it’s good for the green.
-Marcus being Marcus. Whether he’s flopping, knocking down 3’s that make me say “don’t shoot!”, or turning defense into offense, I love it all. If I had to put money on one Celtics player not missing a beat, it would be Marcus Smart. The guy is an animal and I love it.
-Gordon Hayward doing a bit of everything. Gordon got off to a slow start in the first half, but he finished with 17 points, 9 boards and 6 assists. The Celtics are at their best when he contributes in every facet of the game and quietly fills the stat sheet. He did that last night.
-Kemba looked unimpeded in limited minutes. His burst was there, he hit three 3’s, got to the line, and made a few nice passes. Brad has indicated that he will increase his minutes tonight, so I look forward to that.
-Not a Celtic, but Sideshow Rob-in Lopez. Man, I wish this guy was a Celtic. His game is ugly, but he’s entertaining to watch. The way he moves makes me think of some weirdly athletic combination of Sideshow Bob and Jason Segel. He knocks down 3’s with his feet together, hits post moves with arms rotating like helicopter blades, and mean mugs the entire time he’s doing it. Hilarious.
There was a lot not to like as well, with these two plays being the most obvious. Now, I have to agree with the Bucks that the second play was a block. Smart was there before contact, but he was still moving out of the restricted section when Giannis rose into his shot. That’s why it was called a block.
In my opinion, that play never should have happened because he punched Theis in the kidney a minute earlier. Wanamaker had a foul for less contact on a screen earlier in the quarter and he got called, so it’s not hard to believe the refs simply didn’t want to foul out Giannis. A minute after the first no call the block happens, the Bucks go up 3 with 90 seconds left, and that’s the game.
Some other things I didn’t like:
-Mark Jackson.
-Fouling jump shooters. I think this was a product of being rusty because both teams did this early and got better as the game progressed, but please stop.
-Everything about Jayson Tatum’s game. Yikes. He SUCKED. The stat sheet says he went 2-18, but that’s generous considering the first basket should actually have been credited to the Bucks when two players failed to make a rebound and knocked it in themselves. That means Tatum actually shot 1-17 (a solid 5.8%), was a team worst -13 and made one of the dumbest defensive gambles in that unnecessary reach that led to the play above. DO NOT REACH ON GIANNIS WHEN HE’S 5 FEET BEHIND THE ARC!
To reiterate what I said at the start of this post, I’m fine with the way things went. Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t. The Bucks are good and this wasn’t a playoff game, so I’m not worried about it. Tatum and the rest of the team have 7 more games to find their shots, hopefully starting with the Blazers tonight. Until then, go green!
Watching the Celtics game last night I could no longer deny the need for a Tacko t-shirt. Normally Tacko is utilized like a human victory cigar and fans go nuts like the days of Scalabrine. Last night though the Garden erupted in chants for Tacko while the C’s were up a whopping 5 points with 5 minutes still to go. The people simply want more. He is tall, he is nice, he has an elite PER of 24.0, and he now has a shirt on The 300s. Buy your shirt now at The 300s Store in premium grey or classic green!
The BIG 3 is returning for its third season this summer and it seems to only be growing as it released their team rosters today and they are STACKED.
Who’s your squad this season in @thebig3 ? pic.twitter.com/X9fIhSQ9I4
— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 2, 2019
Just in case you forgot, we are quite fond of the BIG3 here. We even had Mattes go cover a game in person last year. And that was before they stacked the deck with some big time names.
God I miss Perk. #Celtics #AnythingIsPossible pic.twitter.com/8NjjKzuyMw
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 30, 2018
Top names playing in the BIG3 this year include Kendrick Perkins and Greg Oden on the same team to create maybe the biggest “What if these guys never got hurt” duo in basketball history. The Celtics win 2 out 3 NBA titles, the Trailblazers are still one of the best teams in the league, going to war with KD and whatever team he’s playing for at the time.
Mario Chalmers!
Brian Scalabrine returns of course and should probably have equity in this league if he doesn’t already because the White Mamba puts asses in the seats.
Agent Zero himself Gilbert Arenas joins the BIG3 this season and I could not be more excited. Arenas, before all his gunplay problems, practically invented the 28 foot pull up jumper that is so common today. Where you think Damian Lillard learned that move?
Lamar Odom is returning from the grave/the clutches of the Kardashians to play some ball and you gotta think that guy is happy to just be alive at this point. Good for him.
Mike Bibby, Ricky Davis, and Carlos Boozer just seem like a pretty solid, well built team. Plus, if they get into any scuffles Mike Bibby 2.0 will just start beating people up as all he’s done since retiring is lift anything and everything.
Stephen Jackson and Metta World Peace are teaming up to become the bad boys of the league. Coached by the goddamn oak tree himself Charles Oakley no less. Nobody is messing with that team.
The Power will be a trip down elite bench player memory lane for anyone my age with guys like Corey Maggette, Chris Birdman Andersen, Ryan Gomes(!) and Glen Big Baby Davis who somehow avoided going to federal pound me in the ass prison after a drug arrest.
Jason Terry is also playing this year, which raises the question is Jason Terry finally retired orrrr
Nearly spit my drink out when I saw Terry pulling up for 3 in a game for Milwaukee last season.
Wait, Jason Terry’s still in the #NBA ??? #Cetics #Bucks
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) October 19, 2017
Former Celtics draft picks Joe Johnson and Big Al Jefferson will be joining forces to be the favorite team of any Celtics fan over the age of 30.
To round it all out we have Jermaine O’Neal, Amar’e Stoudemire and Nate Robinson, but I have to say it is an absolute crime that Ice Cube doesn’t have Nate Robinson and Glen Davis on the same team. Does he not remember the days of Shrek and Donkey??
They even got legit AF names coaching as well with Gary Payton, Rick Barry, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley, Kenyon Martin, Lisa Leslie, and Dr. freaking J just to name a few.
How about the BIG3 being the only new sports league to not only avoid going out of business, yet actually thrive? The AAF went out of business before I even needed to refill my car’s tank of gas, the XFL is looking to improve upon its high score of 1 season completed, meanwhile the BIG3 is just adding teams and big time names left and right.
Maybe we’ll send Mattes back out to another BIG3 game this year with a real mic so he can actually get Scal namedropping The 300s Podcast on tape.
Photo credit: Charles Krupa/Associated Press
As already noted earlier today by Red, what a night it was for Bob at the Garden on Monday! His performance helped the Celtics win their seventh game in their last eight tries, and it really seems like The Green are starting to turn it on.
The Celtics rookie played a season-high 26 minutes against New Orleans and proved exactly why he was being projected by many as a lottery pick before this past June’s draft. His seven points and 11 boards were solid enough, but he also compiled three blocks – TWO of which were on none other than Anthony Davis.
Even more impressive is the fact that he held Davis to 7-of-17 shooting overall on the night; so, yes, while Davis did score 41, over half of those points were actually allowed by Daniel Theis and others besides Williams who covered The Brow last night. Bob also showed incredible discipline, playing so aggressively yet only committing one foul and zero turnovers.
The rookie big man was all over Davis last night.
Red and I have been telling you since July that this kid was going to be something special, and we got our vindication last night. This is just a sign of things to come.
Another 300s favorite, Marcus Morris, was also huge in last night’s win. He posted 31 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Ever since being inserted into the starting lineup at the end of November along with Marcus Smart, Morris has averaged over 15 points per game.
This man has kept on rolling all year long.
Brad Stevens’ choice to switch things up a few weeks ago has proven to be a very underrated (and potentially season-saving) move. Replacing Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown in the starting lineup for Morris and Smart may have sounded foolish just three months ago, but there is no doubt that the decision has injected some much-needed life into this team; the Celtics are undefeated through four games in December, and they have lost just once since Thanksgiving. I know that “season-saving” may sound a bit melodramatic, but this was a team that had lost five of their previous nine beforehand, and something needed to be done – and quickly – to get the team back on track.
Kudos on that one, Brad.
And what’s even better is that neither Hayward nor Brown have suffered as a result of the move, as both are still a huge part of the rotation and are each playing well over 20 minutes per night. Though Brown missed three games after injuring his back against Dallas on November 24, he’s averaged over 20 points per game in three games since returning. Hayward has been a bit more inconsistent and is still trying to find his groove, but his 30-point explosion against Minnesota on December 1 should give fans hope that he’s not too far off.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62608758/usa_today_11771014.0.jpg)
Hopefully, this was Hayward’s coming-out party.
The team now currently sits fifth in the East, which is certainly not where most expected them to be this far into the season. Alas, don’t worry, Celtics Nation; it is still early and we’ve seen plenty of encouraging things over the past couple weeks which leads me to believe they’ll be just fine in the end.
Next up is a matchup with the Wizards on Wednesday night. The Celts then get Atlanta, Detroit, and Phoenix before a Friday night showdown against the No. 2-seed Bucks just before Christmas.
So while November was a bit of a rough patch, I’ve been liking what I’ve been seeing lately, boys! Keep it up!
Our loyal 300s fans know that Red and I have not been shy about our love for Celtics rookie Robert Williams (or “Bob”), as we’ve been in his corner since Day 1.
No need to rehash past transgressions; he’s seemed to have his head on straight for the past few months. And, most importantly, the big fella made his NBA debut last night in the Celtics’ 93-90 loss to the Orlando Magic.
Bob played about four minutes and did not record one meaningful statistic, BUT that does not mean he was unnoticeable. The 21-year-old wasn’t shy about getting involved on the defensive end, showing off his toughness and pure athleticism with a few contested shot attempts.
In fact, Al Horford made sure the people knew about Bob’s under-the-radar performance after the game (h/t MassLive):
“It was good. He impacted [Nikola] Vucevic in the post there, he tried to make a move and he felt the length. I was happy to see Rob. He looked fearless out there. Now, obviously that Baynes is out, I’m sure he’ll continue to get an opportunity.”
FEARLESS. (Also, “Rob??!!” Come on, Al. It’s Bob. Stop with that.)
At the very least, it was a small taste of what the kid can bring to the table for a team that, until recently, was pretty lackluster and unintimidating in the post for quite some time. Hopefully it’s a sign of better things to come in short order – especially if Aron Baynes’s hamstring injury lingers longer than expected.
Well done, Bob. We’re proud of ya. Keep it up.
We had a huge guest this week as the co-founder of Reds Army, John Karalis, joined The 300s Podcast to discuss everything Boston Celtics, his entrepreneurial background, the state of digital media in 2018, and we even break down some of the best craft beers to enjoy during a game.
You’ve seen and heard John on FOX 5, 98.5 the Sports Hub, Boston.com, as well as the Locked On Celtics podcast. As one of the hardest working guys covering the NBA today, you can find John on twitter @RedsArmy_John as well as http://www.thesportsdaily.com/reds-army/ and his latest endeavor with Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/JohnKaralis
Subscribe, rate, and review The 300s Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify!
Welp. That was a rough one for the Pats on Sunday night.
Perhaps we’ll take the time to review the game. Perhaps we’ll simply try to move on and repress the memory entirely.
Or maybe we can change gears altogether and focus on the Boston sports team with arguably the best chance to win a title within the next calendar year. I’m talking, of course, about our Boys in Green.
The Celtics are set to open training camp on Tuesday, September 25, which is something that probably snuck up on many fans considering the team was still playing meaningful ball less than four months ago.
Fortunately, there aren’t many questions for this team heading into 2018 besides maybe how Brad will dish out enough minutes to the team’s loaded group of deserving players and keep everyone happy at the same time. It’s really not a bad “problem” to have – as long as egos and personal aspirations don’t get in the way, of course.
And Brad will need to figure things out quickly, as the first preseason game is actually this upcoming Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets. The first regular season contest doesn’t follow too far behind either, with the Celtics set to tip the year off against the Sixers at home on October 16.
Since many of us – myself included – are still in Sox and Pats mode at the moment, here’s a quick little Celtics primer to whet your appetite before the team gets back after it tomorrow in Brighton:
Is Everyone Healthy?
YES. It seems like everyone is pretty much ready to go without reservation.
Considering the Celtics were without not only two of the best players on their roster, but also two of the very best players in the league, in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward for most of last season (at least in Hayward’s case), this is fantastic news.
Daniel Theis, a solid but very unappreciated bench piece last season, is also expected to be ready to go after suffering a season-ending knee injury in March.
I don’t think I really need to go into how good Kyrie and Hayward are or what their presence could do for team that was mere minutes away from going to the NBA Finals last season. Just think: We’re adding two top-20 players to a squad that just months ago almost (and probably should have) defeated LeBron before he reached the Finals, which is something that hasn’t happened in EIGHT years.
If that doesn’t getting the juice flowing for ya, then I don’t know what will.
And if there’s still any doubt in your mind about how Hayward will readjust after almost a full-year layoff, here’s what a usually pretty tight-lipped Brad Stevens had to say just last week (h/t Boston Herald):
“He’s been really diligent all the way through his rehab. I watched him go through the steps of working out to one-on-one to 2-on-2 to 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 in some of the open gyms the guys are having. Like anything, there’s always going to be a period of adjustment. From my eye and anybody else who has watched, he looks like he looked before.”
For a guy who usually like to play things close to the vest and temper expectations whenever possible, he doesn’t seem to be mincing words whatsoever when it comes to his confidence in Gordon this season.
Theis will also only add to an already loaded bench, and as far as we know the rest of the roster looks to be in tip-top shape as well.
This team is ready to rock n’ roll.
What Will Robert Williams’s Role Be?
Besides the potential overall minutes distribution challenge, the biggest question in terms of their role on the team this year is with rookie Robert Williams, to whom we at The 300s affectionately refer as “Bob.”
Bob has had a bit of a rough start to his Celtics career after being taken with the 27th pick in this past June’s NBA draft. From missing conference calls to missing entire friggin’ flights across the country, the soon-to-be 21-year-old saw a rather embarrassing string of events cloud the excitement Celtics Nation initially had after grabbing such a freakish talent at the end of the first round.
There shouldn’t be any doubt about his talent, however. Not only does he possess great size at 6’10”, but he can also move like a wing player and has the ability to jump through the roof. While it may take a while for his scoring prowess to develop in the NBA, he can be the athletic, rim-runner/protector that the Celtics have lacked for quite some time. Sure, guys like Aaron Baynes and Al Horford were very effective defenders in the post last season, but Williams has Defensive-Player-of-the-Year-level potential. He could be an answer to the Draymond Greens and Clint Capelas of the world that the Celtics had no answer for previously.
Especially with an already overloaded roster, we may need to be patient with Bob, but the eventual payoff could be worth the wait.
Who’s Gonna Be THE Guy Behind Kyrie?
I think by now everyone gets the point that the Celtics have a pretty sick roster. And while this technically could change by season’s end, I don’t think there are many out there who would argue that Kyrie isn’t still the team’s crown jewel. Horford also knows his role, as does Baynes and the rest of the reserves.
But when it comes to definitive roles for the Celtics’ insanely good trio of wing players – Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown – things get a bit murkier.
Of the three, Hayward has the best resume, and until Tatum truly takes off into superstardom (which he ABSOLUTELY will) Hayward has to be considered the leader of the pack and the one who should be expected to get the most minutes right away.
And no disrespect to Brown, who simply annihilated everyone’s expectations last season, but I’m unsure if he’s quite on the same level as Hayward and where I expect Tatum to be to start the year.
But if I’m being entirely honest, I think Tatum has the ability to be the top dog in the group by season’s end, if not much sooner. Red pointed out last week the fact that ESPN already has him ranked as a top-25 player in the league, and if you’ve followed us at all over the past year you know that neither of us are even remotely shy when it comes to expressing our love for Tatum.
I think some may still be sleeping on him due to the fact he’s not even legally allowed to drink a beer yet, but the guy is ridiculously skilled and already plays with the confidence of a 10-year veteran. If given enough minutes, he will be an All-Star this season, and nobody should be surprised if he ends up being the Celtics’ No. 2 guy this year.
Again, no disrespect to Hayward or Brown, but Tatum is going to be the face of the franchise going forward – whether Kyrie stays here or not.
So there you have it! The first official piece of the 2018 Celtics season. Stay tuned to The 300s throughout the entire season for all your Celtics news and more. Let’s goooooo!!!
Dropping tomorrow is a very special episode of #The300sPodcast with a huge guest! We talk all things Celtics, digital media, and we even dive into the delicious world of craft beer. Episode drops tomorrow AM so keep your eyes peeled for #The300sPodcast on iTunes, Facebook, and YouTube.
The 300s 