This past week for the Celtics was pretty damn bad.
You beat up on an average at best Chicago Bulls team. Congrats on meeting expectations.
Then came the trip to San Antonio, historically a tough place to play no matter what decade Gregg Popovich is coaching in. Boston was off to a good start in the first quarter before seeing a 29-6 run by the Spurs to end the first half.
The way San Antonio scored was disturbing. Simple ... straight-line drives from the wings from guys like Keldon Johnson. And little to no resistance from defenders when it came to shooters. Boston is talented enough to recover from disastrous runs like that but still couldn't get enough stops down the stretch and fell 110-106. Brad Stevens even had to turn to a 2-1-2 zone to turn things around in the second half.
Boston returned home to host LeBron James and the Lakers in a game America was watching. LA has the seventh-best offensive rating (112.5) this year and it was surprising to see the glaring defensive issues be somewhat patched since the San Antonio game.
Kemba Walker needs to be better. Going 1-for-12 against the Lakers was the difference in a 1 point loss and win. Give him that step-back midrange shot 10 times and he hits it six times. Kemba plays better in San Antonio and against the Lakers, the feeling around this team is completely different. Kemba's numbers right now are pretty ugly shooting just 29 percent from deep.
Here are my big three things for this week:
● With Marcus Smart going down and Payton Pritchard remaining out, the defense from the guards will be a massive question mark. We already know Kemba is never going to be mistaken for Patrick Beverly. So who is going to take advantage of the opportunity with Smart out for 2-3 weeks with the Grade 1 calf strain? Pritchard is expected to be back sometime this week potentially as early as Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings.
● They need consistency from Robert Williams. He is the most electric player they have off the bench. The Timelord just makes things happen by being active and creating second chance opportunities. I think he has been consistent enough lately to earn more minutes than he has been getting. He's a spark plug Tristan Thompson is a zero on offense. Daniel Theis has turned his season around after a rough start. Robert has a legit chance to be the starting center by year's end. Call me crazy. But you watch these games. Tell me this team doesn't look and play different with Williams on the floor this year.
● Tuesday is the first of a five game West coast trip. Those are always difficult for East coast teams but the stretch of teams they're playing are no joke. Golden State, Sacramento, LA Clippers, Phoenix and Utah are all potential playoff teams. The first two are the easiest in this stretch. Getting those first two games are really important before meeting elite teams like the Clippers and Jazz.
