Random Thoughts on McGee, Zeller, Smart, Standings and More

What a great ending to the game last night.  My heart sank when Hayward hit that shot with 1.7 seconds to go.  I didn't think it was possible for the Celtics to hit a shot in that time.  The Jazz had been playing very good defense for the whole game and I didn't see them letting up for the last 1.7 seconds.  And on the first inbound attempt,  I thought they had a 5 second violation but Smart got the time out just in time and our brilliant coach reacted to what he saw on the court.



The play was originally to go to Crowder but he was tightly covered and Smart couldn't get the pass to him.   Stevens saw that the Jazz were switching and that with Gobert on the passer, Zeller might be able to get the shot off and so he made the change.  Smart made an almost perfect pass over Gobert to Zeller in the post and with Gigi's advice that he had time for one up fake, he faked, spun and hit the big shot.  I apologize for alarming everyone in the neighborhood with my scream but that was great teamwork after their lack of effort against the Cavs.  And to anyone who may care,  the Celtics are NOT tanking!! 

Their win last night moved them below the Jazz in the lottery standings.  Last year, it was the Celtics and Jazz fighting for the 5th and 6th picks.  This year, it's the Celtics and Jazz fighting for the 9th and 10th pick.  The loss last night vaulted the Jazz to half a game in front of the Celtics for the 9th pick.   Detroit has lost 4 straight and are a game and a half in front of the Celtics for the 8th pick.  And the Nuggets have won 2 straight since firing Brian Shaw as coach and are 3 games ahead of the Celtics in the 7th lottery spot.  The Celtics have already won too many to get a top lottery pick and so they need to swing for the fences and continue their run to the playoffs. 

 What a surprise to see that the Celtics are close to signing big man JaVale McGee.   When I hear the name JaVale McGee, the first thing I think of is Shaqt'n a Fool because I've seen clips of him on there so many times.  Here's a video of just a few of them.
He's a legit 7 footer with a 7'6" wingspan. He's got a 9'6.5" standing reach and a 32.5" vertical leap. He's got the size and the tools to be a rim protector and a force in the middle. Danny Ainge had this to say about McGee on The Sports Hub this morning:

"He hasn't lived up to his potential yet, and we're hoping that he can under Brad Stevens. We think he's in a good place."

Brad Stevens has brought the best out of his players so maybe he can get through to McGee and help him to reach his potential. I don't even know if the Celtics have a big man coach. They could use one. They had one of the best in the business in Clifford Ray and they did him wrong. I'm pretty sure that Robert Parish on the Celtics' staff. He used to run a very successful big man camp with Cliff Ray and he'd be a very good big man coach. It will be very interesting to see if Brad is a big enough miracle worker to get McGee to reach his potential.

Speaking of big men, last night was Tyler Zeller's very first game winner. Poor guy looked like he was in shock after it fell and when he was absolutely mobbed by Gigi Datome and Isaiah Thomas. How great is it that Datome, who has gotten very sparing playing time, was the first there to celebrate and looked like the happiest guy on the team. He also told Zeller just before he stepped onto the floor for that last shot that he had time for one pump fake. That's a good teammate. That play made the top play of the night on NBA.com. In case you were in a cave somewhere, here's a replay of that awesome final play.
Marcus Smart made a perfect pass in to Zeller in the post and he had to do it over 7'1" Rudy Gobert. I guess it was easier making the pass over him than it would have been for Zeller to make the shot over him. Speaking of Marcus Smart, he was named the Rookie of the Month for February. Mike said on the broadcast last night that this is the first Celtics' rookie of the month since Adrian Griffin back in 1999. That's kind of impressive. A big congrats to Marcus and keep up the good work. He's been in a shooting slump of late, but he's been doing other things like playing great defense that keeps him in games.

The Celtics are still within reach of the playoffs but making the playoffs is still a long shot. There is still a cluster of teams close together from the 7th seed to 11th place.
Miami Heat 7th +.5
Charlotte Hornets 8th --
Indiana Pacers 9th -.5
Brooklyn Nets 10th -1
Boston Celtics 11th -2
The Celtics are still 2 games back of 8th seeded Charlotte Hornets. In spite of losing their point guard for the rest of the year, they have been playing very well and have won their last 3 games. Indiana has also won 3 straight and are expecting to get Paul George back, possibly for their game with the Celtics, and that will definitely give them a boost. The Celtics have 2 games remaining against the Heat and one game each with the Pacers, Hornets and Nets and those games will be huge in determining whether the Celtics end up in the playoffs or the lottery. They also have 2 more games against the Cavs and games against the Thunder, Spurs and Hawks, all of which will be very difficult.

I really like the guys on this team. I'm hoping that Danny keeps Crowder and Jerebko for next season. When you think of it, this is a group that was thrown together and haven't even had a practice together yet. But last night, they set a franchise record for the fewest turnovers in a game. They also seem to have developed great chemistry in just a few weeks and I'd love to see them be able to continue. There are questions for next season, though. Will Sully follow through and lose weight and improve his conditioning? Will Kelly continue to improve and come back from this latest ankle injury strong? Will Danny keep Jerebko and Crowder, both of whom seem like great team players? Will Danny bring in any established stars to play with the young guys we have or will he try to package some of them to bring in the stars?

I would love to keep the players we have and let them develop together. We don't have any stars but we have players with the potential to become stars. Does Brad Stevens even want or need stars to develop a contender? It seems as though Stevens' teams are all about teamwork and hard work and heart. Would a star even fit in that mold? It certainly is a fun time to be a Celtics fan. Good things to come for sure.

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