Celtics’ 2OT loss to the Wizards in five tweets: Reactions that explain the game
While a picture might be worth a thousand words, the constrained nature of Twitter often sees fans and analysts pack a whole lot of insight about a given NBA game into a comparatively few words.
This is perhaps one of the reasons why the Twitter-verse has long been the unofficial home for basketball fans to interact with one another and stay abreast of the news that matters for their favorite sport. To that end, we decided to pilot a new series featuring Twitter reaction to live-game action for the Boston Celtics that best sum up the on-court product.
Starting with Boston’s double-overtime loss to the Washington Wizards, let’s see what wisdom can be gleaned about the Celtics’ last game in just five tweets.
Fumbling the 2OT mulligan, but still progress
today is the first day of the rest of the season
don't screw it up
— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) October 30, 2021
The Celtics needed to show they were serious about giving new head coach Ime Udoka their best shot at success.
And while it might not have been their best shot from 3-point range, it was enough of a concerted effort to remain close despite one of the worst shooting nights we’ve ever seen.
We know you don't want to hear this, but it's going to take time
Fire Udoka 6 games into the year is the most baby brain take in existence
— Starting Point Guard Marcus Smart (@designer_smarf) October 30, 2021
The new head coach has had some questionable rotations and may be asking for a lot in terms of learning a new defensive scheme requiring Boston to be good where they have been weakest (communicating and staying engaged).
But we’ve already seen growth there and in ball movement on offense — he deserves more time than he’s been given to see what works and what doesn’t, and six games simply isn’t enough.
Defense and effort kept Boston in a game they should have lost big
Celtics really active defensively in the first two minutes of the third. Three blocked shots and a steal.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) October 30, 2021
Moral victories may be bitter, but until this team takes some steps forward in terms of generating consistent results on both ends of the court, they are part of the process towards earning actual wins.
Getting more easy buckets out of their defense and keeping the score close throughout is the way this team will end up in the win column until a third star emerges — or the front office acquires via trade.
Jayson Tatum must make it to the line more for Boston to win
Jayson Tatum stepping to the line for the first time today.
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) October 30, 2021
The good thing is that it finally clicked with Tatum to take it to the rack on a night his shot wasn’t falling, with the Duke product drawing enough fouls to get to the line 7 times.
The bad part is that he’s still spending a lot of energy complaining to the refs, which may have cost him some calls that could have decided the game.
This kind of effort consistently will lead to a lot more wins than losses
Effort has not been an issue for the Celtics tonight. They've played really hard throughout the game.
Mostly, they've just missed a million three-pointers. A lot of open ones too. That's the story of the game so far.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 30, 2021
It can’t be stressed enough how much the effort made in a game the Celtics probably should have been blown out in given how poorly they shot.
If Boston shows up and plays this hard on a night-to-night basis, they will end up a lot closer to more optimistic win totals than where their current record suggests.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
[lawrence-related id=62900,62895,62891,62889]
[listicle id=62916]
1
1
