Had you ever written about something like this before? I think I've made a huge mistake in agreeing to this. So I figured the best person to grill me (or perhaps the worst) would be my current girlfriend of about eight months. What happened with the girl? Did we keep seeing each other? What did my mom think? How big did it get (the article, that is)? And so on. I thought the only thing to do was to basically answer the questions that most readers probably in some way or another wanted to ask. It seemed to be the pressing question hailing from the ether of the internet, with comments on the article ranging from me being championed as a brilliant writer distilling the day and week of horror into a satisfying comic romp of awkward, easy-to-relate reality, to me being reduced to some kind of fratty douchebag the next minute (note: I've never been in a frat), and a ton of How I Met Your Mother jokes in between (which were entirely fitting, I must say). Marcus Smart did all the usual Marcus Smart things (including registering a couple steals) and Tatum did his part with a career-best 16 rebounds (all of them on the defensive end).When my editors at Esquire asked me to do a follow up to my article "The Problem with One-Night stands in Locked Down Boston," which received an insane amount of attention and went globally viral in the days after it was published (resulting in my social media channels exploding, radio and newspaper interviews across the country, and even a film deal), I thought it would be false economy to simply leave the dangling question of "what happened next" open-ended. Enes Freedom added some heft against Embiid. Horford paired well with Robert Williams in Boston’s double-big lineups. Once this opportunity came, I was very grateful." Just getting everything together and put me in a position to be able to be here again.
Really helped me on the court, off the court. And, in OKC, they welcomed me with open arms. For me it was like, I can either kind of cave in or I can make the most out of this opportunity. "That year was a difficult year for me in Philly, there's no question about it. I really looked at it at that point as this is an opportunity for me to get better, to prove myself, and to prove to people what I can do. "Looking at having to go to Oklahoma City … my 14th year. "It was a very low point for me at the beginning when ," said Horford. The league-leading Warriors are nearly four points ahead at an impossibly low 99.8. Boston sits just one point behind the second-ranked Phoenix Suns in defensive rating. If the Celtics pack this defense heading out west, they might just keep climbing. Zoom in on the last 15 games, since a 2-5 start and the players-only meeting in Orlando that seemingly remedied the defense, and Boston has held opponents to 101.5 points per 100 while going 10-5 in that span. They’re now allowing a mere 104.5 points per 100 possessions. The Celtics had already shimmied up to fifth in the NBA in defensive rating before Wednesday’s game. Horford’s ball pressure ensured Harris couldn’t even think about delivering a pass near the basket.
Instead, Brown put on his work boots and denied Embiid. It should have left the Celtics vulnerable. Horford noted that Embiid’s screen on Brown was so punishing that Boston had no choice but to switch. GAME SAVING BLOCK BY ROB WILLIAMS! /Mgr9tkElLX- Celtics on NBC Sports Boston December 2, 2021ĭoc Rivers said the Sixers got the switch they wanted.
That’s when Robert Williams raced out from protecting the paint and somehow managed to swat the final shot to punctuate what we’ll call a block-off win. Horford hounded Harris, forcing him to navigate to the center court logo trying to drive in the final seconds.Įven with Jayson Tatum rushing over with help, Harris moved the ball to Georges Niang in the corner. The Celtics were forced to switch an initial screen with Al Horford scrambling out to defend Tobias Harris above the 3-point line while Jaylen Brown dug in against Joel Embiid in the paint. The final play was a masterclass in defensive precision. Celtics-Sixers takeaways: C's neutralize Embiid in narrow victory Yes, their offensive development might dictate the overall ceiling of this team - the Celtics simply will not contend if the offense continues to run in mud while ranked 24th in the NBA - but the team showed again it is capable of stealing a much-needed win behind defense after a final-play stand to cap an 88-87 rock fight with the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Not that there was any question, but the 2021-22 Boston Celtics hammered home again Wednesday night that defense will be the identity of this team and defense alone will give them a chance to compete every night they are willing to put in the effort on that end of the floor.