5 topics like Danilo Gallinari, Atlanta Hawks embarrass the Boston Celtics

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The Boston Celtics ended their trip with a devastating loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, dropping 127-112.

Five lessons on how the Celtics found a new rock bottom.

The Celtics had nothing left.

Like it or not, one thing seemed quite clear: the Celtics were exhausted, both physically and mentally. After Atlanta threw a hard punch in the first half, Boston had nothing left in the tank for an answer.

Still, as Brad Stevens said, “We may have won tonight anyway, because sometimes you are hit by a flood of hay makers in the NBA like these guys did to us tonight, but we could be in a better position if we had played better. “

A quick recovery in the third quarter fell flat when Atlanta buried a series of 3 points again and pushed the lead back out. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics bank unit was ready. It looked like it would have been an acceptable replacement much earlier, perhaps around the time of the second quarter when Danilo Gallinari drilled a 3-point close to the logo – the usual Trae Young track.

After Tuesday’s loss to the Mavericks, Jayson Tatum sighed tiredly.

“I mean, s—, we have a game tomorrow,” he said. “Just try to move on to the next one. That’s all you can do. “

After Wednesday’s game, the same message seems to be true.

Sometimes snipers get hot (and this season, 3-point games decide).

The variation between wins and losses this season essentially appears to split along the lines of the 3-point pitchers, and Atlanta destroyed Boston behind the arc on Wednesday – beating the Celtics by 54.8 percent to 25.8 percent.

Young, of course, threw 33 points out of 12 out of 23 shots and led Atlanta’s attack, but the real difference was Gallinari, who hit 10 out of 12 3-point attempts and finished with 38 points.

The Celtics had four double-digit holders (Jaylen Brown, Tristan Thompson, Jeff Teague and Jayson Tatum), but Brown and Tatum finished with 17 and 13, respectively. Against the Hawks’ offensive attack, Boston needed much more of its stars. This is a familiar refrain this season.

Boston’s youth continued to bring energy.

Aaron Nesmith finished with 13 points from the 5 out of 7 shots. Rob Williams once again posted some highlights. The youngest players in the Celtics are not ready to help make Boston a good team, being reliable players, but they did have some solid performances.

What that means in the future is unclear. Nesmith and Williams, in particular, gained more minutes, but the Celtics cannot find wins. This is a difficult equation to solve.

Change orders will only increase in volume.

Celtics fans have been asking for exchanges, layoffs, anything that could bring the Celtics closer to respectability.

These calls will only increase in volume after Wednesday’s crash, but it is unclear what exactly the Celtics can do. Tatum and Brown are, of course, untouchable. Others on the team could certainly be dispatched, but while newbies like Nesmith and Payton Pritchard have shown flashes, and although Rob Williams looks like a real player now, they probably won’t offer a prize that could change Boston’s fortunes this season.

Meanwhile, as Grousbeck noted in 98.5 The Sports Hub on Wednesday, firing Stevens or Ainge immediately would make them the best options on the open market. Both are talented in their roles, which makes the team’s current situation even more confusing and exasperating.

Stevens was asked if his message is reaching the players.

“I would say that what I say to you and everyone else is not what I say in the locker room, necessarily,” said Stevens. “And how you say it is certainly very important, and I had my moments. Let’s put it that way. That said, I think this team now seems to be balancing playing without confidence and insecure with the fact that we had a couple who escaped. And so the only way I know how to get it back, is by diving into the ground, taking control, running to help your teammates, fighting for every possession. And that is our responsibility. …

“Listen, none of us are happy with the work we did, and I should be first on that list of where we are.”

Something is going on.

We cannot say exactly what afflicts the Celtics. His offense has stalled. Their defense cannot stop anyone. Opposite stars get where they want and take the photos they want.

And yet, the Celtics still have a lot of talent. It is a confusing situation that cannot be explained comfortably.

Perhaps Jayson Tatum is still dealing with COVID issues. Perhaps Kemba Walker will recover at some point. Perhaps none of these things will fit and the team will continue to spiral.

“It can’t get any worse than that,” said Kemba Walker 10 days ago, after the Celtics lost to the Washington Wizards.

Clearly, Walker was wrong at the time. The worrying thing is that it may still not be true.