Recap: C’s collapse in 2nd half, get crushed by Jackson/Morrow combo

For a while, it looked like the Celtics were going to get above .500 for the first time in Brad Stevens’ young coaching career.  They flew out of the gates, and, after some struggles from the bench, asserted themselves adequately to go into halftime with a positive vibe.  The second half could not have been more opposite story, though, with the Celtics getting outplayed in almost every facet of the game.  Anthony Morrow and Reggie Jackson combined for 56 points as the Thunder won this one going away, 109-94.

The Celtics came out HOT in the first quarter, hitting on 8 of their first 10 shots and taking a 15 point lead, but they cooled off to shoot about 52%.  Much of that came at the hands of the second unit, which struggled mightily tonight.  The Celtics shot 3-14 after their blistering start until the starters returned in the second quarter.

Specifically, Rajon Rondo.

Rondo re-entered the game at 7:17 of the second with the score 30-27 Celtics.  They immediately went on a 21-11 run

It was 30-27 Celtics when Rondo checked in at 7:17.  They went on a 21-11 run to regain their 9 point first quarter lead and head into halftime up 51-42.

It was OKC’s turn to come out strong in the third quarter.  The Celtics had an 11 point lead at the 10:26 mark, and a 9 point lead at 7:53.  But from there, OKC went on a 26-13 run to close the quarter, capped off by a Reggie Jackson buzzer beater to put OKC up 76-72 going into the 4th.

A 9-0 run that spanned the quarters pushed it to 80-72.

Brad Stevens decided on a new strategy to attack OKC’s zone:  James Young, who entered the game to start the 4th.  He almost immediately hit a 3, but then also almost immediately lost his man on a backdoor cut.  He went to the bench after three minutes and didn’t return.

From there, it was the Anthony Morrow show.  The Thunder’s zone defense completely confused the Celtics, and the Thunder turned those stops into clean looks for Morrow.  The Celtics defense, which has been at the bottom of the league, overreacted to every pass in the 4th quarter as it desperately searched for a stop.  The result, almost always, was Anthony Morrow hitting a wide open shot.  19 of Morrow’s 28 points came in the 4th, finishing what Reggie Jackson had started.  22 of Jackson’s 28 came in the first three quarters.

The Celtics were outscored 67-43 in the second half, and 106-76 after they took the 18-3 first quarter lead.

The Green:

Rajon Rondo finished the game a rebound shy of a triple double.  He hit a couple of late baskets with the game out of reach to finish with 20 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds.

Kelly Olynyk looked really good for a long stretch in this game.  His game went south with everyone else’s down the stretch, but there was a point where he was playing some seriously confident basketball.

Jared Sullinger had a nice overall night with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The Gross:

I’ll say again that defensive rotations were abso-f’ing-lutely horrible, especially in the second half.  Everyone seemed so overly eager to make the big stop that they were pulled way out of position, forcing the next guy to run harder on his closeout.  The Thunder patiently worked the ball and, three passes into the possession, found their hot hand with more space then he’d had in warmups.  Total lack of defensive discipline.

Avery Bradley finished with 17 points, but he had some of the worst misses I’ve seen in a long time.  He shot 37%, took a team-high 19 shots, and was 2-9 from 3.

Oh, speaking of 3’s… the C’s shot 9 of 33 from deep, good for 27.3%.  40% of the shots they took tonight were from beyond the arc, which, as Tommy Heinsohn astutely noted, was because the Celtics had absolutely zero answer for the Thunder zone.

Well, they almost seemed to have an answer in the third where, in near consecutive possessions, the Celtics got a passer to the free throw area (the soft spot in the zone) with the ball so he could force the D to collapse and then find backdoor cutters.  The first time they did it, it was with Rondo.  The next it was with Olynyk.  It worked both times.  I don’t remember seeing it again.

And then there’s Evan Turner, who is as feast or famine as you’re going to get in this league.  I’m beginning to think he’s the type of guy who needs to start, or not play at all.  He’s so horrible off the bench, that I’m beginning to think Brad Stevens could blindly choose fans from the stands and get similar production.  Turner contributed 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in about 21 minutes, and was a game-worst -21.

The Celtics bench overall was not good tonight.  It scored 15 points.  Morrow alone scored 28, and the Thunder bench outscored the Celtics bench 50-15.  Hell, Nick Collison (12 points) was a made 3 pointer away from matching the C’s bench.  Horrible.

The Greenlights:

Rondo with some fancy dribbling that almost led to an All-Time great highlight

Evan Turner finds Kelly Olynyk

Rondo first half highlights

Rondo with 10 pts, 8 rebs & 6 asts at the half. Celts up 51-42 over OKC. Highlights: #Celtics

A video posted by KWAPT (@kwapt) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:44pm PST

The Grid:

• 1st half:

Celtics: 48.8% fg, 22 reb, 14 assists
OKC: 35% fg, 16 reb, 8 assists

• 2nd half:

Celtics: 40.5% fg, 13 reb, 14 assists
OKC:  61.9% fg, 25 reb, 15 assists

• Rondo:  20 points (8-15 fg, 4-7 3pt), 12 assists, 9 reb.
• Jeff Green:  14 points (4-14 fg, 1-5 3pt), 5 reb
• Points in the paint:  Thunder 50 – Celtics 30

The 1st/2nd half numbers tell a big story.  The Thunder were playing a back-to-back and their third game in four nights.  This was inexcusable.

Box Score