20160110-BOSMEM

Marc D'Amico

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MEMPHIS – There may not be an official captain of the Boston Celtics, but Avery Bradley proved once again Sunday night that he is more than worthy of the moniker.

Bradley is by far the longest tenured Celtic, having now spent six seasons in green and white.  He came in as a quiet, 18-year-old kid, and has developed into a 25-year-old leader.

Leaders hold people accountable.  They bring positive energy to the table.  They keep their teammates looking forward, rather than back, regardless of the circumstances.  Bradley displayed all of these characteristics in Memphis.

Sunday’s circumstances were less than ideal for the Celtics, who suffered their fifth loss in six games with a 101-98 defeat at the hands of the Grizzlies.

This loss stung.  It stung to the point where one could hear a pin drop in the team’s postgame locker room.

Boston’s collective silence was not simply a result of its most recent defeat.  Instead, it was a result of how the C’s suffered that most recent defeat.

The first half of Sunday’s game featured nothing but beautiful basketball from the Celtics.  They were a dominant force at both ends during the first quarter, outscoring the Grizzlies 34-16 and looking like a team that just came off of a practice that Brad Stevens termed “one of the best” of the season.

The second half was quite the opposite story.

Boston looked disjointed at both ends of the court as it fumbled away a 21-point, second-half lead.  The C’s turned the ball over, they lacked poise, and they even lost composure at times.

As Marcus Smart declared after the game, “We let [the Grizzlies] punk us.”

Emotions boiled over for the Celtics on the court, as teammates jawed at each other after questionable plays.  Stevens even voiced displeasure with the referees to a level that is quite uncommon.

The team’s frustrations were carried into the postgame locker room.  The C’s were left speechless by their underwhelming performance at FedEx Forum.

“Everyone was pretty quiet,” Bradley stated after the game.

“But one thing that I told people is that, ‘Let’s not blame anyone, first of all.  And second of all, we need to stay together and just focus on the next game,’” Bradley said.  He continued to relay his message, saying, “’We know that we gave this one away.  We can’t keep letting games slip away from us, but we need to stay positive and focus on the next game.’”

Two other players, Smart and Isaiah Thomas, addressed the media after the game.  They are both considered leaders of this team as well, but even they were somber.  Jae Crowder, another leader, exited the locker room with visible frustration before it even opened up to the media.

At the other end of the spectrum was Bradley, the second player to speak, who stood in front of the media offering up nothing but positive energy.

“The great thing about it is, like I always say, we have a game on Tuesday,” said Bradley.  “And not only that, but all of the mistakes that we made are all correctable.”

The biggest issue, in his mind, is his team’s tendency to play ‘hero ball.’  That term is oftentimes used to describe players operating as individuals on offense, rather than as a team.

The numbers substantiate his declaration.  Boston shot just 35.7 percent from the field during the second half of Sunday’s loss and totaled a measly seven assists.  All the while, Memphis scored 63 points en route to its stunning come-from-behind victory.

Despite the loss, Boston still sits above the .500 mark at 20-19 on the season.  Those 20 wins, and even some of the losses, give Bradley reason to believe that he and his teammates will get through this rough and uncharacteristic stretch of play.

“I know that if we move the ball, we have a better chance at being successful every single time down on the offensive end,” he said, at one point smiling through his confident words, “and when we understand that, we’ll start playing the right way again.

“We’ll get back to it,” he later added.  “I’m not worried about it.”

Bradley gave more reason for his belief.  He said that his coach will hold each player accountable through film study and discussion, and he knows that his teammates are unselfish and accountable players who will respond well to such constructive criticism.  Those facts will steer the Celtics in the right direction as they continue to navigate their challenging schedule.

Was Sunday’s loss a devastating one?  Sure, it felt that way in the heat of the moment.  But in the grand scheme of things, it was only one loss, and the Celtics have another 43 games on the schedule to make the type of run they know they’re capable of.

Their next opportunity to bounce back will arrive Tuesday night, when they take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m excited about the next game,” Bradley sincerely stated.  “I’m happy that I’m playing again, and I know that we’re going to get this next one.”

Thirty-four minutes after a crushing defeat that left the rest of the locker room deflated, Bradley stood tall in front of a throng of media.  He was smiling.  He was confident.  He was uttering words like “excited” and “happy” and “correctable,” all while nearly guaranteeing a win Tuesday night.

That’s the type of guy you want on your team.  The type of guy anyone would be proud to call their captain.

bradley-stays-upbeat-while-cs-sing-blues-in-mem

Bradley Stays Upbeat While C's Sing Blues in MEM

Taylor Snow

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From the start, it looked like the Memphis Grizzlies didn’t have a chance against the Boston Celtics Sunday night.

The visiting C’s opened up with a 19-4 lead during the first six minutes, held a 34-16 advantage by the end of the first quarter, and eventually led by 21 points during the third.

But no lead is safe against the comeback kings of the NBA.

Memphis cut the deficit to eight points as entered the fourth quarter, and kept rolling to a 101-98 comeback win. It marked a league-high sixth time this season that the Grizz have won despite trailing as they entered the final frame.

With 3:49 remaining in the game, Marc Gasol gave the Grizzlies their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest when he hit an and-one driving hook shot, and then sunk the free throw to put his squad up, 87-85.

Memphis won the game by way of that free throw line, as 13 of its final 15 points came from the charity stripe.

Its only field goal during that span turned out to be the defining point of the game.

Memphis was trailing 92-91 just under a minute remaining when Matt Barnes collected a critical offensive rebound off of Mario Chalmers’ 3-point miss, and laid it in with ease for a one-point lead.

From that point forward the Grizzlies and Isaiah Thomas went back-and-forth from the line, and the C’s could not gain any ground.

Boston did make things interesting at the buzzer, however.

Jeff Green was inbounding the ball with a 3-point lead and five seconds till glory, but Isaiah Thomas read his pass perfectly and picked it off. IT sent the ball out to Avery Bradley beyond the arc for the game-tying 3; it clanked off the rim, but Marcus Smart was there to corral the offensive board. In a last-ditch effort, Smart athletically whipped his body around midair and found IT waiting behind the 3-point line. Thomas caught the pass, rose up and made the attempt, but it was all for naught, as his release came after the buzzer sounded.

The Grizzlies weren’t the only ones that made a comeback Sunday night.

Isaiah Thomas shot his way out of a three-game offensive funk and scored a game-high 35 points.

Thomas, who had shot a combined 18-of-55 (32.7 percent) during his previous three games, came out firing during the first quarter. He hit 5-of-6 shots from the field during that frame, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

He finished the night 11-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-8 from deep, and also made all nine of his free throws.

IT added a game-high eight assists to complete his All-Star-caliber effort, but he ultimately could not hold off the Grizzlies alone.

Brad Stevens on what went wrong during the second half.

keys-to-the-game-grizzlies-101-celtics-98

Keys to the Game: Grizzlies 101, Celtics 98

Sunday, January 10 - Celtics at Grizzlies

Pregame - Stevens Discusses Challenge of Defending Memphis' Bigs

MEMPHIS – It has been more than a year since the Celtics were last in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.

It hasn’t been long enough for Brad Stevens and the C’s to forget about what Memphis’ talented frontline did to them that night.

The combination of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph were dominant on Nov. 21, 2014 as they led the Grizzlies to a 117-100 win over Boston.  They combined to notch 48 points, 24 rebounds and six assists in the game.

“Those guys are really, really good,” Stevens said before tonight’s game.  He later added, “t’s challenging because each of those guys is unique in what they bring to the table.”

In particular, Stevens was referencing what each big man brings to the table at the offensive end.

Gasol was out in full force during that Nov. 21 matchup.  He led the game with 32 points on 13-for-22 shooting and was legitimately unstoppable for the majority of the night.  The 7-foot-1 Spaniard will never be the most athletic guy in the gym, but he is incredibly skilled and owns a refined offensive repertoire.

“Marc’s got an array of moves,” Stevens said.  “He gets fouled, he can get to that right-hand hook or the turnaround, which is nasty, over his right shoulder.”  Lastly, Stevens added, “He can move in small spaces exceptionally well for a big man.”

Randolph is a bird of a different feather.  While he is also skilled with a stash of moves, he puts the ball through the basket in a much different manner.

Randolph is a true post player who can shoot it, take it off the dribble, and finish in traffic as well as any big man in the league.

“Zach was born to score on the right block,” said Stevens.  “That’s just the way it goes.  Some guys can do that.“

Randolph is also a monster on the glass, as Boston learned during its loss here last season, when he tallied 16 rebounds to go along with 16 points.

One particular facet of Gasol’s and Randolph’s games stands out most to Stevens. While each player torched the C’s throughout these teams’ first meeting last season, Stevens knows that they excel during crunch time.

“I think the thing that you really appreciate when you watch both Zach and Marc play is, you can throw those guys the ball late in games and they go get baskets,” said Stevens.  “And they’ve gone and got baskets for a long time.

“You have to meet that challenge for the whole 48 (minutes), because sometimes they’re best at the very end of the game.”

Fortunately for Boston, it can lean on the fact that it has met that challenge for an entire game.  When these teams met on March 11 of last season in Boston, the C’s limited Gasol and Randolph to a combined 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Boston can slow this duo down.  It just hasn’t done so in Memphis in a long, long time.

draftkings-post-ups-stevens-discusses-memphis-talented-bigs

DraftKings Post-Ups: Stevens Discusses Memphis' Talented Bigs

The Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics are stuck in offensive ruts, but one has been able to claw out a few more victories along the way.

The Grizzlies will try to build on an ugly win during an offensively inept stretch while the visiting Celtics hope to snap out of their shooting funk Sunday night - possibly again without their coach.

While Boston (19-17) has lost four of five during its scoring woes, Memphis (20-18) has won four of six despite a similar stretch in its last four games. The Grizzlies are 2-2 despite averaging 90.8 points and shooting 38.7 percent.

Friday's 91-84 victory over Denver was Memphis' fifth straight home win and opened a six-game homestand - the team's longest since late 2013. It was also the epitome of an ugly win as the Grizzlies played without Mike Conley (left Achilles) and Courtney Lee (left hip contusion) while coach Dave Joerger was suffering from flu-like symptoms. Neither team shot 37.0 percent and they combined for four quarters with 20 or fewer points.

The Grizzlies, though, committed just eight turnovers to the Nuggets' 18 and held them to a season-low for a Memphis opponent with seven points in the second quarter.

"We just kept fighting. Kept playing," said Zach Randolph, who scored 24 points off the bench. "That's our team. That's our personality. We get it in the mud, play inside out and play defense. It's not pretty. We just play hard."

Memphis continued its defensive trend, holding an opponent to fewer than 100 points for the 11th time in the last 13 games. Opponents are averaging 93.4 points while shooting 42.1 percent during that stretch.

Mario Chalmers made just 3 of 13 shots while starting in place of Conley, though he connected on two key 3-pointers and scored eight of his 12 points in the final 90 seconds. Chalmers finished with 23 in Wednesday's 112-94 loss at Oklahoma City.

Conley is Memphis' second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, and it is unclear if he will return to the lineup.

The Celtics have also struggled offensively without their second-best scorer. Avery Bradley (14.7 ppg) missed his third consecutive game Thursday with a sore left hip, and Boston shot 35.7 percent in a 101-92 loss at Chicago.

Boston's top scorer Isaiah Thomas has averaged 18.3 points in Bradley's absence, but he has shot just 32.7 percent.

The Celtics, winners of seven of their last 10 road games, have shot 39.8 percent in their last five games and 36.5 while averaging 93.0 points in their last two. Boston was the third-best 3-point shooting team in the league at 38.2 percent from Nov. 30-Dec. 21 behind Golden State (41.5) and Houston (38.6) but has plummeted to last in eight games since at 24.4 percent.

"But we have to turn it back around and get back on our high horse and get back to running our offense the way we should," said Jared Sullinger, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds at Chicago.

It is unclear if Bradley will be available Sunday, and the same can be said for coach Brad Stevens. He missed his first game in two seasons with the Celtics on Thursday to visit his former Butler player Andrew Smith, who has been battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Assistant Jay Larranaga filled in for Stevens against the Bulls and said afterward he wasn't sure when Stevens would rejoin the team.

Boston won the last matchup in this series 95-92 on March 11, but the Grizzlies won the previous five, including three in Memphis.

20160110‑BOSMEM

Bradley Stays Upbeat While C's Sing Blues in MEM

Keys to the Game: Grizzlies 101, Celtics 98

DraftKings Post-Ups: Stevens Discusses Memphis' Talented Bigs

1/10 Game Preview: Celtics at Grizzlies