Better offense without Thomas?

[Vox_Populi]

Eh, don't try too hard to draw conclusions from tonight.

LeBron was tired, the Cavs played without urgency, Smart caught fire.

The Celts are better with Thomas. Let's not over think it.

Just enjoy this unlikely win. We can bask in the glow of that between now and the draft.

Agreed.

[cltc5]

The offense works the way it's supposed to as a team unit not one guy.  Which is why I think it should be traded.  Didn't we have this same issue with the ball dying in rondos hands which led to him getting the boot?

[keevsnick]

Offense + healthy IT > Offense Without IT > Offense + Unhealthy IT

[OldSchoolDude]

The offense works the way it's supposed to as a team unit not one guy.  Which is why I think it should be traded.  Didn't we have this same issue with the ball dying in rondos hands which led to him getting the boot?

I think it was Rondo's poor attitude + Drafting Marcus Smart + Rondo's Returning from injury at not quite 100%.

  Hmmmm, attitude (wants "Brinks truck" pay day, throws teammates under the bus, does a lot of self promotion) + Drafting Fultz + injury that could hinder his speed. 

[SHAQATTACK]

No .

Thomas was hurting .....he took the court when he should not have stepped foot on it .  Hobbled around killing himself and letting Cavs play 5 on 4 .  He kinda killed the Celtics in that last game blowout  by trying to play .

we stemmed the tide to keep it closer to come back.

With a perfect 100 % IT .....the series might be different with us up a game.   He just did not know when to quit .

[Rosco917]

A hell of a lot better defense for sure.

[jakeopp]

The offense works the way it's supposed to as a team unit not one guy.  Which is why I think it should be traded.  Didn't we have this same issue with the ball dying in rondos hands which led to him getting the boot?

I think it was Rondo's poor attitude + Drafting Marcus Smart + Rondo's Returning from injury at not quite 100%.

  Hmmmm, attitude (wants "Brinks truck" pay day, throws teammates under the bus, does a lot of self promotion) + Drafting Fultz + injury that could hinder his speed. 

1. All players want the Brinks truck, IT is no different.

2. Examples of him throwing teammates under the bus?

3. Many all stars promote themselves, people with Kawhi's attitude (or lack of attitude) are extremely rare. IT also goes out of his way to promote his teammates in interviews.

4. Fultz & IT are friends, I expect they will play together​ for at least one full season. If we are really pursuing a max free agent we aren't going to just trade our only all star talent.

5. The impact of the injury remains to be seen.

[Csfan1984]

It's not better just different. Less iso/superstar plays from IT means running sets all game. But I think IT also improves the fast break more as well as the free throw disparity. When IT buys-in more (on nights guys are shooting well) the ball moves well and the team looks dominant. C's are better with IT.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Anyone else have deja vu? Replace the word "Thomas" with "rondo" in title

I dunno. With the last ECF run it felt like the team scored because someone had to personally will the team to the 100 or so points needed to win. This lot seem slot more fluid attuned to offense. Reckon it is as much a coaching and roster make up change than any one particular player.

[max215]

Marcus Smart shot 7/10 from three and drew two additional 3-shot fouls. Please, please do not draw conclusions from this game.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Eh, don't try too hard to draw conclusions from tonight.

LeBron was tired, the Cavs played without urgency, Smart caught fire.

The Celts are better with Thomas. Let's not over think it.

Just enjoy this unlikely win. We can bask in the glow of that between now and the draft.

better than getting swept!

down 21 on road is a huge win

heck down 17 and 12 at home to the whiz were huge wins but this is unreal

[CF0022]

I think a lot of it has to do with who controls pace.  The Celtics hit shots tonight and having Marcus in there makes a difference.

I don't think we are a better offense without Thomas though. He is too good.  What his role is in the offense and particularly on defense in order to keep pace, has something to do with it though.

[CF0022]

I basically predicted this in another thread though with having Marcus to stop Kyrie.  And Horford on love.  Then utilize Crowder, jaylen, jerebko, Amir and KO etc to keep Lebron and Thompson at bay.   Then utilize Bradley coming off screens and going to the basket and stretching the floor in that closer role. Thomas really can be part of that though.  Marcus was a beast though at the point of attack. Gobbled up Kyrie. Having an assortment of guys on lebron so he can't bully us helps too. 

I didn't even watch the game and I'm sure that is exactly what happened too.  I would have had it like that with Thomas at sg and bradley off the bench though in that role to start the series though.

Brad is good but he is a bit slow sometimes in how he prepares. He's more reactionary after we get beat a few times. Not as much an aggressor that way.

Every team is different though.  Cleveland is a different matchup than GS.

We got punched in the mouth to start this series.  IT ended up getting hurt.

REgular season and when you are developing players it's fine but playoffs are different.  You have to be able to read your opponent in ways. Easier said than done sometimes.

This series upsets me in ways because AB can really beat jr smith and their guards to the basket then hit game winning shots. IT could have been that too for us. Instead of getting hurt.

I really felt we had a shot this series.  Still do but have to be aggressive like I'm saying.

Rozier and GReen and guys like Crowder and jaylen are going to have to be in what would have been IT's role and Bradley needs to lead the way there. All of them really need to be ready to step up.

If they slow Bradley next game or he is off, those guys can't be unprepared. That's what happens sometimes.

[Moranis]

This was a common theme on the national channels all day today (FS1 and ESPN)

[mctyson]

Obviously still down by a lot but the offense seems better overall. More ball movement, better looks, etc. So is this a one time thing or is the team more cohesive without the ball dominant scorer on it.

No.