ClutchFans Game Thread: Celtics @ Rockets 1/3/2025

Whatever helps you sleep at night kiddo.

I guess the Bucks were trolling when they absolutely steamrolled the best team in the West for the Cup.

Odd that you claim to have put me on ignore, yet still cry about every word I type.

Too friggin' funny

 

Why the hell are any of you still interacting with a loser who is so desperate for interaction that feels the need to use two different accounts to troll an unrelated message board?

 

Last night was a masterclass in 3>2. Did everyone see what the game plan will be for the playoffs? Hunt the fk out of Sengun on defense and then send a two big lineup to shut everything down in the paint on offense and voila "How to stop the Rockets" CliffsNotes version.

Its year 4 will Sengun EVER have a reliable jump shot outside of 10 feet?

 

We were missing Amen, Jabari, and Tari our 3 best defenders. It is in no way a gameplan teams will be able to execute in the playoffs (even though we aren't going to make the playoffs). Sengun has been outstanding on defense this year. This whole team had no chance last night without Amen and Jabari.

Sengun does need to get an outside shot. He may already have one, but he needs to let it fly so he can get comfortable with it. I saw Ime shaking his head in disgust when Sengun passed up a wide-open 3, did his normal fake and got stripped in the lane. It is a critical flaw that he needs to correct and I think eventually will. Let's not forget he is 22 years old and getting all-star consideration for the second straight year. He won't continue to miss bunnies forever, either.

 

Last night's game showed how much Jabari and Amen add to this team that never shows up in the boxscore.

 

Absolutely agree. Amen should have been starting all year and all the calls for Jabari to be benched were ridiculous. Some fans only watch one side of the court and can't get over their pre-conceived ideas about players.

 

Yup. I always treat those 2 as one player who gives you 25 pts a night with elite defense for 47 minutes, non stop.
"Well they didn't have the Jaylen Brown! " the miserable posters on this board.
Having Brown would have meant 20 less shots for their bench and Amen +Eason would have made him worked for a below avg %

Jabari in doesn't allow for the multiple seven footers.

Other than the exaggerated game of 21 brand of basketball that the Celtics play, I was only bothered by the 9 assists. That's the lowest since Silas era.
Game is way different with those 3 in the lineup.

 

They didnt have Jaylen Brown who far exceeds anything that Amen or Jabari bring to a court. Watch how many teams will go 3-2 zone against us moving forward. Sengun plays a decent brand of team defense, but dont anyone dare try to tell me he wasnt getting singled out in matchups and will continue to do so he surely isnt treated as some rim protecting defensive stopper by opposing offenses thats for sure.

I get a kick of how arbitrary the comments of "he's only 22" or "he's in his 4th year" get doled out around here to suit each individual fan agenda. I agree with you and feel this team is right where it needs to be, but until someone on this roster proves they can be a killer night in and night out we will always fall to teams who do roster one of those type players and know how to limit our strengths. Amen will help. Jabari will help. Neither is THAT guy though. Tari may never be 100% again who the hell knows?

 

Hustle rebounding and 2nd chance points actually is our motion offense lmao

 

Rebounding does show up on the boxscore tho.

We are the best rebounding team in the league and got limited to 37 rebounds and lost the battle to their 41.

Them shooting 50% limited our rebounds sure, but we lost the long rebound battle tonight where amen, tari and bari shine.

 

SO STOP RESPONDING TO HIM

 

"2 different accounts"? Show some credible/factual proof of that little one. We will all wait for that credible evidence. Too funny.

Hey Mods, this unhinged individual is falsely claiming I use 2 different accounts to post here. I think that is grounds for a permanent ban from this site. False accusations should be dealt with swiftly. Please remove this unstable individual with a quickness. Thank you for your cooperation.

Now back to basketball. Where was I?

Ahh yes, was discussing the fact the West is a dumpster fire.

The East is without doubt the stronger conference. There is nothing one could bring to even debate that fact. Silly to even have the nerve to say: "The West is the better conference."

Let's see, who does Houston play next? Lakers. When do they play an East team again? Oh, the Wizards. Wonderful, let's see how the Rockets of the amazing West fair against the worst team in the East. Then we will move on to see how the Rockets of the incredible West fair against the Hawks. We will keep a tally of how the Rockets of the West fair against the East.

Should be fun.

 

Too many mistakes collectively.

-There were many opportunities to score as Boston kept stacking their defense in the paint and sag their wings worried about Sengun. Holliday, Jalen, Cam, Brooks all misfired on wide open looks

-Cam contributed in the first quarter but tapered off. His constant lack of awareness going 1 on 3 is unacceptable. He had Jeff Green wide open on the left on a break but took it against 3 Celtics. This is losing basketball.

-Sengun made a lot of mistakes on both ends. Right off the bat at 10:40 mark he made a lazy back court pass to Fred which got stolen by Jrue who drove into his chest and scored. That’s not high IQ or good defense. Boston gave him a hard time collapsing their defense on him but offensively he was impatient throwing wild shots up and he missed wide open shooters including Brooks in the 2nd where defensive wing sagged off Brooks. This is a constant with him as he focuses more on interior passing or DHO’s.

-Too stagnant. Rockets had to rush several sets with the first driving action cut off. No screens not cutting after the initial drive. A recurring issue. Not winning basketball

 

yep water is wet

19 out of 39 for 48.7% >>>>> 10 out of 36 for 27.8%

a great 3 pt making teams averaging 60 pts on threes a game

vs

one of the worst 3 pt making teams averaging 36 pts on threes a game

 

Amen is definitely that guy. You b**** about people making a valid point that we have very young players with 1 1/3 years of decent coaching, but make incredibly stupid comments about the players you have decided will NEVER be capable of championships. Yours comments are just as comical than other fans.

 

LOL

If I know anything its the irrational attachment to certain players. I understand.

Wake me up when Amen develops an outside shot you can depend on -- until then you can pull out your "impact" stats and use them to get you a good nights sleep.

 

You don't know the future any more than any of the rest of us and you certainly haven't displayed that you have basketball knowledge any more than any of the rest of us. LOL at you're continued pessimistic takes meaning anything to anybody.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6036812/2025/01/04/rockets-celtics-jabari-smith-jr-out/

…But for such a poor offensive output against the world champions — the Rockets converted just 36 percent of their field goals and 27 percent of their 3s and scored 30 points in the second half — Udoka’s postgame discussion oddly wasn’t laced with anger or vitriol. “Disappointment” was a more apt description of his mood, almost like he had anticipated struggles he’d seen on so many nights this season.

He cited several “selfish” offensive possessions, bemoaning Houston’s nine assists and failure to make simple reads. A large portion of credit should go to the Celtics’ defensive setup that confused the Rockets, mixing in zone coverage with aggressive pressure for 48 minutes.

According to Cleaning the Glass, the Rockets scored just 79.5 points per 100 half-court plays, which is somehow worse than their typical output but understandable, to an extent, given their slew of absences.

According to NBA.com tracking data, the Rockets run the eighth-most isolation possessions (8.2) per game yet score just 0.82 points on such plays, which places them in the 20th percentile in the league. By contrast, the Celtics are in a class of their own, the 100th percentile, scoring 1.05 points per isolation.

“We only had nine assists,” Udoka said. “You’re obviously not passing the ball to open people. You miss some, obviously, but it was just two on the ball, not getting off it and creating an advantage. We were just trying to do it on our own.”

One name in particular that should register intrigue is the Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Johnson, whom the Rockets have expressed interest in previously.

Johnson, a 6-foot-9 combo forward, is amid a career campaign, averaging a shade under 20 points while shooting an eye-popping 43.6 percent from 3 on more than seven attempts, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Johnson is neither the rebounder nor the defender that Smith is, but his elite floor spacing would solve many issues the Rockets run into nightly. Udoka’s screen-heavy system is in desperate need of a release valve, and there are few better out there than Johnson, who’s lethal from any spot on the perimeter and could work off Fred VanVleet, Alperen Şengün or Jalen Green.

 

team needs a player only meeting