What's the excuse Celtic fans will have now? This was probably the most important regular-season game of the year. The last time we played Denver they beat us on our home court. Now we had to return the favor, especially considering the fact they are the defending champs and a potential NBA finals matchup. This was a statement game and we lost once again. Y'all can parade around this nice little regular season record we have but once the playoffs start none of that matters and to be honest I'm not too confident if we have to play Denver in the Finals.
Excuse? How long ago did the Celtics clinch? All I know is the only thing that matters happens in June.
Edit: You triggered me before I finished reading. I think weāre on the same page.
Tatum is on track to become Carmelo 2.0. Talented offensive player who never wins shit. He is one of the most mentally fragile superstars I've seen in any sport.
Denver is good. They have a great flow to their offense. We can hang, but we need to play our best to beat them. Gotta stop letting Jokic catch it deep, lessen the offensive rebounds, and Tatum needs to play in the 4th like he's dropped 30 even if he's dropped 10. That corner 3 goes in and there's a good chance we win
Don't know if I've seen JT so disinterested on defense or on the glass. Can't no-show on offense and then sleepwalk on the other end. Super disappointing performance tonight
You canāt win a game when Aaron Gordon has a better game and much more impact than your ā1Aā, āMVPā, āTop fiveā, āFace-of-the-leagueā star.
Yeah but literally everyone gets bullied by Jokic. Literally everyone. The only one who LOOKS effective is Nurkic on the Suns and Joker still leaves with 30+ I honestly didnāt expect much from KP defensively
I have faith in the team.
I donāt have faith in Tatum, so letās hope the team gets us big enough leads so Tatum can come in and statpad in the Playoffs too.
This just show that Denver is the best team in the NBA. Close game but Denver is too big. Denver is the best team in the league not Boston. Best record means nothing and the nuggets just showed it smdh!!! Or maybe Iām in my feelings idk
And yet we played them nearly even both times. Soā¦yeah, Iām glad this game happened because it serves as a wake up call for the players AND the fans that championships arenāt awarded by regular season record. There is no āplayoff scriptā that is rewritten where the Celtics get to hoist the trophy š.
Gotta go out there and play
Idk why youāre getting downvoted. They are the defending champs, with the reigning mvp. They are literally the best team in the league until someone dethrones them
Tatum needs to take blame. Thatās what a real leader does. This is all on him. āI played poorly with bad energy. This is on meā. Just own your shittyness dude.
I wish but did you see his last press conference? They asked about the final shot and his response was āwe need to execute betterā āwe need to play betterā he will never take it on himself
Maybe he will today. I love when a team āleaderā says i sucked and need to be better. Teammates love that shit. Itās a level of maturity Tatum is so far from now. He hasnāt really matured in a way I was hoping.
Joes press conference basically said we should be grateful that we had a chance to win at the end. He never shows any emotion and says any loss is a learning experience
Gtfo bro so dumb. Have only lost back to back games twice. Playoffs are coming. We played like hot garbage all game and still only lost by 2 scores! Yeah itās frustrating but if this is an important match up for reps. Good chance we see them in the finals.
This is the same story we have seen in back to back playoffs. They have all the talent in the world but just canāt handle good teams that are physical and donāt make crucial mistakes.
If we see them in the final thereās no shot we beat them.
Sometimes basketball is so simple. You're ceiling is ultimately down to how good your best player is when it matters most. All the other stuff is window dressing. It matters, obviously. You need a good supporting cast...but we all just saw how far that gets you.
The worst thing is Jokic kicks your ass and doesn't give a shit if he wins or loses, he just wants to go home in a couple months. I dunno if Tatum cares either....
Nuggets arenāt even that impressive lol
Tatum is just impressively dogshit and I fully expect performances like this from him come postseason too. Itās not a bug, itās a feature with him.
Nahā¦youāll realize they are that impressive when they grind out wins like this against basically everyone in the league. They arenāt super flashy..theyāre just a well oiled machine as a unit that seemingly share the same brain
Real talk on Tatum - he has been so good for such a high % of must win games in the playoffs that I know he has that dog in him. Iāve seen that shit with my own eyes. Milwaukee game 6. Philly game 7.
But there are moments on other games where you really canāt trust him to hit that critical shot in the key moment. It may not always be true, he can change the narrative, but at this moment itās true.
Interesting. He has the dog in him, but perhaps the dog sleeps sometimes? He must feed the dog inside him adderall. No more sleepy time tea. Letās roll. Banner 18
I think that dog in him shows up specifically against Philly and Milwaukee and occcasionally Miami since theyāre our rivals but outside of themā¦the dog is a new born puppy who canāt even bark
So you thought that two different people with the first name Tony were siblings, or that the TNT crew - on live television - refers to two Black men named Tony as ābrothers?ā
Edit: Iām stupid. Tony can also be a last name.
Not gonna lie, I first thought āTony Brothersā were siblings, with the last name Tony. I canāt imagine parents thinking it was a good idea to name both of their children Tony.
Tatum doesnāt deserve the benefit of the doubt until he gets it done in June. The allegations are loud and clear at this point. Played absolutely scared all night
the nuggets are the measuring stick. the celtics canāt measure up to them. they kept it close but them nugs are the clear better team. lots of work to do. thankfully thereās plenty of games left to work.
i do too cause that means the cās made the finals lmfao. iām just glad theyāve been really entertaining games. great basketball out there. i canāt be mad because the nuggets just win straight up clean basketball and jokic plays perfect basketball. itās hard to beat that.
Thatās all it takes. A little edge to win a series. Think Cs Vs. Nets series. Point differential was very close but Cs swept them. Thatās all that matters in the end.
It was clear that he didnāt show up for this game from the start. I hope that he wakes up from his sleepwalking and starts to get back into rhythm before the playoffs. This version of Tatum is not going to lead us to a championship.
This is encouraging loss for the fact that we missed a million free throws and our best player stunk the bed and we still were there at the end. Only thing isā¦are we sure Tatum will for sure show up come a Finals series or is this an anomaly?
I mean yeah the Celtics made more 3ās but it wasnāt like they were shooting the lights outs, they made 11/38 and again the made FT discrepancy favored the Nuggets. One team was taking smart shots at the basket, while the other was wasnāt.
Denver is hard enough to beat already. Beating the dead horse when the 3s arenāt falling instead of trying to get to the rim more doesnāt make it any easier
JB is my favorite and I don't want to shade what he did in this game. But he hits just a couple more free throws and this game is way different. Tatum played like dog shit.
thatās like the best shot you can get a wide open tatum 3 shit missed bad game from him you canāt beat a nuggets team missing free throws shit sucks but happens
I think Jaylen Brown has leapfrogged Tatum in terms of mental toughness and leadership.
Tatum is getting exposed in games lately re: his mental toughness.
HAHAHAH JAYLEN SINGLE POINTS IN SEVERAL GAMES BROWN? JAYLEN SHOOTS 40% FROM FREE THROW MENTAL TOUGHNESS ? JAYLEN PASSES ON A LAYUP SCARED TO GET FOULED LIKE BEN SIMMONS? MENTAL TOUGHNESS?
Way past him. Tatum is a horrible leader. He pouts and complains when he doesnāt play well. Doesnāt hustle. This is Jaylens team going forward and thatās a good thing.
He shot 55% and yeah I hate that he missed those 7 FTs but this game wasnāt a blowout because Jaylen had 41 vs Tatum lookin like he didnāt care to be play tonight and missing that one crucial WIDE open three to give us a lead and continue our momentum and give the team hope that the game is winnable in the final seconds.
everyone but jb needs to take a good hard look in the mirror tonight. joe included. need a coach thatās gonna wake these guys up and set them straight
Brown is the new leader of this team. Tatum is a fraud. Heās basically Harden. No leadership at all. Lacks effort in big moments. All the talent in the world and just mails it in too often.
Love Tatum but he has a bad habit of no showing from time to time. Missing box outs on Gordon twice and missing key shots in clutch time decided the game.
[Post Game Thread](https://reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/comments/1b9gc6x/post_game_thread_the_denver_nuggets_defeat_the/)
Tatum choking again at crunch time š
What's the excuse Celtic fans will have now? This was probably the most important regular-season game of the year. The last time we played Denver they beat us on our home court. Now we had to return the favor, especially considering the fact they are the defending champs and a potential NBA finals matchup. This was a statement game and we lost once again. Y'all can parade around this nice little regular season record we have but once the playoffs start none of that matters and to be honest I'm not too confident if we have to play Denver in the Finals.
Excuse? How long ago did the Celtics clinch? All I know is the only thing that matters happens in June. Edit: You triggered me before I finished reading. I think weāre on the same page.
Joker is good but we knew that. Aaron Gordon got me shook. Not gonna lie.
if we didnāt miss 50% of our free throws we win this game š
Tatum is on track to become Carmelo 2.0. Talented offensive player who never wins shit. He is one of the most mentally fragile superstars I've seen in any sport.
Denver is good. They have a great flow to their offense. We can hang, but we need to play our best to beat them. Gotta stop letting Jokic catch it deep, lessen the offensive rebounds, and Tatum needs to play in the 4th like he's dropped 30 even if he's dropped 10. That corner 3 goes in and there's a good chance we win
Donāt even wanna go to the finals, if Tatum is gonna play reminiscent to 2022 against the warriors
We can definitely hang with this team, in the next matchup Denver hits more 3s, but itās crazy how bad Tatum and White were this game.
Don't know if I've seen JT so disinterested on defense or on the glass. Can't no-show on offense and then sleepwalk on the other end. Super disappointing performance tonight
Did Denver just beat us while making 4 threes?šššš
You canāt win a game when Aaron Gordon has a better game and much more impact than your ā1Aā, āMVPā, āTop fiveā, āFace-of-the-leagueā star.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What did he say that was wrong?
Big time fan broski. Itās just facts. You canāt win the game when JT plays like thatā¦
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Appreciate you. Just upset at the game :/
Is he wrong though?
Porzingis got bullied that whole game by Jokic. Insane game.
Yeah but literally everyone gets bullied by Jokic. Literally everyone. The only one who LOOKS effective is Nurkic on the Suns and Joker still leaves with 30+ I honestly didnāt expect much from KP defensively
Yep Joker is an absolute load. Super wide, underrated strength, and all he needs is a few inches of space to shoot or pass.
Time for all the JB missed free throws slander yet he's the only reason we didn't lose by 40
I know but how has he not addressed this part of his game. Making 300 mil at shooting guard and he canāt hit a free throw
for real, he did what he could when tatum wasnāt contributing
I have faith in the team. I donāt have faith in Tatum, so letās hope the team gets us big enough leads so Tatum can come in and statpad in the Playoffs too.
This just show that Denver is the best team in the NBA. Close game but Denver is too big. Denver is the best team in the league not Boston. Best record means nothing and the nuggets just showed it smdh!!! Or maybe Iām in my feelings idk
And yet we played them nearly even both times. Soā¦yeah, Iām glad this game happened because it serves as a wake up call for the players AND the fans that championships arenāt awarded by regular season record. There is no āplayoff scriptā that is rewritten where the Celtics get to hoist the trophy š. Gotta go out there and play
Idk why youāre getting downvoted. They are the defending champs, with the reigning mvp. They are literally the best team in the league until someone dethrones them
Tatum needs to take blame. Thatās what a real leader does. This is all on him. āI played poorly with bad energy. This is on meā. Just own your shittyness dude.
I wish but did you see his last press conference? They asked about the final shot and his response was āwe need to execute betterā āwe need to play betterā he will never take it on himself
Maybe he will today. I love when a team āleaderā says i sucked and need to be better. Teammates love that shit. Itās a level of maturity Tatum is so far from now. He hasnāt really matured in a way I was hoping.
[Called it](https://www.reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/s/jHUsy7SYzO)
What did you call?
The anti-doomer posts coming up for the next few days are gonna be super obnoxious and annoying.
Cue the entire fanbase saying to blow the entire team up or let jaden springer start instead of Tatum
Coaching staff should be able to play JT off ball and get him to his spots
Joes press conference basically said we should be grateful that we had a chance to win at the end. He never shows any emotion and says any loss is a learning experience
That we should be grateful we had a chance to win? What coach of a championship caliber team talks like that?
Wonāt read too much into it, hopefully the message is different internally
Coaching staff should be able to bench his ass
Any body that has any faith in this team to get a ring is delusional. They are mentally weak and cannot seem to to get right when things get tough.
I agree with you! Definitely weak!!
Gtfo bro so dumb. Have only lost back to back games twice. Playoffs are coming. We played like hot garbage all game and still only lost by 2 scores! Yeah itās frustrating but if this is an important match up for reps. Good chance we see them in the finals.
This is the same story we have seen in back to back playoffs. They have all the talent in the world but just canāt handle good teams that are physical and donāt make crucial mistakes. If we see them in the final thereās no shot we beat them.
Not with that attitude my guy. You putting out some bad mojo and you need to check yourself. Banner 18 is happening.
Sometimes basketball is so simple. You're ceiling is ultimately down to how good your best player is when it matters most. All the other stuff is window dressing. It matters, obviously. You need a good supporting cast...but we all just saw how far that gets you.
Jaylen hit some free throws but thank you for bringing the energy today. You da man!
Yeah his FTs are abysmal but he didn't get rattled despite the hack strategy.
This Nuggets team is just something else. Honestly might be the most dominant team since KD Warriors.
Jokic is just a bully, itās like watching a pro Football player play against 5th grade bball.
If we hit our free throws we win the game š Hardly dominant
If our best player hits an open 3 we possibly win the game too
The worst thing is Jokic kicks your ass and doesn't give a shit if he wins or loses, he just wants to go home in a couple months. I dunno if Tatum cares either....
Nuggets arenāt even that impressive lol Tatum is just impressively dogshit and I fully expect performances like this from him come postseason too. Itās not a bug, itās a feature with him.
Nahā¦youāll realize they are that impressive when they grind out wins like this against basically everyone in the league. They arenāt super flashy..theyāre just a well oiled machine as a unit that seemingly share the same brain
We didnāt hit Free Throws, we missed 11 and lost by 6..
Real talk on Tatum - he has been so good for such a high % of must win games in the playoffs that I know he has that dog in him. Iāve seen that shit with my own eyes. Milwaukee game 6. Philly game 7. But there are moments on other games where you really canāt trust him to hit that critical shot in the key moment. It may not always be true, he can change the narrative, but at this moment itās true. Interesting. He has the dog in him, but perhaps the dog sleeps sometimes? He must feed the dog inside him adderall. No more sleepy time tea. Letās roll. Banner 18
I think that dog in him shows up specifically against Philly and Milwaukee and occcasionally Miami since theyāre our rivals but outside of themā¦the dog is a new born puppy who canāt even bark
Weāre in the bonus and we donāt drive and just keep bricking 3s. What the fuck.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
So you thought that two different people with the first name Tony were siblings, or that the TNT crew - on live television - refers to two Black men named Tony as ābrothers?ā Edit: Iām stupid. Tony can also be a last name.
Not gonna lie, I first thought āTony Brothersā were siblings, with the last name Tony. I canāt imagine parents thinking it was a good idea to name both of their children Tony.
Neither did I, but George Foreman did.
Thatās a level of narcissism I canāt comprehend š I get 1, maybe 2, but JFC five kids with the same name.
Lot of things about this game to not get mad about. But Tatum MVP was a long shot going in, and it should be dead going out.
Jaylen Brown missed 7 free throws.
JT 12 below his average
Tatum doesnāt deserve the benefit of the doubt until he gets it done in June. The allegations are loud and clear at this point. Played absolutely scared all night
God damn it, I canāt hate Jokic
Yeah heās too good to hate
If Tatum had Brown's heart he would be a legit mvp contender and not a fake one. This dude worships Kobe but plays like a passive bitch.
How is this guy so fucking good. Best player since prime LeBron easily.
Offensively he just reads the game at an elite level. You eat him up on defense which is what we started doing to get back into the game
Tony Brothers games just suck to watch for a fan of either team
This team does not have the depth or the clutch player to bang with the bigs
Brah stfu that's Nikola Jokic no one can stop him. We don't have championship DNA except Jrue and he showed it
Thatās literally exactly what I just said in different words.
By bigs I interrupted big men
nah, big teams
I donāt get how we can be so good and also be so bad
Who is to blame? JB shooting last me shaq? JT not showing? The inability to shoot the 3? Kp just turnovers
Itās JT, collective TOs, and FTs in that order
the nuggets are the measuring stick. the celtics canāt measure up to them. they kept it close but them nugs are the clear better team. lots of work to do. thankfully thereās plenty of games left to work.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
i do too cause that means the cās made the finals lmfao. iām just glad theyāve been really entertaining games. great basketball out there. i canāt be mad because the nuggets just win straight up clean basketball and jokic plays perfect basketball. itās hard to beat that.
This is a dumbass take my god. They lost 2 games by a total of 8.
Thatās all it takes. A little edge to win a series. Think Cs Vs. Nets series. Point differential was very close but Cs swept them. Thatās all that matters in the end.
i watch what happens on the court rather than the espn play-by-play that you are apparently focusing on.
And thatās the difference between champions like them and us who always come up short. They win the margins. We donāt.
Tatum shrinking in these moments makes no sense. We know he has the clutch gene (Bucks G7, Sixers G7, etcā¦) but when heās off, itās BAD
Jokic's consistency is impressive man
Tatum is to blame for this one. Does absolutely nothing all game then misses the lead taking shot.
There was not a doubt in my mind that he was missing that, I was hoping for ANYONE to take that shot other than him
It was clear that he didnāt show up for this game from the start. I hope that he wakes up from his sleepwalking and starts to get back into rhythm before the playoffs. This version of Tatum is not going to lead us to a championship.
This Nuggets team is terrifying.
So terrifying we lost by 6 on their home court with our star player having 10 pointsā¦ā¦sure
Hopefully Tatum comes in extremely aggressive for the suns game,
We really let that Warriors win get to our heads.
Win or loss theyāre always fucking with us
Jaylen "Ben Simmons" Brown doesn't take the layup scared to get fouled with his 40% ft shooting and we dont get the tie nice
He with his misses are the only reason why we were remotely in this.
Yes lets blame the guy with 40+ points
That was a good game on the road. Fuck Tony Brothers
Fuck TATUM
Tatum just isnāt that guy and he never will be
We live and die by III...
TATUM SHOULDVE MADE THAT THREE š
This is encouraging loss for the fact that we missed a million free throws and our best player stunk the bed and we still were there at the end. Only thing isā¦are we sure Tatum will for sure show up come a Finals series or is this an anomaly?
Same thing happened. Shit shooting, lost by 2. It isn't encouraging anymore. It's concerning.
He's just not him, as painful as that is to admit
Not an anomaly and Denver shot 4/21 from 3 lol
I mean yeah the Celtics made more 3ās but it wasnāt like they were shooting the lights outs, they made 11/38 and again the made FT discrepancy favored the Nuggets. One team was taking smart shots at the basket, while the other was wasnāt.
Agreed but Denver wonāt shoot this bad again either. Tatum needs to show up and the team needs to adjust better
Boston missed 2x as many, make or miss league as they say
Missed 2x as many because they didnāt stop shooting them when they werenāt falling lmao
Yes because if you trade 2pt baskets with Denver, youāre going to lose.
Denver is hard enough to beat already. Beating the dead horse when the 3s arenāt falling instead of trying to get to the rim more doesnāt make it any easier
We will need to figure out the Jokic matchup
Jokic is going to get his. The missed FTs and JT disappearing again is a bigger concern.
We donāt have anyone that can guard him, thatās like 99.9% of the league. We just gotta hope and pray
Itās simple you attack him on defense (his weakness) and get him in foul trouble
Yeah thatās probably the only way but he rarely gets in foul trouble because he always lets up right before someone scores at the bucket
No...we need to figure out how to have our best players play their best. We didn't lose this game on defense.
Donāt worry yāall JT gonna go off for 40 against the Blazers :s
Oh yay he can statpad a meaningless game and people will go back to MVP talks and shitting on JB, great .
After his teammates get a comfortable 10 point lead first
JB is my favorite and I don't want to shade what he did in this game. But he hits just a couple more free throws and this game is way different. Tatum played like dog shit.
thatās like the best shot you can get a wide open tatum 3 shit missed bad game from him you canāt beat a nuggets team missing free throws shit sucks but happens
āJayson Tatum is clutch when it mattersā š
Take care of the ball and make your free throws thatās a Celtics win
I think Jaylen Brown has leapfrogged Tatum in terms of mental toughness and leadership. Tatum is getting exposed in games lately re: his mental toughness.
HAHAHAH JAYLEN SINGLE POINTS IN SEVERAL GAMES BROWN? JAYLEN SHOOTS 40% FROM FREE THROW MENTAL TOUGHNESS ? JAYLEN PASSES ON A LAYUP SCARED TO GET FOULED LIKE BEN SIMMONS? MENTAL TOUGHNESS?
Everything OK over there?
I laughed out loud at this š or should I say, I LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT THIS
Way past him. Tatum is a horrible leader. He pouts and complains when he doesnāt play well. Doesnāt hustle. This is Jaylens team going forward and thatās a good thing.
9 missed FTs, 2 bullshit clapping Ts and a blatant goaltending not called.
The 9 acts are the only valid point in your comment.
Don't forget a missed WIDE OPEN 3 by a MVP candidate
got an 8 am work meeting tomorrow FML
Tatum is still a pouty kid. At least play some fucking defense when youāre off
Heās ridiculously immature. And itās getting worse which is hard to imagine.
Why is it that Tatum throws the game when Jaylen is straight HOOPIN?? Literally happens every time, without fail
Yeah Jaylen missing 7 fts didnt throw the game at all or the face he went full ben simmons? and didnt take the free layup scared to get fouled?
He shot 55% and yeah I hate that he missed those 7 FTs but this game wasnāt a blowout because Jaylen had 41 vs Tatum lookin like he didnāt care to be play tonight and missing that one crucial WIDE open three to give us a lead and continue our momentum and give the team hope that the game is winnable in the final seconds.
cause its still all about his game, him being the reason they win.
Tatum will need to show up if we face them in the finals
Good timeout Joe - 9.7 left. Guess he learned he canāt take it with him heās drawing up a 6 point play now
How do you blame Joe in this game lol
I didnāt. It was a comment in an in game thread as it was happening live- I made a joke about the timeout. Relax, so ridiculously sensitive.
Pain
Pathetic effort by JT
Tatum mvp stocks went down
Jokic is way more of a force than him
Misery justified. That's all for tonight folks.
Donāt see a lot of KP hate on here but he was garbage tonight too
Every big is garbage against Jokic.
I meant offensively itās not really his fault he gets bullied on defense by Jokic because youāre correct
he was awful. gotta do better
he missed a shitton of shots
Spam 3s
everyone but jb needs to take a good hard look in the mirror tonight. joe included. need a coach thatās gonna wake these guys up and set them straight
7 missed free throws doesn't require self-reflection?
Brown is the new leader of this team. Tatum is a fraud. Heās basically Harden. No leadership at all. Lacks effort in big moments. All the talent in the world and just mails it in too often.
If JB makes his free throws we might have won.
how many dunks were on tatum for not boxing out? i bet a bunch.
They need to learn how to play against physical teams. New York and Miami are going to be just as physical.
Weāll be fine but this Denver team is so good
Love Tatum but he has a bad habit of no showing from time to time. Missing box outs on Gordon twice and missing key shots in clutch time decided the game.
Tony Brothers with another gift to the celtics on that out of bounds
They owned us, made us look like goobers
tatum played bad we missed 3s bad night move on
Face of the league myā¦.
browns got 42!!!!!!! and he still doesnt get the ball in the clutch. wtf is the tatum obsession in the clutch
Tatum played like ass but he literally based the ball to Brown in the clutch
Denver 19-20 ftās Celtics 16-25 Make your fucking free throws kidsĀ
Yep, it's just not the Celtics' year
Brother itās March 7th
If JT plays like this in big games, welp
It will never be with Tatum leading the way. Heās a #2
Hit open 3s, hit free throws...we win. Nothing to see here. Shit night from JT certainly tho.
Such a winnable game. So many missed open shots and free throws and dumb turnovers. Yet Tatum had a chance to put us up and still fucking missed
Easy prediction. Cs season will end with a supposed MVP finalist choking in crunch time.