Eastern Conference Semis - Game 1

Celtics 123

Wizards 111

April 30, 2017 - TD Garden, Boston, MA

From a historically good start at the beginning of the game, to a crucial injury, to a deflating loss; things went from good to bad to terrible for the Washington Wizards. As a result, they find themselves down 1-0 as Boston wins their fifth straight playoff game.

• Let’s start with the good.

Washington got out to a 16-0 run, the largest run to start a game without the opposing team scoring a point in NBA playoff history. They then took their largest lead of the game by going up 22-5. The Wizards began shooting the ball at a 71.4 percent clip, 10 of 14, while the Celtics missed their first 8 shots. Multiple players told me that they felt they got “punked” in Atlanta to start Game 3 last series and vowed that it would not happen again; it looked like they were living up to their promise.

• The bad kind of deja-vu all over again.

Two years ago, John Wall had five non-displaced fractures in his wrist, which essentially cost the Wizards the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Today, with 7:18 remaining in the second half, Markieff Morris sprains his left ankle and does not return to the game.

“A lot of aggression, a guy that can space the court,” Wall said to describe what Morris brings to the team. Washington’s lead was already trimmed to 45-42, but to make matters worse, the Celtics outscored the Wizards 81-66 from that moment on. Morris is not the best or even second best player on this team, but he provides a level of bravado and versatility that Washington’s small ball lineup cannot. The biggest area where Morris was missed is on the boards; the Wizards had a 12-0 advantage to start the game, but finished tied with Boston at 38.

Morris has dealt with lower leg injuries throughout the season and has played through the discomfort the majority of times, but this time it is a different animal. Morris told local media that he initially thought he broke his left ankle and that this was certainly the worst sprain he has ever had. Despite being ruled out of the game, Morris said that he wanted to return but the medical staff took it out of his hands fearing aggravation. The power forward said he plans to be available for Game 2 and promisingly said that the swelling has already come down after icing and stimulation.

• Washington got worked in the third quarter, again.

Similar to Game 6 in Atlanta, the Wizards had a poor third quarter. Against the Hawks, Washington was outscored 36-24. Today, the DC team was embarrassed to the tune of 36-16, which gave Boston their largest lead of the game at 95-80 entering the fourth quarter. Washington had 13 turnovers the entire game, but eight of the come during the third quarter that directly resulted in 10 Boston points. Wall had five of those miscues in the game and himself had a career playoff worst eight turnovers over the entire game.

Too often during the season is the Wizards lack of success offensively, 7 of 19 shooting (36.8 percent), affecting their defense, which will cost them this series if it continues.

• Comeback attempt falls short.

I want to know what Scott Brooks told his team in between the third and fourth quarter because the Wizards come out with a purpose to begin the final frame. Washington started the quarter on a 9-0 run, which was extended to a 15-4 stretch less than a minute later to draw within four points of Boston. Then Al Horford scored seven straight points for the Celtics in a span of 61 seconds: jump shot, putback, three-pointer.

With 8:16 to play, Otto Porter was handling the ball on a 3-on-2 break after a missed layup from Isaiah Thomas. Brandon Jennings was streaking down the right side of the court free and likely would have had a layup to make it an 11-0 run to start the quarter. Instead, Porter kicked to the left slot where Bradley Beal spotted up from three. The Florida product was unable to knock it down to cut the deficit to three. I will not say that Washington would have won if Beal knocks the shot down, but they immediately lost all momentum as their defense fell off a cliff as the Celtics scored 26 points over the next seven minutes which is on pace for a 45-point quarter.

• The defense was Bad with a capital B.

The Wizards themselves have said it all season. At times, they lose focus. That happened frequently today as the Celtics tied their franchise playoff high with 19 made three-pointers, which also tied a season-high. Jae Crowder made a career-high six three-pointers after shooting just 9 of 33, 27.3 percent, in the Bulls series. That is simply unacceptable because several of his eight attempts were uncontested. Too often did Isaiah Thomas penetrate past his defender, suck the defense in, and kick out for open three point attempts. NBA Stats says that Boston only had 10 uncontested attempts from deep out of their 39, but I’d argue it was far more than that.

Again, if Washington wants any shot at winning this series, Scott Brooks is going to have to call the shit out of his star players, including John Wall as he looked bad defensively late, during their next film session and spend a lot of practice time on closing out after helping towards the paint. The Wizards have said that their locker room dynamic is excellent because everybody feels comfortable with calling out one another, which may be necessary between now and Game 2 on Tuesday. It is not impossible to comeback from a 2-0 deficit, but only 19 teams in the NBA’s history of seven game series have done so, which makes Game 2 a borderline must win.