The Boston Celtics were supposed to right the ship against another West Coast team that had been struggling as of late after dropping a contest to the Golden State Warriors over the weekend. But instead, Boston found themselves the fulcrum for the Los Angeles Clippers to right their ship instead as Kawhi Leonard played his best game of the 2022-23 season against the Celtics Monday night.
More disconnected play and a lack of mobile, competent depth in the frontcourt with both Al Horford and Robert Williams III unavailable hinted Boston may yet need to bolster its frontcourt, as the Celtics struggled against a bigger Clips squad.
Let’s see what Celtics and NBA Twitter had to say about only the second time this season Boston has lost consecutive contests.
Rest in Peace to a giant of the league. https://t.co/KIW0dEiYFl
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 12, 2022
–oOo–
First quarter
For the love of all that is basketball holy, please start Celtics-Clippers.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 13, 2022
My sleep schedule is awful and this start time is still ridiculous
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) December 13, 2022
Kawhi Leonard not being able to take Blake Griffin off the dribble is not a good sign for the Clippers.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) December 13, 2022
At least there hasn't been a whistle every possession so far this game …
— Max Lederman (@Max_Lederman) December 13, 2022
Jaylen Brown's left hand is throwing some nastyyyyy passes of late 👀
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) December 13, 2022
#Celtics defense getting shredded right now. Too many easy baskets for #Clippers. LAC is 8-for-12 FG.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 13, 2022
The Clippers are a force when fully healthy. But too much uncertainty on how long they can stay that way.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 13, 2022
Whewwwwww John Wall that was QUICK
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 13, 2022
I am very tired, but not too tired to tweet about that Jayson Tatum second effort bucket to close out the quarter. More of that please.
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) December 13, 2022
13-1 Celtics run.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) December 13, 2022
Remember when Kornet wasn't looking for his shot at the rim? Those days are over.
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) December 13, 2022
THERE'S THAT C'S BALL MOVEMENT WE LIKE TO SEE
👏👏👏— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 13, 2022
Not good to be in foul trouble already, but just another beautiful shot that was from Jaylen.
— Rob Greene (@RobGreeneNBA) December 13, 2022
Tatum's only made field goals are a dunk and a putback. 0 for 7 otherwise.
He does have 8 rebounds.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) December 13, 2022
White uses the Griffin screen to get downhill, tosses the ball to Blake who pops beyond the arc, swings it to Brogdon, and he drills a three to tie the game at 39.
The ball movement and defense have been better in the second quarter.
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) December 13, 2022
✈️ BLAKE GRIFFIN ✈️
— Alejandro Gaitán (@alejandroggo) December 13, 2022
Clean block from Blake but he grabbed the net with his other hand. #Celtics #Clippers.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 13, 2022
Looked like they originally called a goaltend on Blake Griffin grabbing the net with his off hand as he rejected a Paul George poster, but they changed it to just a tech.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 13, 2022
Clippers win.
George stays at two fouls.
Jump ball. https://t.co/BUHfpCbzvP
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 13, 2022
Lengthy delay means more aggressive gum chewing for Mazzulla.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) December 13, 2022
Third quarter
11 seconds into the 3Q, Zubac picked up his fourth foul. And the Clippers already used their challenge earlier so might take a seat for a while.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) December 13, 2022
Celts throwing up nothing but bricks
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) December 13, 2022
Celtics feel so out of sync right now. No rhythm to this game. Every time they try and find a flow the Clippers cut off their water. #BleedGreen
— Amina Smith (@aminajadeTV) December 13, 2022
I'm guessing the message form Mazzulla in this huddle is something like "You guys have about five minutes to make a run or we're pulling the plug to preserve minutes for tomorrow."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 13, 2022
Celtics responding well out of the timeout. First, Jaylen Brown gets two points from the mid-range, then they force a turnover at the other end. 66-52 Clippers.
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) December 13, 2022
At least Grant came to play.
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) December 13, 2022
This is one of the best stretches of end-to-end ball I've seen from Grant Williams – and that's saying something. He's giving the Celtics a chance here as they head toward the fourth quarter of an underwhelming game thus far.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) December 13, 2022
The horse is out the barn here, #Celtics down 18 after a #Clippers flurry in late 3Q.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 13, 2022
Fourth quarter
Joe Mazzulla isn't fully waving the white flag, but he's got it ready. Payton Pritchard and Noah Vonleh both started Q4.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 13, 2022
The Celtics are going to be just fine, but it’ll be good for them to get Robert Williams back in the next game or two. Will give them a totally different element offensively that they don’t otherwise have.
These couple games have also underscored Al Horford’s impact, too.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 13, 2022
I don't care that the Celtics have lost 2 in a row. What worries me most is whenever the going gets tough for this team, they revert to the dumb, bad offensive habits that made them so dreadful to watch the 1st half of last season. Why I can't fully trust this team
— Mike Kawano (@KawanoMike) December 13, 2022
Grant Williams went to complain to the ref for a backcourt call in the middle of a still-ongoing play and let Luke Kennard walk right into a wide-open 3. Yikes.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) December 13, 2022
The #Celtics will lose tonight…
…and continue to have the best record in the NBA.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) December 13, 2022
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what the pair had to say.
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