Boston Celtics: 3 Impressive Takeaways from Last Night's Loss

Do you ever have a day where it seems like no matter how many things you do right, something keeps going wrong?

The Celtics ran into that problem last night.

The Knicks dropped an unbelievable 19 three-point buckets in one of the greatest shooting displays I have seen in a long time. Sometimes that happens, and there is nothing you can do about it. You just tip your hat, and prepare for tomorrow.

Regardless of the result, you can find positives in a loss. Last night revealed three very impressive factors for the Celtics. When the final buzzer sounded I actually felt pretty decent.

Here’s why.

1. Avery Bradley Showed Off His Range

Bradley’s night was over shadowed by the outstanding downtown shooting of the Knicks. However, Avery Bradley scored a season high five three-point buckets.

Perhaps the biggest concern that anyone had when Allen became the Celtics' sixth man is that you would lose the fear of the three-point sniper waiting for a kick out pass when Rondo or Garnett took it down the lane.

Bradley’s three-point percent (.442) is only second to Allen (.453) on the team, so we already knew he could drain a three here-and-there if needed. The difference was we didn’t know if he could hit them if the Celtics were in a position where they needed a few threes.  Last night he proved that he can hit a high number of shots from beyond the arch if needed. Before last night, Bradley had never even attempted more than four three-point shots in a game.

If he can keep it up, this will open things up for the Celtics offense down the stretch and into the playoffs.

2. Pierce Showed He’s Still Got It

Paul Pierce scored a season-high 43 points last night. It was his highest total since February 15, 2006 when he dropped 50 on the Cavs.

For the first time since the “Big Three Era,” Paul Pierce proved when the rest of the starters are having an average night and the bench is giving the team nothing, he can step up and be the All-Star scorer of old.

Last night the bench only contributed two points. If it weren’t for Paul Pierce turning into an early 2000’s version of himself, last night would have been a slaughter instead of a single-digit game.

3. Kept It to 11 Turnovers

If someone would have told me before the game last night that the Celtics would only have 11 turnovers and would put up 110 points I would have been sure the Celtics would win.

The Celtics average about 15 turnovers per game. Last night they limited the amount of mistakes they had on offense which is going to be crucial if the Celtics are to make a deep playoff run.

On the other side of the ball the Knicks force a league-leading 17.1 turnovers per game. This means the Celtics offense was able to take away one of the things the Knicks defense does best.

For comparable reference, the NBA leader in turnovers is Philadelphia with 11.1 TO per game.  

Last night was just one of those games where the Celtics just went up against a team that couldn’t miss. Those nights happen, but I wouldn’t be too concerned with it if I were Doc or the players.