5 takeaways as Danilo Gallinari and the Atlanta Hawks embarrass the Boston Celtics

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The Boston Celtics ended their road trip with a devastating loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, losing 127-112.

Five takeaways as the Celtics find a new rock bottom.

The Celtics had nothing left.

Like it or not, one thing became very clear: The Celtics were exhausted, both physically and mentally. After Atlanta threw a hay with a punch in the first half, Boston had nothing left in the tank for an answer.

Still, as Brad Stevens put it, “We might have beaten tonight anyway because sometimes you get hit with a haystack in the NBA like these guys did to us tonight, but we could have been in a better position if we had played better. “

A very brief rally in the third quarter fell flat in his face when Atlanta again buried a 3-runner streak and pushed back the lead. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics bench unit was in place. It was as if this would have been an acceptable substitution much sooner, perhaps around the time of the second quarter when Danilo Gallinari punched a 3 point near the logo – Trae Young’s usual lineup.

After Tuesday’s loss to the Mavericks, Jayson Tatum sighed wearily.

“I mean, we have a game tomorrow,” he said. “Just try to move on. That’s all you can do.

After Wednesday’s game, the same message rings true.

Sometimes shooters get hot (and this season the 3-pointers decide the games).

The win-loss gap this season basically seems to be breaking down in the direction of 3-point shooters, and Atlanta destroyed Boston behind the arc on Wednesday – topping the Celtics 54.8% to 25.8%.

Young, of course, scored 33 points on a 12-for-23 shot and led Atlanta’s charge, but the real difference was Gallinari, who made 10 of his 12 3-point attempts and finished with 38 points.

The Celtics had four double-digit starters (Jaylen Brown, Tristan Thompson, Jeff Teague and Jayson Tatum), but Brown and Tatum finished with 17 and 13 respectively. Against the Hawks’ offensive offense, Boston needed a lot more of its stars. It’s been a familiar refrain this season.

The youth of Boston continued to bring energy.

Aaron Nesmith finished with 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Rob Williams posted some highlights again. The younger Celtics players aren’t ready to help turn Boston into a good team by being reliable players, but they’ve submitted some solid performances.

What this means for the future is unclear. Nesmith and Williams in particular have gained more minutes, but the Celtics can’t find any wins. It is a difficult equation to solve.

Calls for change will only increase in volume.

Celtics fans have called for trades, layoffs, anything that can bring the Celtics closer to respectability.

Those calls will only increase in volume after Wednesday’s debacle, but it’s unclear exactly what the Celtics can do exactly. Tatum and Brown are, of course, untouchable. Other members of the squad could certainly be dispatched, but while rookies like Nesmith and Payton Pritchard have shown flashes, and although Rob Williams looks like a real player now, they aren’t likely to offer transport. that could change Boston’s fortunes this season.

Meanwhile, as Grousbeck noted on 98.5 The Sports Hub earlier Wednesday, firing Stevens or Ainge would immediately make them the best options on the open market. Both are talented at their jobs, which makes the team’s current situation even more confusing and infuriating.

Stevens was asked if his message is reaching the players.

“I would say what I’m telling you and everyone isn’t necessarily what I’m saying in the locker room,” Stevens said. “And the way you say it is certainly very important, and I’ve had my moments. Let’s put it this way. That said, I think this team looks, right now, like a balance playing in an unconfident and uncertain way with the fact that we had a couple of it that got away. And so the only way I know to get that back is to dive on the ground, is to take things in hand, is to sprint to help your teammates get up, is to fight for each possession. And it is our responsibility. …

“Look, neither of us are happy with the job we’ve done, and I should be on this list first and foremost with where we are at.”

Something is happening.

We can’t say exactly what afflicts the Celtics. Their offense stagnated. Their defense cannot stop anyone. Opposite stars get to where they want to go and take all the photos they want to take.

And yet the Celtics still have a lot of talent. It is a bewildering situation that cannot really be easily explained.

Maybe Jayson Tatum is still struggling with COVID issues. Maybe Kemba Walker will rally around at some point. Maybe none of those things come together and the team just keeps spiraling.

“It can’t get any worse than this,” Kemba Walker said 10 days ago after the Celtics lost to the Washington Wizards.

Clearly Walker was wrong at the time. What is worrying is that this may still not be true.