Celtics Vs Hawks Recap

So I actually went to the game last night. Tickets were dirt cheap and a buddy convinced me to go with him. Was a very fun game/atmosphere, so I'll break down the highlights of attending the game, then do a brief recap of the actual game. (I was a little drunk and forgot to take pictures besides the one below)

So we got to the game after tip off (missed 7:02 shuttle) and then my buddy had friends sitting 10 rows up from courtside claiming there was a few open seats, so we went and checked it out, but turns out they will check your ticket before they even let you into that floor, so we gave up on that idea and sat in our real seats (I was happy, I prefer nosebleeds as it's always a party up there). Before I sat down, my stomach began to rumble, and I was already a little buzzed so I had to choose between blacking out or buying the overpriced food. I chose the latter, grabbing some chicken fingers, fries, and a tall draft of bud light, for the mere price of $34.17. After making a south park reference about the guy at least taking me out to dinner before he fucks me, I handed him cash and he said "sorry man credit or debit only." It was one of the strangest moments of my life, as growing up I had only ever heard the opposite of that with like old school pizza places being cash only. He chucked it up to covid and most people using credit anyways (which is true), and I left that concession a bit upset that cash is dead. I was always told cash was king, but cash is dead.

***Side Note**** The chicken tenders are always a great move at the Garden, as they'll fill you up and somehow at $16 are one of the cheaper options. But I noticed they literally put Tyson Chicken Tenders on the menu, rather than just chicken tenders. This is a slap in the face, as I have had my fair share of tyson chicken, and I am well aware that they cost about $5 for a bag of 40+ tenders. They acquire themat just over 12 cents a tender, then sell them for $3 a tender. I'm no math guy, but that's a BIG profit margin. My point is, don't insult me by letting me know they're Tyson Chicken Tenders, just put a fake name or just put chicken tenders, and allow me to think they're raising their own chickens in the back of the Garden concessions.

As the game continued, we were kind of getting smoked, which I'll get to in the later section of the game breakdown, and all of the bets my friends and I had placed weren't looking great (I had Celtics -6, friends had a couple parlays). At this point the beers began to start flowing, and I went and saw my man at concessions a few too many times. The game began to turn around (bets too) so the vibes were immaculate in 3rd quarter. Unfortunately (though probably a good thing in hindsight) they stopped selling beer after the 3rd quarter, so the 4th could have turned ugly, but the boys finished strong, and though I left a little less buzzed then I had hoped (once again probably for the best), I left grinning ear to ear as the Celtics not only won but covered the spread. We we're all a little buzzed on the shuttle, miraculously we got off at all the right stops, and called it a night. Overall, great time, but I'm a little beat sitting in a public history class right now. If tickets are under $40, go the Celtics, it is a great time and they've been playing great basketball.

Now onto the game

Tatum played well (though according to the drunk guy behind me, he's too selfish to lead the team) as he had 33/8/7 on 12/25 from fg and 3/10 on 3's. He shoots a lot, and some of them are tougher than they have to be, but he's by far our best scorer, and without Jaylen (who left the game a few minutes in) we need him to take a ton of shots for us to win.

Marcus Smart is so fun to watch, as he is just all over the court with his defense, and when he hits shots the whole building erupts. He had a few ugly takes/to's, but he played really solid defense and finished with 16/6/4 on 6/14 fg's and 2/6 on 3's.

Al Horford didn't look great, and I think he's been playing a bit too much wing. He is our tallest player, yet we leave him in the corner on most possessions. I think we need to get him down in the paint, scrapping for boards and putbacks, but what do I know? His competition at C (but lately they've played a lot together) Robert Williams played awesome, as his defense was a spark for the team as he had a couple big blocks that were momentum swings.

The bench was hit or miss, as Grant Williams and Derrick White both looked great, dropping 18 each on over 50% shooting, but Pritchard and Nesmith both couldn't get much going. I love Williams and Whites game, as they're great defenders and can finish down low, and when they're hitting shots like last night, they're as good as anyone off the bench in this years NBA.

****Side Note I need them to play Theis, forgot we even had him as I haven't seen him touch the floor in past 6 games****

Overall, I liked what I see. We forced Trae Young into some tough looks, and though he had a fairly good game, the whole team relied on the 3 too much, and when they missed the celtics capitalized on the other end. The momentum really did swing in the 3rd (beers were flowing, vibes were immaculate) as the Celtics outscored the Hawks 31-13 to take a 4 point lead going into the 4th. We finished strong in the 4th, outscoring them 25-20 to win 107-98, covering the spread of -6. All of my friends parlays didn't hit, as one of them was one Rob Williams block off from a big win, and the other was about 6 Al Horford rebounds away from a big win.

We're onto the next one, as we host Memphis Thursday. I'm very excited for that game, but most definitely won't be at the Garden as Ja Morant should bump the prices out of my range.