The Never Weres

After the Play-in game, I texted my brother Tim and said, “so I guess the Celtics have figured out what they have to do to win. Tatum needs to score 50 points and someone needs to knock down threes.” I’m not here to toot my own horn but, that seems to be the answer.
I have been so pessimistic about this Celtics team for most of the second half of the season. I don’t see them winning this series. I expected a sweep. I’m not sure if it was the fans in the stands or Kyrie’s airing of grievances before the game but, the Celtics played harder tonight than they have in weeks. If not months. Filling in for Robert Williams, who went down with an injury again, Tristan Thompson was all over the place with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Marcus Smart had a pretty Marcus Smart game, 23 points on 5-8 from deep. He continues to shoot with the confidence that he is on the same level as Brooklyn’s big three.
The story of the game, however, was Jayson Tatum. On a court with two former MVP winners, a player that hit the game-winning shot in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Tatum stood above everyone. Early on in the game, as the Nets jumped out to a 19-5 lead, the Celtics weren’t going to Tatum. After a timeout, the offense starting running through him. The goal was to get him switched onto a mismatch and away from Kevin Durant, the only Brooklyn player that could contain him. Tatum finished with 50 for the second time in four games. This time he did it with 16-30 from the floor, including 5-11 from 3. Most importantly, he got to the line 15 times and hit 13 of them. That has been the part of his game that has been lacking. He is an elite scorer but tends to rely on jump shooting and not look to drive to the hoop. If he adds getting to the basket to his game consistently, he will become an even bigger offensive threat.
Games like this are deceiving. I don’t expect Tristan Thompson to ball out the way he did tonight. Smart has games like this but can go cold in a heartbeat and not lose his confidence. You don’t have to dig deep to see that Kemba Walker played horribly against top competition again. Walker finished with 6 points. SIX! In thirty-three minutes! It has been the story of Walker in Boston these last two years. As soon as the competition ramps up Kemba starts to fade away. I expect Brooklyn to seek him out on defense as well in Game 4. Depth is also another concern but that horse is dead so let’s leave it alone for now.
It is a weird situation. Of course, I want the Celtics to win. I want these super teams to lose especially when Kyrie is the point guard of one. But, it seems that all this win has done is continue the season for two additional days. I usually try to look on the bright side of things but, it’s not smart to do that with this Celtics team. Watching Tatum go off like he did tonight will always be exciting, even if it is just delaying the inevitable.

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)