Wchicken she crushed the Golden State Warriors 140-88 Early this month, the Boston Celtics simultaneously banished some ghosts from the 2022 NBA Finals and added further polish to what is on pace to be a historically high-performing regular season campaign.
Thanks to 29 points from Jaylen Brown and 27 from Jayson Tatum on his 26th birthday, it was the third-highest margin of victory in Celtics history and their third 50-point win of the season – an NBA record. It was also their eleventh win in a row, a run in which they had defeated their opponents by an average of 22 points, a margin of victory unmatched in NBA history over a single-season winning streak of ten or more games.
Boston’s record improved to 48-12 with the win, and they held Stephen Curry to just four points in a win so dominant that Golden State coach Steve Kerr benched his starters for the entire second half after the Celtics went to a half of 44 points had been raced. time lead.
“That’s what we used to do with teams,” Curry said after the game.
But just as quickly as the Celtics had asserted their championship credentials against the Warriors, the defeats in their next two games exposed many of the problems that have led to recent playoff runs ending without a title.
First, in what Brown called “a loss of mentality,” they blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 105-104 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. It was a loss that could have been written off as a blip in a busy schedule if it weren’t yet another example of Boston’s struggles with late-game execution.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Celtics in the postseason the last two years has been their play slowing down late in close games. The Celtics haven’t been involved in many truly exciting games this season, but when they have been, the same old problems have returned. On the season as a whole, Boston ranks 18th in the league in tempo – defined as the average number of plays per 48 minutes. In clutch scenarios – the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points – the Celtics’ pace ranks 30th.
With the game against the Cavaliers on the line, head coach Joe Mazzulla opted not to call a timeout to draw up a designed play – another common criticism of the Celtics in the playoffs. Instead, the Celtics put the ball in the hands of their best player, Tatum, and made him work. But this resulted in the All-NBA forward dribbling down the clock and launching a low-percentage and ultimately unsuccessful fall-away jump shot.
Two days later, the Celtics performed better in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Nuggets 29-25 in the final period in Denver. It wasn’t enough to defeat the reigning champions, however. And the most glaring reason for that defeat was another problem they’ve run into in the play-offs – against the very best teams they rarely have the best player on the field.
Tatum shot a stingy five-of-15 from the field against the Nuggets. He had as many turnovers as field goals. Nikola Jokic, Denver’s two-time MVP, had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists on hyper-efficient 59.7% shooting.
When the Celtics rallied late in the game, Tatum missed an open corner three-pointer that would have given them the lead in the final minute. It was another example of his struggles in the clutch. Tatum is averaging just 2.5 points in clutch minutes this season and shooting 31.1% on field goals. In contrast, Jokic is averaging 3.6 points in clutch time on 54.8% shooting.
Of course, Tatum has yet to reach his peak. He is only 26 years old. At worst, he is already one of the ten best players in the world. He has also delivered high-pressure postseason moments in the past, including a 46-point performance in an elimination playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022 and a Game 7 record 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinals of last season’s Conference. .
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Tatum’s bid to be named this season’s MVP nearly ended last week after losses to the Cavs and Nuggets. He lamented the fact that he feels MVP voters are dissing him for postseason contention, especially his subpar performance against the Warriors two years ago. He may have to lead Boston to a title, something he is capable of, before those doubts are put to rest. But in the past 30 years, only two teams have won the NBA title without a current or former MVP on their rosters: the 2004 Detroit Pistons and the 2019 Toronto Raptors, who boasted a former Finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard. When it comes to the playoffs, the team with the best player often has the upper hand. At this point, the Celtics can’t claim to have the best player when they face their most likely opponents in the late postseason.
Tatum can’t do it alone and Boston still has arguably the most talented roster in the league. Preseason additions Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis have added new dimensions to the offense and defense. Porzingis in particular stands out: his score in the low post is a new string to Boston’s bow. Mazzulla should also lean against the Latvian late in games, perhaps relying on the 6-foot-7 center’s 66.7% clutch shot when it comes to who takes the final shot in close games.
Boston bounced back in impressive fashion Saturday in Phoenix, beating Kevin Durant and the Suns 117-107 to avoid what would have been the Celtics’ first three-game losing streak of the season. Tatum was also back in form, scoring 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists – though he still shot a sub-par 39.2% from the field.
And even after their recent setbacks, the Celtics are still on pace to record one of the big regular season campaigns in recent memory. They’ve nearly clinched first place in the Eastern Conference, eight games ahead of the second-place Milwaukee Bucks. They rank first in the league in offensive rating and third in defensive rating. Their highest average winning margin in the league is the sixth-best in NBA history. All but one of the five teams ahead of them won a championship in the same season.
“That’s a really good team right there,” Tatum said after Thursday’s loss in Denver. “Well supervised. More often than not they make the right plays and you have to beat them. You can’t count on them to beat themselves.”
With that statement, Boston’s star player confronted the biggest difference between his team and the reigning champions: if the Celtics want to have any hope of a first title since 2008, they have to learn how to go their own way.
