Jayson Tatum is lifting the Celtics’ offense to new heights: Five things we learned from Boston’s win over Raptors

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/03/jayson-tatum-is-lifting-the-celtics-offense-to-new-heights-five-things-we-learned-from-bostons-win-over-raptors.html



Jayson Tatum is lifting the Celtics’ offense to new heights: Five things we learned from Boston’s win over Raptors



Updated 6:00 AM; Today 6:00 AM




Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, is fouled by Toronto Raptors center Aron Baynes on a drive to the basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, March 4, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP



By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



With their fourth straight win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, the Boston Celtics climbed out of the bottom half of the Eastern Conference all the way up to the fourth seed in the East during the seven days leading up to the All-Star Break.

Thursday’s win clinched the season series for the Celtics over Toronto, something that could come in handy down the line amid a tight East playoff race beneath the top three seeds.

A closer look at five things we learned from Boston’s win:

The Celtics offense is reaching new heights during the team’s winning streak: It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Celtics during the first half of the season but they ended that trip on a high note Thursday night when it comes to their scoring attack. Boston shot a season-best 60.8 percent from the field with eight different players scoring in double figures against an undermanned Raptors squad in the victory. That efficient offense was a continuous trend in the past week of wins as the team’s offense during the team’s four-game winning streak ranked third overall in the NBA, posting over 120 points per 100 possessions.

“I think we’re learning and improving as the season goes on,” said Jaylen Brown. “We’ve made improvements in different categories, and that’s what it’s about. This is a different team than it was last year. We recognize that, and we understand what it takes to make winning plays. It’s not about scoring 30 points a game, it’s about playing the game the right way, trying to find ways to win. That’s the most important.”

Offense-first is not the way Brad Stevens teams have traditionally won but it looks like that edge in firepower will be key for the Celtics going forward this season against teams like Toronto. The Celtics have averaged 126 points per game against them in their three wins so far this year. With the team getting back some reinforcements in firepower after the All-Star Break in Marcus Smart and Romeo Langford, the offensive upside could be even greater.

Jayson Tatum is still working his way back to full strength: The All-Star forward played one of his best all-around games of the season against Toronto, posting team-highs in points (27), rebounds (12) and plus/minus (+20) to ensure Boston finished the first half on a winning note. Tatum has struggled with consistency since battling COVID-19 and he revealed that he’s still not back at full strength yet more than a month after returning to the floor.

“I’m not sure about back to normal,” he said. “I for sure feel better than did the first game. It’s a long process. I’ve talked to guys and they said it took months for them to kind of catch their breath, get their wind back and I’m kind of on the same, you know, track with that. I for sure feel better. I don’t necessarily feel the same as before I got it when I was playing I definitely know there’s a difference, but I feel pretty good.”

Kemba Walker’s leadership was integral in getting the team back on track: The point guard had a quiet night overall against the Raptors, posting just 15 points and six assists over his 34 minutes. However, he did draw a pivotal charge in the final two months of the fourth quarter to help seal the win. After the game, he was singled out for his leadership in ensuring Boston’s roster stayed united and focused in the wake of an ugly February stretch that saw the team lose 11 of 18 games at one point.

“I think that you have times where you can look at people and know that we’re going to be ready – and we may not win, but we’re going to be ready,” Stevens explained. “And after the game in Atlanta, when you looked in everybody’s eyes, like, we talked about these next four games are important and you knew we were going to be ready.

“And I think that is a sign of a team that’s going to stay together. And I think it stems from, you know, our best players embraced that. I’ve heard Kemba say it multiple times this week: ‘Nobody’s going on break until we go on break.’ And I thought that that was really important. So you learn a lot about yourself in those moments.”

Grant Williams also commended Walker’s impact on the locker room.

“A tremendous leader, one of the best people I’ve ever met,” he said. “He’s getting back to the form that he is, and you guys are seeing that. He was dealing with that knee last year and even parts of this season, I feel like he was just getting back into pace. So now that he’s performing and doing his thing, we’re all happy for him. And as a leader, he’s been very communicative, not just for me being in and out of the rotation, just telling me to keep my head up and stay engaged, stay ready. A time will come and then same with other guys. He has been there consulting for other guys.”

Brad Stevens isn’t surprised with where the team is at: From an 8-3 start to a 7-14 stretch, the Celtics have been all over the map from a win-loss standpoint in their opening 36 games of the regular season. However, Tuesday’s win put them in sole possession of the fourth seed in the East despite an underwhelming 19-17 record. Brad Stevens had preached from training camp that this team had a long way to go to become elite and ultimately was not surprised with how they ended up at this point.

“I think ultimately, we’re not far away from where I thought we’d probably be,” Stevens explained. “Knowing Kemba would be out for as long as he was and then if you would have told me we’d have the injuries and health and safety stuff and everything else, this is about where I would hope or thought we would be after all of this.

“And the way that we got there was a little unique. I thought we had some really tough stretches and some games that were really good. But we know we can play a lot better, we know that we need to play a lot better.”

Daniel Theis got most of the night off for matchup purposes: A quick peek at the box score showed Daniel Theis had his lowest minutes total of the year (7), a concerning sign that he may have been dealing with an injury. However, with the Raptors opting to go with super small lineups for much of the night with their shorthanded roster, Stevens opted to roll with just Robert Williams and Tristan Thompson over Theis in the center rotation for the entire second half.

“Well I think anytime we can save Theis minutes, just because of the minutes he’s played the last two years, it’s a good thing,” Stevens said. “But tonight was just, they were impossible to play with two bigs. And if you even go back to our game at Toronto, or at Tampa, when we played, we were getting killed in the first half, and then we started small in the second. So, we knew that we would probably go to that at some point, and then you’re just playing your gut on who you think can be most impactful.

“I thought Tristan and Rob were both pretty good tonight, and so they gave us something. Theis is a huge part of us and we need him badly going forward, but tonight I thought those other two guys were good.”

The minutes juggle in the middle should only get tougher going forward for Stevens with Marcus Smart expected to return to the lineup shortly. At that point, Boston’s double big starting lineup may vanish against most opponents, creating an odd man out in the middle on most nights as Stevens tries to find the best path to winning.


Bob
MY NOTE:  One more thing we learned from last night's game is that Jaylen Brown is dead on his feet.  I've never seen him, nor any other 24 year old athlete, be so dog-tired they could barely keep their feet underneath themselves.  Tatum had COVID, what's going on with Brown?  I'm not down on him, I love Jaylen, but wtf is going on with this fatigue?


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Not worth its own thread, I think, but here's Cornbread interviewing Kevin McHale about what Kevin thinks about this 2021 Celtic team.

Kevin says they should make the extra pass, which is funny considering he was considered a black hole when he played.  LOL. He made another comment that is pure Jaylen Brown.

Only 2 minutes long.




Bob


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cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:bob you must be drinking too much.  

"One more thing we learned from last night's game is that Jaylen Brown is dead on his feet.  I've never seen him, nor any other 24 year old athlete, be so dog-tired they could barely keep their feet underneath themselves."

I guess folks see different things which is good because I miss stuff all the time until it is pointed out to me.

Regarding Jaylen Brown he is not 100% and stated such in his post game.  He only scored 1 point in the first half.  He ended up scoring 21 points including scoring 9 straight points in the 3rd quarter after we fell behind in the game.  So he had a 20 point second half and also had 7 rebounds and 4 assists for the game. He also scored 11 points in the 4th QTR.  So 36 minutes including scoring 9 in the 3rd and 11 in the 4th.  Not bad for a guy who could barely keep his feet from underneath him.  

That first half was alarming and he has had other tired/exhausted stretches recently that I don’t remember ever seeing Bird or Pierce go thru at 24. I understand he is having knee issues and giving us everything he has, but wondering if training staff even knows what is going on, he shouldn’t be this tired? This training staff has had enough time to figure this out and get him right. Is he eating right? the schedule is grueling this year, but other older players have adapted enough to not look so exhausted as our young stud has looked. I think I’ve read that Jaylen is a vegetarian or has experimented with that diet and may not be full time vegan. Either way, protein has amino acids and is known to have benefits too, Micheal Jordan’s pre game meal was a steak and baked potato with spinach or broccoli.

Cow,

Jaylen is a vegetarian who has said he'd be vegan if it wasn't for ice cream.


Bob


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worcester wrote:It is a simple matter to test Jaylen for anemia, and a simple fix.

worcester,

How about a test for amnesia for Jayson. He sometimes forgets he's got teammates. Any simple fixes for that?


Bob


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NYCelt wrote:As to the thoughts on Brown and nutrition...

When KG was with the team his pre game meal became a tradition for the entire team; a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Before each game the whole team would have one. Ray Allen had it after his pre-game chicken and rice meal.

Maybe Brown just needed a PB&J.

Also; Interesting McHale thinks they need the extra pass. Most commentary I've seen says they're over-passing and passing up shot opportunities. I agree that over the last two or three games, they've gone from shooting too early in the clock to over-doing the passing. Although he knows better than me, maybe Kevin was watching older video.

NYCelt,

Ray had a PB&J?! That sure doesn't sound like him, he's a complete nutrition freak. His last hamburger was when he was a 19 year old sophomore at UConn.


Bob


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