POST GAME ATLANTA - HOME

Tatum scores 38, Celtics rally past Hawks for 8th win in row

BOSTON -- — Jayson Tatum scored 38 points and led a third-quarter surge that sent the Boston Celtics past the Atlanta Hawks 105-95 Sunday for their eighth straight win.

Tatum also had 10 rebounds. Robert Williams added 10 points and 14 boards, Jaylen Brown scored 17 points and Marcus Smart had 13.

Trae Young had 30 points and 10 assists to lead Atlanta, keeping the Hawks within range until the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 26 points and Clint Capela pulled down 17 rebounds for the Hawks, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

The Celtics, who lost their first two against the Hawks this season, trailed 55-45 at halftime and allowed an early basket by Young to start the third.

Boston responded with a 12-0 run and dominated the rest of the period. The Celtics made 13 of 18 shots in the third and outscored the Hawks 42-23. Tatum scored 16, hitting a pair of 3-pointers late in the period and adding a dunk with three seconds remaining to put the Celtics up 87-78.

Tatum wasn't done. After the Hawks pulled within 89-84, Tatum hit a turnaround jumper, then another 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to 94-84 with 6:32 left and prompted the Hawks to call a timeout.

The break didn't slow down Boston, which forced a miss by Young under the basket and got another 3-pointer by Grant Williams from in front of the Atlanta bench. The Celtics were able to hold a wide lead the rest of the way.

TIP-INS

Hawks: F John Collins was out with a strained right foot that is expected to sideline him at least three games. Collins injured the foot Friday night against San Antonio and did not return. An MRI revealed the strain and Colins will be re-evaluated after a few days of rest, the Hawks said. … The Hawks successfully challenged an offensive foul called on Young with 1:55 left to play.

Celtics: Got off to a rough start from outside, making just 4 of 20 3-pointers in the first half. …Derrick White, playing in just his second game for Boston since coming over in a trade with San Antonio at the deadline Thursday, had 10 points in the first half and finished with 14.

UP NEXT

Hawks: Host Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Celtics: At Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Another win and another well played game by the surging Boston club. This team is so much more fun to watch now that they are sharing the ball so much better.

I thought we sucked in the first half and couldn’t believe all the turnovers by JB early in the game. Then Tatum finally got in one of his zones, long over due and they couldn’t deal with us. RWill with a monster game, doing all the dirty work in spectacular form.

wideclyde wrote:Another win and another well played game by the surging Boston club.  This team is so much more fun to watch now that they are sharing the ball so much better.

Wide

How you been?

We did win, but it was not building on Friday nights win to indicate that we are advancing.  Too many 3's  jacked up instead of crashing the paint almost cost us a loss.

Tatum is looking more and more as a streaky offensive player.  Not consistent game in and game out.  If we rely on his shooting to carry us it will be a long season next season.  We need better and more consistent lock down scorers.

Philly on Tuesday will be a big test.  

112288

I wanted to see the anger and fire. The Celts had been too placid for my liking. I saw that.

Now, I want the offensive execution to get better. There is a lot of scope for improvement there. If only they can build the belief in themselves.

Litmus test game ahead.

A very lackadaisical first half.  It seems to happen to us when we either win a big game against a high quality opponent and/or when we rally from behind to pull off a win.  I hate that, but that seems to be the pattern.  Yesterday was just like that.  To be fair, though, NBA players, who are 2nd shift workers by nature, hate matinee games.  It's contrary to their body clocks, so a slow start might just be the result of that.

We shot 33.3% in the first quarter, 7-22.  Tatum was 2-7, 0-3 from 3.  Brown was a non-existent 1-3.  As a team we were 0-6 from 3.

We were a little better in the 2nd quarter.  Tatum had 13 on 5-13 but was 1-6 from 3.  He just couldn't stop shooting 3s.  6 fgas in the 2nd quarter, half were 3s and he still was 1-3.  Brown was 2-8.  RWill was a perfect 4-4 and 5 rebounds at the half.  On the Atlanta side Trae Young was doing ok.  He had 18 points on 5-13, 3-8 from 3.  That's a pretty damn good half, right?  We were down by 15 at one point in the 2nd quarter.

Then the flood gates opened up.  I have to say one thing about the difference between Brad and Ime as coaches:  Brad's team would come out of the locker room for the 3rd quarter and sometimes they'd be flat as pancakes.  Ime has them coming out hungry and aggressive.  



John Karalis @John_Karalis
yesterday
Celtics 3rd quarter shot chart looks like a bowl of fruit loops at the rim pic.twitter.com/I2G2xa37M9



Look at how many in the paint.  That's what a well-coached team does when their shots are dropping from range, they shorten the distance and initiate contact.  We took 10 ftas in the 1st half, 17 in the 2nd.  They were down a big, and we started playing like they were.

The Js outscored the Hawks 27-23 in the 3rd quarter.

A 25 point 2nd half for Tatum.  8-15, 3-4 from 3.  I guess this is why he keeps shooting despite making me nuts.  He ended up outscoring Young by 8 points even though Young had a 5 point lead on him at the half.  Trae Young ended up 9-26 and 4-12 from 3 and 10 assists with 4 turnovers.  Tatum, who started out icy as described above, ended up 13-27, 4-10 from 3 and 10 rebounds.  If Tatum was the NBA's Golden Child before this he sure is now.




Derrick White was a poor shooting night, 4-14, 2-10 from 3, but he ended up with his season average 14 anyway.  5 assists and 1 turnover are good point guard numbers.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
ime udoka actually cracked a joke when asked about lighting into derrick white after a timeout: "He's had it a lot worse from Pop."





Jaylen has been struggling.  I'm not down on him, I still love him, but he's been struggling.  I don't know why.  His handle has become weak and his passing decisions suck.  I'm sure he'll get past it but it's painful to watch now, especially given how much I love him.

Boston Celtics @celtics
yesterday
Jaylen Brown: "Im enjoying this team that we have. I’m proud of our group. We’ve had some tough stretches, but we’ve been able to put some good games together."

So much for the "Jaylen will ask for a trade" BS we were hearing pre-deadline.


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
ime udoka said grant williams is "sneaky athletically" which is the most generous thing i've heard anyone say about grant's athleticism

Grant has been doing more drive-and-dish/finish.  That's the next step in his evolution.  Now that he's built himself up to be feared from 3 he has either opened up the floor for others because they won't leave him or they're forced to run at him to close out his shot.  Last night, and in the Denver game too, he used that to his advantage to put the ball on the floor and force a defensive rotation.  That's how you get open shots, you get them by forcing the defense to move away from where they want to be.  You gotta root for a player who has figured out how to make himself valuable despite having athletic skills that are holding him back.

Our defense is elite.  We have the 2nd best defense in the NBA.  If we can get the Js zeroed in on offense at the same time in the playoffs we are going to be a very, very tough out.


Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
yesterday
Core Four + Derrick White closing lineup over last two games: 23 points allowed 43 possessions OppFG%: 29.6% (8-27) +14 over 14 minutes

The Hawks were 17-48, 35.4%, in the 2nd half.  They were 3-16 from 3.  That's smothering defense.


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
yesterday
The #Celtics have won eight games in a row for the first time since November 2019. That streak went to 10 games.

These are rare times for us.


Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Jayson Tatum said there are times in seasons when you just feel like everything has clicked: “The reality is, things take time. … We were all just adjusting to something new. A whole new coaching staff, kind of a new brand of basketball a little bit.”


Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Jayson Tatum: “Those early struggles kind of make days like this feel a little better.”

Yes, Jayson, yes they do.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360675


Bob


.

The Celtics have moved into 6th place in the East.  

We went through most of this season without a full core of players.  Now other teams are missing guys and Boston seems quite determine not to get caught in those trap games.

Ime has built an elite level defense.  That defense keeps us in games until we can scratch out a few baskets and find our rhythm.

Since the beginning of the year the Celtics have gone 16-6 including our 8 game streak.  That is a .727 winning percentage.  

While we have run into depleted team there are a few factors that stand out if you are still wondering if the Celtics are legit.

Our record vs .500 and above teams is 15-13.  That is tops in the East and ties us with the Heat (#1 in the East overall).  We also are #1 in point differential at 4.9 points per game.

We are now just 3 games behind the Sixers, Bulls and Cavs in the loss column.  

I see the Bulls falling along with the Cavs.  The Sixers have to get the bearded one integrated into their team.  The Sixers will not be as good defensively because of Harden.  Also they are sure to miss Seth Curry's efficiency shooting the deep ball (40% on 5+ attempts per)

Zach Levine is out in LA to see a knee specialist.  

As far as the Cavs are concerned I know we are a better team than they are.  Let's see if they can keep winning at a higher percentage than us.

We have a real opportunity to move up into the top 4 but it is going to be a real dog fight the rest of the way.  Last year our defense completely broke down.  That to me is the real key.

The Core Four + Al Horford starting lineup over last two games

+

Core Four + Derrick White closing lineup over last two games

=

Fun for fans

In Spite Of.  This is how teams win that want to improve their position in the standings and get a better playoff ranking.  In Spite Of.  

After typing "We are winning In Spite Of" we can add all our words for most of this season after that to complete the sentence.  Just fill in the blank.  But as far as the Celtics go, this is a huge step.  This is the one step we wish they had taken at the start of the season instead of making us think the 2021-22 season was going to be a carbon copy of the the previous one.  

It was interesting to here the national announcers for ABC touting the win streak and that fact that we now have the longest one currently active at 8.  So here comes the target.  I still think the league and media believe we are a joke.  But I'll come back to that.  

Barring another slow start which seem to be counter to what Ime wants, the 3rd quarter, in which Golden State made famous in all their 3 championships of the 2010's, Boston has adopted as their chokehold quarter.  Whatever Ime is saying at halftime he needs to say the same thing before the start of the game and all our games will be runaways.  

With a two game sample space, I think we can close the door on the DW trade.  He's been at the +/- high or right on it in  both games.  This guy has fit in like Gary Peyton, doesn't have any mental issues, doesn't need 2-3 seasons to get readjusted or up to speed, etc.  I'm not going to say perfect pick by Brad and Co., but damn good job so far on DW.  Solid 15 points a night with amenities including defense and leading the offense will be what we can expect from here on out from the bench.  He's quickly taken the spotlight off him and put it directly on PP.  On PP's shoulders will/may be where how deep our run goes for the Celtic's '21-'22 campaign will hinge.  PP needs to get under (or out from under, I'm not sure!!) the "In Spite Of" umbrella.  I'm not even asking JT to be more accurate from behind the 3-point line.  PP needs to just start making all those open shots he's getting.  

Suck it, ATL.  You had that game coming.  Nice victory for Number 8-in-a-row.  Now for the real test.  

I'm not saying tonight's game is a must win, but again, it is a must win, especially since TOR just lost their 2nd in a row last night to the Pelicans.  All is for naught if we "Return to Sender" TOR's gift from over the last couple of days.  (If we lose tonight vs. PHI, we will still be percentage points ahead of TOR before playing DET tomorrow night.  On paper TOR has a tougher game vs. the Timberwolves than us playing DET.  Provided we don't lose both games, which I feel pretty confident that we will win at least one of the two remaining games, we should be "solidly" in 6th for the ASG weekend.)  Besides, a victory here might just turn the rest of the league's and media's view that we're just a passing fancy.  I doubt it but we'll see.  

This would also put another chink of doubt in the media's latest abandonment of their two Finals favorites of LAL and BKN and current adoption of PHI as the odds on fave now from the East.  ABC spent far more time talking about what Doc has to do to integrate the Bearded One (which we can all predict with great accuracy how that will turn out given the material Doc has to work with) than how well the Celtics were playing and making ATL look like a G-League team with our smothering defense.  Lots of carefully placed hands leading to tips, leading to turnovers/steals leading to baskets on the other end.  We still tried a couple of possessions to go back to the past with crazy iso ball, but we righted the ship quickly and handed a payback game to ATL for the game just before this current streak started.  (Credit Ime for ship righting.  He's done with that crap.) I'm sure this game was a delicious dish best served cold for ATL.  
 
Next up?  Another revenge game.  I'm sure no one will disagree here that the Celtic team that will be playing PHI tonight is not the same Celtic team that played PHI a few weeks ago.  We still have some things to shed before the term fully operational death star can be brought out of the attic and dusted off, but it's getting there.

PHI is only three games better in the loss column than us.  To move up in the standings, the "easiest" way is to beat the teams above you.  BKN and TOR hung themselves whistling on the way down going passed us.  That's another way.  Boston moving up two slots here recently happened a lot faster by combining an 8-game winning streak with those two teams losing consecutive games+.  

But if there ever was a statement game this season, I'm afraid tonight is the night.  In PHI.  It couldn't happen to a nicer team.  We don't need any moral victories.  Those won't do here.  This will have playoff game written all over it.  Where are the Celtics right now?  We're about to find out.  Again, remember, PHI is only 2 games ahead of us in the standings and 3 ahead in the lose column.  They're not much better than us just from those facts alone. Thanks to our performances for most of the season prior to the 8-game win streak, we have left ourselves no choice tonight.  

No pressure.  Just beat PHI.  They have it coming.  Harden or no Harden. BS or no BS. It doesn't matter.

Go Celtics!!      

db

dbrown4 wrote:In Spite Of.  This is how teams win that want to improve their position in the standings and get a better playoff ranking.  In Spite Of.  

After typing "We are winning In Spite Of" we can add all our words for most of this season after that to complete the sentence.  Just fill in the blank.  But as far as the Celtics go, this is a huge step.  This is the one step we wish they had taken at the start of the season instead of making us think the 2021-22 season was going to be a carbon copy of the the previous one.  

It was interesting to here the national announcers for ABC touting the win streak and that fact that we now have the longest one currently active at 8.  So here comes the target.  I still think the league and media believe we are a joke.  But I'll come back to that.  

Barring another slow start which seem to be counter to what Ime wants, the 3rd quarter, in which Golden State made famous in all their 3 championships of the 2010's, Boston has adopted as their chokehold quarter.  Whatever Ime is saying at halftime he needs to say the same thing before the start of the game and all our games will be runaways.  

With a two game sample space, I think we can close the door on the DW trade.  He's been at the +/- high or right on it in  both games.  This guy has fit in like Gary Peyton, doesn't have any mental issues, doesn't need 2-3 seasons to get readjusted or up to speed, etc.  I'm not going to say perfect pick by Brad and Co., but damn good job so far on DW.  Solid 15 points a night with amenities including defense and leading the offense will be what we can expect from here on out from the bench.  He's quickly taken the spotlight off him and put it directly on PP.  On PP's shoulders will/may be where how deep our run goes for the Celtic's '21-'22 campaign will hinge.  PP needs to get under (or out from under, I'm not sure!!) the "In Spite Of" umbrella.  I'm not even asking JT to be more accurate from behind the 3-point line.  PP needs to just start making all those open shots he's getting.  

Suck it, ATL.  You had that game coming.  Nice victory for Number 8-in-a-row.  Now for the real test.  

I'm not saying tonight's game is a must win, but again, it is a must win, especially since TOR just lost their 2nd in a row last night to the Pelicans.  All is for naught if we "Return to Sender" TOR's gift from over the last couple of days.  (If we lose tonight vs. PHI, we will still be percentage points ahead of TOR before playing DET tomorrow night.  On paper TOR has a tougher game vs. the Timberwolves than us playing DET.  Provided we don't lose both games, which I feel pretty confident that we will win at least one of the two remaining games, we should be "solidly" in 6th for the ASG weekend.)  Besides, a victory here might just turn the rest of the league's and media's view that we're just a passing fancy.  I doubt it but we'll see.  

This would also put another chink of doubt in the media's latest abandonment of their two Finals favorites of LAL and BKN and current adoption of PHI as the odds on fave now from the East.  ABC spent far more time talking about what Doc has to do to integrate the Bearded One (which we can all predict with great accuracy how that will turn out given the material Doc has to work with) than how well the Celtics were playing and making ATL look like a G-League team with our smothering defense.  Lots of carefully placed hands leading to tips, leading to turnovers/steals leading to baskets on the other end.  We still tried a couple of possessions to go back to the past with crazy iso ball, but we righted the ship quickly and handed a payback game to ATL for the game just before this current streak started.  (Credit Ime for ship righting.  He's done with that crap.) I'm sure this game was a delicious dish best served cold for ATL.  
 
Next up?  Another revenge game.  I'm sure no one will disagree here that the Celtic team that will be playing PHI tonight is not the same Celtic team that played PHI a few weeks ago.  We still have some things to shed before the term fully operational death star can be brought out of the attic and dusted off, but it's getting there.

PHI is only three games better in the loss column than us.  To move up in the standings, the "easiest" way is to beat the teams above you.  BKN and TOR hung themselves whistling on the way down going passed us.  That's another way.  Boston moving up two slots here recently happened a lot faster by combining an 8-game winning streak with those two teams losing consecutive games+.  

But if there ever was a statement game this season, I'm afraid tonight is the night.  In PHI.  It couldn't happen to a nicer team.  We don't need any moral victories.  Those won't do here.  This will have playoff game written all over it.  Where are the Celtics right now?  We're about to find out.  Again, remember, PHI is only 2 games ahead of us in the standings and 3 ahead in the lose column.  They're not much better than us just from those facts alone.  Thanks to our performances for most of the season prior to the 8-game win streak, we have left ourselves no choice tonight.    

No pressure.  Just beat PHI.  They have it coming.  Harden or no Harden.  BS or no BS.  It doesn't matter.  

Go Celtics!!      

db

dbrown,

A very well-written piece. Thank you.


Bob


.

bobh,

Thank you, sir. Sometimes I get on a roll!

Much to my surprise, I did notice that the line tonight is BOS (-1)! I was going to stab at PHI (-2.5) before looking, but the current line is basically calling this game a tie. You can't really call the game even for betting purposes because someone has to win. And since you have to win by at least one point, this is as close to even as you can get. Quite a difference from the last time these two went head-to-head. Our edge is wafer-thin. Time for an unknown to break out, be more efficient, something the Celtics of the past are known for. A loss just won't get it done tonight. Return to sender.

db