Mazzulla made a lot of good moves in this game, but he should have used a timeout for the last possession. Tatum needs to be the initiator in that situation.
Without White, the offense was disjointed. With a team with elite rim protection and long wing defenders, you need to space out the rim protector, and use player and ball movement to dislodge or switch the blanket perimeter defenders. Horford didn’t provide any floor spacing threat, going 1-4 from three, with only three points in 36 minutes.
Holliday had trouble getting comfortable finished shots against the interior defense, going 4-16, including only 4-12 from two, mostly missed shots near the rim. A little better shooting, and Boston steals this one. The defense on KAT was spectacular. I guess he took the Marcus Smart impression a little bit too far and imitated him on offense also.
If Minny could move KAT for a legit second scorer to pair with Edwards, they could contend. Elite alpha scorer, elite rim protection, savvy vet PG, and a bunch of long, athletic wing defenders. They might be a contender in the West this year of they can get KAT to play the right way, but I’m not holding my breath.
Pritchard had a weird game. No points on three shots in 20 minutes, three assists to zero turnovers, while he vacuumed up six rebounds, and a plus 18.
Edwards with a monster 38/9/7, with his two threes (out of eight tries) daggers, and an impressive 13-17 inside the arc, with almost every one of those shots closely contested. Virtuoso performance. Despite the bricklaying at the line, Gobert was a presence, with a game leading plus 24.