Celtics vs. Warriors, NBA Finals

[BigSoxFan]

Painful example, but Kobe shot 40.5% in the 2010 Finals and was of course the MVP

Yup. Good example. Winning cures all. And he shot 6-24 in the decisive Game 7. He is incredibly lucky that the refs stepped on the scale in the 4th and Ray Allen went ice cold or otherwise his legacy would he have included 2 L’s to the Celtics in the finals.

This proves that the book is yet to be written here. Tatum could shoot 6-24 in the next game but if he hits the critical shot, nobody will care about his shooting.

Or, he could shoot 12-25 but dribble the ball off his foot in the decisive possession and be labeled a “choker”. Sports legacies are fickle.

 

[Light-Tower-Power]

JB is my leader in the clubhouse for finals MVP if the Celtics end up winning. Celtics are probably down 3-1 if he doesn't carry the scoring and playmaking load to start the fourth in G1, and he also set the tone with a bunch of early baskets in G3. Tatum is carrying a bigger load on offense as we're playing through him most of the time he's on the floor, but I have to ding him for his poor shooting even if it's partially due to the shoulder.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

He’s shooting 34% in an NBA Finals series while averaging 22 PPG. The passing has been very nice but you’re simply not beating Curry and his 50% shooting 34 PPG if Tatum is shooting/scoring like that. He needs to do more.

So, he’s going to rightfully catch some slack if it continues and they lose. Doesn’t mean that there aren’t other reasons but if you’re “the guy” and you shoot like shit in a series, you’re going to catch some heat. Of course, he’s also probably playing injured so there is some discounting needed.

Imagine catching slack for not beating arguably the greatest offense player to play this game? Tough crowd. This injury nonsense is just that. Sure he’s banged up……damn, so is Curry! Tatum is shooting 45% 3’s so no, the shoulder is not preventing him from shooting. He’s forced to work harder for shots than he ever has in his young career with weak side help waiting for him while he’s forced to run our offense. This is prime Jordan stuff that he’s being criticized for not being able to live up to if we lose this series. Crazy talk imo.

 

[cardiacs]

Again, there have been multiple media and fan anecdotes about Tatum using resistance bands during TOs on his shoulder this series. I know we have members here who insist that Tatum was faking his injury but if you take the production along with the reports, either he is pulling a long con or he is legit dealing with a shoulder situation that affects his shooting.

I am not here to convince anyone else but is it really that far fetched that he is dealing with something physical versus him being "soft", a "choker" or "not an alpha"?

I first thought he was faking it but since I've become convinced there is a legitimate issue with the shoulder that's affecting his shots and decision making. Last 2 games there were several layups that didn't fall because they were a little short off the front of the rim or were off the glass but not quite high enough. I'm not a doc but seems like the stress on the shoulder driving, then lifting up the ball to the basket in traffic will be more severe than a jumper (which also seemed to be affected but less so, at least from my vantage point).

 

[BigSoxFan]

Imagine catching slack for not beating arguably the greatest offense player to play this game? Tough crowd. This injury nonsense is just that. Sure he’s banged up……damn, so is Curry! Tatum is shooting 45% 3’s so no, the shoulder is not preventing him from shooting. He’s forced to work harder for shots than he ever has in his young career with weak side help waiting for him while he’s forced to run our offense. This is prime Jordan stuff that he’s being criticized for not being able to live up to if we lose this series. Crazy talk imo.

Nobody is asking him to outshoot Curry. That would be dumb. But I think it’s reasonable to ask him to shoot better than 34%. I just don’t see how this team gets over the hump without better and more efficient scoring from Tatum. Clearly, the rest of his game is going ok so some of the criticism is surely unfair.

 

[ugmo33]

Imagine catching slack for not beating arguably the greatest offense player to play this game? Tough crowd. This injury nonsense is just that. Sure he’s banged up……damn, so is Curry! Tatum is shooting 45% 3’s so no, the shoulder is not preventing him from shooting. He’s forced to work harder for shots than he ever has in his young career with weak side help waiting for him while he’s forced to run our offense. This is prime Jordan stuff that he’s being criticized for not being able to live up to if we lose this series. Crazy talk imo.

I hear what you are saying about the burden he is carrying and the unfair expectations, but the problem is that there are so many times where he seems to beat the defense and just misses the shot. He's missed a number of layups that we've seen him make all season. He has figured some ways to beat the extra attention, like driving to pass in G1, or making a quick drive off the catch, but then all too often he misses the bunny.

My personal gripe is when they work so hard to get the switch they want, Jordan Pool or Bjielica, and Tatum faces up, dribbles down the shot clock and then just passes it back to Marcus or whoever is next to him

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Holding players to the expectation of perfect execution in these games, when the opponents have not just memorized how to make them uncomfortable but have internalized it to the point of being second nature, seems like a tough way to watch basketball, especially the playoff variety imo. These people literally have to make decisions in a few second span while some of the biggest, most athletic humans on the planet are grabbing/shoving/poking/leaning on them on the exact parts of their bodies that irritates them the most, denying them their comfort zones and whatever else they can to throw them off.

More to the point, even Steph Curry has averaged 2.7 TOV per game this post-season. Perfect execution is not a reasonable standard - plays will get mucked up, there will be bad reads, errant passes and shots that look like the Saturday at the Y variety versus the NBA finals.

Regular NBA basketball is normally hard but now the "tuxedo players" have been weeded out, nothing comes easy.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I hear what you are saying about the burden he is carrying and the unfair expectations, but the problem is that there are so many times where he seems to beat the defense and just misses the shot. He's missed a number of layups that we've seen him make all season. He has figured some ways to beat the extra attention, like driving to pass in G1, or making a quick drive off the catch, but then all too often he misses the bunny.

My personal gripe is when they work so hard to get the switch they want, Jordan Pool or Bjielica, and Tatum faces up, dribbles down the shot clock and then just passes it back to Marcus or whoever is next to him

To touch upon what DBMH just said this becomes more and more difficult for an offensive player to execute the deeper you get into a playoff series. The defense is more and more familiar with what you’re looking to do which is why guys like Poole, Curry and Bjelica are able to anticipate Tatum’s move. Not to turn this into the Gambling thread but this is one of the reasons we often see the Totals in a Game 6-7 double digits lower than they are in a Game1 of a series. I’ve seen them as much as 17-pts lower. Now one of the players who isn’t affected as much seems to be a guy like Curry who still only needs space to get deep three’s off as opposed to having a signature move off the dribble to beat his man.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

I hear what you are saying about the burden he is carrying and the unfair expectations, but the problem is that there are so many times where he seems to beat the defense and just misses the shot. He's missed a number of layups that we've seen him make all season. He has figured some ways to beat the extra attention, like driving to pass in G1, or making a quick drive off the catch, but then all too often he misses the bunny.

It's a bad early career habit that he seemed to have gotten past. When he plays off one foot and drives past the hoop instead of to it, defensive players just shove him along the same line he is traveling and disrupt the layup without it registering to officials as a foul. As he said yesterday, he needs to play off too feet more and get back to driving to the hoop, not driving to seek fouls.

 

[Fishy1]

When Lebron was 23, he shot 35% in the ECS to lose to the Celtics. That was in a series that went all seven games.

I think there's no doubt that it would be great were Tatum shooting better, but I don't think this peformance really should take anything away from what he's done so far -- and the series isn't over.

Just to say even the best players the world has ever seen have rough series. It happens. Tatum has brought this team this far, and it's a shame he's shooting 35%, but the fact that he is doesn't mean he should be out of the conversation as a top-five player or anything like that.

 

[Auger34]

When Lebron was 23, he shot 35% in the ECS to lose to the Celtics. That was in a series that went all seven games.

I think there's no doubt that it would be great were Tatum shooting better, but I don't think this peformance really should take anything away from what he's done so far -- and the series isn't over.

Just to say even the best players the world has ever seen have rough series. It happens. Tatum has brought this team this far, and it's a shame he's shooting 35%, but the fact that he is doesn't mean he should be out of the conversation as a top-five player or anything like that.

Is anyone saying that? If they are, I must have missed it, and I completely agree with you.

My point is that IN THIS SERIES, he hasn’t been particularly good and I am saying that in response to the people who still think he’s been the Celtics Finals MVP thus far.

And I acknowledge that he’s taking on a large share of the playmaking and that his shoulder might be injured…but with the status of being an All NBA player you’re graded on a tougher curve. And as BigSoxFan has pointed out he’s been incredibly inefficient these first 4 games.

I really hope he turns it around these next 2-3 games and I think he can.

 

[NomarsFool]

JB is my leader in the clubhouse for finals MVP if the Celtics end up winning. Celtics are probably down 3-1 if he doesn't carry the scoring and playmaking load to start the fourth in G1, and he also set the tone with a bunch of early baskets in G3. Tatum is carrying a bigger load on offense as we're playing through him most of the time he's on the floor, but I have to ding him for his poor shooting even if it's partially due to the shoulder.

I agree. He's been the MVP so far. I would really love to see him get that, too, as I think it would be a nice confidence boost for him as he heads into the offseason. Tatum has gotten many more accolades than Brown this year (deservedly so) and I think the Finals MVP would help "equalize" them a bit.

 

[Fishy1]

Is anyone saying that? If they are, I must have missed it, and I completely agree with you.

My point is that IN THIS SERIES, he hasn’t been particularly good and I am saying that in response to the people who still think he’s been the Celtics Finals MVP thus far.

And I acknowledge that he’s taking on a large share of the playmaking and that his shoulder might be injured…but with the status of being an All NBA player you’re graded on a tougher curve. And as BigSoxFan has pointed out he’s been incredibly inefficient these first 4 games.

I really hope he turns it around these next 2-3 games and I think he can.

I think people are mostly talking past each other, to be honest. Myself included.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

TL discussing why he's fighting through this knee issues:

View: https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNBA/status/1536401019789271040

 

[jezza1918]

Is it possible Tatum is just kind of gassed? I did some a quick stat check on B-Ref and found for minutes played amongst top 3 guys this series:
Tatum - 2,731 reg/898 playoffs (3,629 total)
Brown - 2,220 reg/832 playoffs (3,052 total)
Curry - 2,221 reg/687 playoffs (2,898 total)
So Tatum has played 731 additional minutes than Curry this season, or an additional 20 games at 36 MPG. While I think his shoulder is affecting him to some degree, lots of guys are banged up at this point...including Curry. So I guess I'm just wondering if it's as simple as Tatum just being tired. Especially given the load he is asked to carry on both ends. I put it out there on the mentality thread, but is there a way to take some burden off him defensively to keep him fresher for offense at the end of games? Or is that just so against their DNA that it's not worth the risk?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I think people are mostly talking past each other, to be honest. Myself included.

Not really. Some are saying that Jaylen is our Finals MVP which seems preposterous since he’s getting so much of his stuff due to the attention Tatum is generating. Tatum is also rhe overwhelming favorite over Jaylen in the betting market.

Curry -145
Tatum +160
Jaylen +700

Edit: Seeing ton of fluctuation on Jaylen. Closest out of 8 books I see it JT +180/JB +475

Edit2: Found a +185/+400 split. This is more in line than the +600 and -+700’s imo

 

[Eddie Jurak]

The Warriors have scored 107 points in their two wins, and averaged 104 (108 and 100) in the Celtics' two wins.

The Celtics have averaged 118 in their 2 wins (120 and 116) and 92.5 in their 2 losses (88 and 97).

For all the talk of whether they are defending Curry the right way, these games seem to be decided on whether the Celtics can score. (Or whether the Warriors can defend).

 

[Strike4]

Is it possible Tatum is just kind of gassed? I did some a quick stat check on B-Ref and found for minutes played amongst top 3 guys this series:
Tatum - 2,731 reg/898 playoffs (3,629 total)
Brown - 2,220 reg/832 playoffs (3,052 total)
Curry - 2,221 reg/687 playoffs (2,898 total)
So Tatum has played 731 additional minutes than Curry this season, or an additional 20 games at 36 MPG. While I think his shoulder is affecting him to some degree, lots of guys are banged up at this point...including Curry. So I guess I'm just wondering if it's as simple as Tatum just being tired. Especially given the load he is asked to carry on both ends. I put it out there on the mentality thread, but is there a way to take some burden off him defensively to keep him fresher for offense at the end of games? Or is that just so against their DNA that it's not worth the risk?

I think the answer is probably yes. I also think that Ime has a playoff mentality where he's very quick to put Tatum back into games when things might be going south offensively, and he also leaves Tatum in too long when he's clearly not providing the offense that he's being left in for, hoping it will click.

At the same time, at this point it's probably too late and not practical to explore another option.

 

[The Social Chair]

Is it possible Tatum is just kind of gassed? I did some a quick stat check on B-Ref and found for minutes played amongst top 3 guys this series:
Tatum - 2,731 reg/898 playoffs (3,629 total)
Brown - 2,220 reg/832 playoffs (3,052 total)
Curry - 2,221 reg/687 playoffs (2,898 total)

He was also 2nd on the USA team in MPG last summer.

 

[Koufax]

FWIW, 538 still has Boston as the favorite - with a 66% chance of winning. Keep your chins up, gentlemen!

 

[BaseballJones]

The Warriors have scored 107 points in their two wins, and averaged 104 (108 and 100) in the Celtics' two wins.

The Celtics have averaged 118 in their 2 wins (120 and 116) and 92.5 in their 2 losses (88 and 97).

For all the talk of whether they are defending Curry the right way, these games seem to be decided on whether the Celtics can score. (Or whether the Warriors can defend).

Golden State averaged 111.0 points a game on 46.9% shooting this season. They're averaging 105.5 this series on 44.9% shooting. Boston's defense has been solid.

Boston averaged 111.8 points a game on 46.6% shooting this season. They're averaging 105.3 this series on 44.2% shooting. So just about the same difference as Golden State, but Boston has had more variance, while GS has been pretty consistent in the same range.

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

I want to see the Celtics pushing the tempo and not settling for iso 3s. We need to maintain some offensive flow.

 

[Deathofthebambino]

I want to see the Celtics pushing the tempo and not settling for iso 3s. We need to maintain some offensive flow.

This, i want to see the C's running this old ass team up and down the floor off every missed shot by GS. When the C's get out early on them, and the offense gets going, the Warriors seem to lose their legs late. RUN, RUN, RUN and then get back and find Curry in transition on defense.

 

[benhogan]

This, i want to see the C's running this old ass team up and down the floor off every missed shot by GS. When the C's get out early on them, and the offense gets going, the Warriors seem to lose their legs late. RUN, RUN, RUN and then get back and find Curry in transition on defense.

zero fast-break points in the first half tonight, the C's look like the old ass team

 

[Just a bit outside]

zero fast-break points in the first half tonight, the C's look like the old ass team

Warriors not trying to offensive rebound without Looney. At least 4 guys going back on every play. They seem confidant they can stop the C’s in the halfcourt so are getting back as an emphasis.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

zero fast-break points in the first half tonight, the C's look like the old ass team

Once you get deep into a playoff series you rarely see fast breaks as these become walk it up and run your set type of games. Warriors aren’t running at all either.

 

[benhogan]

nm

 

[jablo1312]

Really hurts not being able to pull out g4 at home with a 4 point lead 1/2 way through the 4th, or tonight with steph going 0-9 from 3. I

Offense: know your turnover rate will never be 0% but it is completely outrageous to have this many, this consistently. I disagreed with the decision to play tatum the entire 2h and it burned them imo. Missed FT's are killers.

Defensively they looked pretty good for the most part. Need to bring that again in 3 days.

Win game 6 at home.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I disagreed with the decision to play tatum the entire 2h and it burned them imo.

I don’t know how this burned them. Our offense was an ugly 1-4 with a turnover in the 5 possessions he sat out in the 1Q. There is zero evidence to suggest sitting Tatum more would have been beneficial to our offense. Sure he missed two 4Q FT’s and threw up an air ball in the 4Q……then he nailed a 3. He had the identical sequence during a stretch in the 1H when fatigued wasn’t a factor too.

Edit: One thing that may be catching up to these teams is the constant cross country travel. If this is the case that bodes well for Thurs if Curry is human shooting the ball but many a Game 7 back out west has the potential to be one of the uglier Game 7’s.

 

[Van Everyman]

Right now this team looks worn down from the brutal playoff path they’ve taken. Which we were all afraid of when they had to go 7 twice and the way the refs called the Milwaukee series in particular.

Do they have another win in them? Maybe. The third quarter tonight was pretty fucking great and if they got some better luck there, I think they carry it stronger into the fourth. Plus, I don’t think Curry having a bad game was just him being off – I think they defended him much higher and closer tonight.

They have a good chance to take this to seven Thursday.

 

[reggiecleveland]

They are only really going on runs when hot from 3. I hope they can get hot to force game 7 then as the great Millar says, anything can happen. Pritchard turning into a pumpkin has really hurt.

 

[jablo1312]

I don’t know how this burned them. Our offense was an ugly 1-4 with a turnover in the 5 possessions he sat out in the 1Q. There is zero evidence to suggest sitting Tatum more would have been beneficial to our offense. Sure he missed two 4Q FT’s and threw up an air ball in the 4Q……then he nailed a 3. He had the identical sequence during a stretch in the 1H when fatigued wasn’t a factor too.

Would argue being exhausted impacts his ability to get the ball near mid-court with a head of steam and get downhill towards the rim, opening up the offense (which died again in the 4th quarter). Its too much to play that hard (as hard as humanly possible, considering its a Finals game) and be remotely good enough for an entire half. Have to find a way to steal him a few minutes of rest.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Would argue being exhausted impacts his ability to get the ball near mid-court with a head of steam and get downhill towards the rim, opening up the offense (which died again in the 4th quarter). Its too much to play that hard (as hard as humanly possible, considering its a Finals game) and be remotely good enough for an entire half. Have to find a way to steal him a few minutes of rest.

Yeah but this goes to my point in the prior post…..he wasn’t doing those things in the 1H either. It was all a function of the Warriors defense in both halves by my eyes.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

I"m sure the Cs have these stats but I would love to see the Cs efficiency when (1) the ball did not touch the paint, (2) the ball touched the paint once, and (3) the ball touched the paint multiple times.

I still think Cs are better team but 10 missed FTs tells me that they are either gassed from all of the extra games they played or from jet lag. Tonight kind of reminded me of tge MIA bubble series when they were mostly a step slow except for a few bursts that made it look like they were putting it together but then they wouldn't have it again. Hopefully they can find something to get them through the next 2 games like vs. MIL.

 

[RorschachsMask]

I’d be shocked if Tatum wasn’t running on fumes, since the bubble he has played almost 1,000 more minutes than the guy who has played the third most, and that doesn’t count the Olympics. This tweet was after game 2, I believe.

View: https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/1534403369510510596?s=20&t=BUg3nC2T4jHZ6WLlkGMvaw

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

They are only really going on runs when hot from 3. I hope they can get hot to force game 7 then as the great Millar says, anything can happen. Pritchard turning into a pumpkin has really hurt.

I'd argue that Fox turning into a pumpkin has hurt much worse.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Tonight kind of reminded me of tge MIA bubble series when they were mostly a step slow except for a few bursts that made it look like they were putting it together but then they wouldn't have it again. Hopefully they can find something to get them through the next 2 games like vs. MIL.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but yeah this is the right comp. When they put it together you think “where the hell has that been?”, and then shortly after “where the hell did it go?”

They looked super gassed tonight and you could see them start to fade end of the 3rd. Sucks but it happens, it’s been a long run and they haven’t made things easy on themselves.

Put me down as a lock to win at home and we get a Celtics NBA finals game 7 to shave a few more years off all our lives.

 

[LesterFan]

Demoralizing to lose a game Curry didn't even make a 3 in. Have to be worried about the offense. Ever since Game 3 where they dominated in the paint, the Warriors have made it very difficult on them. Offensive rating in the half court was 79 per 100 possessions, down from 89 in the previous game. 34 turnovers the last 2 games. Jaylen isn't winning the Draymond matchup anymore and has taken some tough and bad shots as a result. Tatum seems unlikely to explode for 40+ at this point. The bench was completely useless (4 points before garbage time, seriously?). Warriors did them no favors on the turnover side either, only turning it over 6 times. Hard to see how they get enough offense to win 2 in a row. Can start by at least making your FTs.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Demoralizing to lose a game Curry didn't even make a 3 in. Have to be worried about the offense. Ever since Game 3 where they dominated in the paint, the Warriors have made it very difficult on them. Offensive rating in the half court was 79 per 100 possessions, down from 89 in the previous game. 34 turnovers the last 2 games. Jaylen isn't winning the Draymond matchup anymore and has taken some tough and bad shots as a result. Tatum seems unlikely to explode for 40+ at this point. The bench was completely useless (4 points before garbage time, seriously?). Warriors did them no favors on the turnover side either, only turning it over 6 times. Hard to see how they get enough offense to win 2 in a row. Can start by at least making your FTs.

Sweet baby Jesus and Francis don’t get me going on the fucking free throws. They shot 81.6% as a team from the line regular season for fuck sake. That’s a great team number. Shooting just under 73% this series.

 

[scottyno]

Sweet baby Jesus and Francis don’t get me going on the fucking free throws. They shot 81.6% as a team from the line regular season for fuck sake. That’s a great team number. Shooting just under 73% this series.

Maybe they're in need of a free throw coach, know anyone?

 

[lars10]

They are only really going on runs when hot from 3. I hope they can get hot to force game 7 then as the great Millar says, anything can happen. Pritchard turning into a pumpkin has really hurt.

It’s both Pritchard and Williams. Without a couple of viable three point shooters in the corner GS can collapse into the pain to kill drives and double anyone with the ball.. especially Tatum and Brown. Williams, White and Pritchard have been wide open all series and have missed almost all of them.

 

[scottyno]

It’s both Pritchard and Williams. Without a couple of viable three point shooters in the corner GS can collapse into the pain to kill drives and double anyone with the ball.. especially Tatum and Brown. Williams, White and Pritchard have been wide open all series and have missed almost all of them.

In game 1 White and Pritchard were 9/15 and 7/11 for 3. Since game 1 White and Pritchard are 14/52 and 6/24 for 3, gross. Regression for White was expected, but it came at the worst time, especially since he hasn't done much else useful the last few games, and they really need him to soak up minutes.

Williams has been fine when he's shot, he's just hardly shot the ball for whatever reason. He's only taken more than 2 shots in one game, that only happened once the first 3 rounds. He should probably be getting 5 open looks for 3 a game on a team that has Tatum and Brown getting all the attention. I know his minutes are down, but they need to find him more shots or he's pretty useless out there. Golden State doesn't have the type of guys shooting the ball that he defends best.

 

[benhogan]

I"m sure the Cs have these stats but I would love to see the Cs efficiency when (1) the ball did not touch the paint, (2) the ball touched the paint once, and (3) the ball touched the paint multiple times.

I still think Cs are better team but 10 missed FTs tells me that they are either gassed from all of the extra games they played or from jet lag. Tonight kind of reminded me of tge MIA bubble series when they were mostly a step slow except for a few bursts that made it look like they were putting it together but then they wouldn't have it again. Hopefully they can find something to get them through the next 2 games like vs. MIL.

Yep, good comparison, it does feel like the Miami Bubble series, right after the grueling Raptors series.

The bench not adding anything left IME with few alternatives

28-16 in fouls called advantage, so blaming the refs isn't going to work

Those damn turnovers, it has been this team's Achilles heel all year

 

[NomarsFool]

As much as we may want to pin the blame on Tatum and Brown, I think the real issue is that almost nobody else has stepped up to help win a game in awhile this series. Curry has an off night and Wiggins and Klay each chip in 20+ points. In Game 2, outside of Tatum and Brown the other three starters contributed 6 points - in total.

Smart has been putting up some points in recent games - but I also feel like he's been forcing it with some bad turnovers on entry passes. I was surprised to see he only had 4 TOs last night, felt like more than that. Horford, White, Grant, Pritchard - those guys haven't done a heck of a lot in awhile.

 

[BigSoxFan]

As much as we may want to pin the blame on Tatum and Brown, I think the real issue is that almost nobody else has stepped up to help win a game in awhile this series. Curry has an off night and Wiggins and Klay each chip in 20+ points. In Game 2, outside of Tatum and Brown the other three starters contributed 6 points - in total.

Smart has been putting up some points in recent games - but I also feel like he's been forcing it with some bad turnovers on entry passes. I was surprised to see he only had 4 TOs last night, felt like more than that. Horford, White, Grant, Pritchard - those guys haven't done a heck of a lot in awhile.

Yup. There’s been a pretty strong correlation between “good” Horford/Smart and wins. If they don’t win this, it would have been a collective L.

 

[128]

It was only one play, and the C's almost certainly would have lost anyway. But Poole's buzzer-beater to end the third quarter seemed to pump up not only the crowd but the Warriors themselves, and it may have deflated the Celtics at the same time.

For the Warriors to have played so poorly in that quarter and yet still retained the lead was no small feat for them.

 

[Strike4]

In game 1 White and Pritchard were 9/15 and 7/11 for 3. Since game 1 White and Pritchard are 14/52 and 6/24 for 3, gross. Regression for White was expected, but it came at the worst time, especially since he hasn't done much else useful the last few games, and they really need him to soak up minutes.

I agree on White - he can't always have those awesome games, but you can expect him to hold the fort. Pritchard I think is a bit of a different case, he's a guy you use to steal minutes and get some quick 3's if they are falling, and that's pretty much it. We were a bit spoiled by him getting rebounds and stuff in the earlier rounds. The real culprits are Grant Williams and Theis giving the team little or nothing, with Williams basically now a minutes-stealer and Theis unplayable. HOWEVER I do think Ime has been too quick to put a flailing Tatum and Brown back in the game in these situations. Not sure their fatigue is now so built up that only weeks off will fix it though.

 

[lexrageorge]

As much as we may want to pin the blame on Tatum and Brown, I think the real issue is that almost nobody else has stepped up to help win a game in awhile this series. Curry has an off night and Wiggins and Klay each chip in 20+ points. In Game 2, outside of Tatum and Brown the other three starters contributed 6 points - in total.

Smart has been putting up some points in recent games - but I also feel like he's been forcing it with some bad turnovers on entry passes. I was surprised to see he only had 4 TOs last night, felt like more than that. Horford, White, Grant, Pritchard - those guys haven't done a heck of a lot in awhile.

I do hope Brad Stevens is taking note and making plans to upgrade some of the 6/7/8 spots in the rotation, as the C's have gotten next to nothing out of those spots in these Finals. Which has hurt them in that the bench hasn't provided any sort of a momentum change in any of the games, and the starters are clearly out of gas.

 

[BigSoxFan]

It was only one play, and the C's almost certainly would have lost anyway. But Poole's buzzer-beater to end the third quarter seemed to pump up not only the crowd but the Warriors themselves, and it may have deflated the Celtics at the same time.

For the Warriors to have played so poorly in that quarter and yet still retained the lead was no small feat for them.

Some plays in sports are just ominous. That one counts. You just can’t let that happen when you have the ball with 26 seconds to go. Just another example of this team losing focus.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

Tatum's decision to push around his food on his plate like peak Tony Soprano and let himself get pinned to the sideline by Wiggins was maddening. They're frankly lucky they even got a shot off as his desperation pass could have easily gotten stolen.