Getty Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
In the playoffs, momentum usually sits with the team that won the most recent game, which means right now, the Boston Celtics are riding the wave following their game two victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite Boston currently holding the mental advantage, some analysts are pessimistic about the team’s chances of going on to win the series and are using their 46.5% three-point shooting as the stick to beat them with.
One of the more vocal detractors in this conversation is Nick Wright, who believes that Boston’s three-point barrage in game two is unsustainable long-term which will eventually be the Celtics’ downfall.
“The Celtics stopping Giannis is not sustainable. And they hit 17 more threes than the Bucks. … Milwaukee is going to be fine. They got the split they needed to get. If I’m a Bucks fan I feel fine.” — @getnickwright
“I just don’t think they’re going to do that (play strong defense) for the rest of the series. But the other reason they won was because they hit 17 more threes than Milwaukee. That has happened one other time in NBA playoff history and is one of the most famous games in playoff history – 2016, conference finals, Warriors vs. Thunder, otherwise known as the Klay Thompson game.
I think Boston will have another game where they hit 17, 18, and 19 threes. I just don’t think that will go along with Milwaukee only hitting three. I think that Milwaukee is going to be fine. They got the split they needed to get, and nobody expected them to sweep the series. Giannis tried to go out and strangle the series; he took 10 shots. The only problem is he made one of them. I don’t think that’s going to happen again. If I’m a Bucks fan, I feel fine,” Wright said on a recent episode of First Things First.
Tatum’s Leading By Example
Since the start of the playoffs, Jayson Tatum has been one of the best players in the competition, blending his scoring prowess with his vastly improved playmaking and rebounding. We’ve also seen the St. Louis native take massive strides as an on-ball defender, especially when guarding elite scorers such as Kevin Durant.
According to Taylor Snow of the Boston Celtics, Tatum’s exploits rank him first among all forwards to have participated in the 2022 playoffs, not only in points but also in assists.
Jayson Tatum is both the leading scorer and leading assister among all forwards in the playoffs.
Scoring
1. Tatum – 28.0 PPG
2. Giannis – 27.9 PPG
3. Ingram – 27.0 PPG
Assisting
1. Tatum – 7.2 APG
2. Giannis – 7.1 APG
3. Draymond – 6.7 APG
Snow also reports that Tatum is also second among all forwards in steals per game, sitting directly below Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. With such high-level production from their star player, the Celtics can be confident of matching any team in the league, regardless of who they have on their roster.
Smart Expects to be Back For Game Three
Boston’s game two win against the Milwaukee Bucks was an impressive display of defensive commitment and unselfish offense. The victory was even more special because the team did it without the Defensive Player of the Year, who missed the contest due to injury.
However, defeating a team in your own arena is one thing; going on the road and repeating such a performance is another. That’s why Marcus Smart’s impending return to the rotation is such a welcomed update, even if he did only miss one game.
“Better than I was. Some of the swelling has gone down, still dealing with some. Just taking it day by day,” Smart told the media when asked how he was feeling following his injury, “There’s a strong likelihood that I should be back for game three. Like I said, we’re dealing with the last part of it, and that’s getting the restriction off the knee, the joints so that I can bend it. Once that’s out of that way, I should be back to myself because everything else is healing up the right way, and that’s the last part. Gotta’ deal with it.”
If Smart does return to the rotation when the Celtics face the Bucks on Saturday, May 7, he will ensure his team’s perimeter defense is operating at its full potential, and judging by how Udoka looked to limit Milwaukee’s shooters in their last meeting, that could spell trouble for Giannis and co. on their home court.