Tag: 2022 East Second Round

‘Jayson Tatum has never played worse,’ says ESPN’s Michael Wilbon of the Celtics star’s Game 3 dud vs. Bucks

Was Tatum as really bad as this assessment makes his play out to be?

By any reasonable account, it certainly was among the worst games played by Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum. But in ESPN broadcaster Michael Wilbon’s assessment, it wasn’t just bad postseason play from the St. Louis native — in his opinion, Tatum truly outdid himself in the worst way imaginable with his Game 3 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon.

“Jayson Tatum has never played worse,” opined Wilbon. “Not in a game of consequence. Not only did he not shoot it well — 4-of-19 — he didn’t pass, he didn’t have any plays for anybody, (and) he didn’t rebound.”

The veteran analyst really lit into the Celtics star on a recent episode of NAB countdown; watch the video embedded below to see if he is being fair in his assessment.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Who deserves more blame for Boston’s Game 3 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks – the Celtics or the refs?

The officiating was just one thing that went sideways in this contest.

Who deserves more blame for the Boston Celtics’ Game 3 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in their Eastern Conference semifinals series — the team itself, or the refs who made a number of questionable calls against the Celtics late in the game?

On one hand, it is hard not to get upset about the missed obvious 3-point attempt foul call from veteran point guard Marcus Smart late in the game, or a seemingly clear goaltending call gotten away with by Milwaukee superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. But on the other, it certainly wasn’t the refs holding star Boston swingman Jayson Tatum to just 10 points, nor baiting he and Smart into shooting a combined 10-of-25 from the field with just 5 assists between them.

The host of the NBC Sports Boston “Celtics Beat” podcast Chris Forsberg linked up with NBC Sports Boston sideline reporter Abby Chin after the dust settled on the 103-101 Game 3 loss to talk this particular point over.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear their takes on what went wrong — and how the Celtics can be better moving forward.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Three observations on the Boston Celtics’ Game 3 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks

The refs stunk it up, but not as much as Boston did their shot selection and ball movement.

After nearly beating the Milwaukee Bucks on their homecourt despite awful offensive games from both All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and veteran point guard Marcus Smart, it’s understandable that fans of the team are pointing to a number of questionable calls late in the fourth quarter of Game 3 as a reason for the loss.

And though there was indeed a likely goaltend missed and 3-point shot that should have been called instead of a simple foul before the shot on Smart in one of the game’s final plays, there are plenty of other takeaways worth reflecting on to make sense of what happened on Saturday afternoon.

Let’s start with the officiating though, given how prominent it was in the game’s outcome.

Al Horford highlights: Boston big gets 22 points, 15 boards, 5 assists vs. Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 loss

He nearly had a buzzer-beating tip-in, too.

Had it come just a half-second sooner, Boston Celtics veteran big man Al Horford would have capped off his big game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a buzzer-beating bucket. But the tip-in came just an instant too late, unfairly rendering one of the Florida product’s best postseason games in a good while something of an afterthought.

So, we will celebrate Horford in this post anyway, seeing as he put up 22 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor, and a sizzling 4-of-7 from beyond the arc without turning the ball over even once throughout 39 minutes played over the course of a very physical game.

We won’t waste any time here on what might have been, we’re just going to appreciate this heroic effort from Horford in Game 3, and hope we see more of it in Game 4 of the East semis series against the Bucks on Tuesday night.

If you missed the game or just want to see not-so-average Al get busy, check out the clip embedded above courtesy of YouTuber Tomasz Kordylewski.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics, NBA Twitter react to Boston dropping Game 3 to the Milwaukee Bucks

Boston fans were not very pleased with how Game 3 unfolded for the Celtics, who played to Milwaukee’s strengths.

The Boston Celtics dropped a winnable Game 3 on the road 103-101 to the Milwaukee Bucks after a poor response to the Bucks’ defense and a worse third quarter, falling behind 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the defending NAB champions as a result. That All-Star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum shot 0-of-6 from beyond the arc and 4-of-19 overall certainly also had plenty to do with the tough loss, which Boston managed to hang around in until the final moments of the fourth quarter.

Desperation plays and questionable calls put the nail in the coffin of the Celtics’ 14-point comeback that can’t help but leave fans wondering what might have happened had Boston simply stuck with the play that won them Game 2 handily throughout the subsequent contest.

Plenty of fans and analysts both took to social media to air their feelings about Game 3 on Saturday afternoon — let’s take a look at what was said.

Celtics highlights: Boston falls 103-101 in Game 1 after rough third quarter, tough game for Jayson Tatum

Bad habits from Game 1 cost the Celtics their third game in the East semis vs. Milwaukee as well.

The Boston Celtics repeated some of their mistakes from Game 1 of their series with the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Bucks on Saturday afternoon, falling 103-101 despite fighting their way back from being down 14 points to Milwaukee in the game’s third quarter.

A general lack of ball movement, costly defensive lapses, and a terrible game from star forward Jayson Tatum (just 10 points, 3 assists, and 4 blocks on 4-of-19 shooting overall and 0-of-6 from 3) doomed the Celtics, who now trail the east semis series 2-1 as a result of the road loss. As a team, Boston was held to just 36.8% shooting from the field by Milwaukee and 27.3% from beyond the arc.

If you missed the game, or just want to see the high points without slogging through the entire disappointing loss check out the clip embedded below put together by the folks at NBC Sports Boston.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics at Bucks: Boston falls to Milwaukee 103-101 despite comeback from down 14 in Game 3

Some of the best plays of the game captured in images.

The Boston Celtics fell back into letting the Milwaukee Bucks‘ aggressive defense bother them and speed up their offense, not finding their way in the game until the fourth quarter. It cost them Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the defending NBA champs, the Celtics losing 103-101 despite coming back from a 14-point deficit.

Boston nearly managed to steal the win at the end, but ultimately fell after making life difficult for themselves early despite big games from star forward Jaylen Brown (27 points, 12 rebounds), veteran big man Al Horford (22 points, 16 boards, 5 assists), and reserve guard Derrick White (14 points). That star forward Jayson Tatum shot 4-of-19 from the field and 0-of-6 from deep ultimately doomed the effort, however.

Let’s take a look at some of the best plays of the game captured in images.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

WIll the Celtics continue to slow Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3 vs. the Milwaukee Bucks?

Adjustments are everything this deep into the postseason.

Will the Boston Celtics be able to continue slowing down Milwaukee Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as they did in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series? Or will an adjustment on the part of the Bucks leave the Celtics reeling like they were to start Game 1 of the series?

Whichever way the third installment of the second-round series goes, so might go the rest of the series — and when it comes to postseason basketball among the heavyweights of the postseason, even minor adjustments can be magnified to great effect. Will Boston’s 3-and-D strategy remain effective moving forward?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Beat” podcast Adam Kaufman and guest Sean Deveney of Heavy.com recently chopped it up on this particular topic and offered up their assessments of what might be coming down the pike in this East semis series.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear their takes!

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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The Boston Celtics found a formula from 3-point range against the Milwaukee Bucks – but is it sustainable?

Should they come into Game 3 awaiting yet another adjustment from Milwaukee?

In Game 1 of their series against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Boston Celtics quickly discovered that their strategy of double-teaming superstar Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was not a good one, but by the time they had an idea of how to counter that approach, the game was already lost.

In Game 2, the Celtics only covered The Greek Freak with a stronger, big swingman in order to prevent the possibility of an open shooter for Giannis to pass the ball to when he can’t get downhill while moving the ball to hit open 3s at high volume. That worked very well, helping Boston blow out the Bucks to even the series up at 1 game apiece before the play shifted to Wisconsin.

Now, the Celtics head to Milwaukee for Game 3 of the East semis with a formula that worked against the Bucks and their unstoppable force of a player — can Boston expect their approach to work in Game 3 on the road?

The hosts of ESPN’s “NBA Today” debated whether the Celtics should lean into what got them their last win, or if they can expect the Bucks to change things up as well in the video embedded above.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics injury update: Marcus Smart ‘doing much better’ per coach Udoka; will be probable vs. Bucks in Game 3

Udoka also noted Jaylen Brown is ‘feeling fine’ with regards to hamstring tightness.

The Boston Celtics will likely have a key part of their team back for Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks in their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the 2021 NBA champs with news from Celtics head coach Ime Udoka that point guard Marcus Smart will be upgraded to probable for the next game of the second-round series.

“Marcus is doing much better,” shared the Boston coach after practice on Friday morning. Noting that Smart “went through shootaround today,” Udoka related that the Flower Mound native was “getting some extra work in and will be listed as probable” for the first game of the series played on the Bucks’ home court.

He also briefly addressed concerns about the status of Celtics forward Jaylen Brown’s hamstring, which he said that there was “nothing talked about, nothing discussed” with regards to any lingering tightness or other discomfort.

“He felt fine after the game” against Milwaukee on Tuesday, said Udoka, who explained he played Brown less late “because of his long stretches and our lead at the time.

“He’s feeling fine,” reassured the Celtics coach.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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