Celtics need more from supporting cast
The Celtics got blown out at home last night 118-94 as the Cavaliers evened the series at 1. The Green had an historically bad shooting night and the defense as the worst it has been all playoffs long. They got beat in transition and outplayed inside the paint. The discussion during postgame last night was Jayson Tatum and his body language and toughness. Which of course is the lazy take after a Celtics loss. Tatum has 25 points, got to the free throw line 16 times yet Celtics fans want to blame him for his teammates throwing up zero’s in the seconds half of a game that was tied at 54 at the midway point. He is also shooting 37% for the playoffs which is amongst the worst.
The Celtics have been led by Derrick White for much of the playoffs and he had a tough shooting night finishing with just 10 points. There are interesting correlations to the play of White and the Celtics success. In the Celtics last 15 playoff games when White scores 15 or more points the team is 7-1. When White scores less than 15 points the team is 1-6. The one win, game 6 vs Miami when White hit buzzer beater. In the end, it will come down to the play of Jaylen Brown & Tatum. They have proven they can get to the final together, White has been the difference maker and the team was without Kristaps Porzingis.
In the second half four starters not named Tatum made a combined 3 shots. Brown, White, Jru Holiday and Al Horford combined to go 3-18 from the field and 0-13 from 3. Tatum was 4-7 in the second half. In regards to Holiday, he struggled defensively against the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. The pair shot 9/13 when defended by him while shooting 15/26 from the field. He continues to struggle. None of that seem to matter as it all comes down to Tatum & Brown in the eyes of many
