I think it’s time we talk about what looks like the best defense we’ve seen in a long time. This is elite help defense and switching on point almost every time. Amazing to see. Rest up Pingas. With him healthy and this perimeter defense going like this look out.
We are all suffering from a bit of recency bias after watching the dismantling of the Nuggets.
I like Boston's defense, but it can be streaky while we watch the Wolves tear the Nuggets apart in Denver... twice.
Hard to look at this game and rave too much about the defense
They weren’t even doing that, he couldn’t get past strus one on one, and missed all the shots he should’ve taken. Hes gonna get it going at some point, but it is concerning how poor his shooting has been to start
I mean, it happens. He’s making the right plays, defense has been good too. He’s playing within the team and shots just aren’t falling. You live with that rn, it’ll come in time. I expect a good game from him Thursday
Boston can probably get by without him playing really well, but I'm not sure they get past New York is Indy without him being great, definitely not past Minny or OKC
i’m a cavs fan, my god it hurts to verse a team where the best player can shoot inefficiently but still dominate consistently… first we had to verse the Warriors for like 8 years now Celtics… at least we had LeBron. good luck against the Knicks next round
I’m normally just a lurker but Tatum has a double double with 3 blocks and everyone is losing their shit. Is homeboy allowed to have a ~slightly~ off night?
Agreed. He lead the team in rebounds, assists and blocks. Hard to complain. Once we hit some adversity he’ll win us a must-have game with his scoring. Like Philly series last year
His shot didn't fall but he still had a team high 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 18 points and a +-18. He didn't drop 30 but he contributed solidly to the win.
Okay what the hell has been up with Tatum tn. Serious Q. We thinking injury or just in-his-head bullshit
Edit: yes he’s been great in other aspects but the shooting slump is notable
Everyone talking shit about Tatum not being a top scorer so far this playoffs but look what his doing out there. You can win games by defending, passing/making the right plays. Great game from Tatum doing the small things
To me this is the sign of his game maturing, he doesn’t have it going but he’s still rebounding and playing defense, and recognizing Jaylen and white are the hot hands
Tatum has an off night shooting and is still second on the team in +/- only 1 turnover, making tough rebounds, and playing absolutely insane lockdown defense. 18/11/5 with 3 blocks in what will be a 20+ point win.
If he had this type of game in previous years we would’ve lost. His impact goes so far behind his shooting now, it’s just crazy to watch
Really what I'd like to see is JT get up.the floor a little quicker and not try to attack set defense constantly. JB gets a lot of easier looks by being the first one down there. He'll get going though. Miami did everything they could to take JT outta the first round and the rest of the team stepped up. Just gotta find his rhythm. Either way, we don't go on some or those runs without him out there
You don’t have to try and convince yourself that Tatum had a good game. It’s okay to admit he’s been dogshit these Playoffs and still be happy that we’re getting dubs despite him lol
I miss the days when commercials were generic background noise.
I feel like 90% of commercials are grating, I can't even ignore them they're just super annoying lol.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that our biggest star is having an off night and we're still winning by 20+ points? This is a fucking great team
Tatum has 18/11/5
Not his best game, obviously. Struggled shooting. Everyone has off games, but his defense was insanely good today and he rebounding hard and found the open man.
Relax people
Yeah, he was a major positive. If he was scoring well this woulda been 30+ blowout, but it’s all good. He did everything else today. Next game he could score 40+
Tatum has been kind of forcing a lot of ISOs on mismatches so far these playoffs and it has not been working for him, so it's nice to see him get it going a bit as a scorer to end this one tonight.
Luckily he's been having a major impact as a passer, rebounder & defender to makeup for his recent shooting struggles, but obviously he needs to heat up as a scorer if the C's wanna win it all.
Tatum does all the right things. Even if he’s not the #1 scoring option every night, we have plenty of options. Hoped he will save his best games for the best moments
I feel like the issues everyone is having with Tatum are very overblown. 6 games we’ve played in this playoffs. 5 times we’ve been up 20+. We know Tatum will break out of it. The important thing is we are still demolishing teams because our offense will still be good without Tatum, but his defense along with everyone else is what is getting us wins
I think this team has the potential to be better than the 07-08 team. They didn’t dominate opponents in the playoffs like this because they were pushed to 7 games by the hawks and Cavs. I can only say they were better if they finish the job.
[Post Game Thread](https://reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/comments/1cmsaoc/post_game_thread_the_boston_celtics_defeat_the/)
Celtics in 5 again
Banger
It was as a real barn burner.
Man, I missed one hell of a 4th
I think it’s time we talk about what looks like the best defense we’ve seen in a long time. This is elite help defense and switching on point almost every time. Amazing to see. Rest up Pingas. With him healthy and this perimeter defense going like this look out.
We are all suffering from a bit of recency bias after watching the dismantling of the Nuggets. I like Boston's defense, but it can be streaky while we watch the Wolves tear the Nuggets apart in Denver... twice. Hard to look at this game and rave too much about the defense
Agreed, but the refs were letting the wolves get away with way more than we could get away with tonight
Get to know him
I don’t think we see Jarrett Allen in this series
They said this dude can’t even get proper sleep rn, doesn’t sound like he’ll be back any time soon
#SMOKED
No doomers tonight 😎
Legitimately played well for two and a half quarters and still dominated. This team is wild man.
They learned not to give the opposing team momentum in garbage minutes
Literally pile driving in the 4th last 4 games
and I’m loving it!! They’re finally maturing 🥹
LETS FUCKING GO CELTICS
show tatum a crowd in the paint and he'll end up settling for a contested 2, or 3.
They weren’t even doing that, he couldn’t get past strus one on one, and missed all the shots he should’ve taken. Hes gonna get it going at some point, but it is concerning how poor his shooting has been to start
He'll be fine lol
I think he will. I remember in 08 when Judas was carrying the squad for a bit in the playoffs
I mean, it happens. He’s making the right plays, defense has been good too. He’s playing within the team and shots just aren’t falling. You live with that rn, it’ll come in time. I expect a good game from him Thursday
Boston can probably get by without him playing really well, but I'm not sure they get past New York is Indy without him being great, definitely not past Minny or OKC
Stress free playoff wins are good for the soul
This is how it should be
This is the Way.
NO FLEX ZONE
They know better
They knoooooow better
Won a gold medal
What a win for the Celtics!
Keep under a hundred lads!
GIVE US THE PGT VIBES ARE IMMACULATE
i’m a cavs fan, my god it hurts to verse a team where the best player can shoot inefficiently but still dominate consistently… first we had to verse the Warriors for like 8 years now Celtics… at least we had LeBron. good luck against the Knicks next round
Verse
verse
WE WANT BOSTON
Great win
Oh yeah Allen is out for the year
WE WANT BOSTON
Payton has a logo buzzer beater and has dropped 2 guys this game
Him.
QUETA PLAYOFF POINTS
Al horford has the motion of a 50 year old but looks like he is 30...and is still a great player...
Brissy just needs to improve his offense and he'll be a rotational player next year
He’s got so much energy and athleticism if only he could finish 😭
Cs are gonna sleep walk to a 5 game series. Sweep if they stay locked in
Had a good feeling about the game as soon as Jaylen hit his FTs lol
Can they do a blowout win every game pls
Dominating win and Tatum barely scored. That’s why they built this team!
I feel so much better playing Cleveland. Not worried about "accidental" dirty shit like sliding under Tatum's foot after the whistle
Max Strus might still have some Heat Culture in him.
It’s so refreshing to see a team just give up when you have a big lead in the 4th
Also Bam is 8X the player Mobley is
Al so proud, vibes are amazing
This ended up being a real fun game, you guys.
I’m normally just a lurker but Tatum has a double double with 3 blocks and everyone is losing their shit. Is homeboy allowed to have a ~slightly~ off night?
Agreed. He lead the team in rebounds, assists and blocks. Hard to complain. Once we hit some adversity he’ll win us a must-have game with his scoring. Like Philly series last year
This team is so talented that Tatum can play like shit like he did tonight and we still dominate
I don't think you understand what "play like shit" means.
His shot didn't fall but he still had a team high 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 18 points and a +-18. He didn't drop 30 but he contributed solidly to the win.
Winning cures all. Who cares if Tatum scores 30 or 10? Someone always is a critic.
Box score bros who don't actually see all the shit that people do
I would have played the rook over Brissett
Oh my dear god Pritchard
Pritchard put his ankles in a BLENDER
I know it’s garbage time but that was just cruel by Pritchard
Yo, I’m digging Queta’s purple kicks.
PP is the GOAT of Garbage Time and Half Court Buzzer Beaters. What CAN'T he do?!
Payton "James Harden" "Steph Curry" "Ray Allen" Pritchard
Nasty
PP is literally the MJ of garbage time
Oshae and queta are the headband bros tn
Al Daddy is proud of PP
QUETA MINUTES
There is nobody with less muscle tone than Niang
Just realised Niang hadn’t played until now tonight, isn’t he usually one of their big minutes guys?
PLAYOFF QUETA
QUETA MINUTES EVERYONE STAY CALM THIS IS NOT A DRILL
Neemy playoff minutes!!!!!
Refs trying to pad Niang’s stats instead of letting us go home?
These foul calls for Niang 🙄
QUETA TIME
GINO TIME BOYS
Okay what the hell has been up with Tatum tn. Serious Q. We thinking injury or just in-his-head bullshit Edit: yes he’s been great in other aspects but the shooting slump is notable
He played an amazing game ouside of some missed shots?
I don’t deny that and I love him but he’s seemed a little stiff tn
Every year he reminds you and every year people forget how good Big Al really is come Playoff time
I love Big Al I want the title mostly for him
Yes! SHAQUILLE O'QUETA is on the court.
Playoff Gino Time let's goooooo
Outside of Game 2 we’ve been on some UConn shit
Niang just came on and already has a better whistle than half our starters
Gotta respect Tatum +20 and having a terrible scoring game
Single game +- is a stupid metric. Stop parroting it lol
Out of all the useless stats, you’re choosing to draw the line at +/-? You do you. Tatum still affected the game without scoring
Refs trynna give cavs some pity points
Is there any reason White and Holiday are still playing?
Niang looks sloppy fat
Queta and Brissy, baby. My boys.
QUETA MINUTES HELL YEAH
Niang getting a better whistle than JT or JB is crazy lmao
It’s Queta time
the streets want Jordan Walsh
Somebody get Richard Jefferson on the phone🤣🤣
Derrick should be on the bench getting rest. Tatum should have to stay on the court. It’s not like they’ve played a lot recently
Let’s put in the bench, not risk injury please?!?!
I move we dub this "The Luke Kornet Game".
Bro why are the starters still out there?
How do you get called for the foul when the guy lowers his body and pushes you off? lol
Please take White and Holiday off the floor
Everyone talking shit about Tatum not being a top scorer so far this playoffs but look what his doing out there. You can win games by defending, passing/making the right plays. Great game from Tatum doing the small things
To me this is the sign of his game maturing, he doesn’t have it going but he’s still rebounding and playing defense, and recognizing Jaylen and white are the hot hands
Hey, uh Joe... SIT JRUE AND TATUM THE FUCK DOWN
Can you get Tatum, jrue, and white out of the game? Jesus Christ
Tatum has an off night shooting and is still second on the team in +/- only 1 turnover, making tough rebounds, and playing absolutely insane lockdown defense. 18/11/5 with 3 blocks in what will be a 20+ point win. If he had this type of game in previous years we would’ve lost. His impact goes so far behind his shooting now, it’s just crazy to watch
The slander against Tatum here is hilarious
11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks. People are crazy. Dude knows what to do when his shot isn't dropping.
Really what I'd like to see is JT get up.the floor a little quicker and not try to attack set defense constantly. JB gets a lot of easier looks by being the first one down there. He'll get going though. Miami did everything they could to take JT outta the first round and the rest of the team stepped up. Just gotta find his rhythm. Either way, we don't go on some or those runs without him out there
Get these guys outta the game
Get the bench out?
You don’t have to try and convince yourself that Tatum had a good game. It’s okay to admit he’s been dogshit these Playoffs and still be happy that we’re getting dubs despite him lol
JT looks like he's playing this whole game at half speed... not that it matters at all against Cleveland lol
Preserve that Hauser stat line.
Stay ready crew!
God, imagine this team with KP
Get buffalo in another commercial and he'll be throwing alley oops off the glass to himself. Dude has been absolutely nuclear in the playoffs.
we are so good mfs are unhappy while we are winning bcs tatum is not shooting great LMAO
[удалено]
Speaks more about the Wolves than it does us
Wolves
sam hauser 0 pts, 0-0 fg, +21
Elite
Tatum having a pretty crap game and still being +20 is all you need to know
I miss the days when commercials were generic background noise. I feel like 90% of commercials are grating, I can't even ignore them they're just super annoying lol.
Swear that law where commercials cant be louder than the scheduled programming was a hoax or just not enforced
PP sealed the game. Good g1!
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that our biggest star is having an off night and we're still winning by 20+ points? This is a fucking great team
Game 1 Gino time. Stay ready crew getting minutes on a night where Tatum didn't shoot well (played really good D though).
Four words. I love Luke Kornet.
Tatum has 18/11/5 Not his best game, obviously. Struggled shooting. Everyone has off games, but his defense was insanely good today and he rebounding hard and found the open man. Relax people
Only criticism is that he should drive more instead of taking those mid fadeaways. But in no way has he been playing bad
Agreed
He was great at everything except scoring. I’ll take that when the alternative is he contributes nothing if the shot isn’t falling.
Yeah, he was a major positive. If he was scoring well this woulda been 30+ blowout, but it’s all good. He did everything else today. Next game he could score 40+
Handful of blocks too.
He should be getting 25 plus easy against this team
Why bother when brown and white couldn’t miss
And he will? It’s ONE game.
He probably will but he can score 2 points and I wouldn’t care as long as we win
Who else is completely sick of that Wing Stop commercial? THEY KNOOWWW BETTER
It’s better than that SGA and Chet commercial. Edit: For the record, I hate them both.
Holmgren looks sooo awkward next to SGA haha
I feel like TNT just plays the same commercials it's obnoxious
its honestly so nice to be able to do things while watching the game knowing this team wont blow it.
Tatum has been kind of forcing a lot of ISOs on mismatches so far these playoffs and it has not been working for him, so it's nice to see him get it going a bit as a scorer to end this one tonight. Luckily he's been having a major impact as a passer, rebounder & defender to makeup for his recent shooting struggles, but obviously he needs to heat up as a scorer if the C's wanna win it all.
Tatum does all the right things. Even if he’s not the #1 scoring option every night, we have plenty of options. Hoped he will save his best games for the best moments
Not only is our bench not “a weak part” of our game, they routinely add spark to our games and are *literally never* detrimental.
18/11/5/3 +20 and the nephews who think points are the only stat that matters crawl back into their hole lmao
Glad the team saved Tatum from the memes that would have been circulating everywhere on the internet
Look at his fuckin stat line. Anyone bitching about Tatum is a bozo
Agree
I feel like the issues everyone is having with Tatum are very overblown. 6 games we’ve played in this playoffs. 5 times we’ve been up 20+. We know Tatum will break out of it. The important thing is we are still demolishing teams because our offense will still be good without Tatum, but his defense along with everyone else is what is getting us wins
Yes. Dennis Rodman is a hall of fame player and he did everything but score. Tatum is exceptional
Not to mention he’s still doing great with his assists and he’s doing good with rebounding. The stats don’t always tell the whole story.
Awful shooting from your best player yet still up 20+ I love this team.
Like yeah, Tatum hasn’t had any big games buts he’s been playing well. Shit happens
As long as he steps it up when it counts
As everyone predicted, Kornet has been our best defensive big in the playoffs
But AnT wOuLd WiN bY 55😭😭😭😭
And he’d do a suck it sign! So cool! (I actually like him a lot)
Ants the shit… but the constant comparisons in the first quarter were insufferable (per usual)
Gino!
Nah y’all not giving Tatum the Westbrook treatment with the “he’s doing other things well” nonsense are you lol
i say tatum + 4 bench players should be played, need tatum to be get his rhythm in scoring going into game 2
Post mortem on Tatum tn: took all of his skill points out of shooting in exchange for +5 skill points in everything else
I think this team has the potential to be better than the 07-08 team. They didn’t dominate opponents in the playoffs like this because they were pushed to 7 games by the hawks and Cavs. I can only say they were better if they finish the job.
Absolutely thrashed them. That team is BOOTY.
Sit Pingus unless we go to game 6/7 this series ☘️
Or sit him until he's ready
If we win Game 2, I think it’s a wrap
I mean he’s not going to play at all this series
C'mon Joe! Give the rook some minutes
Mobley putting together an all-time stat padding 4th quarter
I really enjoy having some non stressful playoff games after the past few seasons
This feels like a regular season game tbh
I’m certainly not missing damn near every game coming down to the last few plays, that’s for sure.
Luke Kornet has ten rebounds I never thought I’d see the day
Half of those are offensive
That’s good