2024 NBA Playoffs: East Semifinals: #1 Boston Celtics vs #4 Cleveland Cavaliers (BOS WINS 4-1)

[Chuck Everett]

This game is a good reason why Tatum is not a tier 1 player. He’s not built to carry the load

Is it possible he's as close as you can get to being a superstar without actually being one?

I don't know what to make of Tatum. He has 3 level scoring, he can pass, but it never seems to come together fluidly according to whats happening in the moment. He doesn't seem to be able to randomly adapt his plan.

He doesn't really control games and manipulates defenses. And his handle is good, but not good enough to just navigate the court freely and at will. Watching Mitchell do that makes it obvious how lacking Tatum is in the skill.

I don't consider Mitchell a superstar either, and I'm still undecided on which of them is better. But its undeniable Mitchell is a more dynamic player on the offensive end.

The damning part for Tatum was that while Mitchell was cooking and the Cavs were pulling away, I had zero expectation of Tatum bringing them back. Or even attempting to.

Maybe thats because of how egalitarian the Celtics have become with their talent, but maybe its because I just don't believe in him. I don't know.

I'm really curious what Celtics fans make of Tatum though.

My only conclusion is he's kind of soft. Like he's not uber competitive, which is kind of surprising considering how much he idolizes Kobe.

[RB34]

Gotta love the Celtics game threads after a loss. Fans of the non playoffs teams come out and beat their chests. Not here when the Celtics win though.

[itrsteve]

I think we’re looking at a Knicks v Timberwolves Finals

Which wouldn't be the worst thing for the NBA as a product

[FarBeyondDriven]

Tatum lacks either the killer mentality or talent (whether physical, athletic, or skill) to be HIM. You never question that about guys like Kobe, Steph, Giannis, Jokic, Edwards, Luka, Mitchell, Lebron, KD or healthy Kawhi. There's very few of these guys so it's not really a knock. It is what it is. He's still a top 5-10 player but that special something that the truly greats have and that result in championships seems to be missing.

[baldur]

Seems like they will accelerate the return of porzingis for maybe game 5 or game 6.

[picc]

This game is a good reason why Tatum is not a tier 1 player. He’s not built to carry the load

Is it possible he's as close as you can get to being a superstar without actually being one?

I don't know what to make of Tatum. He has 3 level scoring, he can pass, but it never seems to come together fluidly according to whats happening in the moment. He doesn't seem to be able to randomly adapt his plan.

He doesn't really control games and manipulates defenses. And his handle is good, but not good enough to just navigate the court freely and at will. Watching Mitchell do that makes it obvious how lacking Tatum is in the skill.

I don't consider Mitchell a superstar either, and I'm still undecided on which of them is better. But its undeniable Mitchell is a more dynamic player on the offensive end.

The damning part for Tatum was that while Mitchell was cooking and the Cavs were pulling away, I had zero expectation of Tatum bringing them back. Or even attempting to.

Maybe thats because of how egalitarian the Celtics have become with their talent, but maybe its because I just don't believe in him. I don't know.

I'm really curious what Celtics fans make of Tatum though.

Biggest issue with him is he’s not fast twitch. If he was - he’d be literally unstoppable but it prevents him from getting easy buckets.

Good eye. Mitchell changes directions on a dime. Tatum has a swing move and euro step but it only works in a certain set of circumstances.

[picc]

This game is a good reason why Tatum is not a tier 1 player. He’s not built to carry the load

Is it possible he's as close as you can get to being a superstar without actually being one?

I don't know what to make of Tatum. He has 3 level scoring, he can pass, but it never seems to come together fluidly according to whats happening in the moment. He doesn't seem to be able to randomly adapt his plan.

He doesn't really control games and manipulates defenses. And his handle is good, but not good enough to just navigate the court freely and at will. Watching Mitchell do that makes it obvious how lacking Tatum is in the skill.

I don't consider Mitchell a superstar either, and I'm still undecided on which of them is better. But its undeniable Mitchell is a more dynamic player on the offensive end.

The damning part for Tatum was that while Mitchell was cooking and the Cavs were pulling away, I had zero expectation of Tatum bringing them back. Or even attempting to.

Maybe thats because of how egalitarian the Celtics have become with their talent, but maybe its because I just don't believe in him. I don't know.

I'm really curious what Celtics fans make of Tatum though.

Tatum reminds me of Tmac. He's not the same kind of playmaker and a better shooter, but both just seem content being as talented as anyone in the NBA without having that hunger to dominate that guys like Butler or Ant have.

His only similarity to Tmac is their height and lankiness. Tmac was so much smoother.

[ITYSL]

We have ourselves a series! Mitchell is unstoppable at the moment.

[picc]

This game is a good reason why Tatum is not a tier 1 player. He’s not built to carry the load

Is it possible he's as close as you can get to being a superstar without actually being one?

I don't know what to make of Tatum. He has 3 level scoring, he can pass, but it never seems to come together fluidly according to whats happening in the moment. He doesn't seem to be able to randomly adapt his plan.

He doesn't really control games and manipulates defenses. And his handle is good, but not good enough to just navigate the court freely and at will. Watching Mitchell do that makes it obvious how lacking Tatum is in the skill.

I don't consider Mitchell a superstar either, and I'm still undecided on which of them is better. But its undeniable Mitchell is a more dynamic player on the offensive end.

The damning part for Tatum was that while Mitchell was cooking and the Cavs were pulling away, I had zero expectation of Tatum bringing them back. Or even attempting to.

Maybe thats because of how egalitarian the Celtics have become with their talent, but maybe its because I just don't believe in him. I don't know.

I'm really curious what Celtics fans make of Tatum though.

My only conclusion is he's kind of soft. Like he's not uber competitive, which is kind of surprising considering how much he idolizes Kobe.

I can't front, showing off the text to dead Kobe or whatever when they made the finals bugged me. Kobe would have clowned him for that ****.

[ITYSL]

Gotta love the Celtics game threads after a loss. Fans of the non playoffs teams come out and beat their chests. Not here when the Celtics win though.

The Tatum obsession is hilarious. They can't stop talking about him.

They hate him so much more than Celtics fans love him, that's for sure.

[cavs4872]

Celtics scare me much less than Orlando. Cavs potentially get back Allen and Wade; meanwhile Celtics lose Porzingis, and people don't even mention that.

People really hate the Cavs. For the last three season we've been a pretty ugly team when Allen doesn't play, but still.

How you feeling? You have a chance to win one game. But even that seems unlikely.

I had a response to this typed prior to tonight but figured might as well let things speak for themselves.

Even regarding Game 1, Cavs were within 10-point striking distance for 3/4ths of the game, meanwhile Orlando beat us by 38 in the first game in their building.

After games 1 and 2 people were wondering how Orlando ever got the 5 seed, and then they nearly won the series.

[The KnicksFix]

How nervous would Boston fans be if they lost game 3?

[JJ_PR]

Tatum is the best player on the Celtics. Him being the number one option and the leader of that team is a detriment to them.

He looks passive and has a poor body language. It's always been like that with him every time I see them play. It rubs off his teammates as well, they all looked passive this game.

[KGDirkTD_Fan]

Celtics scare me much less than Orlando. Cavs potentially get back Allen and Wade; meanwhile Celtics lose Porzingis, and people don't even mention that.

People really hate the Cavs. For the last three season we've been a pretty ugly team when Allen doesn't play, but still.

How you feeling? You have a chance to win one game. But even that seems unlikely.

I had a response to this typed prior to tonight but figured might as well let things speak for themselves.

Even regarding Game 1, Cavs were within 10-point striking distance for 3/4ths of the game, meanwhile Orlando beat us by 38 in the first game in their building.

After games 1 and 2 people were wondering how Orlando ever got the 5 seed, and then they nearly won the series.

I'm not sure why its to crazy to say that the Cavs can match up well against the Celtics. Yes they are deeper and more talented, there's ways they can play against the Celtics where as just telling Mobley to stop getting bodied by the Magic/Knicks felt impossible. We will see what happens, they're title favorites for a reason, so they will respond in game 3, Cavs need to be ready for it.

[thelead]

So much for the ‘winner of Cavs vs Magic are just going to get swept by the Celtics anyway’ talk…

[Stone]

Shades of Christian laettner on Holgrams catch and shoot

[JimmyFromNz]

This game is a good reason why Tatum is not a tier 1 player. He’s not built to carry the load

Is it possible he's as close as you can get to being a superstar without actually being one?

I don't know what to make of Tatum. He has 3 level scoring, he can pass, but it never seems to come together fluidly according to whats happening in the moment. He doesn't seem to be able to randomly adapt his plan.

He doesn't really control games and manipulates defenses. And his handle is good, but not good enough to just navigate the court freely and at will. Watching Mitchell do that makes it obvious how lacking Tatum is in the skill.

I don't consider Mitchell a superstar either, and I'm still undecided on which of them is better. But its undeniable Mitchell is a more dynamic player on the offensive end.

The damning part for Tatum was that while Mitchell was cooking and the Cavs were pulling away, I had zero expectation of Tatum bringing them back. Or even attempting to.

Maybe thats because of how egalitarian the Celtics have become with their talent, but maybe its because I just don't believe in him. I don't know.

I'm really curious what Celtics fans make of Tatum though.

I think this is it in bold. He's trying to walk that tight rope of deference when his shot isn't falling and taking complete control of a string of plays when its necessary. The balance is awkward with multiple options, but I do think he can pick his spots better.

A large part of that issue I would put on the Celtics coaching staff, there's little to no intervention at the crunch points in the game where its absolutely needed.

Side note, not remotely worried about this series. Today is just bread crumbs for those itching for a feed.

[KnixtapeH20]

Can you win a championship if your offense is based so much around making threes? The defense tonight was disheartening. That should not be happening.

Steph Curry & the Warriors have entered the chat.

[Wingy]

I didn't understand the Jrue Holiday trade given how bad Holiday has been in the playoffs

The good news is Holiday is giving the Celtics exactly what he gave the Bucks, just with lower usage since the Celtics don't need him to shoot as much, so they have no one to blame but themselves

Side note: Team USA’s perimeter defense is leaning heavily on this guy after a theoretically long playoff run.

[ryan in Maine]

More time for Porzingis to rest!