Post-Game Notes: BOS 134, NYK 138 (OT, 0-1)

[Hal14]

My biggest concern is Pritchard and Nesmith not getting enough minutes.

Smart and Schroder in the game at the same time in crunch time is not ideal.

Smart is going to drive me absolutely crazy as our starting PG. Just think, he played pretty well last night....and he still was driving me nuts.

Other than that bonehead pass where Tatum was wide open running up the floor in transition and Smart overthrew the pass by a mile, I thought Smart was solid on both ends of the floor.

[BillessuR6]

Anybody noticed that Tatum`s shot release looks a bit wierd at times and different than last year? I noticed that in preseason and it carried into the first game...

[Celts17Pride]

Celtics are 1 game out of the best record in the NBA. Just saying.

[Smeff10]

Tatum looked like Phillip Seymour Hoffman in along came Polly last night. Just dreadful.

[ddb]

Tatum looked like Phillip Seymour Hoffman in along came Polly last night. Just dreadful.

yeah but he'll drop 39 in a win tomorrow night. He'll be fine

[peachbucket]

Tatum is so overrated. If his shots not falling, he ain’t got no plan B. He and Brown and are on the same tier and I’d rather take Brown because he’s more consistent and he wont lose you games like Tatum. Why didn’t Brown have the iso at the end of the second OT?! Brown would’ve had 10 assists if his teammates hit all their open 3s. Tatum has blinkers on still.
Does a trade of Tatum and Timelord or Smart for Trae and Collins work?

I like this take. I think Brown will have a better year and will end up the better player when all is said and done. Even though not as talented, Brown has the better work ethic and higher basketball iq. His improvement since he entered the league has dwarfed Tatum’s and I have no reason to think that won’t continue.

Even if that trade works the Hawks hang up the phone and rightfully so.

[threrf23]

I was occupied during much of the game, but I watched the 4th Q comeback and overtime in its entirety.

Jaylen - big plays. Timelord - healthy and starting where he left off. Tatum, not his night, but he always draws defensive attention. Smart, hit the game tier. Grant was huge down the stretch in the 4th Q, clutch shots and solid contributions on D. I know he had five fouls, but he should have been out there over Schroeder in OT, or should have gotten some minutes at C to rest Timelord who has, traditionally, only been able to play so many minutes per game.

Pritch was another aoption (5 rebounds and 2 assists in 11 minutes). Schroeder had some small moments. But when we were playing great team ball on O, he broke the cycle and forced up a bad shot and we didn't really recover. And he kept missing shots after that, didn't contribute much on D. Just a net negative.

[Feed Your Head]

[24istheLAW]

Perhaps the most promising thing about last night was glimpses of a two-man game between Brown and Tatum. Especially in the first half.

Brown and Tatum each assisted the other 2x last night. Last year they would frequently go a whole game without being credited with an assist for one another. Much less both of them doing it twice.

The formula for Brown/Tatum as a duo seems to be emerging. Brown improves his ballhandling, and therefore his halfcourt playmaking. Tatum improves his physical strength, and can play inside-out with Brown, and attract doubles out of which to kick it to Brown to slash.

[Celts17Pride]

Why is this always Jayson Tatum vs Jaylen Brown in this forum? Just be thankful and appreciated both for what they bring to the game. Celtics are lucky they have both. Nice job by Ainge not wasting high draft picks.

[jmr07019]

I thought we looked pretty good excluding Tatum. He sucked last night but I thought his shot selection was pretty good and he was mostly a willing passer. I'm not going to over react to a bad shooting night. If he continues to shoot like last night we are screwed but lets give him the benefit of the doubt.

Brown obviously was a beast. God damn his shot is looking pure.

I tip my cap to Grant he looks to have made big strides this offseason. I know he shot good percentages from 3 last year but it was on low volume. He was unafriad to let it fly last night and he went 3/5 in 31 minutes. Good stuff. Randle scored on him but Grant made him take some tough shots.

Romeo's shot continues to fall. He looked good out there as well.

Pritchard and Nesmith were quiet but they didn't really hurt us.

What was surprising to me was that Josh Richardson and Kanter didn't play. Am I missing something are they in health and safety protocols? Especially with Al out I thought Kanter would get some burn.

Sucks we lost but that was an exciting game and it's great to have ball back!

[Brett43]

My two cents.

1. That first game was fun to watch, except for having to see the ugly mugs of NYC celebrities.

2. I thought we should keep Fournier, but he won't look that good every night.

3. We have a quality bench this season, so let's use it. The starters were obviously fatigued by the end of that game, and meanwhile Kanter & others are sitting there watching.

4. Tatum chucking up brick after brick cost us the game. Fortunately, he plays much better most nights.

5. Tatum has to learn to draw fouls. He could take some lessons from Paul Pierce.

6. Brown is a very, very good player.

They way I see it, Tatum & Brown are essentially equals. The NBA is marketing them like Jordan and Pippin, but that's not the case. On many nights Brown outplays Tatum. On this night, Brown was clearly the better player, and there was no reason for Tatum to be holding the ball at the end of OT trying to make a hero play. Whatever Tatum is, he is NOT Michael Jordan.

In fact, Tatum aspires to be Kobe Bryant. But if he actually watched the Lakers teams with Shaq, he would know that Kobe was Robin to Shaq's Batman. The conflict came because Kobe thought he was the more important player.

[24istheLAW]

Why is this always Jayson Tatum vs Jaylen Brown in this forum? Just be thankful and appreciated both for what they bring to the game. Celtics are lucky they have both. Nice job by Ainge not wasting high draft picks.

I don't think it should be VERSUS. But I do think that for them to be a foundational duo, the pair must find a way to make one another better, rather than take turns scoring.

This is an area where I was honestly pleased with last night. Tatum wasn't making terrible decisions. His overall diet of shots could have been closer to the rim, but he missed so many open looks.

Meanwhile, Brown was actively trying to get Tatum into the game, especially in the 3Q where he was looking for Tatum every trip down the floor. I thought Jaylen showed an awareness of what his role is as a ballhandler. It's one thing to be able to dribble, it's another thing to give the game what it needs.

[Fierce1]

I think we should give this team 20 games to see what team we really have.

Besides, this Celtics team is not expected to make the Finals this season.

If the Celts exceed expectations then great for us Celtic fans.

[Celts17Pride]

I thought both Tatum and Brown played well last night. The only difference was one guy was hitting shots (Brown) and the other guy had an off shooting night (Tatum).

I was very encourage by both Tatum and Brown's play making last night. Celtics are not going to have a problem scoring if these two continue to move the ball like they did last night.

Defense? Well that's another story. I have already stated my views on the Celtics defensive strategy.

[Red2]

We need a third scorer. Last night confirmed that . I thought the game got away from us at the end of 3rd when we had a scoring drought and Smart made a series of bad plays. We lost our focus on the defensive end and by the time we recovered we were down 11. We did a good job clawing back and getting into OT and should have won it in the 1st OT but Tatum’s possession was awful that shot wasn’t close. That play should have been for Brown all the way.

[Fierce1]

The reason why the Celts let Fournier go was because they want to avoid the luxury tax.

Celts think Fournier is not worth paying luxury tax.

But Fournier is a very good player and a shooter the Celts needed.

So if Brad can't upgrade the roster on or before the trade deadline, I would be very disappointed because it means the Celts are too cheap to give the Celts a fighting chance this season.

Celts are headed for another playoff exit if this current roster remains intact until April.

[Fierce1]

We need a third scorer. Last night confirmed that . I thought the game got away from us at the end of 3rd when we had a scoring drought and Smart made a series of bad plays. We lost our focus on the defensive end and by the time we recovered we were down 11. We did a good job clawing back and getting into OT and should have won it in the 1st OT but Tatum’s possession was awful that shot wasn’t close. That play should have been for Brown all the way.

Hopefully Brad can trade a combination of veteran players and young players, plus draft picks, for that 3rd scorer.

[Hal14]

We need a third scorer. Last night confirmed that . I thought the game got away from us at the end of 3rd when we had a scoring drought and Smart made a series of bad plays. We lost our focus on the defensive end and by the time we recovered we were down 11. We did a good job clawing back and getting into OT and should have won it in the 1st OT but Tatum’s possession was awful that shot wasn’t close. That play should have been for Brown all the way.

Fair point. Last night the Knicks 4th scorer (barrett? Kemba? Fournier?) was clearly better than our 3rd scorer (Smart?) and it was certainly a factor in the game's outcome..

I think (especially when Horford and richardson are back) we can hopefully overcome the lack of 3rd scorer by being better than the other team in terms of our 7 through 10 scorers.. if we have legit 9 or 10 guys who can all be a threat offensively but the other team only has 3 or 4, that is how we overcome the lack of a 3rd scorer..

[Celts17Pride]

We need a third scorer. Last night confirmed that . I thought the game got away from us at the end of 3rd when we had a scoring drought and Smart made a series of bad plays. We lost our focus on the defensive end and by the time we recovered we were down 11. We did a good job clawing back and getting into OT and should have won it in the 1st OT but Tatum’s possession was awful that shot wasn’t close. That play should have been for Brown all the way.

A 3rd scorer is my concern all off season for this team. I worry that the some players are going to try to do more than they are capable of doing. I think the Celtics want to see what they have with Richardson, Langford and Nesmith first. If it's still a problem they will do something at the deadline probably.