From the Celtics’ Offensive Approach to What He Blames Himself for, Jayson Tatum Addresses Loss to a Rockets Team with 16 Wins
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Perhaps it was playing a Houston Rockets team tied with the Detroit Pistons for the fewest wins in the NBA this season that led the Celtics to believe they could flip the switch when they had to and leave the Toyota Center with a victory.
But fatigue undermined Boston throughout Monday’s 111-109 loss. It took from the Celtics’ focus and ability to stick with what worked.
While the visitors shot 12/42 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc, they consistently got to the basket when attacking the rim. Nearly 50 percent of their field goal attempts were threes, but they still produced 50 points in the paint.
In the third quarter, when Jaylen Brown, who finished with a game-high 43 points, mostly from getting to the cup, did so to deliver an emphatic dunk, Boston’s approach changed for the better.
Jayson Tatum followed suit, generating eight of his 13 points in the period at the rim. Two more came at the line. The Celtics quickly cut into Houston’s 13-point lead, all but erasing the hosts’ advantage.
Yet in the fourth quarter, as costly as committing four turnovers was, losing out on possessions that may have swung the outcome, given the opponent, they probably would’ve overcome that by staying aggressive.
That’s not limited to producing points at the cylinder. The Celtics went 1/8 from beyond the arc in the final frame. Going downhill against a defense struggling to provide resistance, playing inside-out basketball, would’ve led to higher-quality shots.
After the game, Tatum, who registered 22 points, went 8/22, including 2/10 on threes, committed four turnovers, and missed the game-tying layup, shared his thoughts on whether Boston needs better balance offensively.
“Just have the mindset (to) take what they give you. Whether that’s a three, (or) a couple (of) possessions in a row, whether that’s getting downhill, I think the mindset’s just to take what the defense gives you, make the right play.”
The four-time All-Star expressed the following about the effort displayed by a Celtics team that paid for their lack of focus, falling to two games behind the Bucks, which could grow to 2.5 by the end of the night, and one ahead of the third-seeded Sixers.
“You guys watched it; it wasn’t great. We picked it up kind of too late, and I’ll take the blame for that. I didn’t necessarily start the best, and I felt like that spread throughout the team.
“I have to be better starting the game, just from an energy level, being active out there. Because toward the end of the game, when we were trying to come back and damn near trying to be perfect, a couple (of) turnovers, or they were hitting shots, they were already in a rhythm. That starts from the beginning, so I’ve got to be better, and we’ve got to be better to start.”