The Boston Celtics almost stole a Game 3 victory in Milwaukee despite not getting much out of their best player, Jayson Tatum. They’re going to need Tatum to do more in order to defeat the defending NBA champions in this series.
Tatum finished Game 3 with 10 points on 4-19 shooting, including going 0-6 on his 3-pointers. It was actually Tatum’s ninth career playoff game that he was unable to make a 3-pointer.
The Boston Celtics need to get Jayson Tatum going in Game 4 and there’s a few ways they can do that.
The team runs best when Tatum is aggressive and attacking the rim, which he didn’t do too much of in Game 3. He opened the game by pulling up on a nice floater over Jrue Holiday but wasn’t successful in the paint after that.
When Tatum is attacking the rim and scoring points at will, the Celtics play at their best because Tatum understands the value of drive-kick-outs. And when there’s an open Grant Williams or Al Horford in the office corner, chances are it’s an automatic three points for the C’s.
I guess you could say the team needs to do a better job of getting Tatum going- I mean, Coach Udoka said it postgame. So the Celtics need to do more to get Tatum going.
What’s worked well in this regard is staggering screens and picks for Tatum to run behind and out of. Getting him in rhythm with easy shots is key for getting him to a point where he’s turned it on and is ready for target practice.
The Celtics also need to be hunting mismatches more often than not. One way to create a mismatch is by drive-kick-outs. By Tatum driving and kicking the ball out, he can relocate and possibly have the ball find him again- keeping in mind that relocating after the initial drive-kick-out will almost guarantee a mismatch.
If Tatum can get going in Game 4 and have Jaylen Brown produce a repeat performance from Game 3, the Celtics will walk out of Milwaukee with tying the series having Game 5 back home in Boston.
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