5 topics like Jayson Tatum and Boston Celtics defeat Milwaukee Bucks

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The Boston Celtics looked like they were about to lose their first game of the season in a familiar way.

In the Disney World bubble, the Celtics struggled immensely to maintain leadership in the fourth period, especially in the Eastern Conference finals. On Wednesday, after winning a 17-point lead with Jayson Tatum’s three to end the third quarter, the Celtics allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to return to the game and take the lead in the final seconds. A familiar post-game scene seemed inevitable.

But Tatum changed the story. His 3-point basket at the end gave the Celtics a 122-120 lead, and Giannis Antetokounmpo made it 1 to 2 on the line with 0.4 seconds to go before Boston won.

Here are five lessons.

Jayson Tatum took several points out of 3.

The Celtics really started to emphasize Tatum’s skill as a sniper last season, and he flourished in that role. When Anteotkounmpo defended his last 3-point attempt, he knew exactly what the Celtics star would do.

“He did his usual move, step back,” said Antetokounmpo. “I was there to contest.”

He was, but it didn’t matter – Tatum’s shot hit the glass high and fell.

“Nah, I don’t try [to bank it in], ”Tatum admitted after the game (to no one’s surprise). “The angle I had and knowing how high it is, as soon as I let it go, I knew it was going to hit the table, but I didn’t necessarily try.”

Tatum is not a shy player, but he seemed especially happy to shoot triples on Wednesday, finishing 6 out of 13 from the bottom and losing 30 points. Those 13 three-point attempts were a high point in his career.

Tatum was asked if he plans to increase his attempts by 3 points this season.

“I think that’s how the game went tonight,” he said. “Obviously, I think, something I tried to emphasize is being more of a threat, shooting three more. Something about our offense, something I talked about with Brad. My teammates believe me, then, making good shots, but I will definitely shoot three more. “

Jaylen Brown did a lot of pick-and-roll.

The Celtics used Brown as a ball handler to great effect. Brown finished with 33 points, the best high in the game, in 13 of 24 shots after a slow start, and much of his attack came in midfield.

Brown found ways to create space outside pick-and-roll in several ways. He repeatedly separated Bucks in the middle range, where defense against pick-and-roll is often weaker and even implemented Chris Paul’s favorite trick at times – zigzagging across the screen, stopping to keep his defender frozen behind him and blasting away defender. of a jumper.

Last season, Brown made great strides with the ball in his hands, but it was rarely used the way the Celtics used it on Wednesday. He was asked how comfortable he felt in his new role.

“Comfortable,” said Brown. “Well. It’s a new year, a new season, new responsibilities, so I’m just trying to take on this challenge. And I’m looking forward to this year.”

Brown has always had an affinity for medium-range jumpers, even when he expanded his game to the 3-point line. On Wednesday, he showed that he can be much more than a player who just attacks closings.

The Celtics started with two bigs and played a lot.

After starting Javonte Green as a winger in the preseason, Brad Stevens went with two big names in the starting lineup: Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson. The results were mixed – Theis made a pair of trebles at the start and Thompson had a good debut, but the Celtics defense was porous in the first quarter, especially in the transition.

“It was because I was really upset about the way we played to this point and I wanted to start a very, very good defensive team,” said Stevens, when asked about his reasoning. “And we still have to play a lot better in that final.”

The Celtics have gotten smaller and more versatile in recent years, but particularly against a team like the Bucks, two big ones made a lot of sense. Antetokounmpo’s size is devastating, and Milwaukee often plays it alongside Brook Lopez – an imposing center with a deep 3-point reach and a soft touch to the crossbar.

“The big ones know how to adapt. Big men can make big moves, ”said Tristan Thompson. “You always talk about small ball, but you saw what happened to the Houston Rockets when they played against the Lakers. So the small ball thing is good, but when it comes to the playoffs, you need great players to win games. And you will look at all those teams that are competing at a high level for a championship, they play their big ones when it matters.

“So, I will always represent the big ones, DT will represent the big ones. So, I will always be with my big guys in the whole league. “

Tatum and Brown continued to exchange pleasantries.

Celtics stars have always said the right things about each other, and that trend continued on Wednesday. In his post-game comments on TNT, Tatum called his performance “terrible” and made a spontaneous reference to Brown’s 33-point night. Asked repeatedly about the winner of Tatum’s game after he led the team in scoring, Brown praised his star teammate.

“Hell of a shot. Great opportunity, ”said Brown. “This is the kind of photo we trust in JT, which he looks forward to. I don’t know if he called it glass, but I accept. “

Young stars like Tatum and Brown are often placed under a microscope, as one of the easy narratives about a team with two similarly talented players in the same position is “Can they coexist peacefully?” Tatum and Brown never gave this narrative any fuel to burn. The Celtics, you can imagine, appreciate that very much.

Newbies looked like newbies.

In a hectic game, the Celtics newbies were nowhere to be found. Payton Pritchard played 13 minutes and hit a 3-point ball, but he also made some defensive beginner mistakes (poor Pritchard was now scored by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant in consecutive games). Aaron Nesmith did not see the court.

At the opening of the season, rookies are often the focus, but the Celtics needed their best players on the pitch all the time to have a chance against Milwaukee. Pritchard and Nesmith, it seems, have not yet arrived.