The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers sent us into the All-Star break in style. Their double-overtime game last night in Boston was an instant classic. If the NBA got seven of those games as a Finals series, it would be the greatest championship series ever.
It had big performances. It had dramatic moments. It had controversial calls.
It also had 10 things to teach us.
1. Marcus Smart had the absolute perfect Marcus Start
Smart came out of the gates hot, saving the Celtics from a slow start by scoring 10 straight points. It was perfect.
A) We got 3-point sniper Smart, which is always amazing
B) Smart baited Marcus Morris into a not only a foul, but also a technical foul. Smart was smiling as it was called.
C) The run ended with an airball on a heat-check. This is how it had to end.
2. Oh by the way Marcus Smart had a big game
The attention today is on Jayson Tatum, and rightfully so, but Smart had a pretty big game himself, dropping 31 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Yes, he took 14 3-pointers, which feels a bit ridiculous, but he hit 5 and that’s about 36 percent, which is right at the acceptable percentage. This was one of them.
Also this because it was a sick pass from Kemba Walker. I’m not sure how he even saw that pass.
3. Jayson Tatum is in a good mental place
Brad Stevens has said time and time again that praise is as tough for players to deal with as criticism.
Well, Tatum is getting a lot of praise after last night’s monster performance, and with good reason. It was a monster performance, maybe the game of his life.
Stevens, though, says Tatum seems to be in a good place.
“He’s gotten so much more attention as a young player than probably anybody, I don’t know in the last -- in this group of guys, at 21-years-old just because he’s been so good since he got here. And every game has been meaningful,” Stevens said. “He’s used to it. I was impressed with the way Jaylen, after not being named an All-Star, came out and played. I was impressed with the way Jayson, after being named an All-Star, came out and played. I don’t expect that to change. I think Jayson, he understands he’s got a long way to go and he wants to have more nights like tonight.”
Tatum is normally reserved, but don’t let that fool you. Even the quiet guys have a fire inside them. There’s no chance you can make it to this level and not. He even showed some off that in big moments last night.
“I did get a little excited. I try to be as humble as I can and try to keep a poker face and just move onto the next play,” Tatum said. “But basketball is a game of emotions and the crowd was into it. And I got excited a little bit. But I try to stay calm.”
4. He’s also focused on his defense
In the fourth quarter and two overtimes, Jayson Tatum and Kawhi Leonard played about 18 minutes each and both took nine shots.
Jayson Tatum hit six of those, scored 17 points, and added 4 rebounds, an assist, a block, and 2 turnovers.
Kawhi Leaonard hit two, scored 5 points, and added 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 3 turnovers.
On one hand, I’m not going to make too much of Kawhi not going full Kawhi in the game before the All-Star break. He’s not exactly reaching down for his biggest performances of his life in these situations.
On the other, Jayson Tatum helped keep it that way with some spectacular defense on Leonard.
“He wants the challenge,” Stevens said. “I thought he did a really good job. You just try to make those shots as tough as possible. When Jayson is able to make shots his length is a factor. He did that on a lot of occasions and Kawhi still hit a few, as did the other guys. He played a good two-way game, but he’s been a good two-way player. What makes us feel really comfortable, he was playing at an All-Star level on both ends of the court.”
While we can say Tatum checked Kawhi and was effective. We can’t say the reverse, because…
5. Switching everything can go horribly wrong (and I don’t understand it at all sometimes).
...The Celtics picked on Landry Shamet over, and over, and over again. And here’s the part I don’t understand.
Watch at the top of this play as Kemba barely sets a pick on Leonard and forces the switch.
Why switch there? Kawhi is one of the best defenders the league has ever seen. Tatum is having a career game.
… and you switch a brush screen?
Tatum is a lot of things, but he’s not pulling up from the logo in that situation. The Clippers repeatedly did this and Tatum and Walker just destroyed Shamet down the stretch. More than anything, it was the Clippers repeated willingness to let Shamet get destroyed that paved the way for Boston to make the plays they did down the stretch.
Afterwards, Rivers said, “They were running a lot of pick-and-rolls and we were switching everything tonight, so they got that matchup a lot. We didn't mind the matchup, overall Sham was pretty good.”
He was not. At least not defensively.
He hit a big shot for them to force another overtime, and he should get the credit for that, but he was a big negative for them defensively down the stretch.
6. Celtics bigs keep clearing lanes for guards
Watch the middle of the lane on this big dunk by Jayson Tatum. That’s Grant Williams screening Montzrel Harrell and keeping the lane open for Tatum to finish.
Celtics bigs have been doing a great job of this all season long. The Celtics have set plays where the bigs roll into the lane after setting a pick but instead of looking for a pass, they’re sealing off a defender so Celtics perimeter players can get to the rim with one less obstacle.
7. The refs either got a crucial play really right, or really wrong, depending on where you live.
Here’s the play:
Here’s Doc with the Clippers side:
“I don't know what you have to do. That's a shot. When the officials are telling us that they had a foul to give, so they were trying to foul, and when you see the film, they clearly were not trying to foul. You can see Hayward bring his hands back as the guy was going up. But you can't anticipate that they are going to commit a foul and I thought (the refs) did that.
“The guy that was right on the call called it good and the two other officials from the other — Scott (Foster) from the other side comes running over — I think the guy on the call should have the say.”
I hate to “well, actually” an NBA head coach, but there were two officials on the play with good views of it. One called it good, the other waved it off right away.
Hayward fouled Williams. No one is denying that. Not even Hayward, who walked by Rivers’ media availability.
“Gordon, you know you fouled him,” Rivers said.
“It was close,” Hayward replied.
Rivers shot back “Let me says this: when an NBA player says it's close!” joking that by saying it’s close, Hayward admitted it because he couldn’t deny it.
The question is, when did Hayward foul him.
I think he fouled Williams, Williams felt it, and then rose up as soon as he felt the contact. Hayward is right that it’s close, but I felt like that was a foul on the floor because Wiliams started his shooting motion after he was touched.
8. Lou Williams is a professional buckets-getter
Williams was the game’s high scorer in the fourth quarter and two overtimes, with 20 points. He had 35 overall, and he d-e-s-t-r-o-y-e-d the Celtics pick and roll coverage. Boston was getting crushed in non-Theis minutes until late in the game when Grant Williams stepped up and made a few big defensive plays.
“We were really struggling with the pick and rolls with Lou and Kawhi there for quite a bit of the game,” Stevens said. “And so we went super small and switched a lot and changed up matchups.”
It only sort of worked. The Celtics managed to get a couple of key stops at the end, but some of that felt like Williams just missed more than Boston making him miss.
9. The poor ball boy nearly got run over twice
After a free throw, when guys are dripping sweat onto the floor, or anytime someone falls, one of the Celtics ball boys grabs a mop and heads out to dry off the floor. It happens every night in almost every arena.
There is risk involved with that play. They have to have their heads on a swivel in case someone makes a great defensive play and suddenly play changes direction.
It happened twice last night.
And then
I can only imagine a guy getting a steal then seeing a ball boy in his way thinking “c’mon dude, hustle… I’d hate to have to dunk on you here.”
Luckily, he was able to avoid getting trucked.
10. The Kevin Garnett video was awesome
“I sat there and watched the Jumbotron,” Marcus Smart said. “If that didn’t get you going, I don’t know what to tell you. In any type of sports, just watching that video gives you the extra juice to compete.”
The Celtics announced they’d be retiring KG’s number 5 next season with a stirring video.
I got chills watching that. I also appreciated the “I got five on it” background music. That retirement ceremony is going to be a wild night.
11: Kemba Walker ran over his mom
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - FEBRUARY 13: Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics falls into the crowd during the game against the LA Clippers at TD Garden on February 13, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)Getty Images
Kemba went into the stands after a loose ball and he landed square into his mom’s lap. Yes, that’s Jayson Tatum’s mom and son Deuce watching it all happen. They were sitting together enjoying the game, and then along comes Kemba.
I wanted to ask Walker about this moment, but he was in a hurry last night and when the Celtics PR staff called out “last question,” a certain unnamed MassLive Celtics beat writer snuck in with something else and I was robbed of the moment.
You were robbed too. This might have been the greatest quote of Kemba’s life, and a certain unnamed MassLive beat writer stole it from you. I just hope he, whoever he is, reflects on this travesty and carries the burden of it forever.
MORE CELTICS COVERAGE
° Jayson Tatum enters the All-Star break looking like a superstar: ‘We trust him 120 percent’
° Celtics announce they’ll be retiring Kevin Garnett’s number 5 next season