After failing to clip the Hawks’ wings at the TD Garden on Tuesday, the Celtics look to close things out in Atlanta tonight.
Wait, back to Tuesday. It was disappointing on, well, so many levels.
Firstly, the Hawks were missing one of their best players in Dejounte Murray, who was suspended due to making contact with an official days earlier.
Now, Boston will have to go to Atlanta in front of a crowd believing it can not only win the game, but the series.
On a side note, the Celtics have had so, so many games where they’ve “played with their food” this season. Let’s change that.
Also, off the top of my head, I remember playing the Utah Jazz a couple of months ago. We were winning and just took our foot off the gas before losing.
The good news is that we’re now in a playoff series, not a single game. The bad news is – the problem is still apparent, and we’ve seen no signs of it turning around.
Tuesday was also disappointing because we didn’t convert at the free throw line. The Celtics were 7-of-13 from the line, which is simply not good enough this time of year.
So, where do the Celts go from here?
Well, you have to look at our best player, Jayson Tatum. Tatum scored 19 points on 21 shots on Tuesday, which is not good for his standards.
Even when we won in Atlanta, Tatum scored a quiet eight baskets on 20 shots. He’s yet to have one of those “he’s Tatuming” performances where everything he throws up goes in.
So, on the other hand, that’s a good thing, because maybe we’ll get one of those classic Tatum performances in game six.
Also, do you think we were already looking past Atlanta, hence why we let it slip? Let’s worry about the Sixers in a few games, and not right now.
The Celtics need to close the series in Atlanta. Although I’m confident they can win in game seven, you never want to put yourselves in that predicament, especially considering we were ahead two games to none.
I predict three things will happen Thursday.
First, Jayson Tatum will have a classic Tatum game with 30 or more points. Secondly, Al Horford will start looking for his shot, and lastly, Boston will get the job done in Atlanta.
Wish me luck.
