Udoka says team needs to free up Tatum for better shots
MILWAUKEE — Jayson Tatum was knocked off his game Saturday night and later said he has to do better than 10 points and that decision late in the fourth quarter to pass rather than taking an open shot.
But after reviewing the game video on Sunday, coach Ime Udoka wants to see cleaner opportunities. The coach’s sourest grade went to Tatum’s screen setters. But he wants both Tatum and Jaylen Brown to return to an area that worked for the Celtics during their Game 2 win — midrange.
“Take what the game gives him,” Udoka said of what he wants to see from Tatum in Game 4 on Monday.
“We understand how he’s being guarded by certain personnel on their team. We put him in certain sets to get him looks,” he said. “They’re being extremely physical on the perimeter with him, but it’s a team effort there as far as the plays we put him in but also us setting screens.
“We didn’t set screens great for him in Game 3 as opposed to Game 2. Game 1 wasn’t the best either, so that was an area we really cleaned up. But he also has to be patient and set his man up and use the screen. So it’s a full team thing. It’s not on any one player to free him up, especially how they’re guarding him. So, just watched, had a good film session that saw a lot of opportunities that are missed, as far as that, and him understanding we want him to be aggressive and also initiate offense and get other guys shots. But he did pass up some looks he normally would take, and we’ll be better with that in Game 4.”
It wasn’t a matter of Milwaukee changing its coverage, Udoka said.
“No, not at all. They had (Giannis) Antetokounmpo and (Brook) Lopez back in deep drop, and hedged with (Bobby) Portis, as well as some others, (Grayson) Allen and (Pat) Connaughton,” he said. “So, same looks they’ve given us there and like I said, Game 1, their physicality bothered us. Game 2 we kind of hit back and set screens, set our man up, played with pace and had great execution. I think we got away from that a little bit in Game 3, especially in the third quarter.”
Tatum’s scoring performance was his lowest since Game 2 of the Celtics’ first-round series against Brooklyn in 2021, when he had nine points, and his second lowest since the 2019 conference semifinals against Milwaukee.
“Obviously, I expect to play better,” Tatum said Saturday night. “And just come in ready on Monday trying to get a win. I’m not going to make it about me or anything like that. I’ve got to be better. I know that. My teammates know that. And I’m sure I will be. And we’ll make some adjustments and just be a little bit better on Monday.”
But Udoka has little doubt the Game 2 Tatum will reemerge.
“Yeah, we’ve had discussions throughout the year, the way he can impact the game with everything he does besides scoring,” Udoka said. “Nothing we haven’t already talked about this year of getting guys involved, getting himself involved in different ways and still guarding at a high level. You can’t let your offense dictate the rest of your game. He knows that. He knows how important he is to the team. We kind of go where he does to some extent. What he did after a lackluster Game 1, he bounced back in Game 2, and I look forward to him doing the same thing next game.”