Celtics in NBA Finals driver’s seat
Being a prisoner of the moment is acceptable in the NBA playoffs.
Because one understands in a seven-game series, the tenor can change in the next game. What you have to go on is what you just witnessed.
In the aftermath of Boston's 116-100 victory against Golden State in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Celtics have emerged as the better team with a 2-1 series lead.
“We were kind of plugging holes tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “They did a good job. They earned the win. They put a lot of pressure on us and felt like we were kind of swimming upstream most of the night.”
The Celtics are bigger, stronger, quicker, more athletic, more versatile offensively, better defensively and have the two best two-way players on the court in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
That doesn't automatically translate into Boston's 18th championship. I thought twice during the Miami-Boston Eastern Conference finals that the Heat wouldn't win another game in the series, and they ended up winning two more.
That's why Friday's Game 4 in Boston is a massive, series-altering affair. A win one way puts the Celtics up 3-1 forcing Golden State to win three consecutive games, and a Warriors win makes it 2-2 with Game 5 back in San Francisco and a guaranteed Game 6 in Boston.
Golden State is capable of winning and has won a road game in a record 26 consecutive playoff series.
The Warriors, just like the Celtics, have not lost consecutive games in this postseason. The Warriors have championship pedigree and won't be easy to eliminate.
But with the way the Celtics have played since early January, they are moving toward the title.
Brown was fantastic right from the start Wednesday in Game 3, scoring 17 of his team-high 27 points in the first quarter as Boston built a double-digit lead it maintained for most of the game. Brown was efficient, too, needing just 16 shots. He also had nine rebounds, five assists and a block. It is worth repeating: Brown is an All-Star performer, even though he's made the game just once. The appreciation for his game will grow after this series.
Tatum's all-around game was again
on display with 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds and one steal.
It was a glimpse of Tatum's ceiling: a player who can score like that and come close to a double-double in points and assists.
“Obviously, everybody knows I can score and things like that, but my mindset throughout the playoffs, and even heightened during the Finals, is I'm just trying to do whatever it takes for us to win and impact winning,” Tatum said. “So just trying to make the right play.”
When Tatum and Brown produce like that and put pressure on the defense with their ability to score inside and outside, Boston needs a third, and sometimes fourth, scorer. In Game 1, it was Al Horford. In Game 3, Marcus Smart had 24 points.
The contributions came from others, too. Horford had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Robert Williams, playing with left knee soreness from a March surgery, had eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Those are not empty stats. Williams' three offensive rebounds helped give Boston a 22-11 edge in second-chance points, and his rim protection led to a 52-26 advantage in points in the paint for the Celtics.
“First half, we didn't guard the ball well at all,” Kerr said. “That was really the main issue, was the point of attack defense. They got past us. It wasn't based on any sets they were running. It was more just they were coming downhill at us, and they got past us and that hurt us.”
The Warriors also struggled to find the right rotations, except for when they made a run and took an 83-82 lead in the third quarter.
“We have to factor in what's happening on the floor (and) what we need,” Kerr said. “Do we need floor spacing? Do we need better rebounding? ... Couldn't find the right combination to strike that balance.”
For the second time in the series, Warriors All-Star Draymond Green had a bad game. He was a prisoner of the moment, too, saying he played “soft” and “like (expleitive).”
But he added, “Looking forward to Friday.”
It's going to be a telling moment in the series.