Tatum looks to finish better
Celts forward struggling at the rim
Jayson Tatum went into Friday’s game against Milwaukee shooting 39% from 3-point range, with his overall ( 39%) and twopoint efficiency (42%) lagging behind.
But law of averages considered, Tatum actually considers it encouraging that he’s missed so much at the rim.
“I think it is just as simple as I just need to make more shots,” he said after Friday’s shootaround. “I’m getting to the rim, just gotta make them.”
League-wide, though, with officials allowing more physical play, a lot of players are adjusting to the change from last season.
“Just trying to figure it out,” said Tatum. “I think, along with myself, and I guess everybody else in the league, as, you know, dealing with all the new changes from the rules to new coaches and new teammates, it’s still relatively early. But I think it’s just a part of it, and everybody’s just trying to figure it out.”
The new leniency on physicality is actually a benefit, according to Ime Udoka — especially where defenders are concerned.
“Certain guys have taken advantage of the rules over the years, with lack of contact allowed for defensive players,” said the Celtics coach. “But for who we want to be as a defensive team — defensive-minded — it should work in our favor. We don’t have a lot of guys trying to sell or trick the game anyway. Offensively it’s not a big difference for our guys. Especially we’re encouraging
Jayson to get downhill more, and maybe in the past he would have got more calls, but he has to play and adjust, and I think defensively it’s helped clean up the game — allow guys to be more aggressive.”
Brown to travel
The Celtics play in Cleveland on Saturday to kick off a three-game road trip that includes another game against the Cavs on Monday before the trip concludes in Atlanta, and Jaylen Brown, recovering from a hamstring strain, will go along. Whether he plays or not is another matter.
“No, it’s the same timeline,” Udoka said of a oneto-two-week projection that hits its first juncture on Saturday. “He’s getting a little work in every day, getting rehab and treatment. He’ll travel with us on the road trip but the timeline is the same, week or two.”
“It’s too early to tell right now,” Udoka said of whether Brown plays on the trip. “He’s feeling OK. Like I said, he’s had quite a few (hamstring injuries) in the past. He has a good gauge of the severity of it. But,
like I said, we won’t know until he pushes it a little bit more. Like I said, he’s coming on the road trip to get treatment and be around the guys, but also have those hands on him instead of staying back here.”
How to guard Giannis
There aren’t many individuals in the NBA who are much good at guarding Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, though Udoka believes he has one of the few in Al Horford. But even the best have mixed results. As it turned out the Celtics caught a break Friday night with the Bucks star a late scratch with ankle trouble.
“You have to show bodies. I had (Joel) Embiid who was really good on him, and Bam Adebayo. There aren’t too many guys who can move their feet and take the hit like they do well. You can’t really rely on one guy,” said Udoka. “Al’s also done a real good job on him in the past when we had him in Philly. You have to show bodies — that’s the first thing.
“There’s kind of an optimal pick-up point to bait him into shots, but also be there so he doesn’t walk into them,” he said.