When the notification hit that Jayson Tatum would be resting Wednesday’s game against the Bucks, I couldn’t have been less moved.
Milwaukee is bad. The Celtics shouldn’t have any problem taking care of business, right?
Well…
Ultimately, they managed to get across the finish line, but the path there wasn’t as pretty as many would’ve hoped. The Cs found themselves in a fourth-quarter dogfight despite leading the one-win Bucks by 22 points earlier in the game.
This scenario was more suprising than it should’ve been. Tatum has done a lot for this Boston team. Key role players like Payton Pritchard and Derrick White haven’t played at the height of their offensive abilities so far this season, and you’ve felt it.
Take Monday’s loss to the Rockets in Houston for example. Paul George had the night off on the second leg of a back-to-back, and the vet was dearly missed. Whenever Tatum headed to the bench, Houston gained more and more leverage until they were in complete control of the matchup in the second half.
In a game where the Celtics lost by 16, Tatum was still a +1 when he was on the floor.
Flash forward back to the matchup with Milwaukee. Boston was forced to fight their way out of a tough situation without their offensive hub.
They did it.
A Brayden Burries floater gave Milwaukee a 96-95 lead over Boston with 4:54 to play in regulation. All of the momentum was with the Bucks as they continued to light the nets on fire with their efficient shot-making. Anytime the Cs squandered opportunities on the offensive end, it felt like it came back to bite them with a Bucks bucket.
It felt like it was going to be a classic “the Celtics can’t close out close games” game. But instead of squandering what should’ve been a surefire win, they let their vets lead the way and finished the night with a 14-6 run over the final five minutes.
George and White weren’t perfect, but they were good enough. The two combined to score 20 of Boston’s 22 fourth-quarter points, and each made some tough shots to ice the game.
Look, I’m not going to try and spin a narrow win against one of the league’s worst into a monumental victory. But it’s not nothing. If this Celtics squad is going to reach its potential, then other players besides Tatum have to be effective in tense spots. Those spots, by the way, don’t just happen in the fourth quarter.
Clutch moments happen all the time. It could be making a big shot to cool off a second-quarter run, getting a big stop on a player who’s starting to heat up, or simply making the opposition pay for their mistakes and capitalizing on turnovers and extra possessions.
Those opportunities are undisputedly going to arise during the non-Tatum minutes, too.
The fact that Boston has been able to depend on Paul George thus far feels tremendous. It can never been mentioned enough how great he’s been on both sides of the ball. Even today, one of the biggest moments in the game came when he turned defense into offense.
George jumped a weakside pass for a steal, then went coast-to-coast for an and-one finish in transition to give the Cs a six-point cushion early in the fourth.
The moment sent a message. The Celtics weren’t just going to roll over because things hadn’t been going their way.
So far, they’ve buckled down quite well when push has come to shove. Wednesday’s win makes the Cs 4-1 in clutch situations, which the league defines as games within five points with under five minutes left. This one just happened to be an opportunity to flex their depth.
