BOSTON — For many Celtics fans, Tuesday’s Game 2 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers might feel like a catatrasophe.
But for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, it’s part of the difficult journey that is the NBA playoffs, a journey they both know quite well as they begin their 9th playoff run as teammates.
“That’s a good team over there,” Tatum said. “The NBA is hard. Bunch of guys over there that are prideful and obviously wanted to come out and play better, and that was to be expected, and you got to give
them credit. They did.”
After a 32-point Game 1 win, it appeared that the Celtics were in control of the series, and that the three-point shooting gap between the two teams would be difficult to close.
But in Game 2, things flipped. Philadelphia shot 19-39 (48.7%) from three and the Celtics shot just 13-50 (26%) from beyond the arc. And, Boston got outworked, a rarity this season.
“I just thought they out-competed us tonight,” Brown said. “I think our intensity level could have been better. Defensively, we could have been better. We died on some screens. We just got to be better. It’s the playoffs. They got ball players over there, and they came to play. Any given night, you could lose a game if you don’t come out with the right mindset.”
Despite that, Brown was relatively upbeat at the podium after the 111-97 loss. There have been losses this season after which the Celtics’ star was overwhelmingly frustrated; this was not one of them.
Why was that?
“I trust our group,” Brown said. “We’ve grown a lot over the course of the season. Obviously, this is the ultimate test, playing in the playoffs, and we got players who have gotten better and developed, and we’re gonna rely on them. I trust them to come out, make those plays, and contribute to the game. We just got to continue to have the right mentality, have each other’s back, just breathe.”
That unflappable sentiment was shared by Jayson Tatum, too. Tatum, who returned from an Achilles rupture six weeks ago, has a renewed perspective on what it means to even be in this position.
“I’m feeling good,” Tatum said. “Sounds cliche, but man, I’m back in the playoffs, and for me, it’s a win every day that I get to come back from what happened last May, and been able to play at this level for the last month. And, obviously going to continue to get better, but I get to walk out the court with my own two feet. And, as long as I do that every day, I win a little bit.”
Losing undoubtedly sucks. But, Tatum said he’s processing this type of adversity a little bit differently in the context of his injury.
“Especially since it’s just so fresh,” Tatum said. “And that’s not to say — obviously, frustrated after a loss. I wish I would have played better, wish we would have played better.”
But, even irregardless of the Achilles tear, Tatum has learned not to overreact to losses in the playoffs. En route to the 2024 title, the Celtics lost Game 2 at home twice — in the first round to the Miami Heat and in the second round to the Cleveland Cavaliers — and they went on to win both series in five games.
“Even before getting injured, I think just being through it so many times, the playoffs is a roller coaster,” Tatum said. “And I think what I’ve learned throughout my 9 years in the playoffs is just stay even-keeled throughout, right? And I think the team that sticks together and does that from an emotional standpoint will be fine.”
Tatum and Brown have played in 117 playoff games together. Only once — last Spring — has their season ended before the Eastern Conference Finals.
They’re going to need more from their supporting cast. Derrick White (3-12 FG), Payton Pritchard (2-8 FG), and Sam Hauser (2-8 FG) all struggled in Game 2. The Celtics’ trio of sharpshooters combined for 42.7 points per game during the regular season, but just 18 combined points in Tuesday’s loss.
Brown said the team will continue to work to get them going.
“Just keep finding them,” he said. “Keep trusting them. I thought Sam and Payton both got good looks tonight. Both got some open shots. That’s what we want. So continue to trust that process. But just continue to play Celtics basketball — it starts on defense, and then getting down and running. I think it also leads to the type of energy that we need. So we trust Payton, we trust Sam, we trust Baylor, we trust all of those guys to come in and impact the game. So, we just got to continue to stay consistent with that, and we’ll be okay.
They knew going back to Philadelphia won’t be easy; the 76ers have the momentum, home-court advantage, and much less to lose.
But, they’ve been in these kinds of high pressure situations many times before, and most of the time, they’ve responded.
“It’s gonna be a journey,” Brown said. “It’s gonna be some ups and some downs, but I’m looking forward to it with my guys.
