In the first game of the postseason against the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics won for the first time.
#1 Tatum, triple double
Jayson Tatum recorded his first career triple-double in his 95th playoffs game. With a 38.9% shooting percentage, he finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The fact that he didn’t let a difficult shooting night (12.5%) ruin his game was what impressed me the most. Tatum, however, discovered methods to have an impact on the game without constantly shooting from long range.
Tatum’s demise was noticeable from the half court. Tatum’s court vision and passing ability are sometimes overlooked despite his recent improvements. I was drawn to the play below for those two reasons.
The kind of play that has put Tatum in MVP discussions is his ability to detect openings in the opposition’s defense while battling over many defenders and displaying the patience to let a cut to get past the weakside defense.
He not only has real-time space recognition skills, but he also makes easy-looking pin-point swing passes between the two sidelines. Tatum is capable of far greater play than this, which is frightening for other teams.
He’ll perform well above this level. He will dominate in his own unique style, his shots will fall, and he will take the lead at times. This was but an appetizer of things to come. This was
Porzingis, the secret code #2
One of the NBA’s top teams in stopping the perimeter is the Miami Heat. You can make a lot of threes with these. You are not permitted to make a lot of threes. But it didn’t seem like Kristaps Porzingis received the message.
His pick-and-pop style and deep shooting exploited the perimeter defense of the Heat. As the game progressed, you could see them modify their pick-up points in an effort to restrict the big man’s ability to score points beyond the arc.
The problem is that Porzingis can go to the rim following a screening action or work out of the post when the other three are removed. He may serve as a nail decoy. He is able to elongate
Over the next two days, a lot of talk will be made about Porzingis’ ability to score and guard the rim. But I wanted to highlight this play, when Payton Pritchard was wide open for the catch-and-shoot three because of his roll to the hoop, which prompted the Heat to send assistance off the strongside corner.
Jaylen Brown deserves praise for finishing the read. But in actuality, Miami’s defense was completely destroyed by Porzingis’ roll gravity.
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