Deep Breath

I went to Game 2 on Thursday night. It was a confusing loss. My instinct was to flush it down, forget about it, and move on to the next. But it was hard. The Celtics' collective fandom and media coverage is beginning to approach 2003-2004 Red Sox levels. The sky is falling after every loss, and the effort is dissected six ways from Sunday – Jayson Tatum's scoring, the team's recent playoff record at home, the tendency to play ISO ball when things get tough, etc. Thankfully, the team did not bow to this line of thinking in their comments following Game 2, and came back with a game that is a quintessential example of 2023-24 Celtics basketball Saturday night in Game 3.

Tatum responded with a nearly perfect performance – 33 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. My only nitpick – his shot selection down the stretch sometimes left a little to be desired. There was one instance when Donovan Mitchell hit a three on him, and so Tatum tried to turn around and hit one of his own, and forced a shot over Evan Mobley, when he should have taken Mobley to the hole. He also took (I want to say) three fadeaways while being covered by a smaller defender. He could have simply went straight up with those. But after hearing that he was too passive in the postseason's first seven games, he took charge tonight, hoisting 25 shots. He hadn't taken more than 20 in any of those first seven games, and had averaged 16.1 field goal attempts until tonight. His level of selfishness was completely appropriate and heartwarming to see in a game Boston needed to win.

Early on, the team was also buoyed by Jrue Holiday taking a more assertive role on offense. And in the second quarter, they passed the baton to Jaylen Brown, who went 4-for-4 in the period, and by halftime the C's were back in their familiar position of consistently being up eight to 12 points heading into a pivotal third quarter.

In each of the first two games, Mitchell scored 16 points in the third quarter. In Game 1, the Celtics swallowed that outburst whole, as they outscored the Cavs overall during the period. That was why it seemed like a sweep might be on the menu. In Game 2, Mitchell's 16 points broke Boston's back. Tonight, he didn't get anywhere near the same level of production. He didn't play poorly necessarily – he scored seven points on 3-for-6 shooting – but it wasn't enough, and the C's continued to build the lead. The Cavs would cut it to nine points three times early in the fourth, but the C's maintained a double-digit lead for the final 7:42.

It was a calming win. The Celtics have bounced back very well nearly all season. They never lost three games in a row this season, and they also haven't ever lost three times in any four-game span. The Cavs now have to do just that, which is what made this game so important. It isn't going to be as easy a series as was the first round, but it shouldn't be, and the C's are still set up for the gentleman's sweep.

An Adjustment For Game 4

In Game 3, the Celtics played just eight players. One of them was Luke Kornet. After a sterling performance in Game 1, the Cavs relentlessly attacked Kornet in Games 2 and 3, and it was pretty clear that he could not be trusted down the stretch tonight. Al Horford came back in with 2:26 left in the third, and played until Cleveland conceded the game with 1:19 left in the fourth.

Horford wasn't bad in the fourth, he was a +12 for the night. He was solid. But he shot 1-for-7, Cleveland's guards picked on him in pick-and-roll switches, and for the game he played 38:46. It was his season high. His high in the playoffs entering tonight was 33:58 in Game 4 in Miami. In the regular season, he played 35+ minutes 10 times. After seven of those games, he didn't play the next game, and in the other three instances, he played 10, 10, and 13 fewer minutes in the following game, respectively.

Without Kristaps Porzingis, it's not really an option to give Big Al a game off, but it's going to be imperative for him to be at 28 or fewer minutes in Game 4. Otherwise, the team is going to be risking him wearing out like he did in the conference finals last season. Whether that takes the form of playing Sam Hauser more and playing Jayson Tatum at the five, or playing Xavier Tillman or Neemias Queta, or Luke Kornet just playing better, coach Joe Mazzulla's challenge is to keep Horford's minutes in check. The goal should be either to let Al only play 15 of the first 36 minutes so that he can play the whole fourth quarter, or to give him a rest during the fourth quarter. A blow out would help with the latter, but you certainly can't plan for that. It'll be interesting to see how Mazzulla adjusts. He excelled all season at keeping Horford fresh, and I'm sure it's on his mind now.

Get Back To Your Fucking Seats

I took this picture at the start of the second half in Game 2. Tell me what you see.

You can see Derrick White waiting to inbound the ball to Jrue Holiday. You know what else you see? You see the front row nearly completely devoid of fans. If you'll recall, this game was tied at halftime. You want my opinion as to why the C's came out flat after halftime? I think it's directly related to the stupid rich people in the front row not getting back to their seats by the start of the third quarter. It wasn't the only reason, surely, and I realize you can't tell rich people anything. If you have enough money to sit in those seats, you're likely past the point of feeling shame, but honestly, what did you come to the game for? I'm sure whatever underground lair they slink into at halftime is just such great fun, but if you know someone who sits in those seats, do me a favor and yell at them. Because this behavior is inexcusable. It happened all season, but I foolishly hoped that the playoffs would be different.

Elsewhere

• It was pretty fitting for the New York Knicks to lose on a shot that Andrew Nembhard had no business making, because the Nova Knicks – Josh Hart especially – have won multiple games this postseason hitting clutch shots that they had no business making. Nembhard was so surprised it went in, he didn't even act tough about it, he just smiled from ear to ear.
• In general, the Knicks were 4-for-19 in the fourth quarter of Game 3. The Nova Knicks trio – Jalen Brunson (2-for-7), Hart (0-for-2, and both shots were blocked), and Donte DiVencenzo (1-for-5) – were a combined 3-for-14. It's hard to reach any conclusion other than that they were exhausted. It's not like the Pacers really locked in on defense. I'm not sure they're even capable of doing so. The problem for coach Tom Thibodeau is that they are nearly the only players left standing. With OG Anunoby already ruled out for Game 4, Thibs is down to just six guys he wants to play. Alec Burks and Jericho Sims saw the floor in Game 3, and Burks was actually pretty good, but Thibodeau still played Isaiah Hartenstein and the Nova trio all at least 38 minutes. The question is whether he can figure out a way to get a couple of those guys down to 35 minutes and still win a game.
• What an end to the week out West. On Wednesday, Minnesota had a 2-0 lead, and Oklahoma City had a 1-0 lead, and the wins for them in Games 2 and 1, respectively, looked emphatic. Fast forward a few days and neither series looks so clear. Both Game 4s are incredibly pivotal. For Denver, Jamal Murray looked great after three full days off. But he was gimpy for a fair bit before that game, so it'll be interesting to see how he looks tomorrow night. Gimpy doesn't even begin to describe Luka Doncic, but he grinded out two wins anyway. If he does it again at home in Game 4, all of a sudden the Thunder will be on the brink of elimination. Oklahoma City can't keep playing both Lu Dort and Josh Giddey at the same time down the stretch of close games. Dallas just doesn't respect the ability of either to hit shots. I'd sit Dort, as he is a) a walking foul and b) Doncic has him all figured out.