Control

A few observations as we head into Game 4 this afternoon.

The most important takeaway for me was that in Game 3 the Celtics maintained their composure throughout. Nothing was forced. They never panicked. The played like the veteran team that they truly are. This was a welcome switch from the Atlanta series, when the Hawks were able to get on good runs whenever they wanted. Trae Young was not just a bucket in that series, but a string of buckets. James Harden did similar things in Game 1. Both got matched up on Al Horford or hunted mismatches at will.

When they did this, the Celtics would get outside of themselves, and start forcing things, like in Game 5 in Atlanta when Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum literally just threw the ball away on consecutive possessions. In the past two games, the C's have made adjustments, and it has helped quell runs.

In the first quarter, Philly scored on five possessions between Celtics scores to bring the score from 24-14 to 24-25 – two De'Anthony Melton free throws, two Joel Embiid free throws, a Tyrese Maxey layup, a Melton three, and an Embiid jumper. They did so again three times to end the first and start the second, though Tatum hit his technical free throw in between – free throws by Embiid and Maxey to end the first, and a jumper by Tobias Harris to start the second.

They would not do so again the rest of the game. The C's were always there to jab back. It took awhile to get Philly fully on the ropes, but they did. And that's OK. Philly is good! It is not Boston's birthright to beat them. They have to earn it. In Game 3, they earned it.

Embiid's Wind

Joel Embiid did not hit a field goal for more than a full quarter in the second half. He hit an 18' foot pull-up with 6:12 left in the third quarter. He then put in the rebound layup to make it 100-96 with 3:51 left in the fourth, and that put back took him two tries.

In between those two rebounds and two lay-up attempts with 4 minutes left, he hit five of six free throws, grabbed four rebounds, got a steal, fouled Robert Williams III, had a shot blocked by Grant Williams, turned the ball over, he sat for 4:07, and missed a fade away. In other words, he was still productive, but he was far from the player he was in the first half. At that 6:12 mark of the 3rd quarter, he had scored 21 points in the game's first 30 minutes. He would score just nine over the final 18, and two of those came on an undefended layup with 32 seconds left in the game that altered the final outcome in no way.

Embiid was seemingly in better shape in Game 3 than he was in Game 2, so perhaps Game 4 will be better today. But he still has to prove he can play a full 48 minutes at his MVP standards in this series.

Let's See

So much of the narratives of these playoff series yo-yo from game to game. Harden was a hero until he wasn't two games later. And yet, there is a seed of doubt planted in each instance. Harden scored eight points in the fourth quarter of Game 3, more than any other Sixer. But by the fourth quarter started, the broadcast had spent more than a half hour talking about how Harden was choking the game away.

We see the same with Jayson Tatum. Even my friend Chad Finn called for Tatum  to be more consistent, after a game in which Tatum put up 27 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block, on 50% shooting. Even if you think he was inconsistent before those two huge buckets and two huge free throws, you need to account for those in the summation of the game. These guys are not robots.

There are plenty of other examples. I was critical of Al Horford's three-point shooting after Game 1, but now he's shooting 5-for-15 from three after three games. One more good showing today and he could well be at his season average. We just need to wait and see how it all plays out, which is tough for us to do.

News and Notes

• Marcus Smart won the Hustle Award, because of course he did. I. Love. Marcus. Smart.
• The Bucks fired coach Mike Budenholzer. I am skeptical this is going to be the balm the Bucks need. The thing I saw absolutely no one mention is why the Bucks braintrust is getting a pass. "Joe Ingles" and "good defense" are two circles on a Venn diagram that never meet, and so he was predictably only able to play 17 minutes per game in their series vs. Miami. The Bucks very clearly needed to consolidate the Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton minutes into a better player, and instead just got a third, better-passing-worse-on-defense version instead. Jae Crowder was DOA, and they traded five second round picks for him like he was going to be a savior. This offseason, the Bucks have so few options that they essentially have to bring back Brook Lopez, who is 35 and missed most of the 2021-22 season with a bad back.
• I never want to see that drone again.
• The Heat go up 2-1 on the Knicks. This season, the Knicks' biggest edge was their toughness, something that was brought out even more by the acquisition of Josh Hart. Unfortunately, they are playing the one team where their toughness is inconsequential. I honestly think the Knicks would have a different result after three games against the Bucks, Sixers, or Celtics. This series is far from over, but the Knicks need to start hitting shots, they can't outmuscle Miami like they did Cleveland.