It would’ve been shocking if the Celtics managed to win both games in San Francisco to open the NBA Finals. The second half of Game 2 was gross, but the Celtics have bounced back over and over throughout the playoffs. They adjust — just like the Warriors did ahead of Sunday’s contest.
So while there aren’t positives for Boston to take from a 19-point loss, it’s hard to say the result is alarming. This type of thing happened to the Celtics in a series they just won.
“We look at it as a disappointing loss in Game 2, a game we didn't play up to our potential and our standard,” Ime Udoka said. “Regardless of what happened in Game 1, that's behind us. We had opportunities.”
Now, it’s a much more dangerous game to play with Golden State than with Miami. But like Draymond Green said about the 3-point shooting performance put on by some of the Celtics in Game 1, it’s hard to imagine Robert Williams, Al Horford and Marcus Smart each only scoring two points apiece again in this series, never mind in back-to-back games.
The lack of offense outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown does stand out as an issue from Game 2, as much as turnovers were another thing that popped up — along with the big-quarter problem. Tatum shot much better, but Brown slowed immensely after his hot start. While they shouldn’t have to force any shots, Boston’s stars need to find ways to adjust when the Warriors put an emphasis on stopping the Celtics’ secondary scorers.
“I mean, they definitely upped their pressure a little bit, closed out a little more aggressive(ly) to each of us,” Derrick White said. “We've just got to make the play after that. I think I had a couple times where I was in the paint and I didn't make the right play. Just learn from that, and obviously the turnovers hurt.”
As far as the third quarter goes, the Celtics probably aren’t going to win many of those against the Warriors. Golden State dominated that quarter throughout the season. However, Boston has to start minimizing the damage.
“I think, tonight, turnovers (and) sometimes letting our offense affect how we defend,” Tatum said when discussing Sunday’s third-quarter struggles. “We were a little stagnant there in the third quarter. I felt like it translated on the defensive end. They got going and hit shots.”
Most important of all, the Celtics need to hold onto the home-court advantage they earned in Game 1. Sure, they could win one more road game this postseason, but the C’s would be rolling a loaded dice that favored the Warriors if that were the case. Game 3 is a must-win, and it doesn’t stop there.
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