Sometimes you can play the perfect defense and your opponent will just make a better play to hit the shot. That was the case throughout the fourth quarter Wednesday night at the TD Garden.
The Celtics trailed the Milwaukee Bucks 120-119 with under 8.9 seconds to go. Boston inbounded the basketball from the sideline with no issue. Milwaukee got a pretty good defensive matchup with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Giannis Antetokounmpo, switching off the inbounding Marcus Smart and onto Jayson Tatum.
After dancing on the arc for a bit, Tatum used an inside-out dribble with his left hand into a sidestep for three, seemingly becoming his go-to move in crunch time. Giannis closed on the moving Tatum pretty well but Jayson adjusted and put extra arc on his shot to get it off. The shot goes off the glass and good, Celtics lead 122-120 with 0.4 seconds to go.
“I don’t know if he called glass, but I'll take it,” said Jaylen Brown of Jayson Tatum’s game winning shot.
Superstar play. It may not have been a superstar type of game for Tatum, but it is certainly a moment we all expect Tatum to start making. After all, he is no longer 19.
Tatum scored 21 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. He didn’t have a great night overall, going 12-for-28 from the floor and shockingly zero free throw attempts, and even called it “terrible” in his postgame interview on TNT.
Ken Laid wrote on WEEI.com about how Boston needs a superstar. Well, Jayson Tatum delivered and met that type of expectation on day 1 of the Celtics season.
And let’s not forget Jaylen Brown and his team high 33 points. Boston trailed 52-51 with 2:43 to go in the half. Brown rattled off eight points in 60 seconds and scored 10 of the team’s final 13 points in the second half. Boston went into the break with a five-point lead.
This type of night is what the Celtics will need nightly from Tatum and Brown.
According to ESPN, Milwaukee (110.5) was just a hair better than Boston (110.4) in offensive rating last season. The Bucks made a major move bringing in Jrue Holiday this offseason as well as adding Bobby Portis and Bryn Forbes to their bench. The Bucks offense should be better this season. Boston should be going the opposite way. And that is what made Wednesday night so impressive.
Brad Stevens had to be worried about his team’s ball security issues after 42 turnovers in two preseason games. On Wednesday night, Boston had a plus-10 turnover advantage.
“I thought we were more structured and purposeful on offense. I’d say that’s the only area,” Brad Stevens responded when asked about where his team improved from the preseason.
That sounds like a coach who is happy with one side of the ball and is very concerned about the other side. Giving up 51 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 83 percent from the free throw line is not a recipe for success. No one thought an offensive shootout with the Bucks would be a way to win.
No one thought the Celtics would get 34 points off the bench after having one of the worst benches in the NBA last season. And who really thought Boston would win after choking away the 17 point lead entering in the fourth quarter? Not me. I didn’t even give them a chance to win at all.
I don’t think Wednesday night means you should jump on the championship bandwagon and get ready for Banner 18. But as I wrote Wednesday morning in my Celtics season preview “this Celtics season can be fun without title expectations.” And that’s exactly what game no. 1 of the season gifted us just hours away from Christmas -- fun.
Welcome back, Celtics basketball.
LEFTOVER FROM THE NOTEBOOK
● Who saw the double big starting lineup coming with Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis?! “It was a function of I was really upset with how we played up to this point,” Stevens answered in his postgame media availability. “I wanted to guard a very very good defensive lineup. We have to play better on that end still.”
● Tristan Thompson might set a record for screens per minute, if such a stat exists
● For all of you yelling about rotations, Thompson was on a minutes restriction. Complain about it now, but be happy when the guy plays 60-plus games this season
● Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams knocking down open three's can totally change the look of this bench
● Marcus Smart finished with just three shot attempts in 38 minutes. He is playing more a facilitating role but that was a big surprise
● Jeff Teague continues to be the greatest Celtics 3 point shooter of all time. The guy literally has not missed since he put on the uniform, including 4/4 from deep
● Payton Prtichard getting first quarter minutes carried over Wednesday night. Five minutes in the first, 13 minute overall. Seems like a trend that will continue.
● No Aaron Nesmith is no surprise. The lottery pick didn’t get any real minutes in the preseason against legitimate rotation players