Celtics Advance to the Eastern Conference Finals After Burying Bucks Under Deluge of Three Pointers
The Boston Celtics set a game seven record with 22 three pointers, and their long range bombing blew open a close game in the second half as the Celtics routed the Milwaukee Bucks 109-81 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Milwaukee's general strategy is to pack the paint while conceding three point shots, and their specific game seven strategy was to force Grant Williams to beat them from beyond the arc. Williams responded with a playoff career-high 27 points while shooting 10-22 from the field, including 7-18 from three point range. Williams shot just 2-14 from three point range in the previous four games in this series, so you cannot fault the Bucks' strategy but you also have to give Williams credit for stepping up in the Celtics' biggest game of the season (at least up to this point). Jayson Tatum battered the Bucks with 46 points in game six but the Bucks limited him to 23 points on 7-14 field goal shooting in game seven. Tatum had eight rebounds, four assists, and seven turnovers. Jaylen Brown added 19 points and eight rebounds. Brown may not be as flashy or explosive as Tatum, but he is a consistent two-way player and his production is critical to Boston's success. Payton Pritchard scored 14 points in 17 minutes off of the bench.
It must be emphasized that the effort that the Bucks expended to contain Tatum created open shots for his teammates; for some odd reason, this effect is only called "gravity" when it is attributed to Stephen Curry, but a big player like Tatum who scores, rebounds, passes, and defends at a high level has a greater impact than a small player whose main weapon is long range shooting. Tatum is the type of player who can lead a team to a championship, as opposed to just being the most highly touted member of an ensemble cast that wins a championship. Tatum has not yet won a championship, but he has repeatedly proven that he can be an impact performer in the playoffs against elite competition; just this year alone, he outplayed Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round before leading his team to a second round series win against defending champion Milwaukee and two-time regular season MVP/one-time Finals MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo.
Antetokoumpo almost had a triple double in the first half, and he finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds, and nine assists. His final numbers were not efficient (10-26 field goal shooting, five turnovers), but his effort is unquestioned; he played hard at both ends of the court, and his scoring, passing, screening, and ability to draw double teams accounted for most of the Bucks' offense. Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA playoff history to have at least 200 points, at least 100 rebounds, and at least 50 assists in one series. He is just the third player in playoff history to have at least three 40 point playoff games versus the Celtics, joining Jerry West and LeBron James.
What has stuck out to me throughout Antetokounmpo's career is that he has a pure basketball spirit: he enjoys competition while being gracious as both a winner and a loser, he plays hard all of the time at both ends of the court, he is completely devoid of drama or pettiness, and when he plays there is never even a hint that he is thinking about his numbers to the detriment of what the team needs for him to do. During Milwaukee's strong first quarter stretch, Jeff Van Gundy noted that Antetokounmpo was doing everything possible to empower his teammates: setting screens, drawing double teams, making great passes. Van Gundy added that Antetokounmpo did many valuable things that do not show up in the boxscore. That is remarkable when you consider how consistently great his boxscore numbers are. After the game, Antetokounmpo said that he did not consider the first seven seasons of his career as losing seasons just because the team did not win a championship, and he does not consider this season to be a losing season either. He said that each year that you don't win a title is a learning experience that can provide knowledge and fuel for future seasons.
If you think that Antetokounmpo's .385 field goal shooting in this game is equivalent to .385 field goal shooting by a player who does not rebound, who holds on to the basketball to only make assist passes, and who thinks defense is the thing surrounding his yard then you just don't understand basketball. Yes, it would be optimal for Antetokounmpo to shoot better from the field. No, this game does not damage his legacy because (1) he is already a basketball "made man" with a championship/Finals MVP and (2) he played the right way in this game. Greatness is about not only outcome, but also attitude, preparation, and work ethic.
The Bucks won the rebounding battle 56-48, and they outscored the Celtics in the paint 48-26, but the Bucks could not overcome the three pointers made differential (22-4), which set a game seven record. The Bucks' 4-33 three point shooting (.121) is the worst three point percentage ever for a team that attempted at least 30 three pointers in a playoff game. The three point shooting is just one example of how Antetokounmpo's supporting cast did not provide enough help at either end of the court; of course, the major factor here is the knee injury suffered by Khris Middleton during the first round that sidelined Middleton for the rest of the 2022 postseason. Jrue Holiday scored 21 points in game seven, but he shot just 9-21 from the field. Brook Lopez was solid (15 points, 10 rebounds), but the only other Buck to score in double figures was Bobby Portis (10 points).
The Bucks led by as much as 10 points during the first quarter, and they were still ahead 26-20 at the end of the stanza, but building that tenuous lead required a performance from Antetokounmpo that was not sustainable for four quarters: 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists, no turnovers, 3-6 field goal shooting. Those numbers project to 40 points, 32 rebounds, and 24 assists for a whole game! The only player in NBA history who might have been able to post 40-32-24 was Wilt Chamberlain. Anteotkounmpo finished the first half with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, becoming the first player to post such a first half stat line in a playoff game in the past 25 years--but the Bucks already trailed 48-43. The Celtics outscored the Bucks 13-6 in the first 2:24 of the third quarter, and the Celtics led by at least 10 points the rest of the way.
After the game, Boston Coach Ime Udoka made a telling remark: "This is what we played for, why we played the season out, to have home court advantage in a game seven. If you believe in the basketball gods, those things matter." I criticized the Bucks at the time when they rested their starters for the final game of the season with playoff seeding on the line, and even as I picked them to win game seven I noted that karma is at work with the Bucks forced to play on the road in the decisive game.
Remember when some commentators said that the Celtics should break up the Tatum-Brown duo? The Celtics are now making their fourth Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the past six seasons. Tatum was not on the first of those Eastern Conference Finalists (and Brown was not a star on that 2017 squad) but they have grown into stardom together. Antetokounmpo ignored the screaming that he needed to leave Milwaukee to win a title, and he was rewarded with a championship as he and Middleton evolved into a great duo (which became a trio after Holiday signed with the Bucks last season). It was a joy to watch Antetokounmpo stay the course in Milwaukee and win a title; if Tatum accomplishes the same in Boston that will also be great for the NBA--much better for the league than seeing teams benefit from tanking, or teams throwing talent together in an attempt to win instantly without regard to character and skill set.
Labels: Boston Celtics, Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Grant Williams, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
posted by David Friedman @ 12:50 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home