The Celtics once more gave the Hawks matchup nightmares.
On Tuesday, the Celtics easily defeated the Hawks once more, this time by a score of 119-106, to take a 2-0 series lead.
The key points are as follows:
1) Derrick White, who put up 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots on Tuesday after scoring 22 points in Game 1. When he was acquired by the Celtics, the expectation was that he would be able to have a significant impact alongside stars like Tatum and Brown, but so far in this series (and for a startling amount of the regular season), White has been more like a third star — a consistent 3-point shooter whenever he has an open shot, who can also get downhill to the basket when necessary and lock up guards like Hawks star Trae Young.
White and Marcus Smart frequently lead the Celtics into their offense quickly, according to Joe Mazzulla.
“He has the capacity to handle and play, and he does a great job of taking advantage of those when Smart and Jayson [Tatum] and Jaylen [Brown] are creating advantages for others, and he is a beneficiary of those advantages at times,” said Mazzulla.
During one of his free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, White was serenaded by Celtics supporters with “M-V-P” shouts.
After the game, we discussed it, Tatum said. ‘That’s what it feels like,’ he exclaimed. Yeah, I guess, I thought.
White claimed that throughout the course of the season, he has become noticeably more at ease.
Even during the regular season, JB would say, “C’mon, D, be aggressive,” during timeouts. Do what you do, please,” White said. Therefore, it’s interesting to hear it from [Brown and Tatum]. They all gave me the go-ahead to compete in my game.
2) Tatum scored 29 points, which led the Celtics, and added six assists. The Hawks tried to speed up the action late in the game, but Tatum in particular handled it effectively and used his passing to kickstart the Celtics’ offense.
“His patience to be able to accept that — that allows us to get to our spacing,” added Mazzulla. There are typically three 2-on-1s available when that occurs, and all you have to do is choose the best one.
Given that De’Andre Hunter is powerless to stop the Celtics star in a one-on-one matchup, the Hawks are really battling to find a solution to the Tatum problem. The Hawks’ defense runs the risk of getting disorganized as soon as Tatum receives the ball since they lack a legitimate opponent who can match up with him. That’s just another difficult conundrum for Quin Snyder to solve given all the other mismatches on the floor.
3) The Hawks defeated the Celtics on Tuesday, despite not putting up much of a fight in either Game 1 or Game 2. Most significantly, they finished with a much healthier 19-5 edge in Game 2 despite only outrebounding the Celtics on the offensive glass by a margin of 14-12 on Saturday. In addition, they attempted 48 3-pointers compared to the Celtics’ 33, however they only hit one more.
As fantastic as it feels, Mazzulla added, “we haven’t improved in two games because we can’t control the shot margin the way we need to.” While they are kind of unleashing their guys and taking more, they are doing a wonderful job taking away our threes. We must be careful to avoid turnovers, and while we are doing a terrific job of foul-free defense, there are still maybe 8–10 rebounds that we could do better at getting.
4) Despite playing offensively very quietly, both of the Celtics’ big men made a difference. Al Horford kept moving Clint Capela toward the 3-point line, and when Jayson Tatum fired him a ball, Horford buried a triple to effectively end the game.
“I threw it angry because I was trying to get it there,” Tatum admitted. “I didn’t want them to deflect it or intercept it because I knew it would be there in two seconds or less. I made an effort to deliver it in time for him to get a decent shot off.
Robert Williams, meanwhile, failed to stop Hawks possessions on this particular night as he missed his first shot of the series in the first half. However, he was terrific for the second straight game, impacting attempts near the rim and grabbing defensive rebounds. Williams contributed to a balanced Celtics offensive effort that outscored the Hawks 64-40 in the paint. Williams ended with eight points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots. A significant improvement over last season, when he returned from meniscus surgery early and looked to be dragging his leg all over the court, is having him healthy for about 25 minutes each game.
5) Jaylen Brown was prepared for Game 2 with a really amazing pair of shoes.
In the second half, Brown, who finished with 18 points and three steals, left the game cradling his hand, but he later informed reporters that he was alright.
6) Trae Young’s bench performance on Tuesday was a huge reason why the Hawks were able to make their decisive comeback and reduce the distance.
Young, who finished with a team-low -18 in the box score, had another bad shooting performance (24 points, 9-for-22 shooting, 2-for-8 from three, five turnovers), and he was once again the Celtics’ main defensive target. Clint Capela (-5), the lone other Hawks starter, finished in the red.
As a result, Celtics supporters cheered loudly for Young as he approached the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, calling him “overrated.” The diminutive guard is up against a brutally difficult opponent in this series.
7) The Hawks tried to defensively pursue Sam Hauser a lot in the first half, but it didn’t work out that well. The Hawks’ offense sputtered to a halt as De’Andre Hunter and Young in particular failed to beat Hauser off the bounce.
The Hawks are not the first club to threaten to attack Hauser and they are not likely to be the last, but the results so far haven’t been all that promising.
8) Dejounte 8. With 13 of his 24 points and three of his seven three-pointers in the third quarter, Murray prevented the Hawks from getting completely destroyed. Following one jump shot, Murray looked to start yelling at Joe Mazzulla from the Celtics bench.
Who said what?
Mazzulla deadpanned, “He just inquired how my day was going. He is a nice guy and a great kid. He was putting on a great show, and I just got to know him via a lot of the Spurs organization’s staff.
9) The following two games of the series will now be played in Atlanta. Friday’s Game 3 kicks off at 7 p.m.
Brown remarked, “We took a beautiful shot from Atlanta tonight. “I thought that by moving the ball, we responded nicely. We’ll need other individuals to step up and make plays in the playoffs, and that has already happened. Now that we’re on the road, we must adopt the same mentality and strive to be aggressive in the hostile climate of Atlanta.
“This is a step along the way. Being two games ahead is excellent home maintenance. But eventually, becoming a championship squad will depend on your ability to win games away from home. This is the first test, so I’m anticipating it.
