PHILADELPHIA — Twice, the Celtics had an opportunity to win Sunday’s Game 4 with a game-winning shot on the ultimate play. They got here up brief each occasions.
One widespread denominator? They selected to not name a timeout in each situations.
With a possibility to win the sport in regulation, the Celtics generated an ideal look when Jayson Tatum discovered Marcus Smart for a wide-open 3-pointer that bounced off the rim to ship it to additional time.
Then, after James Harden’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left within the additional session, the Celtics didn’t name timeout. The determination backfired. They have been too gradual, and it price them. Tatum discovered Smart on the wing, the place he hit the shot. But it got here after the buzzer.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has empowered his gamers all season in these moments to make a play with out the necessity to name timeout. But it didn’t work this time.
“We’ve been doing it all year,” Al Horford mentioned. “We feel confident in that and I felt like that was the right thing. The momentum was there. Jayson had the ball in his hands making a great play. And if Smart would have caught it half a second earlier, it would have been down. I’m not getting too hung up on that play.”
The C’s, by their very own admission, didn’t execute the ultimate play in additional time shortly sufficient. The possession began with 18 seconds to go, however by the point Tatum took a step ahead to start a pick-and-roll motion with Derrick White, there have been lower than 5 seconds left. Tatum drove to the basket, drew a double crew and virtually each Sixer crashed on him with lower than two seconds left. He kicked it out to a large open Smart, however by the point he caught it, the clock ticked underneath a second.
It was too late.
“I waited a second too late when they came and doubled,” Tatum mentioned. “When Embiid came over, I tried to kick it out but I probably should have went and probably dribbled it too early.”
“That was the play, we just had to play with a little bit more pace,” Mazzulla mentioned. “We had the right matchup. Jayson got downhill and made the right play at the rim. We just had to play with a little bit more pace there, but that was the play.”
Hindsight is actually 20/20 in these conditions. As Tatum identified, there are execs and cons to calling a timeout versus not. He remembered a game-winning play throughout final season’s playoff run that labored out once they didn’t name timeout.
“I’m sure you guys know if you call a timeout they’ve got a chance to set up their defense,” Tatum mentioned. “There’s times you feel confident that you’re going to get a good shot. You’ve just gotta trust in the guys on the floor are gonna make the right plays. I should have passed it probably a second earlier. But in regulation we got a great shot. I got in the paint, drew two guys and found Smart.”
Are these conditions when Mazzulla trusts the Celtics to make a play, empowering?
“I guess it’s empowering a lot,” Tatum answered. “I mean, (expletive), we did it at times last year, right? We played Brooklyn in Game 1. We didn’t call a timeout, we made a layup on the last play. Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. But we’ve got a good core group of guys that know how to play under pressure in those situations. And it just doesn’t always go your way.”
Tatum responds
The Celtics’ gradual begin on Sunday – they trailed by 16 within the first half, and the one purpose they hung round was the new begins of Jaylen Brown and Malcolm Brogdon – can largely be attributed to Tatum, who missed his first eight photographs and didn’t rating some extent till he hit a jumper with 30 seconds left within the second quarter.
But Tatum answered the bell when the Celtics wanted hin within the fourth quarter, and his play on each ends keyed the comeback. He had two blocks – together with a key swat on a Georges Niang 3-point try that led to Tatum’s game-tying layup – and had a number of massive rebounds and hustle performs. He additionally hit an enormous go-ahead 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in additional time.
“I get paid a lot of money. I do it all. Assists, blocks, rebounds, steals,” mentioned Tatum, who completed with 24 factors. “Points are just what people expect but I take pride in impacting the game every way possible.”
Mazzulla liked Tatum’s response.
“It was great,” the coach mentioned. “When he performed with that mindset, he didn’t let the truth that he wasn’t scoring have an effect on his protection and his mindset, so I assumed his presence was nice, and I assumed he chipped away. I assumed the entire crew did.
Special go to
Mazzulla used Saturday’s off evening in Philadelphia in a productive method. With the Red Sox additionally on the town for a three-game sequence towards the Phillies, Mazzulla went to the sport at Citizens Bank Park and had an opportunity to satisfy and chat with supervisor Alex Cora throughout batting follow. As a coach chasing his first championship, Mazzulla sought recommendation from Cora, who’s received titles as a participant and supervisor.
“I was grateful,” Mazzulla mentioned. “I never had a chance to meet him, and I know he’s been in this position as a player and as a coach, so he’s managed success and it was great just to spend some time with him, and just kind of pick his brain on some of the stuff that was important to him through his runs and kind of what he’s doing, so it’s great to have that resource.”
Cora loved his time with Mazzulla.
“He requested me lots about ‘18. A lot,” Cora said. “How do you handle it, the family part of it. I think my biggest advice, (was) enjoy it as a family. I know his wife was here. Just have a blast with them because you don’t know what can occur, you understand? And I advised him for me, it was like Legion baseball. My mother and my sisters and everyone was touring in every single place. It was costly. But we didn’t care. We had a blast.
“He’s in a good spot. He’s a good guy. I respect the fact that he’s very consistent in what he does. There’s a lot of conviction behind him and I think that’s what they needed and hopefully they can pull this off.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com