New Big Three did it again for Celtics in Game 1
Twice is a trend. Thrice would be a habit.
Before we look back at the Celtics’ rather satisfying 117-101 victory over the Sixers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference seminals, first allow me to go back one Eurostep to their previous game Saturday night.
In my column after the Celtics’ Game 7 victory over the Bucks at the Garden – also a rather satisfying performance – I joked that Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier were the franchise’s latest incarnation of a Big Three.
Hey, for that one night that’s exactly what they were. They’re all excellent players at different stages of their careers, but in Game 7 it looked like they’d played together for years.
Horford (26 points, 8 rebounds, 13-of-17 shooting), Rozier (26 points, 9 assists, and a Victory Royale over nemesis Eric Bledsoe) and Tatum (20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) made for an extraordinary trio just when the Celtics needed it most.
Realistically, it was a one-night-only performance for that trio as a Big Three, largely because so many other Celtics contribute significantly on a given night.
But a funny thing happened as a new series began. They went out and did it again.
Horford (26 points, 7 rebounds, 10-of-12 shooting), Rozier (29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) and Tatum (28 points) formed the Celtics’ Big Three for a second straight game.
That might have been aided by Jaylen Brown’s absence, since he is a primary offensive option. But I’m not betting against them making it three straight as the Big Three come Game 2 Thursday.
Twice is a trend. Thrice would be a habit, and one the Sixers would be wise to recognize.
Other thoughts:
■ Brad Stevens has to be the most successful degree-of-difficulty coach in the NBA right now.
The Celtics’ aspirations of at least a deep playoff run were supposed to be over 5 minutes and 15 seconds into the the season when Gordon Hayward broke his leg and dislocated his ankle.
They were supposed to be over when Kyrie Irving went down for the rest of the year in early April.
They were supposed to struggle to overcome the six-week absence of defensive menace Marcus Smart, and they were underdogs against the Sixers in Game 1 with Jaylen Brown sidelined.
The Celtics have been in a constant war of attrition since the first game of the season, and all they do is win battle after battle along the way.
This is a tribute to the players, of course, in particular the ever-dependable Horford. But through it all, it is Stevens who has kept it on an even keel. It’s beyond impressive.
■ It’s so amusing watching Smart drive the Sixers nuts with his relentless defense. He means so much to this team that I imagine the vast majority of Celtics fans’ felt their heart sink when he got kicked in the hand right before halftime and doubled over at midcourt in pain.
But as usual, he’s taking too many perimeter shots, especially considering he’s wearing a wrap on his hand. He missed his first eight shots in Game 1, and while he hit a couple of 3s late, he’s gone from the occasional no-no-YES! shooter to a no-no-no-c’mon-Marcus-what-the-heck shooter.
I intently watched Smart shoot during his individual warmup with assistant coach Jay Larranaga before Game 7. Most NBA players probably shoot 80 percent in those unguarded drills. I didn’t keep an official count, but there is no way he made over 50 percent of his perimeter shots in that situation. I don’t think he notices that they missed. Gotta admire the confidence, I guess.
No one makes the double-clutch over –the-shoulder blind flip against a taller opponent for 2 quite like he does, though. Gotta give him that.
■ The Celtics have had some lousy and out-of-character end-of-quarter situations lately. There was the Matthew Dellavedova steal of a lazy Marcus Morris pass in Game 3 of the previous series, and a couple of other costly late turnovers against the Bucks that resulted in free points. Last night, the Cs had another late turnover in the third quarter that resulted in a gift J.J. Redick three. They’re playing like they think each quarter lasts 11 minutes and 56 seconds.
■ The Rozier/Drew Bledsoe connection – and the obvious fun that both of them are having with it – has to culminate with Bledsoe’s attendance at a game in this series. I’d bet the Celtics are working on it … The next level in Celtics postseason feuds needs to culminate with Smart showing up in a Tony Simmons jersey before Game 2. … Ersan Ilyasova looks like he’s put together from oversized James Franco parts. … Every time Kevin McHale calls a Celtics game, I wonder if he’ll get distracted and start obsessing about the bolts holding together the parquet again … Ben Simmons made $5,903,160 with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016-17. Not a rookie.
