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Jaylen Brown’s return boosts Jayson Tatum: 8 takeaways from Celtics vs. Bucks
To no one's surprise, Jaylen Brown's return made a world of difference.
Here are the takeaways as the Celtics rolled to a comfortable — and badly needed — 117-103 win over the Bucks on Monday in their return to TD Garden.
1. Jayson Tatum was brilliant — 42 points, 16-for-25 shooting, 7-for-13 from three, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He shot over defenders. He created space with his dribble. He powered his way to the rim. He drew and then passed out of double-teams, creating open looks for teammates. In short, he was everything the Celtics need him to be this season.
This needs to continue for the Celtics to be successful, but an explosion from Tatum — particularly with Brown back in the lineup — is an incredibly promising sign.
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2. As it turns out, Jaylen Brown makes a world of difference for everyone involved.
Brown not only played well, he looked healthy — save for a minor scare when he banged knees with Bobby Portis in the first half. His movement was much better than the first time he returned, when he was visibly wincing and limping.
“I felt like myself, being able to move and cut and jump when I wanted to,” Brown said. “I’m grateful that I’m able to do that, so I’m looking forward to the next game.”
Udoka called Brown’s impact “invaluable.”
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“You can see the crowd when he’s on the floor and when he’s not,” Udoka said. “It’s pretty apparent there.”
Brown finished with 19 points — 6-for-13 from the floor, 3-for-7 from three and five assists. If NBA box scores included “points created for a star teammate via gravity,” we would include that statistic here.
“You can’t double us both,” Brown said. “So being out there, just being out there, I think takes pressure off of JT. Being able to play without seeing double teams and even at times triple teams. So if I’m out there and you’re doubling him, then I’m going to be aggressive. And if you double me, then he’s going to look to be aggressive.”
3. Grant Williams finished with 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting (all 3-pointers) and was elite once again from the corners, where he is now shooting 54.4 percent this season. His 44.6 percent mark overall is seventh in the NBA.
A reporter noted to Jayson Tatum that Williams is shooting “the lights out.”
“‘Grant’s shooting the lights out,'” Tatum repeated, smirking. “Don’t let him hear that.
“But no, he’s put in so much work to develop and to be a guy that can guard and space the floor. It’s night and day from when he first came into the league and somebody we can really depend and rely on to knock down open shots and just space the floor.”
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Defensively, Williams continues to look reinvigorated as a forward instead of a small-ball center — moving his feet nicely and keeping his hands high in the air.
At this point, Williams is making a case for a greater role, and maybe even a spot in the starting lineup if the Celtics opt to go away from Horford and Robert Williams. The Celtics don’t have much reason to change things up — the usual suspects in the starting lineup when healthy have been excellent. But if those numbers slip, Williams might get a long look.
4. Williams might be well on his way to becoming an instigator. In the second half, Bucks big man Bobby Portis threw him to the ground in frustration after they battled for a rebound. Williams hopped up quickly and got in Portis’ face, and both players received technicals.
Williams might have started his instigation work early, however. In the first half, he drew a delay-of-game technical after trying to do … whatever this was.
Whatever Williams is up to, the Celtics will take it as long as he keeps shooting a better percentage than Steph Curry.
5. Udoka particularly appreciated Williams’ physicality after a lively film session following the team’s 1-4 road trip. He said he showed the team film of opponents — LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell and others — scoring at will and getting to the rim.
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“I’d rather put somebody on their ass or get into it than let someone go down the lane,” Udoka said. “We knew Giannis and certain guys were going to be aggressive tonight, and we needed to fight back and get back to who we were at the start of the year.”
That film session seemed to go over well, even though (or perhaps because) Udoka called everyone out.
“He didn’t let anybody off the hook,” Williams said. “We all respect and love that. We took that heart and had a lot more fun. You could see it on our faces as well as that same type of intensity that we carried over through walkthrough. Guys were prepared from the jump, had great conversations, great dialogue then allowed that film session to carry over to today.”
“1-4, wasn’t going to be pretty,” Tatum added. “It was honest, it was direct, it was open, and it was what we needed. It wasn’t time to sugarcoat anything. …
“He showed it to us and we had to own up to it.”
6. Marcus Smart was just 1-for-6 from the floor and 0-for-3 from 3-point range, but he dished out 11 assists. With Brown back and Grant Williams spiking in productivity, the Celtics’ spacing improved drastically on Monday, and Smart took advantage — picking apart the Bucks as a passer with a real collection of offensive weapons.
7. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored just 20 points — a reminder that Al Horford is a crucial player in a variety of ways, not least for his defense.
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“Great overall job there,” Udoka said. “[Antetkounmpo] had 40 the other night, triple doubles and all that, so to hold him to 20 was a great job by our guys, the whole group.”
Grant Williams was matched up with Antetokounmpo on several occasions.
“He has that physical nature,” Williams said. “Him, Bron, guys like that, they’re going to try to bully you and push through you. So, being a guy like myself, who’s able to kind of withstand that and stand them up, you see that and progress through my year. …
“He’s an incredible player. But just as much as he’s incredible, I’m going to compete with him.”
8. The Celtics have three days off before facing Curry and the Warriors on Friday. Much has been made of their schedule in December, and it’s a bruiser — they face the Warriors, 76ers, Cavaliers, Bucks, Clippers and Suns before the calendar turns.
But Monday’s game was an encouraging sign. The Celtics were written off in many corners after their 1-4 road trip. One win doesn’t justify buying back in entirely, but maybe halt sales for a little while.
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