TERRIBLE NEWS:The head coach offense has lead to…
To start off this SGP I have Jaylen Brown redeeming himself after a somewhat unusual Game 1. You might be asking what’s unusual about a player scoring 23 points on 80% shooting from the field? Well, the issue is he attempted only 10 shots in total in that game, which is far too few for a player of his caliber at this stage of the season.
He also turned the ball over 4 times and as a team the Celtics committed 10 more than the Sixers did in Game 1 and that cost them the game in my opinion. Game 2 is pretty much a must-win scenario for the Celtics as the series shifts to Philadelphia for the next 2 games and they simply cannot afford to go down 2-0. Brown has had a really solid postseason, averaging 26.1 points per game on over 56% shooting from the field and better than 54% from three. He’s scored at least 25 points in 4 of the 6 games played in the Atlanta series, so I’m hopeful he adds to his total from Game 1 tonight.
Marcus Smart is another player who left a lot to be desired in that series opener. He turned the ball over a team-high 6 times and scored just 12 points without making a 3-pointer on 2 attempts. His passiveness on offense meant that James Harden didn’t have to do much defensively, which saved him a lot of energy and allowed him to score 45 points.
It also helped Derrick White. I’m looking for a response from Smart in Game 2, especially from behind the 3-point line. So far in this postseason run he has scored at least 2 threes in 5 of 7 games while shooting over 36%, which is in line with his season averages. For his career in 15 Game 2s he’s averaging 2.1 threes per game on 33% efficiency. Head coach Joe Mazzulla needs to get him more involved on offense, so let’s hope that’s one of the adjustments he makes in this game.
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Not a lot of people envisioned Harden’s heroics would happen in Game 1, but the Beard once again turned back the clock, proving his doubters wrong. I can’t even remember the last time we saw him take 30 shot attempts in a game, 14 of which came from the perimeter.
For Game 2 I’m expecting a slightly different approach from him, with more emphasis on getting his teammates involved. He had only 6 assists in Game 1, which was still a team-high by a wide margin. The newly crowned MVP Joel Embiid may yet be able to play in Game 2, but even if he sits again there are plenty of other players he can pass to on offense.
The consistent Tobias Harris had 18 on 50% shooting, the energetic Tyrese Maxey added 26 and De’Anthony Melton chipped in 17 off the bench. Prior to the Game 1 explosion, Harden had double-digit assists in 3 of 5 regular-season games against Boston, totalling 11, 11 and 10 in those games. In another high-paced game I feel like it shouldn’t be too much of an issue for him to reach 10 dimes.