After two games, here are my Celtics takes plus life without Gordon Hayward

  

                                                                                       Photo Credit:  Kevin C. Cox/Associated Press 

First Take: Jayson Tatums Superstardom

  Without Ben Simmons (out with injury) for the Philadelphia Sixers many people expected them to have a tough time defending Tatum. With one of the best defenders in the league out of the lineup, Jayson Tatum has taken full advantage and lead both teams in scoring with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 1 assist in game one. Jayson also finished the game a plus 19, shot 10/11 from free throw line  (finally getting superstar calls!). In game two, Tatum followed his big game one with 33 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Not only did he shoot a super efficient 8/12 from three, he finished with an impressive plus 29. Jayson Tatum looks like the same guy who gave the Clippers 39 on 14 of 23 shooting going 5-10 from three and carrying the team, while making Paul George look silly in an OT win. In the same month of February after taking down the Clippers and outplaying arguably one of the best players in the NBA in Kawhi, he gave the Los Angeles Lakers a career high 41 points on 12 of 20 shooting. Oh and LeBron acknowledged Tatums greatness after the game by posting and image of the side by side. Jayson Tatum has not only arrived and cemented himself as a superstar in the league, he’s playing arguably not even the best basketball of his career, with his best basketball ahead of him. Look for Tatum and the Boston Celtics to try and make it a tough 3-0 lead of the first round against the Philadelphia Sixers tomorrow 8/20 at 6:30 pm ET. 

Second Take: Kendrick Perkins was absolutely right about Jaylen Brown

 The only reason many fans are jumping and down about the tremendous play of Jalen Brown is because his teammate just so happens to be Jayson Tatum. “Fire and Ice” the duos nickname crowned by Jaylen Brown has been on a tear, Brown has averaged 24.5 ppg 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the first round matchup against the Philadelphia Sixers. To put these numbers into perspective Paul George for the Los Angeles Clippers is averaging 20ppg 6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Granted it’s early in everyone’s series but we have to go off what we have seen and Jaylen Brown like Kendrick Perkins stated on NBCS Boston, “Jaylen Brown is the best overall 2 guard in the NBA”. I’ll reason with you, when I first heard him say this I had to stop and think, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum, Devin Booker but all the players that came to mind we’re all players who didn’t have the overall better games than Brown. I’m here to tell you I agree with big Perk!

Third Take: Brett Brown will be gone soon after this season

 

Game one like all NBA series was a feel out game I will give coach Brown that but game 2 Philadelphia had a significant lead in the first quarter coming out hot, shooting the ball at 90% during the span of the quarter. Unfortunately for the Sixers even with their hot shooting they let the Celtics come back and gain momentum to end the quarter. After the first quarter Philly never scored 30 in the other three quarters. Brad Stevens made the necessary adjustments while Brown couldn’t do anything about it. The Sixers only scored 18 to Celtics 33 in the third. It seems like it’s been a long time coming for coach Brown with the injury to Ben Simmons and the inconsistency on both ends of the floor add the chemistry issues that were made well aware publicly thanks to ex Celtic Al Horford. Look for Philly to make changes on the coaching staff but maybe even in the locker room if things continue to go this way.

Fourth Take: Who’s the odd man out, Simmons or Embiid?

 The process seems to have come to a conclusion, the Sixers need to figure out what to do with their current roster, specifically picking between who stays and who goes. With Ben Simmons you have a player in the sense of Giannis where you need to put specific players around him to get the most out of what he does. Drive, draw defenders and find teammates for open shots, like Giannis he is also a tremendous all NBA defender. We witnessed an obvious improvement and confidence with his three point shot and Simmons has a very long way to go with his jumper but he could very well be a MVP candidate in the right situation like the one Giannis has in Milwaukee. Both Simmons and Embiid have had their injury issues so I’m taking injuries out of who I would choose. Embiid the first two games of the series in the first quarters has looked like a top 10, arguably top 5 player. After that, Embiid’s conditioning fails him the remainder of the game and becomes less and less aggressive demanding the ball and getting to the paint. Don’t get me wrong Joel Embiid is a worldly talent but the inconsistency and lack of dedication with his diet and conditioning would have me leaning towards seeing what Embiid’s market looks like. With the way the series is going to won’t be long until we see what unfolds in the Philadelphia organization.

                                                                                                                                       Via: NESN images

Gordon Hayward thoughts:

 In both first quarters for the Celtics were very different. The first game of the series first quarter, Sixers lead by 1 with a 26 to 25 lead. Game two not only did Philly shoot the ball remarkably, they held a significant lead with the Celtics scrambling with Gordon out of the lineup. This resulted with less cutting, less drawing multiple defenders and keeping the defense honest. The Celtics soon adjusted and gained momentum before the end of the quarter and never looked back. With Sixers playing the way they are, Gordon won’t necessarily be noticeably missing opposed to when the Celtics move on further in the playoffs. If the Raptors end up beating out the Nets, the Celtics will find themselves really wanting Gordon Hayward back. As far this current series it’s been awesome to see and hear guys like Grant Williams say they are playing for him, knowing the work Gordon has put in to get to where he was. Before injury Hayward was averaging 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists finishing a plus 10 in game one. The Swiss Army knife will definitely be missed but the Celtics have the right mindset moving forward and look to continue their success in the bubble.