I'll take the win. Overall, the effort was pretty good tonight. They played the right way, which hasn't often been the case lately. Plenty to clean up still, but this is the kind of game that you can build on.
Jaylen Brown won this game for us with his effort in the fourth quarter.
Loved Morris's effort. He clearly came out to back up his words. He didn't shoot very well, but almost all of the shots were good ones that I want him to take. I can live with that.
I'm pretty down on Tatum here lately. His length makes an impact on defense, and I appreciate that. But his shot selection has to improve, and for that to happen, he has to become more decisive. He lacks the first step to beat a defender off the dribble when they're squared up on him, but he always hesitates when he receives the ball... which means his defender has time to square up on him. As a result, those contested jumpers are all he can consistently get.
It's something he has done since high school, and it's an important thing to fix.
I never fault Smart's effort, but I feel like he's trying to make a few too many flash plays lately. Behind the back passes, playing for steals on defense. Would like to see him get back to the fundamentals a bit. Shot very well tonight though - took good shots and made them. Good game.