Celtics (3-0) at Mavericks (0-3) NBA Finals Game #4 6/14/24

[SparzWizard]

https://x.com/greenbean_26/status/1801804457228849632?s=46&t=lGU0TGXtwjkuVuoin6WTNw

Game 5 is scheduled for June 17th

2008 Celtics closed it out on the same day 🤷‍♂️

Okay, okay, okay - it all makes sense now. We?re doing it to win at home in the anniversary of our last title. Makes perfect sense and for great narratives, especially with many members of that team likely to be in attendance.

I feel another Tatum Philly Game 7 coming up tomorrow!

And 2010 of Game 7 was also on June 17th SIGH

[SparzWizard]

Somewhere...Jaylen Brown Jimmy Butler Kyrie Irving says "don't let us get 1" after winning Game 4 to make it a 3-1 deficit.

[ozgod]

Just finished watching the replay of the game...not really worried from an overall point of view. It's a humiliating loss to be sure but it was clear they had their minds on home and winning Game 5. Even after Game 3 I saw signs that they considered their road trip "mission accomplished" - JT and JB hugging midcourt after the game, their goal was clearly 1-1 on the road trip. Couple that with the Mavs absolutely having to win to stay alive, and we see the result we saw tonight. I don't think that's representative of what we will see in Game 5.

Our own poll shows that only 2 of 86 people thought it would be a sweep...33 of 86 thought it would be in 5 and 39 of 86 thought it would go 6. So yes it's humiliating the way they got blown out of the gym but in the overall scheme of things it's hardly wrist slitting time yet...save that for our 3rd straight loss if it happens 



https://forum.celticsstrong.com/index.php?topic=108910.0

[Birdman]

Celtics wanted to win it at home, told friend at work Dallas would win by 15, said I was crazy lol..

[tenn_smoothie]

I don't want to find out later that Tatum had his mind on MVP stats and, thinking they had the series won, decided to increase his points total by jacking as many attempts as he could while putting team goals aside for one game. Surely not.

[tenn_smoothie]

Kyrie at post-game presser makes me cringe.
With that 1 lb. metal feather hanging off his ear and whatever trick or treat outfit he comes up with, he looks foolish.
Then he opens his mouth  ........... he was so condescending towards Luka tonite, "He is showing growth, I am proud of him."
He usually includes some contrived remarks about his "personal journey" and how he has moved on from past behavior "in a healthy way."

[scaryjerry]

Enjoy it Dallas. Your time is coming Monday.

If we do close out on game 5, i think JT can sneakily eke out JB as finals MVP?

Who cares?
And no I don?t give Tatum any credit or edge over anybody for putting up 15 points in a 30 point finals loss.

I absollutely give him credit - because unlike JB and the rest of the starters he at least looked like he cares about winning the game.  Nobody else does.

Nah, Tatum folded mentally early, like 1st quarter early.  Getting frustrated by the refs, not getting back on D. He might have been the 1st to quit tonight, followed by Jaylen, followed by everybody else.

Yeah I just can?t with the Tatum-centric Celtics fans.

He was abysmal tonight. Bricking step back 3s, bricking layups and complaining way too much and mentally folded almost immediately.
Brown clearly had a bad game too but I?m not giving Tatum a bump up in the mvp ranking over this. That?s insane.

Everyone was abysmal tonight. Flush it and move on.

I agree. Exactly why it?s insane to move around finals mvp rankings based on anything from that garbage. Tatum hasn?t shot well or been efficient offensively a single game In these finals including tonight

Tatum at least hasn't had a complete stinker of a game in the entire playoffs like Brown did tonight.  10 points on 3-12 shooting, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers in 27 minutes and his defence has been non-existent.  That could be the worst individual game of Jaylen Brown's entire career. 

Tatum has 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists 1 steal and 2 blocks in the same 27 minutes but that doesn't even tell the full story.  He's been very clearly mauled on multiple shot attempts that never got called, and he's made mutliple good passes to teammates who have bricked open shots and layups.  He should be on 20, 5 and 6 right now if the refs and his teamates did their jobs.

Tatum has actually had a perfectly respectable game tonight.  Hauser also has been good - he's played hard on D and is showing genuine effort.  Nobody else has shown up at all.  There is no way Jaylen Brown can play like this when 100% healthy in close out finals game and get an MVP trophy for it.  This game instantly disqualifies him.

So Tatum had 5/4/1 more then jaylen browns worst game of his entire career and you?re about to swing the mvp because of it, in a 40 point loss no less?
Tatum was abysmal tonight and he?s been inefficient offensively the entire playoffs, is he even a good shooter at this point?

Firstly, an extra 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks in 27 minutes is a pretty significant difference - especially in a game where we got slaughtered on the boards.

Secondly, this might not swing things so much iif JB had a day and night advantage over Tatum up to this point - but that isn't the case. Tatum has led the team in rebounds and assists and is only 1 or so down on points, and his ability to draw the defence is largely what has allowed guys like Brown and Jrue to get efficient shots off.  The MVP run has been very, very close so far between Tatum and Brown, with Brown probably having the slight edge due to his more efficient scoring.  But every single playoff game Tatum has always found a way to contribute to the team - tonight included.  The entire playoffs not once has he ever just completely failed to show up like Brown did tonight - that's a big deal.

Thirdly, it's not just about on paper stats.  Tatum was showing aggressiveness attacking the basket, but he kept getting fouled without calls.  Tatum was moving the ball effectively, but his teammates were bricking open shots.  Tatum was fighting hard and ripping rebounds away from opposing players - nobody else on the team showed any interest in rebounding.  It's not just the stats, its the effort.  Tatum was trying.  He was fighting.  He was playing like someone who actually wanted to win. 

JB was not.  He didn't show the slightest hint of effort in any thing he did over the entire duration of the game.  He looked lazy, he looked disinterested, he looked disoriented and he just looked like somebody who had no business being on the court. 

Jrue was bad as well - he was wreckless, had alot of turnovers, etc.  But at least Jrue LOOKED like he was trying.  The energy was there, the motivation seemed to be there, but he was just wreckless.  Brown looked asleep for 80% of his minutes.

Brown was bad and Tatum looked to be more aggressive but again, I thought he was horrible and started the game with stupid step back 3s and out of control drives just looking for fouls leading to missed layups and he continues to be inefficient offensively. Couldn?t care less if he wins mvp if the Celtics win this series because I don?t think deserving it by any stretch with his play up to this point

For the NBA finals so far:

• Brown: 20.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 3.3 TOPG, 49% FG, 24% 3PT, 71% FT, -6
  
• Tatum: 20.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 6.3 AGP, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 3.5 TOPG, 36% FG, 29% 3PT, 89% FT, -15
  

For the overall playoffs:

• Brown: 25 PPG, 6 RPG, 4 APG, 54% FG, +68 (6th)
  
• Tatum: 25 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 6.2 AGP, 43% FG, +129 (1st)
  

I think Tatum has clearly been the better player overall during this playoff run. 

In the finals it's been much closer and is pretty much a coin toss - and given how close the overall finals rush to MVP is, JB's stinker of a game today is enough to lean my vote in Tatum's favour. 

Unless JB absolutely dominates to the tune of 35+ points in the next game, or Tatum has a total stinker like JB did today, my vote right now goes to Tatum.

Clearly?

Looks to me brown has clearly been the more efficient player and this doesn?t even take into account the leadership and winning plays he?s made in crunch time while Tatum is usually bricking step back 3s.

For you to move the needle towards Tatum as mvp because he put up 15 points in a 40 point loss is among the weirdest things I?ve ever heard and shows your true colors as a Tatum-centric Celtics fan. He was atrocious and a huge part of the bad start that lead to an avalanche and all he did all night was whine and cry worse then luka

[scaryjerry]

It was perfectly reasonable for the Celtics to lose last night.
Completely inexcusable and disgusting to just not show up at all and lose by 40. Shows real problems. Now the pressure goes up, and goes up to an ungodly level if they somehow lose game 5.
You don?t just throw away games in which you can clinch a championship.

[celticinorlando]

It was perfectly reasonable for the Celtics to lose last night.
Completely inexcusable and disgusting to just not show up at all and lose by 40. Shows real problems. Now the pressure goes up, and goes up to an ungodly level if they somehow lose game 5.
You don?t just throw away games in which you can clinch a championship.

Agree with this 100 percent.

This team can?t handle prosperity. They have to do it the hard way.

They are wildly inconsistent from game to game, quarter to quarter and possession to possession. It?s extremely frustrating.

They were crowned champions after game 3 and they bought into it. Mavs were criticized after game 3 and it motivated them. This has been the issue with this core for years. Million dollar talent and 10 cent mentality.

I don?t care about mvp. I don?t care about stats. I don?t care where they stack up historically. I only care about winning a championship. I don?t care what other fan bases or the media thinks they rank in the pantheon on champions. Just win the freaking thing once and for all.

I do think they win Monday. If they don?t respond to that ass kicking and embarrassing performance then they don?t deserve to be champions.

This team is exhausting. I am ready for this to be over with. Lose game 5 and things become very very difficult and you are one step closer to a massive choke job. Game 5 needs to be treated like game 7.

Last night was about effort. Dallas did nothing different other than play harder. Boston committed turnovers, didn?t rebound, didn?t compete for 50/50 balls. Par for the course for this group even with the trophy on the line. That?s the disappointing part.

Same bad habits plague this team over and over.

[Moranis]

Tatum now has 3 less points than Brown in the Finals. Pretty good chance he again leads the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists for a series. Also may again not win the series mvp while leading the team in all 3 of those categories.

He?s also completely inefficient, forgot how to shoot and misses more layups than anyone I?ve ever seen. Thought he was wild tonight and jacking up step back 3s immediately probably hunting a good game because we all know he wants that mvp. He complained more than Luka tonight too. Pretty painful.

he started 4 of 6. Missed his last 4 after it was a blowout and he was pressing more because no one else was hitting anything.

[Moranis]

I looked and blowout losses apparently are fairly common in finals for winning teams.  85 Lakers lost by 34. 96 Bulls lost by 21. 00 Lakers lost by 33. 13 Heat lost by 36. 16 Cavs lost by 33. 17 Warriors lost by 21.  Most of those teams played their starters well into the 4th quarter as well (Jordan played 41 minutes for example). The 17 Warriors feels the most similar i.e. a clearly superior team lays an egg on the road in game 4 and ends the series in game 5.  At least I hope that ends up being the most similar. The 96 Bulls also lost game 4 on road, but then they lost game 5 on road by 11 and beat the Sonics in 6.  I'd prefer they end it in 5 like the Warriors but either path still puts the C's in solid company with 2 of the greatest teams ever.

[scaryjerry]

Tatum now has 3 less points than Brown in the Finals. Pretty good chance he again leads the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists for a series. Also may again not win the series mvp while leading the team in all 3 of those categories.

He?s also completely inefficient, forgot how to shoot and misses more layups than anyone I?ve ever seen. Thought he was wild tonight and jacking up step back 3s immediately probably hunting a good game because we all know he wants that mvp. He complained more than Luka tonight too. Pretty painful.

he started 4 of 6. Missed his last 4 after it was a blowout and he was pressing more because no one else was hitting anything.

Tatum was a total loser in this one and I can?t help but argue with the Tatum fan boys that turn this 40 point loss into a net positive for him?it?s disturbing

When the rest of the team was finally off and we were heavily reliant on ?our best player? he scored 15 points and we lost by 40

[Moranis]

Tatum now has 3 less points than Brown in the Finals. Pretty good chance he again leads the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists for a series. Also may again not win the series mvp while leading the team in all 3 of those categories.

He?s also completely inefficient, forgot how to shoot and misses more layups than anyone I?ve ever seen. Thought he was wild tonight and jacking up step back 3s immediately probably hunting a good game because we all know he wants that mvp. He complained more than Luka tonight too. Pretty painful.

he started 4 of 6. Missed his last 4 after it was a blowout and he was pressing more because no one else was hitting anything.

Tatum was a total loser in this one and I can?t help but argue with the Tatum fan boys that turn this 40 point loss into a net positive for him?it?s disturbing

When the rest of the team was finally off and we were heavily reliant on ?our best player? he scored 15 points and we lost by 40

again he was 4 of 6 and the team was down big. He was mostly keeping pace with Luka early on. If no one else wants to play, he can't do it alone.

[celticinorlando]

We are seeing the Celtics finally miss KP. With him out Dallas is just going to play inside and hit some threes along the way.


Not sure you can play PP anymore in this series. Hes getting targeted and struggling.

[Moranis]

1st quarter stats. Tatum 4 of 7 for 11 points.  Rest of team 4 of 14 for 10 points.  Luka was 5 of 8 for 13 points.  Difference is rest of Mavs were 9 of 16 for 21 points including Irving who was 4 of 7 for 9 points.  The 2nd quarter Boston was 3 of 16 from the field. No one did anything. Tatum had 4 FT and Brown was 1 of 4 with a 3 and 1 of 2 from the line and both led the team with 4 points in the 2nd quarter.  Any hope of comeback went out the window when no one hit anything.