Celtics (43-21) at Spurs (47-17) Game #65 3/10/26

[satch]

Well, one thing that hasn?t changed with Tatum is that I still hate his shot selection and infatuation with bad pull up threes.

Never thought I would say this, but Tatum needs to take a few lessons from Brown.
More mid-range shots to replace the bad step-back 3's.

14 three's in your third game back

The coaching staff must have been an integral part of Brown's improvement. Wondering why they don't see the same need for Tatum.

JT did take it strong to the hoop a couple of times. It?s just his third gsme back so maybe he?s trying to feel things out still. He does settle for a lot of threes though.

[satch]

Well, one thing that hasn?t changed with Tatum is that I still hate his shot selection and infatuation with bad pull up threes.

Never thought I would say this, but Tatum needs to take a few lessons from Brown.
More mid-range shots to replace the bad step-back 3's.
[/quote

The coaching staff must have been an integral part of Brown's improvement. Wondering why they don't see the same need for Tatum.

JT did take it strong to the hoop a couple of times. It?s just his third gsme back so maybe he?s trying to feel things out still. He does settle for a lot of threes though.

[jpotter33]

Like I said, if I'm SA I don't feel great.

Missing 3 players, 60% JT and it wasnt a blow out despite shooting GSW level from 3.

if we meet in the finals, SA will be tough.  a lot of talent there.  that's without getting into whether they're getting their usual helpful whistle.  C's will need all hands on deck and Tatum will need to be at or at least near peak Tatum to have a chance.  Most importantly, Joe's going to have to figure out how to limit Wemby on offense. 

as for SA, they'll feel good about a double digit win tonight regardless of who's on the court for the C's.  Tatum being below par, no PP or Vuc and JB getting tossed not to mention ridiculous shooting by Wemby won't matter to them

They're not getting to the Finals lol 80 percent of their starting lineup hasn't even seen the playoffs, and the one player that has has been in a single series. And their bench isn't much better. It's literally never happened, and it won't happen for this group either.

Agreed that they shouldn't come out of this feeling super confident. Took a major anomaly game from 3 plus some generous help from the refs and health for them to win both games.

Spurs are making a deep playoff push. They currently have the 2nd highest odds to win the championship. Thinking they aren?t a contender is silly.

I'll believe it when I see it. Again - the vast majority of the team has never even seen the playoffs. It's *literally* never happened for a team like that, and there's a good reason for that - the playoffs are a completely different game. They may make it to the second round or perhaps even the WCF, but I think it's foolish to think a team this young and inexperienced can legitimately win 3-4 playoff series before even seeing their first one.

They have the most dominant player in the NBA.

What?s the Spurs record against OKC? Something like 3-1. But sure, no chance of winning. 

The Celtics went 4-0 against New York during the regular season last year. How did that pan out for us in the playoffs? 🤷‍♂️

So, yeah - I?ll believe it when I see it. Year after year we repeatedly see that regular season success does not always translate to postseason success, and the Spurs look primed to continue that tradition given their age and inexperience.

[satch]

JT-14 3's with three games under his belt-May want to think about that

[Goldstar88]

Like I said, if I'm SA I don't feel great.

Missing 3 players, 60% JT and it wasnt a blow out despite shooting GSW level from 3.

if we meet in the finals, SA will be tough.  a lot of talent there.  that's without getting into whether they're getting their usual helpful whistle.  C's will need all hands on deck and Tatum will need to be at or at least near peak Tatum to have a chance.  Most importantly, Joe's going to have to figure out how to limit Wemby on offense. 

as for SA, they'll feel good about a double digit win tonight regardless of who's on the court for the C's.  Tatum being below par, no PP or Vuc and JB getting tossed not to mention ridiculous shooting by Wemby won't matter to them

They're not getting to the Finals lol 80 percent of their starting lineup hasn't even seen the playoffs, and the one player that has has been in a single series. And their bench isn't much better. It's literally never happened, and it won't happen for this group either.

Agreed that they shouldn't come out of this feeling super confident. Took a major anomaly game from 3 plus some generous help from the refs and health for them to win both games.

Spurs are making a deep playoff push. They currently have the 2nd highest odds to win the championship. Thinking they aren?t a contender is silly.

I'll believe it when I see it. Again - the vast majority of the team has never even seen the playoffs. It's *literally* never happened for a team like that, and there's a good reason for that - the playoffs are a completely different game. They may make it to the second round or perhaps even the WCF, but I think it's foolish to think a team this young and inexperienced can legitimately win 3-4 playoff series before even seeing their first one.

They have the most dominant player in the NBA.

What?s the Spurs record against OKC? Something like 3-1. But sure, no chance of winning. 

The Celtics went 4-0 against New York during the regular season last year. How did that pan out for us in the playoffs? 🤷‍♂️

So, yeah - I?ll believe it when I see it. Year after year we repeatedly see that regular season success does not always translate to postseason success, and the Spurs look primed to continue that tradition given their age and inexperience.

Just like you said with Joe. Believe it when you see it.

[ozgod]

Like I said, if I'm SA I don't feel great.

Missing 3 players, 60% JT and it wasnt a blow out despite shooting GSW level from 3.

TP agree with you 100%. They struggled to put us away even though the refs decided to throw JB out of the game and we didn?t have PP either. I?m not walking away from this game thinking we can?t beat them.

[ozgod]

Least Harper Jr had a good game.

have to admit I  thought Brad could have picked up another PG to back up White and PP but to be honest, I think Harper is a more than competent third string PG

Yep, the benefit of getting an another PG to be the third string isn?t outweighed by the benefit of resetting the luxury tax and being able to spend big in 2027-28 onwards. It sucks that we didn?t sign anybody but we will all be thanking Brad for his foresight two years from now when we have an open checkbook.

[ozgod]

Well, one thing that hasn?t changed with Tatum is that I still hate his shot selection and infatuation with bad pull up threes.

Never thought I would say this, but Tatum needs to take a few lessons from Brown.
More mid-range shots to replace the bad step-back 3's.

The coaching staff must have been an integral part of Brown's improvement. Wondering why they don't see the same need for Tatum.

JT did take it strong to the hoop a couple of times. It?s just his third gsme back so maybe he?s trying to feel things out still. He does settle for a lot of threes though.

Agree, I think he?s just trying to get himself back into rhythm of shooting threes, and he?s also trying to avoid driving where he has to jump off his right foot. And it?s his third game back as he said so anybody who tries to extrapolate that this is what JT is going to be going forward is working off a very small data set or any conclusions that would arrive at would be premature and an ultimate hot take 

Obviously it?s fans we all want to win every game but there?s also a bigger picture of making sure JT ramps himself back up in the 16 games or whatever it is we have before the playoffs. So I?m prepared for him to shoot poorly while he gets his rhythm back.

[tenn_smoothie]

Well, one thing that hasn?t changed with Tatum is that I still hate his shot selection and infatuation with bad pull up threes.

Never thought I would say this, but Tatum needs to take a few lessons from Brown.
More mid-range shots to replace the bad step-back 3's.

The coaching staff must have been an integral part of Brown's improvement. Wondering why they don't see the same need for Tatum.

JT did take it strong to the hoop a couple of times. It?s just his third gsme back so maybe he?s trying to feel things out still. He does settle for a lot of threes though.

Agree, I think he?s just trying to get himself back into rhythm of shooting threes, and he?s also trying to avoid driving where he has to jump off his right foot. And it?s his third game back as he said so anybody who tries to extrapolate that this is what JT is going to be going forward is working off a very small data set or any conclusions that would arrive at would be premature and an ultimate hot take 

Obviously it?s fans we all want to win every game but there?s also a bigger picture of making sure JT ramps himself back up in the 16 games or whatever it is we have before the playoffs. So I?m prepared for him to shoot poorly while he gets his rhythm back.

Except the contested step-back 3's have always been a bad part of Tatum's game. I wish it was just him getting back into the groove before he feels more confident about driving for a better shot, but I fear it's just Tatum's normal MO.

[radiohead]

JT had a perfect response to JB?s ejection - he said the NBA fines teams when they sit stars during nationally televised games, and yet here we are, a referee getting trigger happy and ruins a hard fought contest by ejecting JB.

[iadera]

No Vučević, no PP, no JB. I'm ok with our response to Spurs. If Brown was in the game, we could take this.

[Neurotic Guy]

Well, one thing that hasn?t changed with Tatum is that I still hate his shot selection and infatuation with bad pull up threes.

Never thought I would say this, but Tatum needs to take a few lessons from Brown.
More mid-range shots to replace the bad step-back 3's.

The coaching staff must have been an integral part of Brown's improvement. Wondering why they don't see the same need for Tatum.

JT did take it strong to the hoop a couple of times. It?s just his third gsme back so maybe he?s trying to feel things out still. He does settle for a lot of threes though.

Agree, I think he?s just trying to get himself back into rhythm of shooting threes, and he?s also trying to avoid driving where he has to jump off his right foot. And it?s his third game back as he said so anybody who tries to extrapolate that this is what JT is going to be going forward is working off a very small data set or any conclusions that would arrive at would be premature and an ultimate hot take 

Obviously it?s fans we all want to win every game but there?s also a bigger picture of making sure JT ramps himself back up in the 16 games or whatever it is we have before the playoffs. So I?m prepared for him to shoot poorly while he gets his rhythm back.

Except the contested step-back 3's have always been a bad part of Tatum's game. I wish it was just him getting back into the groove before he feels more confident about driving for a better shot, but I fear it's just Tatum's normal MO.

I agree - contested threes and the step back after dribble dribble have always been agonizing (except when he makes them I guess). His mindset seems to be *this is my game* and he?s going to work to getting it to 100% rather than adjusting his focus to midrange, driving the lane when it?s there, shooting open threes, and passing.  It?s not that he?s not doing those things but it?s he?s mixing in some ill advised, unnecessary threes.  JB does it as well, as does DW and I think they are all so good at everything else that it?s just not necessary to hoist as many long balls.