The Philadelphia 76ers might have had Jayson Tatum.
They traded up to No. 1 in the 2017 NBA Draft, taking Markelle Fultz, leaving Lonzo Ball for the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 2 and Tatum for the Boston Celtics at No. 3.
To say it has come back to bite them is an understatement.
Tatum, who once scored a record 51 points in a Game 7 to close out the Sixers in a second-round playoff series, drilled a dagger 3-pointer over Philadelphia center Adem Bona in a 108-100 win on Friday. Tatum scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, as Boston took a 2-1 series lead entering Sunday’s Game 4 of the first round.
“I’ve been here before,” Tatum told the broadcast in the game’s aftermath.
Reminder: Tatum is less than a year removed from rupturing his right Achilles tendon. It is easy to forget that as the playoffs wear on, considering how well he’s played. He appeared in only 16 regular-season games. Tatum should not be doing stuff like this:
But he is. And it’s glorious to witness. Unless you’re from Philadelphia.
Now, for some takeaways.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Celtics and Sixers were locked in a one-possession game. A goaltending violation had just given Boston an 86-85 advantage.
That’s when Celtics co-star Jaylen Brown took over the game for a spell. He stole a pass intended for Paul George and found Derrick White for a layup, and then scored the next eight points by himself, pushing Boston’s edge to 96-92 with 3:14 remaining.
But Philadelphia would not go away.
So, that’s when Tatum took over. He scored or assisted on Boston’s next 10 points.
A Tatum 3 gave the Celtics a 100-96 edge with 1:57 left. He found Payton Pritchard for one of his five 3-pointers and a 103-98 advantage on Boston’s next possession. Then, after the Sixers cut it to 103-100, Tatum drilled the dagger over Bona. Ballgame.
It’s a make-or-miss league, they say. Make shots, and win. Miss them, and lose. And Boston has made shots more often than Philadelphia all season, which is why the Celtics are the second seed, and why they were heavily favored to win this series.
Well, the Celtics didn’t make shots in Game 2, missing 37-of-50 3-point attempts. Only once all season did they miss more. Meanwhile, the Sixers made their shots in Game 2, converting 19-of-39 3-point attempts, one of their three best shooting performances of the season. That was the difference in Philadelphia’s 111-97 victory.
Maybe it was anomalous.
After all, the Celtics nearly equaled their output from all of Game 2 in the first half of Game 3, ripping 12 triples, staking themselves to a 54-47 advantage at the break. Eight different Celtics converted 3-pointers on the night. Five made multiple 3s.
In the end, Boston finished 20-of-47 from deep, far better than its Game 2 effort.
And still the 76ers were in the game, even though they couldn’t match Boston’s firepower from deep. Philadelphia finished 12-of-35 in this one and lost. Go figure.
You can’t let Maxey beat you with his scoring and let him beat you with his passing. But that’s exactly what he wants to do in the pick-and-roll — either score or create a bucket for one of his teammates. And it doesn’t matter what coverage you give him.
Drop in coverage, and he’ll pull up over you. Get too close, and he’ll blow by you. Hedge with a second defender, and he’ll fire off a pass so quick it’ll reach a shooter before you can recover. Either commit two to slowing him, leaving open shooters, or play him man-to-man, praying he misses one on one. These are your difficult choices.
So, the Celtics opted to let Maxey beat them one on one. And he nearly did, scoring 31 points, albeit on 12-of-31 shooting. Boston will take that math, especially if it means the Celtics can stay home on Philly’s shooters. That they did, and Maxey managed six assists a few nights after saying he needed “9, 10 or 11” per game to stay in the series.
Sixers not named Maxey or George finished 3-of-15 from beyond the arc. A far cry from Game 2. Rookie VJ Edgecombe, who totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds in the Game 2 victory, came back to Earth on Friday, missing all seven of his 3-point tries.