Gameday Preview: Celtics Finish Trilogy Against Trae Young in Atlanta
Creator: Maddie Meyer | Credit: Getty Images | Copyright: 2021 Getty Images
The Celtics fell below .500 last night, but they’ll have a chance to get back to that mark tonight in Atlanta. The C’s have faced off against the Hawks twice already in the last seven days. The season series sits at 1-1 between the two clubs, so this will be the tiebreaker.
Trae Young was recently snubbed from the All-Star game, so he’ll be looking to put on a show. He killed the Celtics in their last two matchups, especially in the first game. His ability to get to the paint and make plays for others was on another level. The Celtics had no answer for him on the offensive end. Clint Capela was the other guy Boston couldn’t deal with. His size and strength in the paint overwhelmed the Celtics’ big men to the point where he dominated the glass. He was grabbing seemingly every rebound and the pick n’ roll game with him and Young was nearly unstoppable.
As for the Celtics, they’re in a bad way right now. Mike Gorman went on Toucher and Rich today and said that “it’s really sad to watch these guys right now.” For a guy like Gorman to come out with something that negative to say, you know something is going wrong. The Celtics don’t pass the ball, they don’t give enough effort on defense, and they can’t close out basketball games. The last three games alone are perfect examples of them blowing it in the fourth quarter. Gorman placed the blame on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown “because when you’re the best player on the team you also get the glory, you also get the gas.”
It’s gotten past the point of ironing out specific things the Celtics can do to beat an opponent, and more along the lines of “how can they not beat themselves?” The main key is to pass the ball. The most important statistic this season is that the C’s are 8-1 when they have 25 or more assists in a game. When they have less than 20 they are 2-7. It’s abundantly clear that ball movement is the main issue, so that has to change.
Boston will be without Kemba Walker tonight, as he rests on night two of a back-to-back once again. Marcus Smart and Romeo Langford also remain out. The Hawks have a rather lengthy injury report of their own, too. Kris Dunn, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and De’Andre Hunter will be out, while John Collins and Cam Reddish are questionable.
The game tips off at 7:30 PM EST on NBC Sports Boston.
