A Slow Start and Killer Finish
This season, the Celtics often have the momentum and pacing of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. They start slow, one of the team’s few weaknesses. Once they get to pace though, this Boston team has deadly potential. They’re oddly reminiscent of that horribly weird incident that demolished the city’s North End that fateful Wednesday. The C’s game on Tuesday night (into early Wednesday morning on the East Coast) followed the floods example, with Boston flattening the Trailblazers 118-106.
The Great Molasses Flood
Slow as Molasses
The Celtics took almost five full minutes to reach anything resembling a competitive pace, going zero for their first five shots. Gordon Hayward also started the game with Crisco on his fingers, as a result, he turned the ball over badly twice in the first five minutes. Portland and Carmelo Anthony kept pace with the Celtics through most of the first. The three-ball was the only saving grace for the C’s, going 7 of 11 from behind the arc in the first. The buckets came at opportune times, keeping the Celtics in the game and not allowing them to get buried early. They recovered and looked better as the first quarter progressed, but still had hiccups. If they continue to let themselves get down by eight to ten points early though, they’ll have a hard time winning a best of seven series.
Rolling Along
The second and third quarters were a steady wave of threes and taking advantage of a weak Portland defense. The Celtics’ own defense has been a bit suspect since the All-Start break (and even a little before that) but they weathered multiple offensive surges from Portland.
As the game wound towards its conclusion, the triple remained a key factor for the Celtics, going 19 of 39 by the end of the game. Jayson Tatum continued to show why he’s going to be a major issue for defenses to contain going forward. He is developing a sixth sense for when things became stagnant, pumping more aggression into the flow of the game. The key difference now being that he can drive the lane at will. His career-high eight three-pointers were also crucial to the Celtics’ victory.
The Great Molasses Flood – Deadly Potential
As the game came to a head in the fourth, the Celtics continued to build a deadly wave of momentum. Tatum was at the crest, rolling over any Trailblazer that attempted to stop him. Whoever the team is that hopes to contain them in a seven-game series will have to take advantage of the few weaknesses this year’s Celtics team has; the slow start is one of them. The issue that other teams will have is that even with a slow start, by the time the C’s are at full strength – like the molasses flood – they are near impossible to stop.
Side Notes: MVProblem?
Jayson Tatum, LeBron’s new “problem,” continued his surge as an emerging superstar in the league. He continues to build impressive stat lines day in and day out. Tatum was also the bearer of some unfortunate fouls early in the game which lead to him being limited in early minutes. Tatum needs to keep his hands down to avoid the cheap, flopping fouls getting called against him currently. Other than that, his aggression has picked up substantially and it’s been a driving factor in the difference in his game. He is quickly inserting himself into MVP discussions due to his dominating performances of late.
For the record, “The Problem” is a great nickname. It was given spontaneously and earned. It’s also reminiscent of “The Truth” nickname that Shaq gave to Paul Pierce. Tatum should roll with it.
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