Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from major Game 2 loss to Golden State

Boston Celtics takeaway No. 2) The third quarter

Third-quarters have been problematic all postseason long, and this game was no different.

Getting outscored by 21 points (35-14) will almost always lead to an insurmountable deficit. The Warriors got going towards the end of the period, seemingly hitting everything in sight. The difference between Sunday and Game 1 was Boston didn’t hit any shots to stay afloat.

Instead of being down 12 going into the fourth, they were down 23, and the game was already over. Golden State hit seven of their 12 attempts from the perimeter in the quarter while only committing three turnovers. Boston, on the other hand, shot 2-of-8 from distance and 4-of-17 from the field overall, a mostly nonexistent offensive attack.

The offensive process for Boston quickly became troubling. It felt like more of the Celtics’ offense of old, rather than trying to drive by your defender and kick to the open corner. They generated some quality looks, and stayed aggressive in attacking at the rim, but were not rewarded.

On defense, with Robert Williams looking not 100 percent, Daniel Theis saw some action in the contest. When he was out there, the Warriors continuously put him in pick-and-roll coverage, where the big man is simply not athletic enough to step up on either Steph Curry or Jordan Poole 30 feet from the basket.

This led to a barrage of 3-pointers, some open and some contested.

Ultimately, it’s extremely difficult to guard a player of Curry’s caliber for a full 48 minutes. Even against a defense of Boston’s caliber, which is equipped to switch practically everything both on and off the ball, the 2x MVP will find his room to operate.

Hopefully, these third quarters become a bit more balanced when playing in the TD Garden, not having to deal with the Chase Center crowd when Steph hits back-to-back triples.