Boston Celtics: The good, the bad, and the ugly from crushing Game 4 loss
The bad from the Boston Celtics: Turnovers
The Boston Celtics’ tendency to turn the ball over wasn’t the sole reason they lost Game 4. In fact, the Warriors finished with one more turnover than their Boston counterparts (16 to 15). However, many of them were live-ball, giving Golden State easy transition opportunities — an area where they’ve been most efficient in these Finals.
It seems like Boston was overaggressive in some of these turnovers, with ball-handlers trying to blow by their man and put the shot up before realizing they’re running into multiple help defenders.
This led to multiple deflections and straight strips.
Jayson Tatum was the main culprit with six giveaways. He handles the ball the most, but some of his turnovers were unacceptable in a game of this magnitude.
He admitted it after the game:
Jayson Tatum: "When I do have space, I gotta take the shot. When I held the ball too long, they were able to defend me. I gotta make quicker decisions. And I had too many turnovers tonight. I need to clean that up."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 11, 2022
He’s absolutely right! It’s great to be aggressive, but if the jump shot is given to you, so why not take it!?
You’re an elite mid-range shooter even under duress. If you don’t have the jumper going, then you can begin to force the issue and become more aggressive.