After the Boston Celtics’ Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks, three-point failures took center stage, but the real reason for the collapse was a dreadful defensive meltdown. In reality, the Celtics’ offensive process for most of the third and fourth quarters (and overtime) wasn’t terrible. But their defense let them down.
Stretching back to mid-way through the third, the Celtics found themselves up by 20 points with 5:47 to go in the period. Then, OG Anunoby nailed a three on the other end. The lead was cut to 17 points. It may not seem like much, but it was the beginning of the end for the Celtics.
Jaylen Brown got caught ball-watching.
As Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson ran a pick-and-roll, Brown’s eyes were on the ball. Mikal Bridges set a screen on him, and Anunoby shifted to the wing for a wide-open three.
From that point on, a slew of defensive failures cost the Celtics Game 1.
Jaylen Brown had a ball-watching problem in Game 1
Brown’s ball-watching in the third quarter was far from the only instance of the issue throughout the final stretch of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, he suffered the same fate, giving up a Miles McBride three-ball after getting lost off the ball.
Then, in overtime, with the game tied, Jayson Tatum did the same thing. New York was running in transition, and Anunoby sprinted behind Tatum, unbeknownst to the Celtics star. He threw down a monstrous and-one dunk as Tatum got beat backdoor. It was the Knicks’ first lead of OT, and they never trailed again.
After a missed middy from Tatum, the Knicks came down the other end, and Brown made another mistake. He was helping on Anunoby in the post but lost track of Bridges, who drained a corner three to give the Knicks a six-point lead.
Jayson Tatum’s transition defense was ugly
For as bad as Brown was off-the-ball in Game 1, Tatum was just as bad (or worse) in transition. He consistently lost guys, giving the Knicks clean looks. Whether it was failing to adequately close out on Brunson or not picking up Anunoby while running the floor, Tatum wasn’t where he needed to be.
The worst of the issues occurred in overtime. As both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket, the Knicks were running the floor in transition.
Tatum got all the way back, but Anunoby still managed to run behind him and get a wide-open dunk. And Tatum even compounded his mistake by fouling Anunoby, giving the Knicks an and-one and a three-point lead.
Threes stole the headlines after Game 1, but the Celtics’ ugly defense was at the true root of the disaster.