After holding a 21-point lead at halftime, the Celtics gave it all back and had to lock in and win in crunch time against the Bucks in TD Garden on Wednesday night. Milwaukee dominated the third quarter, putting up 38 points and briefly taking the lead in the fourth quarter, but Boston was able to steady the ship and take a 109-102 victory to stay undefeated at home.
In the Celtics’ defense, they were playing without Jayson Tatum, who got his first rest day of the season after playing in the team’s first seven games, including multiple back-to-backs. His absence was magnified even more when Payton Pritchard suffered an eye injury in the third quarter and didn’t return, playing just 18 minutes.
Celtics' offense looked rough without Tatum and Pritchard
And without two of their best ball-handlers and creators, a potential issue for the Celtics was exposed. They had a very hard time running the offense; they had very little ability to beat anyone off the dribble, to create separation, to pressure the rim, and to create good shots.
Joe Mazzulla didn’t want to turn to the veteran Mike Conley, so his only real guard remaining available was Derrick White. D-White can certainly play the point and run the show, but being the main on-ball guy isn’t exactly his strength.
Beyond that, it was a lot of Paul George going one-on-one and a little bit of Baylor Scheierman, and not much else. There were a lot of passes that didn’t create advantages, a lot of aimless dribbling, and a lot of forced, late-clock jump shots. It wasn’t pretty.
Celtics became overly reliant on White and George
Luckily, White and PG made enough plays down the stretch, Scheierman and Neemias Queta made some huge hustle plays, and the Celtics escaped with the narrow win, but it wasn’t easy, and it showed some serious vulnerabilities against a Bucks team that is now 1-7 and has the fourth-worst defensive rating in the NBA.
Now, ideally, the Celtics won’t be playing many more games without Tatum and Pritchard, and most teams probably wouldn’t look great without two of their top three offensive engines, but still. This was the biggest worry for the team coming into the season, and if ever there was a case to be made for bringing in another guard who can create some offense, this was it.
I’m not saying Brad Stevens has to get on the phones immediately and start wheeling and dealing, but I think it’s something to keep in mind. Playoff defenses are going to lock in on the Celtics’ weaknesses and force them to get separation off the dribble. Adding one more guy who can beat his man, get into the paint, and create shots for himself and others.
Maybe it’s someone like a Ty Jerome, a Trey Murphy, or another trade candidate who becomes available. Maybe it’s someone on the roster who carves out a bigger slice of the pie, like Scheierman or Hugo Gonzalez. Or maybe Brad thinks the answer is just leaning on Tatum, Pritchard, White, and George even more. But it’s definitely time to start thinking about it and wondering how best to balance the roster and optimize it for the playoffs.
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