Watching Jayson Tatum Outplay Giannis And Bury The Bucks (Again) Will Never Get Old

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Despite the schedule makes being dickheads and putting this game on a B2B which meant we wouldn't be seeing the Celtics with Porzingis go up against the Bucks at any point this regular season, there was still a certain level of interest in this final meeting of the year between the two teams. The Bucks were "back" after ripping off a 7 game winning streak which sounded impressive as long as you didn't look at the teams they were playing during that stretch

but hey, there's nothing wrong with winning the games you're supposed to win I suppose. 

Sure it's a little confusing someone can be "back" when they are now 2-8 on the season against any team with a pulse, but that's the beauty of a narrative. Facts don't really matter sometimes. They also were getting Khris Middleton back for the first time all year, so finally we wouldn't have to listen to that bullshit for the 50th straight year whenever these two teams played and the Bucks lost. 

Given the clear hatred the Celts have for Giannis and this Bucks team, it's always a fun matchup even if things haven't exactly been a fair fight since Joe Mazzulla became the head coach (now 7-3 all time vs MIL). It sort of feels like how the games feel against the Heat and Sixers. The rivalry feels pretty damn one sided. These two teams don't appear to be all that close, the Bucks don't have the roster construction to consistently stop the Celts from doing what they want to do, and on the other end, nobody defends the Bucks' best player better. 

This isn't just a Bucks problem, this is pretty much an entire NBA problem, so their fans shouldn't feel bad. Basketball is a game of matchups, and we now have 3 games of evidence that suggest the Bucks don't quite have the solution to the puzzle (and this is without using the 7'3 basketball demon btw) as constructed.

I mean think about it. Not only were the Bucks at full strength and didn't have to deal with KP, they also got one of the worst shooting performances from the Celtics this entire season while their duo once again went for 60+. Did it matter? Nope. If you can't beat the Celts on their off night, what exactly do you think happens when they play even an average game? So when I say they don't appear to be that close, that's what I mean. 

But it's not my problem to figure out how to fix the Bucks. I wish them the best of luck the rest of this season as they fight like hell to stay out of the Play In. 

Instead, lets focus on the Champs

The Good

- In a battle of MVP candidates, it was very clear who was the best player on the floor in this game. Offensively, defensively, early in the game, late in the game, the big plays, the small plays around the margins, for a guy putting up one of the best regular seasons in Celtics (if not NBA) history, this may have been Jayson Tatum's best all around performance

I don't even know where to start when it comes to this Tatum performance. I'm hesitant to call it perfect, but it sneaky was pretty perfect. 

As a scorer, he was efficient with 60/40% splits and 4 3PM. To me, his shot profile was perfect. A great balance between utilizing his locked in 3 ball and then creating mismatches in space which allowed him to get into the paint and to the rim with ease.

My only real complaint offensively is when he passed up a C&S 3PA so he could take a dribble into a midrange pullup (which he missed). I'm going to need him to stop listening to the boomers of the world and just take that 3PA. You're Jayson Tatum. Outside of that, this was the perfect approach against a team like MIL.

When I say the Bucks have a roster problem when it comes to this matchup, part of that issue is their bigs. The Celtics understand how to essentially make both Lopez and Portis unplayable. There's no way to stop someone like Tatum from getting the switch he wants, and once he has the old ass Bucks bigs in space, guess what happens? 

The Bucks defense has two problems against the Celts. First, everyone is going to target the shit out of Dame whenever they can. The wings, the point guard, doesn't matter. They are seal hunting the shit out of that guy at all times. Second, this big problem. Lopez and Bobby Portis in space is not going to cut it. The issue is MIL needs all those guys on the court, so what's their solve? You can't hide your entire team on defense. 

Guys like Gary Trent Jr and Khris Middleton are not giving you the quality of wing defense you need either. 

When things got tight late, that's the time for the best players to win the game. If you want to be in MVP or best in the league convos, then you come through in winning time in a game like this. On the MIL side, Giannis choked. On the Celts side, Jayson Tatum delivered (again)

It's hard for me to pick my favorite moment of Tatum's close to this game. The isolation defense against Dame with 2 minutes left where he had him in absolute hell and forced the miss, this insane and I mean INSANE pass to Jrue

Or the way he didn't force a shot in the final seconds and instead drew the defense in perfectly and found Jrue again for the dagger

Everything about Tatum's performance down the stretch of this game, on both ends of the floor, was perfect. That's what sets him apart from a lot of players. He's giving you elite production on BOTH ends of the floor. He guards 1-5 on one end and then scores 1-5 on the other. Tremendous basketball player.

- Life, death, taxes, and Al Horford completely owning Giannis. Those are really the only constants in life. It doesn't matter how old Al may be, the son is not yet good enough to beat his father just yet

Between baiting him into midrange jumpers that he couldn't make, to repeatedly handling Giannis 1 on 1 defensively with no help

When you look at Giannis' night overall, he basically got whatever he wanted against every single Celtic not named Horford

but to those of us who have been watching for the last 8 years, we know that this is simply what Al does in this matchup. Our sample size is big enough, yet for some reason, there are Bucks fans who don't want to accept what they are seeing. It's OK! Sometimes guys just have another player's number! The same shit happens with Joel Embiid whenever he has to play Horford, so it's not like Giannis is alone.

And of course, the late game 3 right after Giannis bricked his 3PA was the icing on the cake

I've seen enough. I'm going to need at least another 3 year commitment from Al Horford after this season. There's too much still left in the tank that the idea of walking away from the game shouldn't even be a thought in his mind.

- A big part of what makes the Celts so good isn't just their roster, or their 3pt shooting, or their psycho head coach. It's really their attention to dominating the margins. That's why it feels so overwhelming when you are tasked with beating this team once, let alone 4 times in a 7 game series.

This game was the perfect example. Despite the worst shooting you'll ever see from this team (17-53), given their volume combined with not turning the ball over (6 TOs), it allowed the Celts to stay attached despite missing everything they took.

So while they shot just 32% (and honestly it was much worse for the majority of the game) from deep, it still ended up being 17 3PM, and if you're allowing the Celts to generate that type of volume, the math is going to math and you're going to be in a tough spot. Add in virtually zero fastbreak points and points off TOs for the Bucks, and there just isn't enough extra possessions for them to close the gap offensively. 

- It's incredible what a few days of rest can do for a guy like Jrue. It was pretty clear his offensive rut was mostly due to burnout, so it shouldn't be a surprise that after some days off he came back and immediately looked like the player we saw all last year

Per Dick Lipe, did you know the Celts are 44-1 when Jrue scores at least 14 points? That's an insane number. They were 35-1 last year and are 9-0 this year. I feel like it's pretty easy in this offense to get Jrue 14 points, so I find that nugget pretty interesting.

He's also really responded well to playing his old team. If you remember, last year it felt like he was a double agent at times. Just awful basketball. But this year? He's killing them. He's making dagger bucket after dagger bucket which you know has to feel great given how things went down. Jrue hasn't even really turned things up defensively yet so in reality there are still levels for him to go, which is pretty terrifying.

In this win, it just felt like Jrue was always under control for the most part and when it came time to make a big time bucket, he delivered. Sometimes it was a momentum 3PM to keep the Celts attached, sometimes it was big 2pt FGM in the clutch, and overall you saw why there's an extreme level of trust between the players. To me, that's why the Basketball Gods rewarded them. Everyone continued to make the right play and trust one another, and when this team does that and the ball moves like it should, they become unstoppable.

- With all this talk about the best NBA duos, it was pretty clear who that is after watching this game. We already went through Tatum's perfect night, well Jaylen Brown wasn't too shabby himself

25/3/3 on 10-21 (3-9), outside of the possessions to end the first and third quarters, Jaylen gave you exactly what you needed from the #2 guy in this game. His efficiency was good enough, he didn't miss a FT, and he only finished with 1 TO in his 34 minutes.

Plus, he doesn't care who you are, he's guarding you 94 ft

The fact that not one, but both of the Celts best players defend at a high level is such a luxury, and what has made Jaylen a champion. You simply do not see players of his stature guard guys like Dame full court the same way you didn't see anyone do that shit against Luka in the Finals. The thing is, Jaylen wants all the smoke. He craves it. 

Plus, he definitely hates Giannis' guts, which makes it all so much better

Calling a tech here is so embarrassing. I guess it evens out not getting one for the throat slit celebration against the Pistons, but that was soft as shit. 

- On a night where he couldn't make a bucket to save his life, I would like to acknowledge this rebound by Derrick White

Look, I understand this seems like a pretty basic rebound, but you have to understand the context around the situation. For starters, the Celts are arguably one of the worst late game defensive rebounding teams I've ever seen. Whenever they have a close game like this it always feels like they give up a BRUTAL offensive rebound/bucket in that spot. So the mere fact that White grabbed the rebound matters to me.

For it to come against Giannis is even better. That's a guy who knows how important it is to grab the ball at that moment and was going to do everything he could to make sure that was a clean defensive possession. Those are the small details that add up down the stretch of a close game. That's finding a way to help your team and make a winning impact without scoring. 

I'll bet my life that the Basketball Gods reward White today and he finishes like 6-13 from deep.

- Speaking of close games, here's a quick update on how the Celts have done in the clutch this season

I, much like you would probably like to see that late game defense get much better, but overall? They aren't pooping their pants in the clutch offensively and to me that's progress. 

- Oh, and before we move on, shoutout Spooney for bringing this to my attention. One of the most common questions you hear about the Celts is 

"What will they do when they stop hitting 3s?"

While I find this question offensive considering there's an entire season which included an NBA Championship that already answered this question, the 2024-25 answer looks just as good

A wagon when they make their 3s and a wagon when they miss their 3s. Brad Stevens, you beautiful sonofabitch.

- Defensively, this was a step in the right direction. The Celts held MIL to just 42/37%, they only allowed one 30 point quarter, and they closed the game holding the Bucks to 1-12 shooting over the last 5 minutes. 

If you're going to have a night where you can't shoot, you better make sure you tighten up on the defensive end, and when it came time to win the game that's exactly what the Celts did. I love how they didn't overreact to Giannis and didn't help, as it pretty much eliminated his passing lanes. As a result, the Bucks only had 16 AST as a team. Once you make them play isolation against your defense, they've lost.

The Bad

- I'm honestly relieved that this was the final game against the Bucks, because having to live through a 48 minute game with the whistle that they get is infuriating. It's a different set of rules and the fact that everyone knows it's going to be that way and then it plays out that way is very annoying.

There's just no consistency. One player and side are allowed to do whatever they want, and then on the other end, everything is a touch foul. Every 50/50 call with Giannis involved always seems to go MILs way in these games until Joe is forced to challenge and get a call overturned. The foul baiting from Dame, it's all just so exhausting.

Part of me thinks this is why the Bucks stink. They don't play ethical hoops. They rely on bailout whistles to save bad offensive process, and the officials play right into it every single time. Add in the out-of-control Giannis factor and the potential injury it could cause, it's not the worst thing in the world that these teams don't meet again this regular season.

- I bet this is the only time all season we're going to see White Pritchard combine for just 6 points on 1-13 (0-10) shooting. I mean Pritchard was a complete nonfactor, and honestly it's something he's going to have to adjust to. Teams are no longer going to let him beat them, as we saw the Bucks pretty much completely sold out defensively to take away his clean airspace.

That's going to have to be figured out. Find creative ways to get Pritchard free because he's too important to the bench scoring to throw up 0 points and only take 3 FGA.

With Derrick, this was a case of just smoking open looks. Looks we've seen him hit at a 40% clip for basically 2 years now. No need to panic obviously, but man was that annoying. Just wasn't his night.

- I'm to believe Giannis went a full 36 minutes and didn't commit one foul? OK lol.

The Ugly

- Look at this at your own risk, but this is arguably one of the grossest quarters of the entire Celtics season. I didn't even know they were capable of something like this

it had been 130 straight quarters that the Celts had made at least 1 3PM, so to see them miss 12 in a row was bananas. They also missed their first 2 of the 3rd quarter, so really it was 14 misses in a row. That's insane for a team with this level of shooting and the type of open looks they were able to generate.

The Celts were just 4-24 (16.7%) on "wide open" 3PA. That is an insane prayer that the Bucks still couldn't capitalize on. That's tough for them.

At 19-4, the Celts are off to a better start through 23 games than we saw last season, which is pretty insane considering they haven't had KP all year and Jaylen has missed nearly a quarter of the season. The fact that they still aren't playing their best basketball or even really close to it is pretty awesome and pretty terrifying for the rest of the NBA. We now turn the page to MEM and a return of Marcus Smart who will finally play against his old team, and let's just say it'll probably be pretty emotional in the Greenie house.