Robb: Misfiring Celtics didn't look to Jayson Tatum enough in Game 7

Through all the injuries and obstacles, one thing that this undermanned Celtics team never lacked this postseason was confidence. They believed in themselves, believed the next shot would always go in, and had a roster full of players that were always eager to take that next shot.

For most of this improbable playoff run, that inflated confidence worked in their favor and allowed them to will their way past a pair of teams that were more talented on paper. However, that same mindset, combined with an unhealthy reliance on the 3-point shot ultimately cost this team a chance at the NBA Finals on Sunday night in an 87-79 defeat to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

A terrific defensive effort for three quarters by Boston was masked by their worst postseason shooting performance of the year. They shot 34 percent from the field, and 17 percent from 3-point range despite tying a postseason-high with 39 3-point attempts. The culprits were mainly found in the backcourt. Jaylen Brown was 3-of-12 from deep. Terry Rozier missed all 10 of his attempts. Marcus Smart chipped in with a 1-of-10 night from the field and was 0-of-4 from downtown.

Collectively, the guards accounted for just 21 points despite taking 42 shots. Rozier and Brown didn’t go to the free-throw line one time while playing a combined 74 minutes. With the game on the line, the Celtics left their fate in the hands of the shooting Gods despite playing one of the worst defenses in the NBA this season. The decision came back to bite them, especially since they left their top scoring weapon as a bystander for most of it.

A lot of C's high volume 3-point shooting was by design by the Cavs. They upgraded on the defensive end by inserting Jeff Green into the lineup in place of an injured Kevin Love. The move produced a more mobile, athletic, front line for the Cavs that couldn’t be beaten off the dribble as easily. From there, Ty Lue decided to gamble. He sent double teams all over the place all night and gambled the Celtics wouldn’t be able to deliver when it counted. The strategy paid off for most of the night since the Celtics backcourt happily took the bait and bombed away.

“We just missed shots,” Marcus Smart explained. “They were doubling in the post and we were getting wide open shots. We just couldn’t make them.”

The tension was palpable around the TD Garden as the misses started to pile up and a 12-point lead started to dissipate. The Celtics should have been up by 20 at halftime with the way the Cavs were shooting. Instead, the edge was just four.

“I thought the biggest moment of the game was when we couldn't extend the lead in the second quarter,” Brad Stevens admitted. “We were in really good shape, really good shape -- and then we just couldn't quite extend the lead. I thought that added to probably the shooting the rest of the game.”

When things tightened up late, the Celtics got even more reliant on the deep ball despite their struggles. Six of Boston’s eight field-goal attempts in the Cavs’ game-deciding 13-2 run in the fourth quarter came from 3-point range. They missed all of them. The pressure built and no one was able to handle it, outside of Tatum (team-high 24 points).

“I thought with (Kevin) Love out, they had a lot of switchable parts out there,” Stevens explained. “When we got more tense and tight shooting the ball after we missed some of the open ones, I thought that you could feel them a little bit more.”

So who exactly deserves the blame on a night like this? It’s hard to fault the volume of attempts in theory because the C’s have lived and died by the 3-ball all year long. Stevens has empowered his guys to seek out these shots all over the floor, no matter if it was Smart or Tatum taking them.

However, this was a stage of the game where some better awareness by all parties involved would have suited everyone better. The Cavs didn’t have an answer for Tatum all night long and he was getting to his spots all over the floor (9-of-17 FG) against a variety of defenders.

When the game was on the line though in the final six minutes, however, Tatum was not nearly as involved as he should have been. After taking a 72-71 lead with six minutes remaining, the Celtics ended the contest going 1-of-12 from the field before Brown added a meaningless 3-point shot in the closing seconds. Tatum took just one field goal attempt during that game-deciding stretch.

Things didn't go bad right away for the offense during crunch time. Al Horford missed a postup against Jeff Green and also failed to hit a wide-open 3-point shot on the ensuing possession. No issues with those looks.

From there, the Celtics resorted to hero ball. Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown all fired up 3-point shots from above the break early in the shot clock in a 3-point game. In some situations, these would be defendable attempts. However, for Brown and Rozier, it’s hard to defend them for seeking out said looks in the midst of a historically bad shooting night.





Additionally, Tatum passing the ball out to a 25 percent 3-point shooter in this spot is not smart offense either.



After the game, no one was going to point fingers, but this was certainly a time when the team would have best served to defer to their rookie with the season on the line. There were wide-open 3s that missed too, but the Celtics couldn't afford to chuck up ill-advised ones in a two-possession game with the season on the line.

“I didn’t make shots. One of those nights for sure,” Rozier said afterward.

“Right now, it's hard because you are still in the moment and all the emotions are still rolling,” Brown added. “It was a good year, it was a good season. It's hard to believe that it's over. I just wish I had done a little bit more.”

Things will be different next year when it will be Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving taking shots instead of Rozier and Smart. Tatum will be more assertive as well in the moment.

For now, though, this was a lost opportunity that will make this a long summer for some of these guys. Despite the odds, this game was there for the taking. An inability to play through the team’s best offensive option when it mattered kept the Celtics from having their best chance of pushing their way into the NBA Finals.