BSJ Game Report: Mavericks 113, Celtics 108 - Same ol' story for the struggling C's

Everything you need to know about the Celtics 113-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, with BSJ insight and analysis.

Box Score

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Boston Celtics came out with some decent energy, shots didn’t fall, an opposing player got hot, and the Celtics turtled for about 18 minutes before erupting for a monster comeback that fell just short. 

“We have to figure some things out. We gotta find some resolve quicker,” Brad Stevens said. “They played a hell of a game. They took us out of it, and they forced us, you know, because that's probably our reputation, to not respond for 10 to 12 minutes. And that changed the game.”

Luka Doncic had some God-level makes. They were just flat-out ridiculous shots that had no business going in, yet somehow they swished. 

But yet, they easily could have won this game. They missed shot, after shot, after shot and had a chance 

“We got to the rim multiple times and had beautiful kick outs. Great attempts at finishes we didn't make a lot of,” Stevens said. “But the game rewards the way you play all the way through both ways. That was probably a little bit of the game being honest with us.”

TURNING POINT

Kemba Walker missed a 3-pointer down 7 with 6:40 left, which led to a Dorian Finney-Smith 3-pointer to push the lead up to 10. Boston followed that up with a Jayson Tatum offensive foul and a 3 second violation. 

The Celtics could never get all the way back.

TOP PLAY

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1377438686611038210

THREE UP

Jaylen Brown: He was probably the Celtics' most consistent player on the night. He finished with 24 points on 9-17 shooting (4-11 ft) so he was the only Celtics starter who had a true shooting percentage up above 60% (64.7%). 

Kemba Walker: He was especially good in the comeback, proving once again that Boston’s best offense is generated when Walker is good. When he attacks and can actually change speeds and directions, he’s the catalyst for Boston’s best play. More on this in a second.

Marcus Smart’s defense: He had some brilliant possessions against Doncic, though there were some that didn’t matter because Doncic is an alien who isn’t bound by earth’s laws. But Smart was more of his usual defensive genius self for a lot of this game. 

THREE DOWN

Jayson Tatum: Tatum finished strong and had 25 points, but he was a -19 in a 5 point loss and I think that number is actually meaningful in this game. Normally in-game plus-minus isn’t a hugely telling stat, but it felt like Tatum wasn’t fully engaged throughout the night. He showed some frustration on the floor when he didn’t get the ball, which isn’t something you see much from him. 

Evan Fournier: He was actually not bad, but they didn’t trade for him so he could take 6 shots. He’s just getting acclimated, so eventually he’ll feel more comfortable shooting, but the Celtics want that 20 ppg guy. And, frankly, the feel-out period can’t last too long. Time to start shooting.

Moe Wagner/Luke Kornet: It’s unfair to put them in here right now because they were forced into uncomfortable situations since Robert Williams was a late scratch. Wagner often looked lost and both he and Kornet were part of some defensive miscommunications.

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it more forcefully now. 

This team is better when Walker is good. Sure, Tatum gets hot plenty of times and the Celtics can look good. Same for Brown.

But when Walker is going, the whole team is going. 

Walker scored 4 first-half points on 2-9 shooting and Boston was down 19. 

Walker shot 5-10 in the second half, starting with a 3-pointer with 7:39 to go in the 3rd quarter. Those were 3 of 16 points he scored over the final 16:31 he played, and Boston outscored Dallas 57-39 over that stretch. 

That coincided with Tatum going 7-15 and Brown 4-6, both combining for 26 points. It was Kemba’s outburst that started this, and it was Kemba’s fourth quarter attacking that helped keep the fire going. 

Getting Walker going has to be this team’s number one offensive priority, because him cooking gets everyone cooking. He needs to be comfortable, and he needs to attack. 

To mix sports metaphors: Walker has to be the starting pitcher. Brown and Tatum set-up man and closer.  

The Celtics are too young and athletic to be a plodding, slow team. Walker, Tatum, and Brown can get out into transition and put pressure on opposing defenses, and if they can get Kemba cooking right away, then the rest will fall into place.