Celtics push bubble streak to four straight with win over Memphis

The Celtics are best off, says Brad Stevens, when the ball doesn’t stick.

As his players agreed following their fourth straight win Tuesday night, 122-107, over a Memphis team that desperately needed the W, a can of WD-40 couldn’t do a better job of greasing the passing lanes right now.

Much has been recently made, for example of the improved playmaking roles of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

“It’s great to get to see that those guys, they’re getting better man. Just reading the game,” said Kemba Walker. “So much attention is going to be on those guys because of how much their improving, how much their scoring, how efficient they are. I think the next step is the passes they make. Those two guys, they watch so much film and they are seeing how teams are guarding them. It’s only going to get worse as far as how teams approach the game against these guys, for them to make the plays they’ve been making lately, it’s pretty special. It’s been special to watch.”

That said, Tatum was back in overdrive Tuesday night, nailing down the game with a 29-point, 10-for-13 performance, including 4-for-5 from downtown. His 10-point, two-trey third quarter was necessary to squelch a Memphis comeback, but his daggers may have also sealed off the Grizzlies’ playoff hopes.

Beyond this, though, the Celtics produced their second 29-assist night in seven games in the bubble, matching their dime total from an Aug. 5 win over Brooklyn.

And their ball movement in the bubble has indeed been accelerating. They have averaged 23.7 assists over those seven games, with the low (15) coming during their disjointed loss to Miami.

They are, in the process, a lot closer to Stevens’ vision of where his team should be.

“No. 1, you have to work on the skill of it. You have to have the vision to do it,” said the Celtics coach. “Then you have to have the desire to keep that ball popping. We’re a little closer where we want to be or we’re certainly headed in a good direction. But we just gotta keep doing it. Different teams play different ways. Different teams give up one thing but not another. (Memphis was) blitzing a lot, they were up on screens a lot. We had to pop the ball and move the ball and make sure we kept it that way. I’ve seen a great willingness and great enthusiasm from our team to really move it. So we just gotta keep it up.”

In the meantime…

Walker continues to feel great: The Celtics point guard had a superb night in the bubble, shooting 7-for-10 for his 19 points, and getting the most out of a 28-minute stint. He could have gone more, and based on his burst and ability to fly around on defense, undoubtedly will.

Though Stevens wouldn’t divulge his plan for Thursday’s final seeding game against Washington — a team already eliminated from contention and winless in the bubble — it’s likely that Walker’s next major appearance will come in a playoff game.

“It’s getting there. It’s getting there, man. Today is probably the best I’ve felt out there,” he said. “I was really comfortable making my moves and stuff like that. It was good to make that move and see the ball go in as well. So yeah, I’m working every single day to continue to get my leg stronger, to get my knee stronger. I’m feeling good. Hopefully I can continue to feel good and just continue to take care of myself.”

The bench may have the start of a winning combination in Marcus Smart, Brad Wanamaker and Rob Williams: Williams was once again an easy target for the two point guards, this time with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting (he’s 19-for-23 in bubble games). He’s also playing steady minutes for the first time all season. There could be some chemistry brewing here.

“I think that Brad and Marcus do a good job of getting the ball to Rob when he’s available,” said Stevens. “Brad had, the other night, a late drive where he looked at the rim and dumped it off to Rob. Marcus is a good lob thrower, Marcus sees through the defenses on top of Rob, he can read that. Those guys both know how to play. They are very savvy. They play well together. It gives us two point guards on the floor and I thought that they were a part of many of our good possessions (Tuesday), for sure.”

The playoffs begin next Monday. Do you know where your Celtics are? The Celtics, bolstered by their recent play, certainly seem to think they’re ready for a first round opponent – most likely suddenly-hobbled Philadelphia.

“I think we’re pretty close to being ready, especially after (Tuesday),” said Walker. “Last game, we didn’t play so well obviously, but (Tuesday), we were really focused. Yeah, we’ve definitely come a long way, and we’re gelling really well. Having fun, competing at a very high level. I think I feel pretty ready.”

Said Tatum: “I think we’re ready. Obviously we continue to get better, and I think we have from Game 1 playing down here to now. I think we just continue to get better each and every game, and that’s what you want this time of year, to continue to get better at the right time of the season.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2PJy6bN