Dennis Schröder showed his form strength after his 38-point gala against the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland, but it was a narrow defeat. The big issues in Boston were losing a big lead and Jayson Tatum’s throwing problems.
With 28 points Schröder was again the best scorer of his team, but in the fourth quarter he couldn’t prevent Cleveland from making a comeback with a 35:15 run and winning 91:89. The point guard even got the last litter this time, but his jumper from the baseline only hit the ring.
For the Celtics, who lost a close game for the fourth time this season, this was a setback after convincing victories over Toronto and Milwaukee. With 6-7, the Celtics occupy tenth place in the east. “We are not frustrated, defeats happen,” said Schröder afterwards, knowing full well that with Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Josh Richardson three important rotation players were canceled.
Center Robert Williams saw it a little differently, in his opinion the Celtics took their foot off the gas too early. “We’re still learning, but these slip-ups, this shit mustn’t be repeated. It has to stop.”
Ultimately, Schröder did not get enough help, especially Jayson Tatum once again struggled with his litter. For his 21 points he needed 22 attempts, only four of his 15 jump throws went through the trap. Schröder did not want to overestimate this either. “I would always go into battle with him. He will find his groove again,” said Schröder.
Dennis Schröder explains the last Celtics play in Cleveland
The fact that Tatum did not take the last throw was due to the Celtics’ strategy of attacking Cavs-Forward Cedi Osman. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Tatum had nibbled the Turk (with a slight nudge), In the last play it was Schröder who tried to score against Osman, but ultimately failed. “He did well and I could only take the fadeaway,” praised the development player.
Celtics coach Ime Udoka, on the other hand, became a little clearer with regard to Tatum. “He was a bit frustrated and that affected his game on defense,” said Udoka. “He had a few unnecessary ball losses. I always try to tell him that he doesn’t just have to influence the game with scoring. He can do it, he has already shown it.”
Over the season, Tatum has so far put on 23.5 points and 8.5 rebounds on average, his odds of 38.8 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from downtown would be career lows as of now. With the exception of his explosion in Dallas (32 points, 12/19 FG), the forward never hit half of his throws in any of the past nine games.
Boston Celtics: The Coming Games
date | time | opponent | location |
16. November | 1 O ‘clock | Cleveland Cavaliers | A |
18. November | 1:30 | Atlanta Hawks | A |
20. November | 1:30 | Los angeles lakers | H |
21. November | 1:30 | Oklahoma City Thunder | H |
23. November | 1:30 | Houston Rockets | H |
.