The Boston Celtics are just one win away from the NBA Finals. With a stellar Game 5 performance from rookie Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are now on the cusp on advancing to the championship round despite playing without their top two players for the entire playoffs.
Tatum has seen his star rise in the playoffs. After averaging 13.9 points per game during the regular season, the 3rd overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft is averaging 18.4 points per game to lead Boston in scoring in the playoffs. That’s impressive, considering he is only 20 years old.
After scoring 24 points in Game 5, Tatum now has a total of 312 points scored in the ongoing playoffs, that’s fourth most by a rookie in the postseason. Only Lew Alcindor, Alvan Adams, and Elgin Baylor have scored more during their rookie seasons. Not only is he scoring, he is doing so in clutch situations. Tatum has scored a total of 21 clutch points in the playoffs, tied for fourth in the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Tatum’s consistency and ability to deliver in big games has been key for the Boston Celtics. The former Duke standout has scored in double digits in all but two playoff games. In 9 out of 17 playoff games, he’s scored at least 20 points. So while Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are to be named as 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year, Jayson Tatum is chasing an NBA championship in his rookie season.
For the first time in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, LeBron James has finally looked human. Although he tried his best not to show it during the game, his body language was obvious Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said after the game that James ‘looked a little tired.’ Given his mileage in the current postseason, we’re even surprised he’s reached this point.
This season was the first time in his career that LeBron James has played all 82 regular season games. Including the playoffs, he has played a total of 98 games so far this season. That’s just two short of the most games he’s played in a single season in his entire 15-year career. James played a career-high 100 games in 2010-11 but that included six Finals games. We are still in the Conference Finals.
Not only has he played a lot of games this season, James has played incredible minutes for the Cavs. He led the league in minutes played during the regular season. In fact, he was the only player to log at least 3,000 minutes ( 3,026 minutes ) during the entire season. Similarly, no one has played more minutes in the playoffs than King James At 649 minutes played. He is the only player averaging at least 40 minutes in the postseason.
James dismissed the idea that he is ‘fatigued’ at this point of the season. But we all know that as the Cavs’ leader, he should be the last one to admit it. Maybe that’s what he’s doing or maybe he isn’t really tired yet. Yet even if he isn’t tired yet, his machine could overheat anytime given his mileage this season. That’s Cleveland’s main problem.
The Cavaliers scored only 83 points in Game 5. 40 of those points came from LeBron James and Kevin Love. The other Cavs starters, namely George Hill, J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson combined to score only 7 points on 2-12 shooting. Outside James and Love, no other Cavs player scored in double digits. On the other hand, the Boston Celtics put five players in twin-digit scoring including two players coming off the bench.
Kyle Korver who shot 8-14 from the three-point line, from Games 2 to 4, was held down to single digit scoring after scoring at least 10 points in his last three games prior to Game 5. Cleveland’s sharpshooting guard only managed to score 7 points on 2-5 shooting from behind the three-point line. Korver averaged 14 points during the Cavs’ two wins in the series.
Boston meanwhile continues to get excellent production from its Marcus. Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris haven’t just played tough defense on the Cavs, they have provided added the much-needed scoring punch. Smart has averaged 11 points per game in the Celtics’ three wins while Morris has averaged 15.33 points per game in those games too. So for the Celtics to win, both Marcus must score in double digits.
Aside from Marcus Morris’ offense, his other ( and perhaps more important) function is to limit LeBron James. James has been the barometer of Cleveland’s success and in Game s 1 and 2, Morris did a good job defending King James. In the two games at Cleveland, James owned Morris.
Then in the first half of Game 5, James was held scoreless in just two attempts during the 15 possessions where his primary defender was Marcus Morris. The Cavs were 1-12 with two turnovers in those possessions. So another key for Boston would be limiting LeBron James – not just in terms of scoring but in his ability to make plays for his teammates.
Whichever supporting cast deliver on Saturday night will likely be the winner of Game 6. The Cavs have a high profile bench but the Celtics have more balance not just in offense but in defense as well. The key players for Boston will be Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris, and Aron Baynes. For the Cavs, their starting backcourt must be able to deliver points. If not, Boston might run away in Game 6.
Cleveland almost has every edge to win Game 6. Boston is missing its top two players. Game 6 will be played in Cleveland, where Boston lost twice in Games 3 and 4. The Celtics are 1-5 on the road in the current postseason. And yes, the Cavs have the best player on the planet in LeBron James.
But while James denied it ( he cannot afford to admit it ), he must be feeling the effects of a long and hard played season. His body language in Game 5 was pretty obvious. Tired or not, he is showing signs of slowing down and that’s bad news for Cleveland.
Boston meanwhile is playing with plenty of confidence, with no pressure and with nothing to lose. They’re just letting it hang out in there and you can feel it in every possession Despite losing Game 4, the Celtics outplayed Cleveland in the final three-quarters of Game 4. They dominated the Cavs for four quarters in Game 5.
LeBron James isn’t going down without a fight. But the question is how much fight is left in the King? Mentally, there is no question that LeBron is as ready as ever. But physically, there may be little or none left in the tank, not even for one more victory.
James averages 33 points per game in elimination games, that’s the best scoring average of any player in that given situation. However, James’ record in elimination games is only 10-9. Having said that, we’re picking the Boston Celtics to win Game 6 and wrap up the Eastern Conference Finals.
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