SAD NEWS: Jerdarrian Devontae Davison has been suspended for 1year from team of Boston Celtic today due to…….Read More..
Nobody is completely healthy this time of year, not after almost eight months of grind, but it especially takes a toll on high-usage players. Which brings us to Doncic and his sore limbs.
He’s wrapped in ice before, during and after games, and will now play two games in three nights. He’s laboring, so it’s fair to ask — will he eventually wear down?
“I don’t want to get into any details,” he said before insisting, “I feel good.”
The Mavericks need Doncic’s impact in three phases: scoring, rebounding and creating shots for others. He has delivered through two games as arguably the best player in this series. They could also use his energy late in the fourth quarter, against a persistent Celtics defense geared to make him work hard. What then?
The key to preserving Doncic is to get more offensively from Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks need both guards to be exceptional to have a chance at beating the Celtics in four out of five. Only one has delivered so far.
“They’re sending specific strategies against me to make it difficult,” Irving said.
The Celtics, to a man, are rallying around Jayson Tatum, defending his poor shooting and imploring folks to look at how he’s impacting this series with rebounding, passing and defense.
All that’s true and sometimes too much is made about scoring. Plus, the Celtics are up 2-0, so his misfires don’t matter much.
But can Tatum afford to keep shooting in the 30% range?
That depends on what others are doing, whether they can compensate for his lack of buckets and if Boston’s defense is so good that they don’t need 30 from Tatum.
“I don’t want to put us in the predicament where it’s like I’m shooting not as well,” he said. “Still, we can win. I want to shoot the ball well.
“But that’s not the only thing that I bring to the table. I’m not being defined by that. You’re not going to make every shot. The best of the best players have always just found a way. That’s just all I’ve been trying to do, is find a way to do whatever I can.”
This is somewhat similar to the 1981 Finals when Larry Bird struggled with his shot — he was superb otherwise — and the Finals MVP went to Cedric Maxwell. The difference is Bird was only in his second season and first Finals. This is the second time Tatum has struggled in the championship series.
“You’re trying to just make it tough on him,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “That’s all you can do. Hopefully guard the first move, guard the second move, guard the third move and contest. Guys are doing that at a high rate.”
