The first collapse was 15 minutes of free fall to start, when the Spurs jumped out to a 30-14 lead after one quarter and then expanded the advantage to 40-14 with a 10-0 run to start the second quarter.
“I feel like, at times, we are trying to get ourselves going and not coming ready to play,” he said.
“That intensity, that passion, that effort that you have to come in every night, and every team, you have to put your foot on their throats,” he said.
On Friday, he finished with seven points, five rebounds, and three blocks, and he was +18 in a game the Celtics lost by seven.
But I think a lot of times when people do go box-and-one it kind of makes you a little hesitant, and I think you simplify the game when they go box-and-one.
The Celtics will need to figure out how to beat teams who pack the paint, especially if Tatum continues to struggle from 3-point range.
It’s worth wondering whether getting Brown back to full health — even if that means more rest and rehab — might be worthwhile.
Enes Kanter has been widely panned among Celtics fans — mostly justifiably — for his unplayable pick-and-roll defense, but he has been significantly better over the last few games.
His answer was the longest we can remember Tatum ever giving — 381 words — and we’ll present most of it here, since it was an interesting critique of the roller-coaster nature of sports coverage and the narratives pushed by fans.
I feel, s—, we were down 26 and when the guys that started the second half and the guys that came off the bench, we fought.
“There’s always people tell you, ‘You should’ve did this, you should’ve did that,’ but tonight, I don’t think that was my impression from being on the floor that we took our foot off the gas.
It’s get on the flight tomorrow, try to get one in Toronto and just try to get the next one.