As Christmas gifts go, Sunday's Bucks-Celtics matchup was like a lump of coal. SIChrisMannix has three takeaways on Jayson Tatum, the absence of Khris Middleton and more
As Christmas Gifts Go, This Was a Lump of Coal
On paper, this was the most compelling game on the NBA calendar: a 1-2 matchup, a possible conference finals preview with a pair of MVP candidates in Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo going head-to-head. But a competitive game in the first half quickly turned into a laugher, with Boston outscoring the 38–25 in the third quarter and Mike Budenholzer waving the white flag with four minutes to play in the fourth.
Boston flexed its strengths in this one. The NBA’s No. 1 offense connected on 58.8% of its shots. The league’s sixth-best three-point shooting team shot 48.7% from deep. Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who have put up more total points this season than any in the NBA, combined for 70. The defense, at full strength since the return of Robert Williams, limited Antetokounmpo to 27 points on 9-of-22 shooting.
Tatum has evolved into a ruthlessly efficient scorer. His shooting percentage is a career best. He leads the NBA in real plus/minus, per ESPN. His per-game plus/minus trailed only Jokic among players who play at least 30 minutes per game, per NBA.com. He is tied for the most 40-plus point games by any player this season. In December, he has outdueled Jokic, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in battles of MVP candidates. After Sunday, he can add Giannis to the list.
Milwaukee’s offense has sputtered without Middleton, tumbling from third in efficiency last season to 17th in this one. Budenholzer has preached patience with Middleton, but the facts are that Middleton, an NBA ironman in recent years, has missed more games this season than he has since the 2016-17 season and his injuries are seemingly everywhere. The Bucks don’t need to rush Middleton but if they were reminded of anything on Christmas, it’s that to beat Boston, they are going to need him.
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