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Earlier than The Finals began, we mused about the concept that Celics vs. Warriors could look a lot like NBA Jam with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum dealing with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Recreation 3 supplied a glimpse of what which may seem like. The Splash Brothers mixed for 56 factors in a loss with Brown and Tatum scoring 53 to take care of residence courtroom benefit and incomes a 2-1 sequence lead.
Nonetheless, the sport isn’t performed on only one facet of the ground. Brown and Tatum are arguably the perfect younger two-way wing duo on the league. Thompson was as soon as a defensive stalwart pre-injuries. After which there’s Curry. The best shooter of all time isn’t precisely identified to be nice on D, however he has been a part of some nice Golden State defenses through the years and his added dimension and energy has made him much less of a legal responsibility.
“I’ve been speaking about it for years, how he’s improved on that facet of the ball. Groups used to try to name him into each motion and simply try to choose on him, however that doesn’t work anymore,” Draymond Inexperienced stated after Recreation 2. “He sits down, he guards, and we’re all there behind him if he does need assistance, however he hasn’t wanted that always and it’s nice.”
Within the Warriors sole win of The Finals thus far, Curry held his personal. With him as the first cowl, the Celtics have been 3-for-11 per NBA Advanced Stats player tracking; Brown and Tatum mixed for 3-for-5 on the smaller defender.
Nonetheless, in Recreation 3, the Celtics mercilessly attacked him at TD Backyard. Early and infrequently, once they may get Curry in a swap or goal him in transition, they went proper at him. He picked up his second private with simply six minutes remaining within the first quarter and a 3rd earlier than halftime. Steve Kerr performed him his regular minutes. however the foul bother made an already suspect defender a extra hesitant one.
“We discover matchups that we predict are favorable. We’ll assault these. He bought some fouls early so we knew he wouldn’t be as aggressive. You don’t wish to let these guys relaxation on that finish of the courtroom,” Ime Udoka stated.
On the primary possession of the sport, Boston is already looking, utilizing a small-to-small display to get Curry off of Good and onto Tatum. To the Warriors credit score, they sniffing out these switches and hedging laborious on Tatum, however he’s change into a way more in a position orchestrator of the offense with Golden State in rotation. Crisp ball motion finds Brown for the open 3.
In Recreation 3, the Celtics flipped the Curry numbers from Recreation 2. Whereas a mixture of drop protection and matchup switching are a part of Boston’s Curry Guidelines with him on offense, there are additionally many chapters devoted to hammering him on protection. Boston hit 10-of-16 and dished 4 assists with Curry as the first defender.
“I really feel like I can get by any defender that’s in entrance of me,” Brown stated after scoring a team-high 27 factors on Wednesday evening. “Simply having the appropriate spacing behind made it somewhat simpler to make these reads. For our workforce, spacing is necessary, however I’ll get by my defender on a regular basis.”
And whereas Brown and Tatum took turns overpowering Curry, the most important bully was his direct counterpart, Marcus Good. Good muscled Curry for twelve factors on 4-of-5 capturing on sheer dimension and can alone, together with this closing layup.
Curry re-aggravated a foot sprain on the finish of Recreation 3, however all indicators level to him taking part in with out restrictions tonight. Harm or not, anticipate Boston to proceed trying to find him on the offensive finish, hoping to drive via and shoot over him with out restrictions, too.
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