Jayson Tatum pinpoints Celtics' defense as key factor for game six
Jayson Tatum believes the Boston Celtics must continue improving on defense if they're going to close the season out against Philadelphia
For the second straight home game, the Boston Celtics went ice cold from the field. After shooting just 3-of-22 in the fourth quarter, Joe Mazzulla's team fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 113-97. Boston now leads the series 3-2, and will head back to Philadelphia with the hope of wrapping things up and booking a spot in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
However, if the Celtics are going to take care of business on Thursday, April 30, they will need to make some adjustments from what we saw in game five. When speaking with the media following Boston's loss, Jayson Tatum pinpointed defense as the key area to improve, while also addressing the team's fourth-quarter struggles. “Getting a stop, first of all that’ll help, not playing against a set defense, getting them in transition, finding advantages," Tatum said.
"But you know it was a stretch where we weren’t making shots and they were coming down and hitting shots, getting fouls and we just kept having to play against a set defense. So getting stops would have helped for sure. ” Throughout the series, the Celtics have been the better team when they've been able to force Philadelphia into half-court offensive possessions.
In order to do that, Boston must make its shots, control the glass and keep the Sixers to single-shot offensive possessions. If they can do those things, they should be able to secure a win, assuming their shooting struggles don't follow them back to Philadelphia. Watch or listen to the "Celtics Chronicle" podcast on: YouTube: https://bit.