Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 6 vs. Cavaliers

2. Jayson Tatum and Al Horford struggle

So far in these playoffs, as Jayson Tatum goes, so go the Boston Celtics.

Individual game-to-game plus/minus numbers might be the most overused statistic in the NBA, but it’s tough to escape what they say in this instance. According to Basketball-Reference, Boston is 10-1 in the postseason when Tatum has a plus/minus of even or better, and they’re 1-6 when he’s in the red.

Last night, Brown was a -8, and although he finished an efficient 7-for-13 from the field, he didn’t get to the free throw line and attempted only four shots in a first half that saw Cleveland build a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. It seems unfair to say this about a now 20-year-old rookie, but for the Celtics to be at their best, Jayson Tatum needs to be at his.

Al Horford, who the Cavs refused to let beat them, is also something of a bellwether for Boston. He took only eight shots and scored just six points, his low for this postseason. The Celtics are now winless in the four playoff games this year that Horford has scored 10 points or less.

The good news: Home has been kind Al this spring. Horford has all five of his 20-point scoring games this postseason in the TD Garden, and Boston has unsurprisingly won all five affairs.