Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 2 loss vs. Bucks

2. Jayson Tatum missed his flight to Milwaukee, apparently

Jayson Tatum has not had a very good start to the series. In fact, he’s barely been present. He made up for a lacking output offensively in Game 1 by understanding the nature of the game, not forcing shots, and making sure he was involved defensively. However, it still seemed like a lower effort game from the rising star.

Game 2 was no different, as the effort level continued to seem less than normal, and Tatum found himself essentially on a milk carton through two games in this series. He’s scored nine total points on just 4-of-17 shooting in the first two games.

The Celtics will absolutely need to get Tatum involved when the series goes back to Boston. Hopefully, in front of their home crowd, they will be able to energize the offense and play a less panicked brand of basketball.

Tatum was able to get involved on the first play of the game, as the Celtics forced a turnover that led to a wide open transition dunk for the forward. He saw only one made shot from that point forward in the game. The Cs should look to get Tatum involved with cuts towards the rim, allowing him to get to the basket and make plays, as opposed to playing him in isolation sets.

This season, 95 players ran at least 100 isolation sets, including Jayson Tatum. Per David Locke, creator of the Locked on Sports Podcast network, Tatum ranked dead last among that group in isolation efficiency.

The Celtics need to run plays for Tatum that don’t involve him being the primary ball-handler. They’ve found ways to do that for Kyrie and Horford by making Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown handle the ball more often, but they should look to get Tatum involved in the same way.

The Bucks made it very clear in Game 2 that they had no intention of rolling over and dying. If the Celtics want to complete the upset and advance, they’ll need all hands on deck offensively.