Jayson Tatum and the Celtics mobilize but fall to the Pacers in overtime

Then the Celtics almost had another opportunity after Tyrese Haliburton missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but time expired before they could call a timeout. Tatum scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including seven in the final 28 minutes of regulation, and finished with 37 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He also had 15 trips to the free throw line.

Tatum, however, was also 5 of 18 from 3-point range, making him 13 of 44 since opening night (29.5%). The sample size is of course tiny (between his poor shooting against the Bucks and Wizards was a solid night against the Pistons), but a better shooting performance from Tatum could have avoided the need for an extension .

2. The Celtics had a tough night on 3-point shots.

Tatum was far from the only player to struggle behind the arc.

Jaylen Brown was the biggest offender – a disastrous 1-of-11 from deep as part of an 11-of-30 performance with three turnovers that left a lot to be desired, even as he packed the scoring in other areas.

“All night, I just didn’t have my legs under me. No explosions. No burst, and I think that cost us,” Brown told reporters afterward.

Jrue Holiday was 1 of 3.

Sam Hauser was 1 for 4.

A true indicator of how cold the Celtics are, even Payton Pritchard was 4 for 11 — a respectable 36.4 percent from deep, but well below his recent torrid pace.

The Celtics can still win games when they don’t score from 3-point range, but the margins are getting a little closer. A 19-for-57 shooting performance isn’t the end of the world (33.3%), and 57 three-point attempts are a good indicator that the Celtics generated a lot of good shots, but they need to earn a lot of other areas. in these circumstances, and before their late rally, the Pacers crushed them.

“I felt like we had a lot of beauty tonight,” Brown said. “We didn’t really shoot the ball. Our energy was just dull. A lot of this was my fault. I have to be better for my guys.

3. Benoît Mathurin and Pascal Siakam punished the Celtics.

The Celtics appear to have plenty of answers for Tyrese Haliburton, but Benedict Mathurin cut them up both in transition and in the half court, going 9 of 17 on his way to 30 points. Mathurin’s finishing around the rim gave the Celtics fits, and once he got into rhythm, he made two of his five 3-point attempts.

Siakam wasn’t as efficient (11 of 20), but he finished 6 of 8 from behind the arc, and his final 3-point basket was the difference in overtime.

“I think Siakam, he’s the best I’ve seen him shoot the ball, at least against us,” Brown said. “Usually we guard him a little differently, but he shot the ball extremely well tonight. This last one, we had the change, and we were just a little bit maybe too low. He felt good all night and was able to knock it off. Big shot.”

The Pacers are streaky and can give up big leads as quickly as they build them, but they’re not just a team with a difficult system to solve – they also have a lot of really good basketball players who can hurt you in a variety of ways.

4. Derrick White is a big game player.

Derrick White continued to take his first steps as the Celtics’ third potential All-Star, scoring 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 5-of-5 from behind the arc. With the exception of a late foul that prevented the Celtics from forcing a crucial shot clock violation, White played a near-perfect game and was one of the few players largely above criticism (more on the sophomore, who came off the bench and made a huge impact, in a minute).

White scored five of his points, including a 3-pointer, in overtime.

5. Transition defense is something to watch.

Before Wednesday’s game, the Celtics were giving up 1.26 points per possession in transition, which ranked them 29th in the league.

The Pacers outscored the Celtics 29-21 in transition and had the Celtics on their heels for much of the night. The Celtics also managed to fight back against the Pacers (Boston’s transition offense is third in the NBA at 1.27 points per possession, so it’s been reeling thus far), but fast-paced, chaotic teams like the Pacers have a chance to hurt the Celtics when they come out on a fast break.

“That’s because of Indiana, I thought their speed, their pace, they had a leg up on us,” Joe Mazzulla said.

Again, the sample size is tiny, but the results are worth watching.

6. Neemias Queta was a game changer.

Trailing by 21 with 8:54 to play, the Celtics replaced Xavier Tillman, Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta, moves that didn’t exactly wave the white flag but showed they were thinking about it.

Queta, however, had other plans. The big man immediately threw down an alley-oop dunk, then started gobbling up rebounds and flying all over the floor. He recorded a big block, and even assisted on a Pritchard layup. In 13 minutes, Queta finished with nine rebounds and was +18 in a game the Celtics lost by three.

7. Jaylen Brown added eight pounds of muscle.

According to the ESPN broadcast, Brown added eight pounds of muscle during the offseason, which seems a little low — as color analyst Jay Bilas joked, Brown appears to have added eight pounds of muscle in each arm.

The key? His workouts with aquatic dumbbells. If you’re a gym-goer and hoping to look like Brown, you may need to ask about your local YMCA’s policy regarding dumbbells in the deep end.

8. You have to make your free throws.

In overtime – in a game that, again, the Celtics lost by three – they went 3 of 6 from the free throw line. The three misses included two in a row by Brown, followed by one by Tatum.

9. The Celtics won’t go 82-0.

The Celtics were always going to lose at some point, and a road loss to a good Pacers team that got off to a rough start and badly needed a win against a good opponent is as good a place as any what else to break into in this field. column.

“There are two things to focus on,” Mazzulla said. “You have to make sure we start so we’re not half a step behind, but you see what we’re capable of at our best, top to bottom. The guys fought, so that was good.

The most interesting thing to watch going forward: Can the team as a whole, and Tatum in particular, quickly get out of this shooting situation and get back on track? Tatum’s new shooting form looks fantastic, but if it doesn’t help him avoid some of the shooting slumps he’s encountered in the past, we’re mostly talking about aesthetics.

10. The road ahead

The Celtics continue their road trip with a back-to-back game at Charlotte on Friday and Saturday, followed by a game against the Hawks on Monday.