BOSTON – Jason Kidd may have shot the wad.
After the Mavericks’ Game 1 loss, he decided to play mind games with Jayson Tatum to try and help the Mavericks cause.
He made a point of saying Jaylen Brown — not Tatum — was the Celtics best player to see if he could stir the pot.
What’s he going to do now after losing again, anoint Jrue Holiday, who led the Celtics with 26 points in Sunday night’s 105-98 Game 2 loss?
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The Mavericks coach certainly did his best to distract Tatum, Brown, and the rest. The Celtics didn’t take the bait.
Kidd’s desperation move didn’t change the narrative with the Celtics holding a 2-0 lead.
The Celtics are just too good. If Tatum is off, or Brown is struggling, there’s always someone else to pick up the slack. That’s how it’s gone during the post-season.
In Game 2, Holiday was the star, with Derrick White earning honorable mention.
In Game 1, it was Brown and Kristaps Porzingis.
On a night when the Celtics shot just 25.6% from 3-point-land (10-for-39), a night when they couldn’t hit their bread-and-butter, the Mavericks still couldn’t win.
During the year, when the C’s shot that poorly from distance, they lost more times than not.
Even if Kidd did get into Tatum’s head, it didn’t matter. While the Celtics star couldn’t hit from three, or anywhere on the perimeter to save his life (6-for-22, 1-for-7 from distance), Tatum still hurt the Mavericks in other ways.
Whether it was playing defense, rebounding, or setting up Holiday, White or whoever else, Tatum made an impact.
That’s how it’s been for the Celtics resident superstar. For him, it’s been about finding other ways to help his team win.
Tatum constantly found Holiday while he was being trapped. Along with 18 points, he had 12 assists and 9 rebounds. He was a rebound short of a triple-double on a woeful shooting night.
But let’s be real. If Kidd truly thought Brown was the Celtics best player, why on earth would he send double and triple teams at Tatum, leaving everyone else free?
Tatum still killed the Mavs despite being blitzed every time he touched the ball. He didn’t shoot well, but he was still effective as a playmaker. A few years back, even last year, Tatum might have wallowed in a poor shooting night. Or continued to launch threes every time he touched the ball. Instead, he found the open man.
Tatum has discovered with this team, he doesn’t have to be the guy every night, at least, not from a scoring perspective.
“It has a lot to do with that I’ve been here before and we didn’t win,” he said. “We’re so close to what we’re trying to accomplish, why would I let my ego or my need to score all the points get in the way of that? There are going to be times where I need to score, and obviously, I need to shoot better. Golly! But we always talk about do whatever it takes for however long it takes.
“If I need to have 16 potential assists every single night and that’s what puts us in the best position to win and it doesn’t mean I’m the leading scorer, by all means, if that gives us the best chance to win, sign me up.”
So yes, he got the last laugh on Kidd.
But credit goes all around.
In both games, the Celtics held the Mavericks under 100 points. Even with Luka Doncic going off in both games, with 32 points in Game 2, it still wasn’t enough.
The Celtics made plays at key points, whether it was Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer from mid-court that gave the Green team a 9-point lead heading into the final quarter, as opposed to a 6-point lead; or White’s block of P.J. Washington’s attempted jam with the Mavs down by five with less than a minute to go.
“We have so many talented guys on both ends of the floor, that it could be a number of guys on a given night,” Tatum said. “We have a really talented team, and that’s how we win games.”
Two games in, the Mavericks can’t keep up.
Kristaps Porzingis did hobble off the court in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. He appeared to tweak his right calf injury. If Porzingis can’t play, that might give the Mavericks a glimmer of hope.
If the Mavericks are counting on home court advantage to get them back into it, the Celtics, who have won nine straight games in the playoffs to set a record, also haven’t lost a game on the road.
Kidd is well aware of that streak.
“Yeah, they haven’t lost a game since May something, right? Yeah, they’re hot. And not just on the road, but at home,” he said. “We’ve got to protect home, and that’s it. We’ve got to find a way, continue, again, to build on our defense. Our defense put us in a position to win tonight. Unfortunately, our offense didn’t help us.”
And neither did his attempted diminishing of Tatum.
