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Celtics Notes: Game 7, G. Williams, Smart, R. Williams

May 28th 2022 at 6:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics missed a chance to close out the Eastern Conference Finals at home, but they remain confident that they can win the series in Miami, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Road teams historically don’t fare well in Game 7, but after beating the Bucks in seven games in the last round, Boston players like their chances Sunday night.

“Scale of 1 to 10?” Jayson Tatum asked. “Ten. I mean, it shouldn’t be any less than that, right? You know, it’s the last game. That’s what it’s all about. It’s a 10 out of 10 in my confidence level and the group.”

Familiar mistakes prevented the Celtics from ending the series on Friday, Bontemps adds, as they turned the ball over frequently in the early part of the game. They also struggled to get production from their main scorers in the second half as Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for just 18 points after halftime.

“We won the close-out game, obviously, [against Milwaukee], and for us we’ve won two in Miami, so that’s the positive of it,” coach Ime Udoka said. “We know we can go there and win. But just have to make it harder than it is, and at times it feels like we’re doing that, not taking advantage of what’s in front of us, and just overall sloppy basketball on both ends. We can’t have that on the road.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

  • Rick Barnes, who coached Grant Williams and P.J. Tucker in college, tells Jay King of the Athletic that there are a lot of similarities between them. “Incredible basketball IQ,” Barnes said. “If you mic’d them both up during the game, they’re never going to stop talking. Never. Because they know their job. They know everybody else’s job. Both of those guys would be terrific coaches if they wanted to be, because they really see the game from every spot on the floor, they know how everything is supposed to work. And both of them want to win. That’s all they did.”
  • This is the fourth conference finals in six years for Boston, but the current core hasn’t been able to reach the next level, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. One of those losses was to Miami two years ago, and the players want to make sure they don’t come up short again. “You don’t want any feelings of regret,” Brown said. “We’ve got an opportunity to do something with this group that’s special. So let’s not take that for granted.”
  • Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, who have both seen their availability in the series affected by injuries, are listed as questionable for Game 7, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. Terada notes that both players were active for Games 5 and 6 after being game-time decisions.
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