Celtics Talk Podcast: Tatum's ill-advised final shot, exclusive 1-on-1 with Kemba

Share

The Boston Celtics are off to a 1-2 start to the season that would've been 0-3 had it not been for Jayson Tatum's game-winner in the season opener.

On Sunday night, Tatum missed what was an ill-advised 3-point shot on the final play of the game and the C's fell to the Indiana Pacers, 108-107.

The 22-year-old accepted the blame for his poor shot selection after the loss, but there's plenty of blame pie to go around. Chris Forsberg and DJ Bean shared their thoughts on the questionable final play, plus their other concerns with the Celtics so far this season, on a brand new episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast.

Celtics Talk Podcast: Jayson Tatum’s ill-advised final shot, the Celtics slow start, and an exclusive 1-on-1 with Kemba Walker | Listen & subscribe | Watch on YouTube

"It just made no sense at all," said Bean. "I was frustrated watching that game, and there was a foul in the final minute ... I think it was on [Jeff] Teague, and Brad Stevens didn't challenge it. I was a little frustrated with that and then when Time Lord comes up with the steal, Marcus Smart scores, they go ahead one and [Damontas] Sabonis misses one of his free throws, I'm like 'he's got the timeout now.' ... I've never flip-flopped so many times in like a 15-second span on Brad Stevens as I did last night. ...

"A 3-pointer made absolutely no sense there, let alone like a 39-footer for a scenario where you did not need a 3. Just drive there. We talked so much about how Jayson Tatum hasn't been getting to the line as much as we'd like him to, and that's kind of a great situation to get yourself to the line. Really frustrating."

Forsberg: It's officially crunch time for Time Lord

Forsberg notes that C's coach Brad Stevens has received plenty of criticism for the team's lackluster start, and after watching the final play of Sunday's loss, it's easy to see why.

"There's some concern about whether Brad has stagnated as a coach," Forsberg said. "I think that's an overreaction to the situation here, but when I watched that final play and I look at the lineup that was out there -- Payton Pritchard, Grant Williams, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum -- and I'm thinking there's really only two options on the floor that I want shooting the ball in that situation which isn't great to begin with."

While it's only three games into the season, Bean explains that the Celtics' depth is a real concern going forward.

"Jeff Teague leads the Celtics in bench minutes," he said. "Do you know who's second on the Celtics in bench minutes? It's Payton Pritchard. ... Payton Pritchard played fantastic [Sunday] but even as I was watching him play very well -- so Payton Pritchard is just going to play all the time for this team? This is what the plan is right now with the Celtics? ... That just kind of speaks to where the team is right now. They really don't have a lot of options."

Also discussed in the new episode: Where’s your panic meter after the 1-2 start? Should we be overly optimistic about Robert Williams? And an exclusive 1-on-1 with Kemba Walker.

Check out the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast on your favorite podcast app or watch it on YouTube below.

 

Contact Us