Janice Adetokunmpo said something. We don’t know what – frankly, Al Horford couldn’t understand either – but he said something.
Which, you know, is fair enough. When you sprint along the court, you pile up a guy you’ve met too well and throw a Statue of Liberty directly in their face during Game 4 of a fiercely contested, brutally second-round physical series, of course, a little may follow. vicious robbery and talking.
To the untrained eye, Horford’s reaction to Janice’s taunts after the throw-in was equal to the course he had set for the past 15 years: a quiet, restrained confession quickly removed in favor of moving on to the next game. However, to an expert observer of the Celtic veteran’s condition – like, say, his sister – the way he reacted seemed like anything else.
As it turned out: Yes, he was angry. And just over two minutes after the fourth quarter, when the Celtics were trying to save their season, Horford gave Bucks’ two-time MVP two things: a receipt and a reminder that you really need to worry about the quiet. Because, if you’re not careful, one of these quiet ones – one that many thought was washed away after nightmarish stays in Philadelphia and Oklahoma City – could just cram one right on your damn cruiser.
Al Horford on Janice’s look down: “The way he looked at me and dealt with it didn’t suit me well. At that moment, something changed with me.” pic.twitter.com/5pnEOoI5xx
– NBC Sports Boston Celtics (@NBCSCeltics) May 10, 2022
This is the indelible memory that will be burned in the gray matter of everyone who joins on Monday: Horford not only matches Janice’s physicality and flexion, but also makes him feel better by leaving Milwaukee’s muscle flat on his back. staring at the lights at the Fiserv Forum and wondering if anyone has received the registration number of this truck. But the moment is never for one moment: the uppercut landed because Horford had spent three-quarters – and in fact most of the four games – tuning Bucks with a punch.
Throughout the Celtics series, they knew that when the Bucks played drop pick-and-roll coverage and Horford adjusted the screen and jumped to the perimeter, he would stare at the wide open 3. And throughout the series, Horford. he had taken and made the shots his defense gave him, shooting 12-for-26 from a 3-point range (along with some mid-range shots against falling) before that fateful possession in the early fourth quarter. In macro terms, Milwaukee’s preferred math requires living with Horford, who shoots 3s as long as the rim is protected. But in the context of a declining lead, an 8-0 run from Boston and the ball falling into the hands of a guy who’s been jumping all night, it’s not always easy to see the bigger picture; that’s why the fake shot worked, drew too much Janice to the rainbow, and allowed Horford to serve him icy revenge.
After another dominant third quarter for Janice, Bucks looked Boston on the edge, perhaps just minutes away from a 3-1 lead. Instead, the Celtics responded to the feeling of the wall on their backs, coming out of the hole with 11 points, noting the result with a clear counterattack by Horford. It felt like the moment the atmosphere changed – not just in Game 4, but maybe in this weak fest of the series. With Horford and the resurgent Jason Tatum at the helm, Boston crossed the finish line, cutting a postseason number. 1 defense to 43 points in a 16-on-19 shot in the fourth quarter and a 116-108 victory that tied the series in two games each. After Milwaukee took the lead on the home court in Game 1, the Celtics brought him back on Monday; now this is the best of three, with two of these games coming to TD Garden.
Horford finished with 30 points in 11 to 14 shots, the most he had scored since November 2019 and more than he had scored in any of his previous 131 playoff games. He is simply the 22nd player aged 35 or over to turn 30 in the playoffs and the first Celtic to do so since John Havlicek did so 45 years ago. He also added eight rebounds, three assists, just one reversal and a more exemplary defense of Adetokunmpo, who has maintained up to 47 points in four games in 19 shots against 53 in the series, according to NBA Advanced Stats. The Celtics outscored the Bucks by 20 points in Horford’s 42 minutes and were 12 ahead of him in the seven minutes he has rested. With starting center Robert Williams III removed from left knee pain, and with the Celtics missing out on defending Milwaukee’s meat grinder, head coach Name Udoka needed more than Horford. He responded with nothing less than the best game of his post-season career.
When I’m almost 36, please Lord, please allow me to be just part of the player who is @Al_Horford! I mean – what an absolutely amazing teammate and player. The big team wins the boys. pic.twitter.com/Jiondp3FsS
– marcus smart (@ smart_MS3) May 10, 2022
However, the biggest concern for Milwaukee from game 4 is not that Horford will continue to score 30. It is possible that even if his hot shot against the fall cools down, Boston’s most dangerous goal scorer may finally be warm up.
Tatum shot just 35.1 percent from the floor in the first three games of Round 2 and 6 for 18 of the field in the first three quarters of Game 4, struggling to finish against Milwaukee’s inside length and often seemed uncomfortable against aggressive perimeter defense. of Wes Matthews and Jru Holliday. However, the All Star striker finally came to life, scoring 12 of his 30 points in the last six and a half minutes.
Udoka made Tatum work as a powerful striker in five outs, with Horford and three of Boston’s guards spread beyond the 3-point arc. With the floor spread, Tatum had room to drive hard, turn, and finish; he also had the opportunity to summon balls to hunt the younger George Hill, using his advantage in size and strength to support the veteran in bunny fighting or to pull and shoot just above him.
These small-ball looks were dynamite for Boston in Game 4, beating Bucks by 25 points in 18 minutes and producing well over 1.5 points of possession – incredible efficiency in any context and absolutely vital in a series where every point comes at a premium . Matthews will continue to make Tatum work for every inch of space, and finishing among the tall Milwaukee trees will not be easy. But with Chris Middleton’s injury, which severely strained Bucks’ wing depth beyond Pat Conauton, which forced coach Mike Budenholzer to lean on Hill and Grayson Allen, now minus 19 for 111 minutes in this series, reducing the effect requires Bud to go out repeatedly. weak connections that Tatum – and Jaylan Brown, who had 18 points despite struggling with fouls, and Marcus Smart, who had nine of his 18 points in the fourth – may seek to highlight and use.
Boston’s defense, which keeps Bucks just over one point in possession in this series, has far fewer potential inconsistencies to attack. And without Middleton to turn to as a viable source of attack at the end of the game, the burden of creating strikes in Milwaukee falls entirely on Adetokunmpo and Holiday, who have an average of more than 39 minutes per game while taking on huge defensive weights, such as Janice looks more and more gassed. to the fourth quarter and Holiday shot a grim 31-for-92 in the series – especially during Janice’s short breaks. (During the regular season, Holiday was one of the most effective and flexible insulators in the NBA; against the many defenders on Boston’s ace perimeter, he averaged an awful 0.66 points of isolation, according to Second Spectrum.)
In four games against Boston.
Giannis ON, Jrue ON: 127 minutes, -12Giannis ON, Jrue OFF: 28 minutes, + 23Giannis OFF, Jrue ON: 32 minutes, -27
– Justin Rousseau (@FlyByKnite) May 10, 2022
Just one day off between games means that Antetokounmpo and Holiday won’t have much time to recover either, which doesn’t bode well for their chances of looking fresher and sharper as the series continues and becomes even more intense. Middleton’s return would be a huge boost, but the Bucks can’t count on it; TNT’s Stephanie Reidy said during Match 4 that Budenholzer said the All-Star striker had progressed to a “very light contact”, but whether that portends a return to Match 5 on Wednesday remains to be seen.
If Middleton can’t come back, and if Bud can’t find a few extra buckets elsewhere on the bench without overturning the defense, then the state of the game is clear: Jru must shoot smarter and more accurately, and Janice has to be not only the best player on the floor, but also the best player on the planet, with an even bigger difference than he has managed so far. This is possible; it is also extremely difficult. And Al Horford certainly doesn’t seem interested in making it easy.
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