![]() He also averaged 5.4 assists per 75 possessions.Īfter this extended slump with Boston, White is due for a breakout. In four-plus seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, White shot 34.4 percent from deep (not great, but good enough to force defenses to pay attention to him outside). Those don't reflect White's career, though. Meanwhile, after going 1-of-10 from the field and 1-of-6 from three in the closeout win over Milwaukee, White is down to 35.2 percent from the field and 24.3 from three in the playoffs. Over his last 25 regular-season games, he shot just 29.8 percent from three. The Celtics' net rating (point differential per 100 possessions) was 5.6 points better with White on the floor, and that was due in large part to his defense. And this playoff run will continue to strengthen his case for "best wing in the NBA."īoston's acquisition of Derrick White was undoubtedly a win. Īnd all of that carried over to the postseason, where Tatum's playmaking seems to have gone up a notch, too (he's averaging 6.1 assists, neck and neck with Marcus Smart's 6.2 for the team lead).Įven in a series with Butler, there will be stretches in which Tatum is the best player on the floor. A wing leading the league in defensive win shares, which Tatum did, is exceptionally rare. 1 option scoring ability he established last season remained, while he also guarded like a Defensive Player of the Year contender. In his fifth NBA season, everything came together for Tatum on both ends of the floor. A sixth-place finish in MVP voting put him in the same range. Jayson Tatum's Superstar Turn Will ContinueĪ number of catch-all metrics from around the internet pegged Tatum as a top-five player this season. Strus will face Tatum, Brown, Marcus Smart and Derrick White at various times throughout the series, each of whom is probably a better perimeter defender than anyone Philadelphia sent his way. Jrue Holiday, Bobby Portis, Wesley Matthews, Grayson Allen and George Hill all shot under 40 percent from the field against the Cs. Playoff series provide ample time for game-planning and adjustments, and the Celtics will be ready for Strus.Īgainst the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, Boston did a masterful job of not only showing Giannis Antetokounmpo multiple bodies on almost every drive, and it scrambled to his kick-out options in a heartbeat. The random assortment of teams he faced toward the end of the regular season, the Atlanta Hawks and the free-falling 76ers are not the Celtics (though he did score 14 on them on March 30). And in all 17 games since then, he's shooting 39.8 percent from three. He had double-doubles in each of the last two games against the Sixers. In that stretch, he has three 20-point performances. Max Strus has started every game he's appeared in since March 28, including 11 playoff contests. He's scoring like prime Kobe Bryant (whose playoff career-high is 32.8), handling lead playmaker duties with Kyle Lowry in and out of the lineup and providing his typically stellar perimeter defense.īoston has enough size, versatility and want-to on the wings to make things more difficult for Butler than the Philadelphia 76ers did, but no one will out-compete Butler. He's averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.6 threes while posting a 61.8 true shooting percentage.Īs he did during Miami's bubble run to the Finals, Butler is giving the Heat everything. That honor will go to Jimmy Butler in this Eastern Conference Final, though, and that's more of an endorsement of what he's done already than some bold prediction.īutler is the postseason leader in box plus/minus (BPM ".is a basketball box score-based metric that estimates a basketball player's contribution to the team when that player is on the court," according to Basketball Reference ). ![]() In any four-to-seven game stretch, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown or Bam Adebayo could emerge with "best player in the series" numbers. ![]() Jimmy Butler Will Be the Best Player in the Seriesīoth of these teams have plenty of talent and deploy equal-opportunity offenses.
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