Celtics players in the clutch: The good and the bad

If you read my previous article, you already know the Celtics are ranked towards the bottom of the NBA (27th place) in win/loss record in "clutch time". Here's the good and bad from the Celtics players in the final five minutes of a close game (score differential five or less).

Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson, Marcus Smart and Rob Williams all have averaged four minutes-or-more in crunch time this season. They are followed by Al Horford, Romeo langford and Grant Williams logging two-or-more minutes.

Points

Tatum and Brown average a combined 6.7 PPG in those critical final five minutes. The point production drops off precipitously after that.

Field Goal Attempts

Ditto. Its the Jay team once again attempting a combined 5.6 shots per game.

Field goal percentage

Enes Freedom hits a perfect 100% of his field goals in crunch time, but his minutes are limited. He is followed by RWill (64%) and Dennis Schroder (51.5%). Brown hits a respectable 44.4%, while Tatum hits only 35% of his field goals.

3-point percentage

Josh Richardson (67%) and Marcus Smart (50%) take top honors here. Brown does well in third place with 41%. Tatum hits a dismal 9.5% of his treys in the clutch.

Rebounding

RWill, Tatum and Brown sit at the top of this category for Boston.

Assists

Schroder, Brown and Smart are tied for this category at the top of the Celtics list, averaging 0.5 APG in clutch time. Tatum comes in at 0.2 APG.

Turnovers

Tatum heads the list here with 0.5 turnovers per game in the crunch, followed by Brown, Schroder and Smart.

Steals

Smart leads the team in this category, followed by the Jay Team.

Blocks

No surprise that Rob leads the way, followed by Langford and Horford.

Fouls

Rob leads in this category also, followed by Brown and Richardson.

Conclusion

The poor field goal-and-thee-point accuracy is killing The Green at the end of close game. As are the fouls and turnovers. Jayson's poor shooting thus far this season really shows up in crunch time. As do his turnovers and reluctance to pass the ball at critical junctures.

But it is obvious that the Celtics get rattled - lose their composure - and simply fall apart when the game is on the line. This is fixable. The numbers sow the problems. The solutions are in the hands of Ime Udoka and Brad Stevens.

Comments

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