9 Takeaways: Derrick White leads the charge as Celtics dominate Hawks in Game 2

The Celtics once more gave the Hawks matchup nightmares.

On Tuesday, the Celtics secured a second consecutive comfortable victory against the Hawks, extending their lead to 2-0 in the first-round series — this time a 119-106 victory.

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Below are the key points to take away from the game:

1. Derrick White continued to dominate in Game 2, scoring 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, in addition to seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks, after his impressive 22-point performance in Game 1. The Celtics hoped that he would have a significant impact playing alongside stars like Tatum and Brown, but White has emerged as a third star, demonstrating his reliability as a 3-point shooter and his ability to attack the basket when needed, while also excelling in defense against top guards like Trae Young of the Hawks. This trend has been consistent not just in this series, but in the regular season as well, which is quite impressive.

According to Joe Mazzulla, White is one of the players, along with Marcus Smart, who efficiently initiates the Celtics’ offensive plays.

According to Mazzulla, he possesses skills to manage and participate in the game. He takes advantage of the opportunities created by Smart, Jayson, and Jaylen for others, and at times, he benefits from them by performing exceptionally well.

During the fourth quarter, as White-headed towards the free-throw line, the Celtics supporters cheered him on with chants of “M-V-P”.

“We talked about it after the game,” Tatum said. “He was like, ‘That’s what it feels like?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”

According to White, he has become much more at ease as the season has progressed.

“Even during the regular season, it was JB in timeouts like, ‘C’mon, D, be aggressive. Come on, do what you do,’” White said. “So it’s cool to hear that from [Brown and Tatum]. They all empowered me to go out there and play my game.”

2. Tatum was the leading scorer for the Celtics with 29 points and also provided six assists. Towards the end of the game, the Hawks attempted to accelerate the pace of play by doubling up on defense, but Tatum managed to handle the situation effectively, and his passing skills re-energized the Celtics’ offensive game.

“His patience to be able to accept that — that allows us to get to our spacing,” Mazzulla said. “And usually when that happens, there are three 2-on-1s and you just have to find the right one.”

The Hawks are facing a major challenge in finding a solution to the Tatum puzzle, particularly due to the limited ability of De’Andre Hunter to defend the Celtics’ star in a one-on-one situation. With no one capable of effectively guarding Tatum, the Hawks’ defense is at risk of being easily disrupted when he receives the ball. This presents another complicated problem for Quin Snyder to address, alongside the numerous other mismatches on the court.

3. Although the Hawks were not competitive in Game 1 or 2, they managed to outperform the Celtics in various crucial aspects on Tuesday. Particularly, they significantly improved their offensive rebounding from Game 1, where they only out-rebounded the Celtics 14-12, to Game 2, where they had a commanding 19-5 advantage. Additionally, they attempted 48 shots from beyond the arc compared to the Celtics’ 33, although they only made one more 3-pointer than the Celtics.

According to Mazzulla, despite feeling good, their team hasn’t improved in the last two games due to their inability to control the shot margin effectively. The opposing team is successfully preventing them from taking threes while managing to take more shots themselves. Therefore, they must focus on avoiding turnovers and continue defending without fouling. Additionally, Mazzulla believes that they need to improve their rebounding as there are still 8-10 rebounds they could have secured better.

4. Although their offensive performance was not very impressive, the big men of the Celtics made a significant impact. Horford successfully created space for Capela to move towards the 3-point line, and he received a sharp pass from Tatum that resulted in a 3-pointer, ultimately causing the game to become less competitive.

Jayson Tatum executes a nasty cross court bullet pass to Al Horford to drain the triple and beat the buzzer pic.twitter.com/kA7cPCIAXd

— dave (@nbadaves) April 19, 2023

“I threw it angry because I was trying to get it there,” Tatum said. “I knew it was two seconds or less and I didn’t want them to deflect it or intercept it. I tried to get it there in time in order for him to get a good shot off.”

During the first half of the game, Robert Williams failed to make his first shot of the series. However, he showed outstanding performance for the second consecutive game by disrupting shots near the rim and taking defensive rebounds. In a game where the Celtics struggled to end Hawks’ possessions, Williams contributed eight points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots. Furthermore, he was part of a well-balanced Celtics scoring attack that outscored the Hawks by 64-40 in the paint. Compared to last year when he had to return early from meniscus surgery and seemed to be dragging his leg on the floor, having him healthy and playing for about 25 minutes per game is a significant improvement.

5. Jaylen Brown had an impressive set of footwear prepared for the second game.

Jaylen Brown's shoes tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bwAcRDuKbw

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 18, 2023

After scoring 18 points and making three steals, Brown left the game in the second half while holding his hand. However, he assured reporters later that he is okay.

6. On Tuesday, the Hawks demonstrated a marked improvement in their performance when Trae Young was not on the court. Their significant comeback was mostly achieved while he was not playing.

Young’s shooting performance was subpar once again in the game, as he could only manage to score 24 points with a shooting percentage of 9-for-22. Moreover, his performance in 3-point shooting was disappointing, as he could only hit 2 out of 8 attempts. He also committed five turnovers, making him an easy target for the Celtics’ defensive strategy. As a result, he had the lowest score (-18) in the team’s box score, with only Clint Capela (-5) finishing in the negatives among the other Hawks starters.

As Young approached the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, Celtics supporters loudly chanted “overrated” at him, indicating that they believe he is not as good as some claim. For the small guard, this series poses a challenging challenge due to his lack of size.

7. During the first half, the Hawks dedicated a considerable amount of time to defensively pursue Sam Hauser. However, their efforts were not fruitful as De’Andre Hunter and Young found it challenging to overcome Hauser’s defense, which resulted in a sluggish offense for the team.

Hauser Hunting pic.twitter.com/UB8dfetwKm

— Wow a highlight (@highlights1_nba) April 19, 2023

The Hawks are not the only team to slow down their offense by focusing on attacking Hauser, and it’s unlikely that they will be the last. However, their outcomes thus far have not been very promising.

In the third quarter, Dejounte Murray’s performance prevented the Hawks from suffering a significant defeat, as he scored 13 out of his 24 points and landed three out of his seven triples. During the game, Murray shot a jumper, and then directed his attention to the Celtics bench, where he seemed to start verbally confronting Joe Mazzulla.
How did he respond?

“He just asked how my day was going,” Mazzulla deadpanned. “He’s a great kid, he’s a great guy. I’ve gotten to know him just through a lot of the people from the Spurs organization, and he was putting on a hell of a show.”