The Celtics, won again.
Facing the Thunder, the Celtics crushed the whole process, played a wave of 38-26 in the first quarter, and then remained in the lead, at most at one point 110-84 led by 26 points, although the Thunder felt warm at the end of the fourth quarter, helpless to dig too many holes in front, and finally the Celtics won 132-123 against the Thunder.
After winning the game, the Celtics won all four consecutive away games in the West, and the total winning percentage score reached 80 points;
In the last 26 games, the Celtics have won 22 and lost 4, the first in the league in the same period, and half of those wins have been against playoff teams;
The Celtics currently have a record of 45 wins and 28 losses, which has equalled the second-place 76ers in the East (44-27) and only 2.5 wins away from the First Heat in the East (47-25).
It's no exaggeration to say that the Celtics may be the best team in the league in the second half, and Tatum is definitely one of the best players in the league at the same time.
In this game, Tatum played well again, scoring 14 points in the second quarter, playing 39 minutes, shooting 11 of 19 from the field, 5 of 11 from three-point range, 9 of 9 from the free throw line, 36 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, and reaching +12 plus/minus on the field.
During the four-game winning streak, Tatum scored 30+ in three games:
— Against the Warriors, 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists
— Against the Kings, 32 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists
— Against the Nuggets, 30 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists
— Against the Thunder, 36 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists
Four games, averaging 31.0 points per game, and that's not even the March average for Tatum.
After March, Tatum played in 10 games, averaging 34.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, the league-first in the same period, including one 54 points (against the Nets) and one 44 points (against the Hornets).
Tatum has not been an efficient scorer in his career, but so far in March, he has been surprisingly efficient, shooting 53.2%/45.5%/90.0% and 68.0% from the field.
Zooming in to the entire season, Tatum currently plays in 69 games, averaging 27.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and he is eighth in the league in points per game and first in the league in total 1863 points, shooting 44.7%/35.0%/85.8% of the three shooting rates and shooting 57.3% of the true shooting rate.
Now Tatum, who has officially grown into the leader of the Celtics, this season:
— In Tatum's presence, the Celtics scored 114.4 points/103.3 points per 100 possessions, outperforming their opponents by 11.1 points
— Tatum was not present, and the Celtics scored 102.2 points/105.8 points per 100 rounds, netting 3.6 points against their opponents
Tatum's on-field influence is already at the MVP level, if it weren't for the Celtics' early record, Tatum would probably be in the real discussion of MVP like Alphabet Brother, Jokic, and Embiid.
At this point, let's talk about the Celts, the green army in the second half is really too fierce.
Before entering 2022, the Celtics had a record of only 16 wins and 19 losses, ranking 19th in the league, when the Celtics were considered one of the most disappointing teams in the East, and the future of the double probe was also doubtful.
But after entering 2022, the Celtics' record reached 29 wins and 9 losses, the second in the league in the same period, behind the Suns (31 wins and 7 losses), and the Celtics during this period:
- Offensive efficiency 116.5, fifth in the league
- Defensive efficiency 104.2, league first (league second loner 108.1)
- Net efficiency 12.3, League 1 (League 2 sun 9.5)
In contrast, the net efficiency of the "Cosmic Warrior" in the 2016-17 season was 11.4, and the Celtics after entering 2022 were even fiercer than the Warriors at the time, and in terms of performance in the second half, the Celtics are definitely the best team in the East.
It's said that no team in the East wants to touch the Nets, but who wants to touch the Celtics? This year's Tatum is in good shape, and there are a group of tough players in the team, including Jaylen Brown, Lowe, White, and Smart, maybe, really can do something.