Boston Celtics
“I don’t think they should break up the Jays,” O’Neal said. “They just have to learn how to have better in-game adjustments.”
FILE – Shaquille O’Neal speaks during a press conference on Feb. 13, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski, File) AP
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As rumors of the Celtics’ interest in trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo continue to swirl, one Hall of Fame center said he believes the Celtics should just stick with their core building around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Shaquille O’Neal said the Celtics could benefit more from smaller tweaks than a blockbuster trade involving Brown or Tatum.
“I don’t think they should break up the Jays,” O’Neal said. “They just have to learn how to have better in-game adjustments. The Celtics, you know they’re going to die by the jump-shot and live by the jump shot.”
“It’s tough to watch. When it’s falling it looks petty, but you have to have that mentality of, ‘hey I just missed two threes, let me go take a high-percentage shot.’ That’s why they lost.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was recently named NBA coach of the year after leading Boston to 56 wins in a season that many considered a potential gap year.
But, the Celtics stuck with their 3-point heavy approach in the playoffs and weren’t able to summon enough offense to get past Philadelphia. They were held to 100 points or less in all four of their losses.
It was the first time the Celtics had blown a 3-1 series lead in the playoffs, but there is still hope that Boston can turn things around, O’Neal said.
“Listen, it still can work. You can still have two alpha males on the same team doing the same thing,” O’Neal said. “They’re both going to touch the ball, it just comes down to who is going to take the last shot and the game always dictates that.”
After a pair of early playoff exits, the Celtics are attempting to rediscover their championship formula. There doesn’t seem to be animosity between Tatum and Brown, he said, but the Celtics’ style of play has backfired at times and exposed a need to be able to win in multiple ways.
He said the ability to make adjustments was part of what allowed him and Kobe Bryant to win three consecutive titles with the Lakers while navigating the pressure of being two superstars on the same team.
“Our formula back in the day was give me the ball early, probably going to be missing a lot of free-throws. Kobe, you take over in the fourth quarter and we would just ride like that. It worked for us, we were able to win three in a row but we did a great job of making in-game adjustments.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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