3 Celtics Who Must Step Up In Friday's Crucial Game 3

The Boston Celtics are in big trouble.

They are down 0-2 in their first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Celtics were competing in Game 1, but ultimately lost.

Right back at it on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/Dl9RoXvsh9

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 23, 2021

After taking the lead into halftime, the Nets outscored them 57-40 in the second half.

Game 2 was a totally different story for the Celtics.

From the opening tip, they seemed overwhelmed and outmatched.

The Nets ran away with the win in blowout fashion.

Final pic.twitter.com/Z21pyYNqF1

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 26, 2021

There has to be some adjustments in order for this to be a competitive series.

Brad Stevens needs to figure out who on the Celtics is ready to play.

Three players need to step up and need to do it fast before the series is over.

3. Evan Fournier

Jaylen Brown is the second-best player for this team, but he is out for the rest of the season.

Evan Fournier did not expect to be such a key piece to the team, but he is now.

His scoring is needed tremendously to help Jayson Tatum.

However, Game 1 was a bad one for Fournier as he only shot 3-10 from the field.

Game 2 was a more efficient one for him, but he only took nine shots while Tatum was out for the rest of the game with an injury.

Fournier needs to be more aggressive on the court and keep on shooting.

He is deferring to Marcus Smart, who is not as good of a scorer as himself.

This isn’t a time to be reserved and playing scared.

Down 0-2 in the series calls for desperation.

The Kemba Walker signing has had so many ups and downs.

There have been good playoff performances, but there have also been putrid ones.

As of now he has been average at best this series.

Game 1 was bad and Game 2 was average at best.

The problem is that he is being paid like an All-Star player.

He has been far from that.

The lack of seriousness and motivation has been on full display with Kemba this series.

There needs to be a level of urgency with him as they are down and barely fighting back.

He is paid a lot of money and needs to show up for Game 3 for the Celtics to have any shot of winning.

The Celtics’ best player is undoubtedly Tatum.

He has been the man for the last couple of years and has really proven that notion this season.

Unfortunately, he has struggled a lot this series so far.

Game 1 was a rough night for the All-Star, as he shot 6-20 from the field.

Game 2 was looking like a repeat of the first game as he was 3-12 before he was poked in the eye and out for the rest of the game.

The Celtics are going to have to rely on Tatum for the rest of the season with Brown out and Walker playing mediocre basketball.

Tatum has a lot on his shoulders, but this is why he is the franchise guy.