Celtics
The Celtics pummeled the Hornets in their final preseason game.
The Celtics demolished the Hornets in their final preseason game 127-99, showing yet again the immense potential of the roster Brad Stevens put together this offseason.
Here are the takeaways.
1. So what have we learned from the preseason?
With all the myriad caveats that “it’s just preseason” and “the opposition has barely been NBA-caliber” and “did we mention it’s preseason?”, the Celtics look incredible with their new acquisitions.
Kristaps Porzingis looks great on the best roster he has gotten a chance to play for thus far. While his 3-point shooting has been the big storyline of his preseason, he scored 14 points in 23 minutes on Thursday, and just one of his field goals came from behind the arc. He can do a little bit of everything offensively.
Jrue Holiday is a sure-footed, quick-handed, monstrous defender who fits perfectly with the Celtics’ stars and is the jelly to Derrick White’s peanut butter in a starting backcourt that might have a defensive rating in the low 90s.
White looks better.
Al Horford looked spry.
Jaylen Brown looks excellent.
Jayson Tatum looks elite.
The Celtics look ready.
2. The Hornets are in no way representative of the type of competition the Celtics will face during the regular season, but the gap between the Hornets and the Celtics’ starters was significant. The defensive combination of White and Holiday in particular gave them fits — the Celtics’ starters recorded an eye-popping 10 steals, including three each by Tatum and Holiday and two more by White. Beating the Celtics off the bounce is hard, and when you do, you have to be alert not only to whomever remains in front of you, but also to hands swiping at the ball from behind.
The Celtics weren’t particularly efficient – just 31.1 percent from three and 64.7 percent from the free-throw line – but forcing 24 turnovers will do a whole lot of heavy lifting for you.
3. Neemias Queta got early minutes after a DNP-CD against the Knicks on Tuesday, and once again, the enormous center looked excellent – 6-for-6 from the floor for 12 points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes.
Luke Kornet dressed but didn’t play, which is interesting. The guess here is that with Kornet’s spot secure on the roster, the Celtics preferred to get a closer look at Queta with the regular rotation while giving minutes to players like Wenyen Gabriel and others who participated in training camp.
Queta is currently on a two-way contract, but the Celtics could convert him to a full-time deal. His training camp performance suggests he could have some opportunities to prove himself during the regular season.
4. After acquiring buckets in a variety of ways throughout the preseason, Payton Pritchard went 1-for-6 from the field … but dished out eight assists in 16 minutes. His playmaking looked improved during the preseason (again, against competition that could generously be described as “inferior”), and he appears to have developed some chemistry with Queta.
We’ve said it before, but for all the noise about how the Celtics’ roster is talented but top heavy, several members of the bench unit impressed during the preseason. There’s a lot to like here.
5. Lamar Stevens threw down a monstrous dunk in the fourth quarter.
Stevens didn’t get a ton of playing time during the preseason, but he probably did enough to secure his roster spot. With his athleticism and a frame that promises to guard multiple positions, the Celtics should be able to find use for him during the regular season.
6. The Celtics have to cut one player from their roster. Their three two-way slots are filled by Queta, J.D. Davison, and Jay Scrubb, who tore his ACL earlier in the preseason. Setting aside players who won’t get cut (Pritchard and Sam Hauser, and presumably both Kornet and Oshae Brissett), that leaves Stevens, Gabriel, Svi Mykhialiuk, Dalano Banton, Jordan Walsh, and D.J. Steward.
Walsh would be a stunner, since the Celtics just selected him this past year and he had a standout performance at the Las Vegas Summer League. Banton got minutes with the regular rotation, so unless the Celtics were giving him a chance to audition for someone else, we would assume he’s in as well. Mykhialiuk had a strong preseason.
The three most likely candidates are probably Gabriel, Steward, and Stevens, all of whom are on training camp deals. Of those three, Gabriel and Steward played the fewest minutes during the preseason, and both play positions of relative strength on the Celtics’ roster. Only Steward would be two-way eligible — since two-way players can only have four years of experience or fewer — but in theory, the Celtics could cut one of Banton, Walsh or Mykhialiuk, convert Queta to a full roster spot and put Steward on a two-way deal.
The guess here is that won’t happen and the Celtics will choose between either Gabriel or Steward. Brad Stevens has until Oct. 23 to decide.
7. Prior to the game, Joe Mazzulla told reporters that he believes people make too big a deal out of the starting lineup.
“They’re not our starters, they are the first five guys who happen to be starting the game,” Mazzulla said, per NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “… We can’t get into this narrative of Al [Horford] sacrificing or Jrue sacrificing. At the end of the day, I have to sacrifice, our assistants have to sacrifice, all 17 players are going to be asked to do things they don’t want to do. If we want to win, we all have to lose at something.”
Frankly, it sounds to us like you could call the first five guys who happen to be starting the game “starters.” It also sounds like you could call it “sacrificing” when players are asked to do things they don’t want to do in pursuit of a higher goal.
Still, the Celtics seem happy and look incredible. We won’t belabor the point too hard after a preseason that positive.
8. The Celtics now turn their attention to the three regular-season games they will play in October – the Knicks and Heat on Oct. 25 and 27 respectively, followed by the Wizards on Oct. 30. After a long wait and a ton of turnover, the Celtics’ regular season is finally here.
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Originally posted 2023-10-20 12:24:30.