Miami or Milwaukee, South Beach or north at the border, Boston’s blueprint might have been drafted on this 3-1 road trip. After splitting days off in a back-to-back in Charlotte and Atlanta, we’ve seen an impressive two games from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. With Brown leading the scoring charge, Tatum has flexed his all-around game with nearly two triple-doubles against the Heat and Bucks.
A 133-101 throttling started with the Celtics hitting 8-for-12 from behind the arc to take a 43-26 lead in the first
and they never looked back. All five starters and sixth man Payton Pritchard scored in double figures with the team committing just eight turnovers in a fairly lackadaisical game.
The Celtics now have four of their final five games at TD Garden and a magic number of three to finish #2 in the East. Their only road game is of course Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Their odds have improved all week with our friends at FanDuel and now are +550 to raise Banner 19 and the favorite to rep the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown
30 minutes, 26 points (2-4 from 3, 10-11 from the free throw line, 7-17 from the field), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, +27
After a bout with Achilles tendonitis, Brown seems rejuvenated. After scoring 43 against the Heat, he dropped 26 points in 30 minutes in Milwaukee that included 11 trips to the free throw line. He had the full repertoire on display: the pitter patter drives, the strong finishes at the rim, and his fall away in the mid-range.
Grade: A
Jayson Tatum
31 minutes, 23 points (4-8 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line, 8-16 from the field), 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 steals, +30
Early in his comeback, Tatum was a little prone to holding the ball a little too long and going in to his isolation game like it was 2024 all over again.
Now, he’s making decisions so much quicker. That’s really opened up Queta’s game whenever he slips out of picks or short rolls to the free throw line.
Grade: A+
Neemias Queta
37 minutes, 43 points (4-10 from 3, 5-7 from the free throw line, 17-29 from the field), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, one turnover, +9
Queta has quickly become the closest approximation of Robert Williams III the Celtics have seen since Timelord was traded three years ago. As soon as he catches the ball, he’s so quick off the bounce and has developed an array of Olajuwon-esque moves in the paint. Add four blocks and four offensive rebounds and it was a near perfect game for the Most Improved Player candidate.
Grade: A
Sam Hauser
27 minutes, 13 points (3-4 from 3, 5-6 from the field), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, +25
Attention all playoff opponents, Sam Hauser is getting hot. Maybe it was Tatum’s return. Maybe it was just water finding its level. Maybe it’s just destiny.
After spending scuffling under 40% from 3, Hauser sits at 39% with five games to go. He’s hit eight of his last eleven triples and become an important cog in the starting lineup.
Grade: A
Derrick White
31 minutes, 17 points (5-9 from 3, 6-11 from the field), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, one turnover, +34
I don’t want to jinx it, but DWhite looked great last night and had the highest +/- on the evening. I’ll stop there and hope that the juju has permanently changed.
Grade: A-
Payton Pritchard
26 minutes, 16 points (2-6 from 3, 7-12 from the field), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, one turnover, +2
Pritchard own the second quarter with the second unit. He led the team with twelve points and scored at all three levels.
Grade: A
Luka Garza
12 minutes, 2 points (1-2 from the field), 4 rebounds, one assist, +0
The starters plus Pritchard were absolutely unconscious that players #8-#10 in the rotation didn’t have to do too much.
Grade: B
Baylor Scheierman
23 minutes, 2 points (0-2 from 3, 1-3 from the field), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, one turnover, one steal, +4
Like Garza, Scheierman didn’t light up the box score, but filled in with quality minutes off the bench. Two of his dimes came in the alley-oop variety.
Grade: B
Jordan Walsh
12 minutes, 7 points (1-3 from 3, 3-5 from the field), 2 rebounds, +1
Walsh has seemingly leapfrogged Gonzalez on the wing rotation. His defense remains his calling card, but if he can hit more than 35% from 3 and generate stocks (steals and blocks), those 20+ possessions per game he’s on the floor for should have a positive impact.
Grade: B
Charles Bassey / Hugo Gonzalez / Ron Harper Jr.
5-6 minutes, 8 points (0-1 from 3, 4-6 from the field), 4 rebounds, one assist, one turnover, one steal +4
With how well Gonzalez and Harper Jr. have looked in spurts this season, it’s unfortunate that we don’t get to see them play here at the end of the season. Mazzulla seems to be trimming the rotation down to nine players and they’re just simply the odd man out…until Mazzulla throws another curve ball and one of those guys are starting a game in April.
Grade: INC
DNP-CDs: Max Shulga, John Tonje, Amari Williams
Inactives: Nikola Vucevic
