Is this the year the Celtics take the Cup seriously?
Boston certainly looked interested Friday night, opening their first group-stage game with a 44-point first quarter, a 29-point halftime lead and Payton Pritchard briefly transforming into that cyborg version of himself who keeps showing up in NBC Sports Boston broadcasts.
Then the Bulls started making things interesting. Chicago won the second half 62-47, whittling what had once been a 32-point Celtics lead down to 14 by the final buzzer.
Boston
still walked away with a 125-111 win and a 1-0 record in East Group C, though Washington holds the early advantage in point differential. The Celtics gave us plenty to get excited about in the first half, and Joe Mazzulla plenty to get annoyed about in the second.
1. The Celtics want the Cup
Earlier this week inside TD Garden, my Australian brethren Jake and Ben from First to the Floor asked whether the Celtics would take the NBA Cup seriously this year. The first half looked like a defiant “you betcha.”
Boston’s first five baskets came in the paint. The Celtics scored 44 in the first quarter, shot 63 percent in the first half and went into the break up 78-49. Pritchard already had 20 points.
The Bulls made the game, and the Cup standings, less comfortable after halftime. They won the second half by 15 and cut Boston’s final margin to 14. Washington also won its opener, leaving both teams 1-0 in East Group C, with the Wizards two points ahead on point differential.
Boston led by as many as 32 and won by 14. That’s a heck of a way to start the Cup, but those 18 points that disappeared along the way could come back to haunt them.
2. Paul George was meant to be a Celtic
I keep trying to find a less obvious way to say this, but Paul George looks like he was meant to be a Celtic.
His connection with Tatum looks instant and incredible. Whether Tatum or George starts the action, they seem to know how to turn it into a good look for the other. George can run the offense himself, but he’s just as happy to make the extra pass, cut behind a defender or do the work that makes somebody else’s life easier. You know, Celtic stuff.
George got his hands on everything and finished with 18 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. That stat line still doesn’t capture how often he seemed to be in the right place. He had a great steal and dunk in the first quarter, and spent the rest of the night making the Bulls think twice about where they pass the ball.
He’s been the biggest pleasant surprise of Boston’s start. I didn’t expect his fit to look this natural this quickly, but I’m thrilled to have been wrong.
3. Tatum is playing like an MVP, and his three is still catching up
Tatum finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He shot 9-for-20 overall and 2-for-7 from three.
His vision was every bit as impressive as his scoring. He kept finding teammates on cuts, drawing defenders toward him before slipping passes into openings that barely seemed to exist. His three-point shot is still finding its rhythm (only shooting 25% from three on the season), but he’s already getting downhill with ease, and the way he’s seeing the floor makes him that much harder to defend.
One of my favorite Tatum moments came after Mitchell Robinson made a free throw. Tatum went over to give him a fist bump, looking every bit as pleased with Mitch’s one point as he did with any of his own 26. You love to see it.
4. The Celtics made room for something bigger than basketball
More than 100 Boston Children’s Hospital patients and their families were at the game versus the Bulls. The day before, the Celtics announced a gift of more than $200 million to the hospital, the largest in its history. Patients lined the court during the national anthem, and the team wore special shooting shirts signed by four former patients who had visited practice the day before.
A young fan held up a sign that read, “Boston’s children saved my life.” I don’t know that fan’s story, and the sign can’t tell it. But seeing that sign during the broadcast stuck with me long after it disappeared from the screen.
I spent much of the night watching Boston dominate, calculating Cup math and getting frustrated as the Bulls chipped away at the lead. But that sign was a good reminder to keep some perspective. I’m lucky to spend my evenings watching the Celtics play basketball and writing about something I love, and even luckier for all the things in life that make those evenings possible. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of that.
5. Mitch hasn’t looked like the Knicks version yet
If Paul George has been the biggest pleasant surprise of Boston’s start, Mitchell Robinson might be the biggest disappointment. He opened the third quarter with a block and went 4-for-4 from the field, finishing with 11 points. But he had just four rebounds in 19 minutes, and he still looks slower than the Robinson who made life miserable for opponents in New York.
Queta played 20 minutes and finished with 13 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block. The Celtics were plus-16 with him on the floor and minus-3 with Robinson. That’s one game’s plus-minus, not a final ruling, but it matched what I saw: Queta brought more pace and seemed more in sync with the rest of the group.
Robinson has the size Boston will inevitably need at points throughout the season. So far, though, he hasn’t looked comfortable in this version of the Celtics. Maybe that changes with time. For now, Queta looks like the center who better fits the team’s rhythm.
6. Pritchard put Norman Powell on skates
Payton Pritchard, jazz pianist. Norman Powell, reluctant dance partner. No analysis needed, simply enjoy the soulful improvisation of Smooth PP.
7. Hugo got the first young-wing look, but Baylor still has Joe’s trust
Hugo González checked in before Baylor Scheierman against Chicago, which caught my attention after Baylor had gotten the nod in Boston’s earlier games. Maybe Joe wanted Hugo’s defensive energy in that first shift, or maybe he’s still figuring out what he has in his young wings. Either way, it was interesting to see Hugo get the call first.
Baylor wasn’t exactly banished to the bench, though. He played 23 minutes and finished with two points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Hugo went scoreless in 15 minutes, adding two rebounds and a steal. Neither lit up the box score, but they can help Boston in different ways. Hugo brings a little chaos defensively, while Baylor has a knack for moving the ball and finding ways to contribute without needing shots.
I wouldn’t read too much into one game’s substitution pattern, especially with Joe Mazzulla involved. But it’ll be interesting to see whether Hugo keeps getting that first opportunity or whether the two continue trading places as Joe tinkers with his rotation.
8. Hauser is the kitchen knife you always reach for
Sam Hauser is the knife you grab because you know it works. There might be a newer one in the drawer, maybe with a nicer handle, but when you need to cut something, you reach for Hauser.
He made two threes and finished with six points against Chicago. Neither basket required much fuss. Hauser knows exactly what he’s there to do, and he’s been doing it long enough that the Celtics know what to expect when they put him on the floor.
With Tatum and George drawing so much defensive attention, there’s always going to be a need for someone who can stand in the corner and punish a defense for forgetting about him. Hauser has made a career out of being that guy.
He might not be the flashiest thing in Boston’s kitchen, but there’s a reason Joe keeps reaching for him.
9. The parquet is probably cold and alone in the bowels of TD Garden, and that’s not okay
I kept expecting the Celtics to be in white. They were at home, after all. Instead, Boston was in black, Chicago was in white, and the parquet I associate with the Garden was nowhere to be seen. More than once in the first quarter, I had to remind myself which team I was watching.
I know the Celtics have worn plenty of colors besides white, but this still threw me. The uniforms and the Cup court scrambled my internal compass before I’d even had time to settle in.
Those parquet squares are probably somewhere in the bowels of the Garden right now, cold and scared and wondering what they did wrong. Is that what you want, Adam Silver?
10. The Celtics won while getting crushed on the glass
Chicago grabbed 51 rebounds to Boston’s 41, including 20 offensive rebounds. That is a lot of second chances to hand a team, especially one that was already chipping away at a 32-point lead.
Boston made up ground elsewhere. The Celtics scored 58 points in the paint to Chicago’s 40, had 10 steals to the Bulls’ seven and scored 21 points off turnovers. They shot 51.2 percent from the field; Chicago shot 38 percent.
The win was comfortable by the final score, but the rebounding was anything but. Joe has a pretty clear place to start when he gets to the film.
For all the talk about whether the Celtics would take the NBA Cup seriously, their first 24 minutes offered a pretty convincing answer. There’s plenty to clean up, and those 18 points they let slip away could matter down the road, but Boston has its first Cup win in the books. Now please, someone go check on the parquet and give it a space blanket and a warm glass of milk.
