Following a 4-1 month of October, the Boston Celtics opened up November with their first road win of the season, taking down the Orlando Magic 108-97. This extends their winning streak to 5 games, tying their longest winning streak from last season.
In Halloween fashion, the Magic gave Boston a scare after coming back from a 15-point lead the Celtics held midway through the third quarter. However, some clutch shot making by Jayson Tatum and Paul George down the stretch of the fourth quarter allowed
Boston to escape the house of Disney World with a victory.
1. Magic Drew First Blood, Tatum Finished it
Jayson Tatum had a great first quarter, finishing with 8 points on 3-6 shooting but at the end of the quarter he was hit in the head, resulting in a cut that saw him bleedingand having to go back to the locker room. Much like Rambo saying, “they drew first blood, not me,” Tatum finished the game with another spectacular performance, finishing with 32 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 8-19 shooting from the field, 1-5 from three and 15-17 from the free throw line.
A bad third quarter made Tatum’s final numbers look worse than it was but the thing that impressed me the most was his ability to get to the free throw line. We have seen Tatum already set a new career high in free throws attempted against the Nets on Tuesday and with 17 more in this game, he became the first Celtic since Paul Pierce in 2008 to attempt 54 free throws in a 4 game span according to Dick Lipe. It feels like he has become a lot less reliant on the three-point shot and is just bullying his way to the basket on most of his possessions.
Tatum’s defense was a stand out as well. There were multiple possessions where the Magic decided to go one-on-one against Tatum and he stood his ground. He was fighting around screens and did a great job on constantly putting pressure on Orlando’s ball handlers. It really is just a pleasure to watch him on the court, further cementing the fact that he is one of, if not the best two-way player in the game.
When clutch time hits, there is also no one I would rather have than Jayson Tatum on the floor controlling the offense. After a long stretch off to start the fourth quarter, he came in and immediately hit two pull-up jumpers to build Boston’s lead back up to 8 points. Tatum is now averaging 31.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 7.0 APG on 61% TS% in his last 5 games and looks prime for a run at potentially an MVP.
2. Hugo Gonzalez First Start
We saw a change to the starting lineup for the first time this season as Joe Mazzulla decided to start Hugo Gonzalez in the place of Jordan Walsh. Gonzalez held his own in 14 minutes of play, finishing with 7 points, and 2 steals on 3-5 shooting from the field and 1-3 from three.
All of Gonzalez’s points came in the first quarter but he looked to be holding his own on the offensive end. He hit a three and had a couple nice finishes in the paint. When it came to his work on the glass, I feel like the best way to describe it is the epitome of a bulldozer. He was able to clear out space a ton and it opened up the Celtics to get more offensive rebounds.
I hope we get to see more of Hugo Gonzalez in the starting lineup moving forward. Even in the limited sample size he was on the court, he looked comfortable amongst the rest of the Celtics starters and specifically thrived next to Jayson Tatum. The idea of Walsh as a starter isn’t bad, but I feel like Gonzalez can do pretty similar things to him and might have a little bit more upside.
3. Grand Theft Auto: Boston
Although Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be based in Florida, the Celtics played their own version of the game when it came to their defense against the Magic. Boston hounded Orlando into 16 turnovers, 9 steals, and 7 blocks on the game, holding them to only 97 points.
The Celtics set the tone early in this game, forcing the Magic into 8 turnovers in the first quarter alone. Although it could be chalked up to sloppy play by Orlando, Boston’s defense was a big factor and it helped them get out from an early deficit after the Magic started the game on a 13-4 run. The defense came up huge again in the fourth quarter, as they held Orlando to 7-24 (29.2%) shooting from the field and 2-9 (22.2%) shooting from three. A gritty effort by the Boston defense.
4. No Threes, No Problem
We all know Boston is known for their three point shooting and we also know the Celtics have shot themselves out of games in the past when they are missing from beyond the arc. However, we saw the Celtics shoot 12-44 (27.3%) from three in this game against the Magic and still came out with the victory. This was due in part to the fact they shot 25-40 (62.5%) from inside the arc and more specifically shot 12-16 (75%) at the basket.
It’s good to see Boston have some more variety when the threes aren’t falling. It is a huge help that Jayson Tatum and Paul George are proficient when it comes to shooting in the midrange and it will make them all the more dynamic of an offense this season.
5. Neemias Queta Presence
Hugo Gonzalez wasn’t the only the only change to the starting lineup ahead of today’s game, as Mitchell Robinson was ruled OUT do to rest since the Celtics are playing a back-to-back. This gave us a chance to see Neemias Queta back in the starting lineup and he was able to show out a little more. He finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 4-9 shooting.
The first half saw Queta showcase his talents on the offensive end, rolling to the basket and finishing with monster slams or nifty reverse layups. The second half is where we saw his defense come in to play, specifically in the fourth quarter. Queta had 2 huge blocks in the final two minutes of play that the Celtics up to hit the dagger and put the game out of reach.
I hope we get to see Queta in the starting lineup more. He has been fine coming off the bench this year but Mitchell Robinson hasn’t really impressed in the starting role so far. Queta was a great starter last year and has great chemistry with Tatum. I feel like Boston could go either way with the starting center but as of now it feels like Robinson would be better suited for a bench role.
6. Luka Garza: Magic Killer
If you were watching this game with the Orlando Magic’s broadcast team, you would have heard them call Luka Garza the “Magic Killer” because every time he sees their shade of blue he has a big game. That is a true statement after last year where in the final game of the season he finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds on 10-18 shooting including the game winning three. Garza was once again a force against Orlando in this matchup as the Celtics second string center, finishing with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 4-7 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three.
Garza is known for turning into the “Garzilla” when it comes dominating the offensive glass but it was his three point shooting that was the biggest factor in this game. He hit his first three in the second quarter to end a 1-15 drought to begin the game for Boston and his second came in the fourth quarter during a big Celtics run. Garza played some huge minutes as the only backup center Boston played in this game and just continues to be a consistent presence off the bench.
7. Elite Assist Numbers
One thing that has jumped out to me about the Celtics offense this year is the amount of assists that they are able to rack up. In this game against the Magic they finished with 29 and the ball movement was beautiful to watch. Even with the shots not falling in, Boston was able set up their teammates with a lot of wide open opportunities and they kept Orlando’s defense on their heels all game.
However, a stat that the NBC Sports Boston broadcast brought up was the fact that the Celtics have tallied 25+ assists in all six of their games this season. It is the longest streak in franchise history and is a testament to the way Boston has been playing. The unselfish brand of basketball the Celtics have been known for is flowing to start this season, with Boston ranking tied for 4th in assists per game as a team at 28.0. They are also ranked 9th in the league with a 1.83 Assist/Turnover rate.
8. Huge Non-Tatum 4th Quarter Minutes
Going into the fourth quarter, the Celtics led the Magic 77-74 with Jayson Tatum scoring 11 points in the third. Tatum was going to sit to begin the fourth quarter and Boston was going to have to fill some big minutes without their best player on the floor. In that time, the lineup of Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Paul George, and Luka Garza weathered the storm.
They outscored Orlando 20-17 with Tatum on the bench including an 18-6 run that gave them a 12 point lead with 5:02 remaining. Tatum was set to come in after Paul George shot free throws but Joe Mazzulla decided to hold him back a little longer, trusting the group that had the momentum. It almost back fired entirely with Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva hitting back to back threes to cut it to a 6 point game with 4:22 remaining, but I liked the sentiment.
Mazzulla was trying to reward the guys on the floor who put out a double digit lead and maybe it lasted a little too long, it was still a fine decision. It not only gave Tatum time to rest a little more given the Celtics were on the first half of a back-to-back, but it also allowed him to come in fresh and takeover the game. Loved what I saw out of that group and it gives me more confidence in them moving forward.
9. Paul George Closer
Paul George has been better than anyone could have hoped when it comes to the beginning of his Boston Celtics career. There are shades of Clippers PG on offense still apparent in his game now it came out in full force against the Magic. George finished with 17 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks on 6-14 shooting from the field and 3-10 from three. However, in the fourth quarter he turned it on the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points on 3-4 shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from three, including the dagger with 1:32 remaining to give the Celtics the win.
George was the main facilitator of the Non-Tatum minutes and has thrived in that role throughout this season. Via databallr, the Celtics have a +25 net rating when Paul George is on the court without Tatum including an offensive rating of 138.8 per 100 possessions. Those are just the basic numbers without anything filtered so there could be an outlier there but those are still some pretty great numbers. George continues to impress me every game he plays with Boston and he fit into this system about as perfect as anyone could have imagined.
10. Road Dogs
There always seems to be something off anytime the Celtics play against the Magic in Orlando. Every time they play in the Kia Center Boston and Orlando always seem to have a heavy weight match that ends in a pretty close contest. The Celtics were 1-4 playing in that arena over the last seasons with the one win coming last season so there was bound to be something going on today.
Even with the gods of the Kia Center working against them, Boston gutted out a win over a Magic team who is a lot better than people give them credit for. Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva are legit flame throwers every time they play the Celtics and even though Franz Wagner had a bad game, he can also light you up. This game was the first of twelve road games that Boston is going to play in the month of November, so I expect to see more gritty wins like this one as the Celtics World Tour across the country continues.
