1. 4th Quarter Explosion
On a night that was honoring Isaiah Thomas, it seemed fitting that the Celtics used a huge fourth quarter to take down the Miami Heat 129-116. Boston shot 13-21 from the field and hit a new franchise record
10 three-pointers, shooting 10-15 from beyond the arc.
The Celtics had a 3-point lead going into the final quarter but Boston came out swinging with 6 straight threes from Sam Hauser, Derrick White, and Anfernee Simons that made Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra call 3 timeouts in the first 4 minutes. This killed any chance of a Miami comeback as Boston was able to slam the door shut and snap their two-game losing streak.
2. Derrick White Hot Shooting
There’s something about playing the Miami Heat that turns Derrick White into prime Steph Curry and tonight was another installment of this as he scored a season high 33 points on 9 three pointers along with 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks. White is the first player in NBA history with 9 threes and 4 blocks in a game as his shooting was vital to keeping the Celtics in the game when the score was still close.
One of my favorite threes of the night from him came at the 1:08 mark of the third quarter where he made an entry pass to Jaylen Brown who got the ball at the free throw line. With no where to go, Brown passed it back out to White at the top of the three-point line where he hit a walk-up three.
My other favorite three of the night came at the 10:11 mark of the fourth quarter when the Celtics were hitting everything to start the quarter. White had the ball and was being defended by Dru Smith who was draped all over him. This led to White throwing up a fadeaway three with the shot clock expiring and it splashed in.
When Derrick White is hitting shots there is no one who is going to stop him and tonight proved it. Erik Spoelstra talked about it post-game, saying, “I think he is the most underrated player in the league. The guy is an absolute winner, whatever role you put him in … He just does so many things … He’s the best shot-blocking guard in the league.”
It really is good to see him have these big scoring nights again after struggling to shoot early on in the season. If White keeps this up, there could be a late All-Star campaign coming for him in the future.
3. Jaylen Brown Makes History
Jaylen Brown made history vs. the Heat as he passed Tommy Heinsohn for 13th place on the Celtics all time leading scoring list. He also finished with his 9th 3o+ point performance over his last 10 games as he had 30 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists on 9-18 FG and 2-4 3PM. Brown struggled in the first half of this game as he only scored 6 points at the half but he had an explosive third quarter as he scored 15 points and alongside White, kept Boston in the game.
After struggling to get to the midrange, Brown just started going downhill straight into the teeth of the defense of Miami and it yielded great results. Nothing highlights this change better than the basket he made history on as with a full head of steam, he blew by Jaime Jaquez Jr. and had an easy layup at the rim.
Through 6 games in the month of December, Brown is averaging an insane 32.7 PPG, 6.7 REB and 5.7 AST while shooting 54% from the field and 43% from three! It’s really cool to see Jaylen Brown be able to completely change his play style almost quarter-to-quarter when one part of his game isn’t working. His facilitating and rebounding have also taken a substantial tick up since the beginning of the season which I think is a driving force to the Celtics offense being able to click. He needs serious consideration for 1st Team All-NBA because this is elite level basketball coming from Brown.
4. Sam Hauser Might Be Back
The last two games have been rough for Sam Hauser; he shot a combined 0-11 going into the game vs. Miami. However, it looks like he busted out of his slump. He scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting from three. Hauser has been too good of a shooter in his career so far, so it was to see him return to form in this game.
The biggest shots of the night came in the fourth quarter when the Celtics only had a 3-point lead and Hauser hit back-to-back threes to put Miami on their heels. The first three came when he slipped out of screen and the Heat had two players close out on Derrick White who made a quick pass to Hauser who had a wide open three. The second three of the quarter came off of a steal from Hugo Gonzalez who passed it ahead to Neemias Queta. Queta found a streaking Hauser who pulled up and splashed a three that had TD Garden on its feet.
I hope this is the start of a hot shooting run for Hauser now because what he provides off of the bench for the Celtics is essential. He has never shot below 40% from three in his entire life (real stat, not hyperbole) so even with the slow start, I am positive the water will find its level.
5. Hugo Gonzalez is Chaos Incarnated
Describing the way Hugo Gonzalez plays basketball is like watching Taz from Looney Toons. When Gonzalez gets on the court, a trail of destruction and chaos follows suit and it puts a smile on my face when I watch, especially when he gets increased minutes like he did vs. the Heat. In 29 minutes, Hugo scored 10 points with 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block while finishing as a +22.
Chaos was the definition of the first basket Gonzalez got when after Derrick White missed a shot, Josh Minott made an incredible hustle play to keep the ball in bounds and pass it back to White. White then dribbled by the defender to find a streaking Gonzalez who put Jaime Jaquez Jr. on a poster.
On the defensive end Gonzalez was swarming, as he made an incredible block on Dru Smith who thought he had a wide open three in the corner but Hugo ran across the court to contest the shot. His best steal of the night came at the start of the fourth quarter when the Heat were trying to just make a pass. Gonzalez fought to keep it inbounds and came away with it, leading to a Sam Hauser three and very hyped reaction.
Gonzalez got high praise from his teammates as post-game Derrick White talked about his impact saying, “I saw in the Summer League what everyone was saying about him, that he just never stops. That’s what I expected when he got here and it’s been true.” It’s cool to see White give the rookie praise because Gonzalez has really been impressive. I can’t wait to continue watching Hugo Gonzalez develop this season and I really hope we get more games with him playing increased minutes.
6. Anfernee Simons, Legit Contributor
I have said in 10 Takeaways articles in the past that Anfernee Simons shows up in big time matchups and tonight was a good example of that as his scoring was huge for the Celtics. Simons finished with 14 points on 6-10 FG and 2-5 3PM and some of the baskets he had in this game really impressed me.
The first one that came to mind was Simons’ first shot of the game at the end of the first quarter. With time running low and having Bam Adebayo switched on to him, Simons showed some blazing speed to blow by Bam and finish with a layup. This ability to use his speed downhill is something that Simons is really good at and I would really like to see more of.
Another play where he showcased his speed was in the fourth quarter where he had Kel’el Ware one-on-one. Simons hesitated and blew by Ware for a sweet looking. finger roll. Anfernee Simons will always be a certified bucket and his scoring tonight really was a positive for the Celtics as a whole.
7. Defense on Powell
Norman Powell is one of the most underrated players in the NBA and is having an all-star level season with the Miami Heat this year. However, the Celtics were able to limit his scoring and keep him quite pretty mush the entire night as he finished with 18 points but on 7-21 FG and 1-11 3PM.
Early in the game, Powell was trying his best to get to the rim as much as he could but the Celtics were able to stay in front of him and swarm him with bodies. Payton Pritchard did a good job on this play to stay in front of him and force him into a tough shot with Derrick White also jumping in his face.
After his attempts at trying to get to the paint were foiled, Powell really just started chucking as many threes as he could. Just like in the beginning of the game, the Celtics were able to contest these shots and with him also having an off night, it resulted in the Heat’s offense really struggling. Miami’s offense is predicated on speed and when you try to get the shot off as quickly as possible and you keep missing them, those missed shots can really slow down your offense.
8. Paint Battle
The Heat are a really great rebounding team and when they started a double big lineup with Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware I was a little concerned about the Celtics ability to rebound. There were times in this game where the Heat were able to get extra possessions but over all Boston did a great job of controlling the boards. The Heat out rebounded them but it was only be one (47-46) but it was the Celtics who did a lot of work with 42 points in the paint vs Miami’s 36. The Heat looked a step slow when it came to defending the basket all night and maybe it was because it was the second game of a back-to-back for them but either way Boston did a great job of taking advantage of their defense.
9. Mazzulla For Coach of the Year
The start of this season has proved to me that Joe Mazzulla is going to go down as one of the best coaches in Celtics history. That might be a lot but the way he has been able to get the most out of the guys on this roster like Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Josh Minott, and Baylor Scheierman is something that is special. The Celtics coaching staff as a whole has done an incredible job when it comes to getting them prepared and that was seen when everyone was bloody and beaten during practice before this game even started.
All of the teaching came back tonight as the fourth quarter three point shooting was a microcosm of Mazzulla Ball. Mazzulla was able to push all of the right buttons tonight when it came to lineups as well. He noticed Walsh wasn’t hitting his shots early on so he gave Gonzalez and Hauser more minutes and it worked to perfection as he coached circles around Erik Spoelstra.
His post game presser really looked like this game meant something to him. He talked about the fans and even after the 0-3 start to season, they still showed up. Mazzulla said, “Even when we were 0-3.. I always turned to Sam Cassell and I’m like, ‘Man, this place is still packed.’ So people just appreciate really good basketball.”
I love hearing stuff like this because it shows Joe really cares about this team and the city as a whole. He wants the best for the Celtics organization no matter if Jayson Tatum is playing or not and its translating to wins and the 8th highest scoring differential in Celtics history. If the Celtics are a top 4-6 seed in the East by the time the playoffs roll around, I don’t see how Joe Mazzulla doesn’t win Coach of the Year because he deserves it.
10. IT Back in TD Garden
The Celtics honored Isaiah Thomas back to TD Garden tonight as they were celebrating his 52 point performance vs the Heat on December 30th, 2016. He was sitting court side with Celtics owner Bill Chisholm and got a very long and lound standing ovation by the TD Garden crowd.
The whole night felt dedicated to him and the Celtics did a great job giving him his flowers. He had an interview on NBC Sports Boston during the game where he talked about his former teammate Jaylen Brown saying,“I would be lying if I said I thought he would be where he is right now… it’s so dope to see him now as an All-Star, Finals MVP, NBA champion… I’m like a proud big brother.” He was also shown on the video board before the fourth quarter started to hype up the crowd and maybe the King of the Fourth’s magic rubbed off on the Celtics as they had a great shooting quarter to end the game. Overall a great night that was dedicated to him.
It makes me think how much I love all of the love that the city of Boston gives to IT. It really puts a smile on my face. Thomas was the player to first get me really into basketball back in 2016 and is still my favorite player to this day. He inspired a whole generation of Celtics fans with his play and although it might have ended on a sour note, he has never had a bad thing to say about the city of Boston. I really hope Boston can find a way to sign him to a 10-day contract or even just a 1-day contract to retire as a Celtic because it feels like it would be the perfect ending to his story, finishing his career in the place that loved him the most.
