1. Glass Cleaners
Boston Celtics basketball is finally back! Not only in the literal sense but in the way the Celtics dismantled the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking them down 124-113 in the first preseason game of the season. This felt like a big upset in a way given the Cavs played their starters in the first half vs a Celtics team who rested most of their roster. One thing that didn’t change from all the roster turnover however was the way that Boston dominated the rebounding battle.
The Celtics out rebounded the Cavs
56-39! The craziest part for the Celtics is that 21 of those rebounds came as offensive rebounds. Boston was so good on the offensive glass that after the first quarter the Celtics had as many offensive rebounds (10) than the Cavaliers had total rebounds. Just a dominant performance on the glass that makes me excited to see what will happen when all the starters return.
2. Luka Garza Board Monster
With a lot of key rotations guys out for the Celtics in their first preseason game, Luka Garza was given the starting spot for Boston and he showed out. Garza finished with a team high 22 points along with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks on 6-17 shooting. The biggest takeaway from Garza’s performance tonight was his dominance on the offensive glass. Out of the 10 rebounds he finished with, 4 of them came as offensive rebounds and that is where we saw him shine the most.
This was a common theme of the night for the entire team but Garza was the one to really set the tone. It is going to be interesting to see what kind of role Garza plays for Boston moving forward. Obviously Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson is ahead of him on the depth chart but I hope the Celtics can still find him some playing time throughout the season.
3. Devin Carter Fan Club
When the Celtics signed Devin Carter to an Exhibit 10 deal back in September there was a good amount of excitement around the move. It looked like he was going to be a shoo-in for Boston’s final two-way spot but there looked to be a lot of competition with other players like Milos Uzan and Hayden Gray on the Celtics training camp roster. I would like to say there is a good chance the battle is in Carter’s favor as of now. The former Providence Friar finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals on 5-9 shooting and a team high +22.
Carter made his presence known on his first offensive play of the game when he went coast-to-coast throw down a monster slam over Peyton Watson. This was the beginning of a first quarter where we saw Carter lead the way with 7 points including a three point shot that looked pretty solid. With 15 points in the first half we saw an array of moves driving to the basket and finishing through contact while also playing some nice defense on Donovan Mitchell.
With the way he looked tonight I could see why the Celtics were so optimistic about taking a chance on Carter. When Joe Mazzulla was asked about the former lottery pick last week, he praised Carter’s work ethic saying, “I’ve appreciated just his mindset, his mentality, the chip on the shoulder that he brings to the game. So I’m looking forward to watching him throughout the preseason.” I am also looking forward to seeing what else Carter can do but it makes me wonder, why did the Kings trade him? Not only that, why did the Hawks waive him? Either way the Celtics have another chance to be turn the Kings leftovers into a legit piece once again.
4. Jordan Walsh Aggressive Offensively
One player who I think had an underrated game was Jordan Walsh. Walsh finished with 16 points on 6-14 shooting from the field and 2-5 shooting from three. Walsh talked in the offseason about trying to improve his offensive bag and with an increased role in this game we saw him aggressively hunt his shot. This is something that caught my eye because it looked like something he was genuinely working on.
He looked comfortable when it came to handling the ball and driving to the paint. The finishing could have been a little better but this was more of an offensive bag that we’ve seen from Walsh since he’s been in the NBA. Even in games before when starters were out before, we have never seen Walsh look to be aggressive for his shot. We know he has a great relationship with Jaylen Brown last season and he talked about how the offseason workouts with Paul George and Jayson Tatum were legitimate workouts to help build on his game. Having two of the best wing scorers in NBA history on his team could mean we see more of this offensive creation from Walsh this season and I am very excited to see how it turns out.
5. Baylor Scheierman Confidence
It felt like the Celtics had to have watched a bunch of AND-1 mixtapes before the game today because of the amount of flashy plays we saw in this game but one player I am convinced did was Baylor Scheierman. He was making some prime Rajon Rondo passes out there, including one in the first quarter where he had a shot blocked, got his own offensive rebound running towards the basket, and then made a behind the back dime to Chris Cenac Jr. for a dunk.
In total Scheierman finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 5-12 shooting from the field and 4-7 from three. He definitely looked the most comfortable out there when it came to playing in the flow of the offense. This makes me feel like I don’t have to worry about the production we will get out of him moving forward. Very excited for more Baylor hoops moving forward.
6. Hugo Gonzalez Solid Contributor
Finishing off the trio of young wings for the Celtics we have the performance from Hugo Gonzalez. Similar to Scheierman he played a solid game, finishing with 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds on 5-9 shooting from the field and 3-6 from three. A big thing I noticed in this game from Gonzalez was that everything he did looked to be faster.
From his jump shot to his Eurostep, it looked like he was dictating the pace on all his attempts. Not only did shot attempts look good, but he made some nice passes setting his teammates up for easy baskets. He also played his brand of chaotic defense that gave the Celtics life in the first half.
7. The Kids Will Be Alright
This game was the first time we saw 2026 Draft Picks Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell take an NBA court and I think its safe to say that they are going to be just fine. Cenac Jr. finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 3-13 shooting. I was glued to my TV screen anytime he had the ball in his because he looked incredibly comfortable creating his own shot off the dribble but just missing out on the finishing. I feel like that will come in due time but his shot looks really promising. His defense was also remarkable, protecting the paint better than I would have expected. We saw flashes of this during Summer League this year but Cenac Jr. really makes me excited to see what he can develop into under the Celtics Big Fella University.
Dillon Mitchell was also impressive tonight, finishing with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals on 4-7 shooting. One thing we knew about Mitchell was that he was going to be able to jump out of the gym with his athleticism and it was on display. He finished with multiple alley-oop slams and did a great job positioning himself underneath the basket for offensive rebounds and put-backs. His defense was fun to watch as well with both of his steals leading to the Celtics running out in transition.
I felt like Mitchell also took charge in the 4th quarter as well. When the main starters were sitting out, Mitchell looked at as the go to guy on both sides of the court and he did a pretty a solid job, finishing with a +8 in the quarter. It’s going to be fun watching both of these guys continue to develop and it might be one game, but I am willing to say the future is looking for the newest Celtics draft picks.
8. Mike Conley Debut
With most of the Celtics rotation players sitting out for this preseason game, it was interesting to see that Mike Conley was in the starting lineup. Conley signed with Boston back in July and throughout camp so far we have seen him be a great veteran presence to all of the young guys on the roster. This is the big reason why he was brought to Boston but how did his play look on the court? It was fine.
Conley finished with 3 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in his Celtics debut on 1-3 shooting. He wasn’t the main scoring option for Boston by any means but he was still a great primary ball handler and even made some highlight reel passes. The one that stands out most was when he found a wide open Hugo Gonzalez for a corner three after faking like he was going to pass it to Baylor Scheierman on the wing. I don’t know how much of Conley we are going to see in the Celtics rotation this season but I do think he will be a solid depth piece for Boston moving forward.
9. New Coaching Opportunities
It wasn’t only players that got a chance to show their talents tonight but it was also two Celtics assistant coaches that got a chance to shine as well. Celtics assistant coaches Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeaywere given the reigns from head coach Joe Mazzulla and coached their first NBA game. Dobbins coached the first half and MacLeay coached the second half while Mazzlla just watched the game from the locker room. Mazzulla said that his reasoning for this was, “I want to give them the opportunity to be able to just build themselves as coaches…Both those guys had head coaching interviews this past summer, and I want them to be able to build on that.”
So how did it go for the Celtics new coaching duo against the Cavs? Pretty well I would say. Dobbins in the first half showed his philosophy by coaching the Celtics to a 71-62 lead at halftime. Boston did a great job of controlling the paint on both sides of the ball which led to the lead. MacLeay on the other hand had some adversity out of halftime after the Cavs went on a 12-3 run to tie the game in the beginning of the 3rd quarter. But he did a great job of calling a timeout and letting the team regroup, leading to Boston winning the 4th quarter 25-17 and winning the game.
This was such a cool thing to see coming from Joe Mazzulla. Continuing to develop Dobbins and MacLeay to get them ready for future opportunities is something I feel like you don’t see often. It’s only a matter of time before we see the Mazzulla coaching tree spread across the entirety of the NBA.
10. It’s Good To Be Back
I wanted to reserve my final takeaway just to say how great it feels to watch Boston Celtics basketball today. I didn’t care if 7 players were out, I would have watched any version of this team if it meant we got to see Celtics basketball played again. This has been the longest offseason we have had as Celtics fans in a while. Obviously with the first round exit, to the roster turnover this season, to the Draft, Summer League, and Media Day, it felt like this offseason was moving at a snails pace.
But the wait is finally over. The next step of waiting is hopefully seeing all the starters play in a game at some point this preseason. I want to see the dynamic between Jayson Tatum and Paul George, the big man rotation of Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson, and the leap of Payton Pritchard. Even if we don’t see them much in preseason, we are less than two weeks away from Boston’s first regular season game in Detroit at 3:30pm on October 20th.
The Celtics next preseason game will be on Saturday October 10th when the new look Philadelphia 76ers come to TD Garden. This will also be the first time we see Jaylen Brown in a 76ers uniform since being traded away from Boston this offseason.
