#1 – Jaylen Brown post-ups:
On the night the Celtics got back to .500 and opened NBA Cup play 1-0, the first thing that stood out to me in the opening quarter was how Jaylen Brown was being used. Jaylen has been excellent to start
the year as our number one option, averaging 27.7 PPG on 66% true shooting. The variety in his scoring this season has been the most diverse of his career. Check out some of the post touches where Jaylen exploited size mismatches against the 76ers last night:
VJ Edgecombe has come into the NBA with the physical tools to make an immediate impact but Brown has a strength advantage over the rookie and was able to make him pay as Jaylen got to the free-throw line fade away.
Later in the first quarter Jaylen got to a pseudo-post opportunity as he backed down Tyrese Maxey, using that physical advantage once again to punish Philadelphia for it’s lack of back court heft:
According to NBA.com, Jaylen scored 1.06 points per possession on post-ups last year. With Kristaps gone and Tatum out, there’s a chance that the volume of post touches increases from the 2.3 attempts per game last year. Keep an eye out for the frequency of those post touches in the coming games.
#2 – Welcome back Dennis Rodman
Josh Minott really is a man for all seasons. In our win against Cleveland, he outworked Evan Mobley, and last night he made star guard Tyrese Maxey’s life far more difficult than it had been in our opening game of the season.
Josh is incredibly versatile, and even though he was 0-for-5 from the floor last night, we are a far better defensive unit with him out there. In eighty-one on-court minutes this year, the Celtics have a 101.2 defensive rating with Minott on the floor. Without him? 121.8. Whilst I don’t expect to see a Nikola Jokić-style twenty-point shift for the duration of the season, it’s clear Minott has been super impactful thus far as a Celtic, and last night’s pick of the defensive plays was this gargantuan block on Quentin Grimes.
Minott led the team in rebounds again last night, and it’s got me thinking. A player with this defensive versatility, lanky frame, pound-for-pound strength and absolute nose for the ball. It’s reminiscent of a certain hall of famer. Player comps are always just a bit of fun, but it does feel like we’ve been watching a modern-day Dennis Rodman at times this season. If Minott can increase his percentage on the outside jumper, we could be looking at a long-term solution at the power forward spot next to Tatum and Brown in the coming seasons.
#3 – Midrange be thy friend
In the opening nine minutes of this game, Boston went 11-for-12 from two-point range, carving up the 76ers’ deep drop with a combination of good shot selection and tough shot-making. In seasons past, you’d expect those percentages to be achieved with efficient rim finishing, but last night Boston took advantage of the in-between spaces on the floor; particularly when Joel Embiid was on the court.
I sensed a retistance from 76ers perimeter defenders to funnel drives towards the basket as they may have done in the past, (when Joel Embiid had a vertical leap). In the clip above, you see Joel retreating to virtually underneath the basket instead of confronting the former MVP at the rim, Payton stopped on a dime to convert the uncontested midrange.
Even when the 76ers defence wasn’t quite so inviting the C’s were still able to make hay from the midrange.
In the past I think Embiid is able to help on the Pritchard drive and protect against the lob to the rolling Queta out of hand off action but given the big man’s movement limitations, it’s essentially mano y mano, Pritchard vs Grimes. Having gained an advantage from the initial action Payton takes advantage of Grimes, catching him with the upfake before cashing in from twelve feet.
To me, this exemplifies the adaptability of “Mazzulla Ball”. Pundits, fans and analysts have criticised the Celtics offensive plan of attack in recent seasons for being too militant in pushing three point volume but like any good offence, last night the Celtics exploited what they could, treating us to some masterful midrange work in the process.
#4 – Three ball not so much
While we thrived from inside the arc, beyond the three point line was a different story. Having gone nine for twenty-one in the first half Boston made five of twenty-four three point attempts in the second and one player in particular really struggled to shoot the deep ball. Credit where credit is due, Payton Pritchard attempted nine three’s last night but made just the one attempt from beyond.
It wasn’t just an off night either. Thus far Payton is shooting 17.4% from three having shot 39.3% from deep for his career. I initially thought that Pritchard’s new role ,which see’s the former Oregon guard take on far more playmaking responsibility, was damaging the aspect of his game that won him sixth-man of the year last season but now I’m not so sure.
Having looked at the numbers, Pritch’s touches per game have increased from fifty-eight to seventy and his time in possesion has risen from 4 minutes per night to 4.4 according to NBA.com. The shots that Pritch is taking and even the defensive matchups have really remained consistent from ast year though.
So far this season, Pritchard has been the primary defender in pick & roll ball handler action 3.7 times per game, the exact same amount as last season. He’s taking the same amount of wide open three’s per night and even more of them are assisted this year in comparison to last!
I really worried that the added responsibility on Payton’s shoulers may be damaging to his shooting prowess but having looked under the hood, I think last night was just a particularly chilly point in the middle of a cold streak. Let’s hope in the coming days Pritch starts to fire them in from beyond the arc once more.
#5 – Ant was bugging the 76ers
Much like the Cleveland game, Boston vs Philadelphia really was a game of two halves, and for the first half, Anfernee Simons was electric. Going three of six from downtown and scoring fourteen points in the opening two quarters, Simons was a team high +17 at the break for Boston, largely thanks to his diverse scoring.
For his opening bucket Simons showed great patience in the pick & roll, navigating screens from Garza and Hauser, keeping Justin Edwards on his hip before finishing with a classy finger roll before Adem Bona had time to load up:
Simons then showed his sweet stroke from the corner, swishing a three in transition. A few minutes later, he again punished Embiid’s deep drop, finishing much like he did against Bona earlier. But it was his second three of the half that reminded us why Simons could be the X-factor for this team:
The C’s attack had sputtered for fifteen seconds of the shot clock before Simons got the ball above the break. Without much assistance, Ant danced and shuffled to his right, getting his feet and form aligned, making a stepback/fading away three point bomb from well behind the arc. Grimes’ contest was nothing to be sniffed at but that kind of shot making will bail Boston’s 2nd unit out of trouble a number of times before seasons end.
That Simons led run in the 2nd gave Boston the cushion they needed to secure victory on the road.
#6 – Struggling with the old man game
This is a Celtics recap but I was happy to see Joel Embiid looking a little more like himself against the C’s tonight. Watching Embiid post up Xavier Tillman on opening night and getting the ball swatted back into his face felt a little like watching Mike Tyson’s ringwalk for the Jake Paul fight.
Sad, lonely, like he really shouldn’t be there, opening night looked like the beginning of the final act for Joel’s NBA career but a week or so later, he highlighted some real issues in Neemias Queta’s defense:
The dribble hand-off fake allowed the former MVP to gather momentum and the swing of the arms, feigning a finish, granted Joel easy access to the rim. The lurch at the ball from Queta as the pass to Joel arrives may be applauded by some but it did open up the driving lane for Embiid and Queta didn’t look the most comfortable backpedalling.
Up next was Joel getting into his hang dribble bag, cavorting through the lane at a snails pace before drawing the and one from Neemy.
I don’t have a massive problem with this play, but if you look at the way Queta is defending, once again he’s poking at the ball, leaving himself off balance, not getting his body into Joel, which allows Embiid to set himself for a netball-style shot into the basket. The defender that’s troubled Embiid most over the years is our beloved Al Horford, and he often caused that trouble by doing the simple things: staying strong through his core, staying grounded, mirroring moves. Sometimes, when defending the biggest stars in the league, less is more, and that might be an adjustment for Queta, who’s got to where he is by leveraging those physical talents and showing real energy.
#7 – The rock is swinging again
I thought it was important to note that the ball is once again swinging for the Celtics, and the offense is looking healthier for it. To start the season, Boston had a league-low assist percentage, but in the last two they’ve registered 29 and 25 assists. Twenty-seven assists per game would be good for eleventh in the association, so we can sleep easy knowing that the ball movement issues may be behind us.
#8 – Hugo hustle
One of my ten takeaways had to be on Hugo Gonzales. On a night where Marcus Smart had his best game in a Lakers uniform (sorry guys), Hugo continued to show us why he might be the next honorary Bostonian to lace them up for the C’s.
A hive of activity, Gonzales grabbed three offensive rebounds, recorded two steals and pestered whoever was nearest him in a Sixers uniform last night. Getting five fouls in fourteen minutes is in equal parts impressive and endearing. Man, does he try. But, there’s a reason why, despite only scoring five points for Boston last night, we were a +10 with Hugo on the court.
The ball does seem to stick to Hugo. Great hustle play here to lay the assist on for Derrick White:
Gonzales was responsible for the play of the night too, storming in to potentially save two points in transition with the equivalent of a goal line clearence in football:
There’s a reason, a few reasons, why Hugo isn’t threatening for a starting spot quite yet in Boston. That being said, he’s physically ready, has a nice feel for the game and is as committed a player as we’ve seen in Boston for quite some time. Time will tell if the finesse comes with the fire, but Gonzales could really be an exciting part of our future.
#9 – Limping over the finish line
Boston made their final field goal in this one with 3:03 left on the clock in the fourth! The final three minutes were agonizingly long as the Boston offense failed to put the result beyond reasonable doubt. The offense stalled at times. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown had multiple bodies thrown their way when they tried to go alone, but a particular issue was the release valves on the court.
Looking at the play-by-play, Josh Minott missed three shots in the final three minutes, and Xavier Tillman failed to convert a wide-open look from the corner. For the past two seasons, Boston has been able to cheat, putting out closing lineups that were incredibly strong on both sides of the ball. This season, like most NBA teams, Mazzulla and company will have to make choices about whether to lean towards offensive or defensive proficiency. Last night it felt as though Sam Hauser could have cashed one or two of the looks that fell to Josh Minott. Granted, he was one for six from downtown last night, but with a defensively slanted lineup, the release valves for our initiators didn’t prove reliable.
It’ll be worth watching to see whether Joe continues to favor defensively slanted teams when the Celtics are trying to close out tight games.
#10 – Banner 18.5?
We’re 1-0, baby! What would an NBA Cup count for in the grand scheme of things? Would we claim this as banner 18.5? Perhaps a smaller commemoration up in the rafters could be hidden in a corner somewhere? Regardless of what you think about the NBA Cup, in a season where a championship is truly aspirational as opposed to attainable, the Celtics have put themselves in a good spot to secure some silverware during the 25/26 season.
Let us know your thoughts on last night’s game, any predictions for our matchup with Houston, or anything else that’s on your mind in the comments below!
