Pick your idiom. The Celtics took the Bulls by their horns. Boston was a bull in Chicago’s china shop. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard bull-ied their visitors. Regardless, Boston enjoyed their first Gino Time win against Chicago on Monday night in a 134-99 running of the Bulls.
Why the Celtics won
Let’s be honest. Chicago is a rebuilding team trying to establish an identity under new head coach Tiago Splitter. With players like triple-double machine Josh Giddey and pogosticks rookie Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis,
they want to fly up and down the court and get up a ton of shots. The Bulls press. The Bulls play zone defense and disrupt passing lanes. The more possessions, the more opportunities to see what they have with the sixth youngest roster.
Heading in last night’s game, the Bulls were first in pace and fourth in the league at three-point attempts at 41.3 a night at a 22.6% clip (worst in the NBA). Those are the telltale signs of a team in flux.
The Celtics, however, are the OG volume three-point shooting team and the rest of the league has now started to catch up.
Both teams got up the same number of triples in the blowout: 44. But as the 134-99 score suggests, the Celtics went old school with their possession maxxing. They grabbed more offensive rebounds (19-14) and turned 24 turnovers into a whopping 39 points, but it was Boston’s 27-point edge behind the arc that made the difference.
Nobody emulated that more than Payton Pritchard, the “coldest white boy,” against the Bulls. He scored 19 of 28 in the third quarter that included hitting 5-of-5 from three.
Numbers game: +34
Through the first two games of the season, Hugo Gonzalez only played fourteen minutes against the Pistons and Knicks, a disappointment development after, well, an offseason of promising development.
“I think he’s played well even in those two games, whether it’s two-and-a-half minutes or three minutes, he’s had a couple of offensive rebounds and done things that impacted winning,” Joe Mazzulla said of the young 20-year-old in this young season. “Tonight was louder. Tonight was the best version of him getting better, but those guys have a hard job, bringing it everyday. A lot of what they’re great at doesn’t show up on a score sheet, but tonight you did.”
After missing his only two shots and being a -17 to start, Gonzalez joined the rotation in a big way against the Bulls, posting 13 points, 5 rebounds, and two assists in nearly 24 minutes of play for a +34 on the night.
At halftime, Gonzalez told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin that “everybody is ready. Everybody is meeting the challenge of the game.” That certainly applied to the second-year Spaniard who led his rookie class in plus-minus for the year.
Gonzalez was doing everything that has made him a fan favorite in his short time with the Celtics. Whether it’s grabbing offensive rebounds for an easy putback or driving the entire length of the floor for an and-1 layup, Hugo definitely made a case to Mazzulla for more minutes.
Must C’s
In a game muddled by 28 fouls apiece and 60 total free throws, there was little flow to the game, especially for two teams looking to ramp up activity on both sides of the ball.
But how’s that for a little flow? The Celtics outscored the Bulls 17-9 in fast break points that included that Derek White strip steal and coast-to-coast drive for a layup on the other end. Boston is a hair behind the Lakers for points off turnovers (26.3) and 4th at limiting them (15.3) — that’s an 11-point margin. Last season, it was only +1.2.
Who said what
“I don’t like it. He knows I don’t like it, but he’s got a little swagger with that. I also tried it the other day and it didn’t fit…that’s not for me. I’m not from Nebraska.” — Hugo Gonzalez on Baylor Scheierman’s headband
We’ll see Chicago again on Friday when the Bulls return for our first NBA Cup game. Tonight, the Celtics complete their first back-to-back hosting the visiting Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 pm EST. No word yet if it’s a headband night.
