No starters, no drawback. Of their fourth preseason sport of, the Celtics wrapped up their two-game homestand and stayed excellent in October with a 115-111 win over the Raptors.
In an anticipated transfer on the again finish of a back-to-back, head coach Joe Mazzulla sat the preseason starters (Jrue Vacation, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Luke Kornet) and once more, Al Horford who will play in Toronto on Tuesday. Nevertheless, Mazzulla expressed the significance of continuity, no matter who’s on the ground.
“The message is similar no matter who’s taking part in. We’re going to compete at a excessive stage. We’re going to execute. We’re going to stay to the issues and execute our system offensively and defensively and ensure we play with effort,” Mazzulla stated earlier than tip-off. “The message is all the time the identical no matter who’s in, who’s out, and I believe that’s a cause why we’ve got the continuity that we do, due to that normal.”
Within the common starters’ stead, Payton Pritchard, Lonnie Walker IV, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, and Neemias Queta obtained the nod.
It’s simple to assume that Mazzulla Ball is simply taking pictures a ton of threes. And certain, Joe’s strategy is rooted within the math, however it’s primarily about discovering the perfect shot and with a roster chockful of shooters, the perfect shot is commonly a three-pointer. So, even minus their top-6 and Kristaps Porzingis, they let it fly.
Pritchard led the way in which, making 5-of-11 from behind the arc and ending with 19 factors and 9 assists. The remainder of the crew was simply 13-of-42; Hauser had an off day making simply one in every of his seven threes.
Mazzulla Ball can be about discovering what you’re actually good at and benefiting from (hopefully) that NBA-level talent.
When you’re Walsh and Queta, your function is as an vitality shifter and attacking house. Queta completed with 15 rebounds with six coming off the offensive glass. Walsh continued his pattern of improved three-point taking pictures — he’s now 6-of-16 within the preseason — and in addition attacked closeouts and the slot with sturdy, affected person drives. He completed with a formidable 16 and 10 double double.
For a singular scorer like Walker, his match is a little bit curious. Nonetheless taking part in on an Exhibit 10 deal and searching for a regular deal, he had his finest sport as a Celtic with 20 factors on 4-of-9 from behind the arc. He can definitely rating off the bench; it’ll simply be a matter of whether or not or not the entrance workplace opts for some roster flexibility fairly than a microwave within the second unit.
And it’s a must to defend.
By three preseason video games, Boston boasted a 98.0 defensive ranking by way of three video games and held Toronto to 37 factors at halftime. Some foul bother within the second half and an absence of massive males (Xavier Tillman didn’t play both) allowed the Raptors to crawl again into the sport ultimately.
The Celtics will wrap up their preseason slate with a sport towards these similar Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday. They’ll then have per week off earlier than Ring Night time on October twenty second internet hosting the brand new look New York Knicks.
