After Another Blowout Win To Cap Off The Celtics Preseason, The Journey To Banner 18 Is Officially Underway

Kent Smith. Getty Images.

The next time we see our beloved Celts take the floor, the game will count. We made it. Now while it's certainly going to feel like a billion years until Wednesday, there's a way to get through such a long wait. Personally, I would recommend just closing your eyes and remembering how fucking dominant the Celts have looked this preseason. The only game they lost was when the top 6 sat, and even in that game Payton Pritchard exploded so while the final score was a loss, the bigger picture was probably a win.

Outside of that, it's been nothing but dominance when the regulars suit up. Kicked the shit out of the Sixers twice which admittedly any team can do, and then their last two games it was back to the good shit. Tons of 3PM, scoring over 120 points, great ball movement, it's been glorious. I'd say last night when it was Celts regulars vs Hornets regulars was probably their best overall performance of the preseason on both ends of the floor, and you can tell this team is locked in and ready for the regular season. 

Granted, I think we all are.

As I always say at this portion of the postgame blogs, perspective is important. A dominant preseason is not an indicator of what's to come. That would be silly to think. But what it does do is show you the potential of what the team is capable of. Things are going to be very different when they take the court on Wednesday at MSG, this group is going to have to prove and establish themselves next week and beyond just like every other team in the NBA. But it's impossible to not be excited based on what we saw. I mean, pretty much everyone was legit awesome

The Celts are title contenders/favorites and my overall takeaway after these 5 games is that so far, they've backed that hype up. All we can do is judge and evaluate them based on the sample we have, and this current sample told us that this team has the potential to be very, very good. It won't always be easy matchups like the Sixers or Hornets, but there's no denying that the talent is there and their ceiling is sky-high.

With that said, let's talk about the latest beatdown because man, was that shit intoxicating as hell

The Good

- I'm going to switch things up for this blog and kick us off not with a player, but with the Celtics defense. Finally, FINALLY we got to see a full 48 minute elite defensive effort. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, this team played defense, which is not something I'd say we'd seen through the first 4 games. Holding CHA to just 19 points in the first quarter was for my money the best defensive quarter of the entire preseason. The Celts are going to win a lot of games if they are holding teams to just 40 points at the half, and they finished with an absolutely INSANE 22 steals. 

While the offense was lights out, it's the defense that set the tone early. That's how the Celts built a lead as high as 40 goddamn points, and after the Hornets scored the opening bucket, they never led again for the entire night. Porzingis with the rim protection, Holiday and the guys on the perimeter with active hands, great weakside help for easy steals on interior passes. It was as if the Celts were on a string all night, and I think we all know how important it's going to be to be locked in on the defensive end once the real games roll around. 

After all that talk about defense in the offseason, it was good to see the regulars actually implement it.

- In terms of the players, it was fairly clear that Jaylen was the Celts best player last night. Lost in all the extremely cringy left hand Twitter jokes is the reality that this is an All NBA player who hasn't even entered his NBA prime yet and is doing shit like this

20/4 on 8-12 (4-5) and a +18 in his 23 minutes, Jaylen was ready to roll right from the jump where First Quarter Jaylen reminded everyone what a dominant force that guy is. It was Jaylen's shooting early that built the initial separation, and honestly, even though he finished with just 1 AST, it's felt like his vision and passing have been noticeably better this preseason. I think having him on the floor with Porzingis is going to really help, because he seems like such a more willing passer in that two man game than in previous versions of the offense. 

I didn't really get the sense that Jaylen was trying to do too much in this game on the plays that resulted in TOs (he had 3), but more so they came when he was trying to create for others. While TOs are always bad, I'll take one where he tries to make a pass compared to one where he's got blinders on and dribbles into 3 defenders with no plan. 

- If the preseason is meant to give us an idea of what this team may do in the real games, I have to say I'm liking Joe's rotations. I like how he has Tatum/White as the early subs which leaves the trio of Holiday/Brown/Porzingis on the floor together. This is how I think you get the best out of Jaylen. Now when Tatum heads to the bench, Jaylen doesn't have to try and morph his game into being Tatum in terms of usage and offensive creation. He can just stay in his role, play off KP and Holiday and the results speak for themselves. He seems way more comfortable doing that compared to previous years where maybe he was asked to carry the 2nd unit all by himself. Defenses have to account for the scoring or KP/Holiday, which opens things up for Jaylen when his opportunities come.

Then, when you get to the end of the first quarter you take out those three and put back in Tatum/White with the bench. This makes sense because all Tatum needs around him is shooting, so a lineup of Pritchard/White/Hauser/Tatum/Whichever Big makes sense. You can't leave the shooters on the perimeter which opens things up for Tatum, and if you overhelp on Tatum he's kicking it out to a 40% shooter. 

Year 2 Joe is cooking I'm afraid.

- If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. Derrick White is a tremendous Celtic

An efficient 15 points in his 23 minutes, a couple steals, and another 3 blocks…..as a point guard. You'll be happy to know that once again, Derrick White leads all NBA guards in blocks this preseason (7), despite only playing in 4 of the games. If this sounds familiar, it's because Derrick White led all NBA guards in blocks during the 2022-23 season. This is just what he does and it's why he's an All NBA defender. It's not just about his legit perimeter defense. DWhite is literally the best in the business at his position at protecting the rim as well. When you think you may have him beat or have a clean look at the rim, you don't.

So please Brad, just cut the goddamn check. It's not our money. We've given extensions to players who haven't proven shit, it's time to take care of a guy that has made a winning impact since the second he arrived, who LOVES being a Celtic, who is entering his NBA prime and oh yeah, is also a pretty fucking good two way player. Pay the man his money.

- I asked if you could feel it after the Knicks game, and I am going to ask you yet again. Can you feel it?

Mazzulal Ball is firing on all cylinders right now. The spacing, the shooting, and my god the ball movement

In these last two dress rehearsal games, the Celts have averaged 30 assists a night, which is a pretty big increase from the 26 they averaged last year. When the Celts move the ball like this, they are impossible to beat. The ball isn't sticking, guys are passing up good shots for great shots, and as we know the Basketball Gods reward good ball movement. Once the starters establish this is how they're going to play, that trickles down to the entire roster. I mean look at how fucking beautiful this is

That is flawless basketball folks.

- To my eyes, it's been pretty clear who the best 3rd big has been this entire preseason, and it's not Luke Kornet. Far from it. That doesn't mean Kornet shouldn't be on the roster because you can always use size, but it's impossible to not walk away impressed with what we've seen from Neemias Queta. He has absolutely made a case for himself after this run

Watching him, he's basically Rob-Lite. I don't even think that's hyperbole either. The Celts had 16 OREB in this game, Queta had 5 of them. He finished 6-6 from the floor with 12/7 in his 13 minutes. You're telling me that's not Rob-Lite type shit?

He's shown to be a legit screener which is valuable, he doesn't try to do too much, and while I don't think he's the FT shooter Rob was, I can get past that given everything else he does. 

The question to me is now, do they convert his Two Way to a guaranteed deal, or just let him get run in Maine and then convert it later? Because Brad would be crazy to not have this guy in the mix, especially considering the need for a legit backup big.

- I'd say this was probably Jrue Holiday's best game as a Celtic. As he gets more comfortable and acclimated to their system I imagine it will only get better, but this for the most part is the exact version they need.

He even had his own Marcus Smart Experience on that possession he hit the side of the backboard on a 4ft turnaround only to still find a way to score. I watched that shit for nearly 10 years, so I know it when I see it. Add in his 7 assists and 0 turnovers with plus defense and it's hard to not get excited thinking about how Holiday is going to fit with this group. He's looked better and better the more he's played (which you expect), and that's such a weapon to have as your 4th guy.

- I don't know what got into Porzingis, but his rebounding was legitimately shocking. The way he kept battling for OREB/putbacks/AND1s was not something I ever expected to see. I just don't know what the hell you do with him defensively. There's no offensive weakness.

Watching him play, all I kept saying to myself was that I couldn't understand how this is a real person. None of him makes any goddamn sense. He's just so massive.

That doesn't mean I'm not terrified anytime he does anything on the floor. My heart jumps any time theres a hard foul or he gets knocked over, it's going to be an issue for me all year. But outside of that? I see Brad's vision. The fit is so seamless it's not even funny.

- We all want to see some offensive diversification right? Well, on a night the Celts took 45 3PA which is about their average, they only made 14. So what did they do? They adjusted. 

Of their 127 total points, 70 of them came in the paint. Of their 105 FGA, 53 came in the paint. I think that's the type of balance we're all looking for right? There's nothing wrong with taking open 3PA. But on those nights where you go 14-45, you need something else, and it looks like the 2023-24 Celts have realized that and can now adjust and adapt their game to higher efficiency looks. Especially against a team that doesn't really have legit rim protection.

- The leap of Payton Pritchard as a creator cannot be ignored. This is probably my favorite part of his preseason because I already knew he could shoot. The creation part is new, and it's been pretty damn flawless. Over his last 3 games Pritchard had 15 assists and just 2 TOs. He ended the preseason on a 12-0 AST:TO run, which fucking rules.

His half court vision, how he manipulates the defense in P&R and stays patient, all of that stuff has been WAY better than any previous version of Pritchard we'd seen. I know the scoring and the shooting is what jumps out at you, but watch his passing/how he runs the offense. For my money, that's the part that will truly make a difference in the real games.

- He was probably a lock anyway, but I feel like Lamar Stevens stamped his roster spot with his performance last night

I am intrigued at the idea of him guarding up a position and being the small ball 4, especially because I don't think Oshae Brissett really separated himself for that role. He may be a matchup specific type player for this rotation, but that's fine in my opinion. In a pinch, at least you can turn to someone with legit NBA experience.

- How about Joe calling perfect timeouts? I'm telling you, Year 2 Joe is coming into this season different.

The Bad

- I mean, we have to choose something so I guess we can go with Pritchard/Svi/Hauser combining for just 5-18 from three. That wasn't great as most of the looks were wide open, but whatever. Those are all proven shooters in my book.

- Tatum offensively gave us one of his patented stinker shooting nights (4-12, 1-5), but he was still very impactful overall (+22). He was able to get to the rim whenever he wanted, but the jumper certainly wasn't as deadly as it had been in previous games. This of course means literally nothing big picture, but it happened so we have to put that performance somewhere.

- My body would have exploded had Jordan Walsh converted any of his 3 poster dunk attempts. Ending up 0-3 on those was tough, but I do love the aggressiveness. I just need you to finish.

- 11-17 from the FT line is what I would call, not good. No, I will not ignore this even though the Celts won by a billion. FT shooting is important no matter when it happens and 64.7% for this type of talent stinks. 

- It's not lost on me that Joe can still rip into them at practice for ending the game allowing a 12-0 Hornets run. At that point it was clear everyone was just playing out the string, but it's also a teachable moment. You go hard until the final whistle because in this league, teams can score in bunches in a blink of an eye,

The Ugly

- OK, even I can't force things here. The Celts were up by 40 and won by 28. You do that and you can have this section off.

So that's it. The fake games are over and now the journey starts for real. I am both excited and terrified all at the same time because it goes without saying this is a fairly massive season. It's title or bust from here on out. Anything other than a banner is a failure, and after watching these guys for the last 5 games, it's pretty clear they know that too.

Now just get me to Wednesday and LFG.