The Boston Celtics obtained some shock reinforcements on Monday night time in opposition to the Los Angeles Clippers when Kristaps Porzingis made his season debut notably sooner than had been beforehand anticipated. Porzingis’ return was a triumphant one, as he acquitted himself effectively in his first sport motion for the reason that NBA Finals and the Celtics smothered the Clippers 126-94, however one small footnote nonetheless evaded this staff — Al Horford sat out the second finish of a back-to-back, depriving us of the chance to see the staff at full energy for the primary time this season.
We needed to wait 4 days to get our want. Horford returned to the courtroom in opposition to the Chicago Bulls, and the Celtics fielded their total ostensible playoff rotation — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Vacation, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Horford — collectively on the similar time. This was the squad that performed the vast majority of the minutes within the clinching Recreation 5 of the NBA Finals (we’ll rely Pritchard’s one-minute-and-some-change), making their collective season debut.
So, with all that in thoughts, how did they really fare? The reply is a little bit of a blended bag.
We will begin with the great: the Boston offense has seemed like a world-beater all season, and so they leveled up in opposition to Chicago. For the umpteenth time this season, it seemed just like the NBA single-game three-pointer document was at risk of falling — they completed with 23 makes this time. Tatum scored a ludicrously environment friendly 35 factors (12-of-18 taking pictures), Porzingis tacked on 21 and Payton Pritchard continued his Sixth Man of the Yr marketing campaign with 29 and 7 made three-pointers.
The Celtics can merely beat defenses in any approach that they need, and Porzingis’ return has solely amplified that high quality. For all of the handwringing about their large three-point charges, they continue to be one of the crucial efficient groups on the rim within the league. They entered tonight’s sport taking pictures 67% inside 5 ft of the basket, sixth-best in basketball and only a level shy of final yr’s 68% (second-best). Including a 7-foot-3 strolling put up mismatch into the combo is just going to drive that quantity increased. He’s already been as much as his traditional methods, offering a cheat button the Celtics can hit at any level when they should generate a straightforward look contained in the arc.
And, sure, the Celtics take a variety of threes. Individuals can complain as a lot as they’d like, however given how good they’re at taking pictures them, it’s troublesome to argue they need to be doing anything. After tying the NBA document for made threes of their season opener in opposition to the Knicks (and shamelessly, hilariously failing to interrupt the document in rubbish time), any given night time looks like it might be the one the place they lastly topple it. Porzingis returning to the fray solely makes that edge extra comical. The KP pick-and-pop is without doubt one of the only spam performs in basketball.
If you happen to’re going to nitpick this Celtics staff, nevertheless, you can begin on the defensive finish. Issues are somewhat extra wobbly there. Per NBA Stats, their defensive score has nudged down from final yr’s second-best mark (110.6) to an eighth-place 111. It’s a refined slip, lower than half some extent, nevertheless it tracks with the attention take a look at — we’re seeing just some extra lapses than we’re accustomed to from this group. The Bulls scored 129 factors in a regulation sport tonight, and whereas they benefitted from some high-level shot-making that you simply simply should tip your cap to, it did really feel at occasions just like the Celtics weren’t offering sufficient resistance.
Porzingis’ return will assist there too, in fact. He’s far and away probably the most impactful rim protector on this staff, and it helps that he siphons so many minutes away from the Celtics’ motley crew of flawed-but-useful backups. Luke Kornet has been banged up, Neemias Queta appears equally prone to document a highlight-worthy swat as he’s to be caught miserably out of place and Xavier Tillman appears to be a situational consideration greater than a rotation mainstay. Boston’s Latvian unicorn solves a variety of issues together with his mere presence, and very similar to the Celtics’ close-range taking pictures proportion, you’d anticipate they’ll enhance on the rim defensively with him taking up these minutes.
It should be talked about that Pritchard’s elevated function has an impact, too. He has been nails on the offensive finish and performs with most effort as a defender, nevertheless it’s simply troublesome for a guard his measurement to actually transfer the needle defensively on the NBA stage. The Celtics will at all times be overlaying for him on that finish of the ground; their superb defensive scheme revolves round massive guards like Vacation and White overwhelming opposing groups’ ball-handlers. Pritchard deserves credit score for a way onerous he works, however these bodily disadvantages will at all times make him a goal — a gambit that can simply be price it if he continues to attain on the torrid tempo he has by the primary quarter of the season.
The humorous factor about this milestone — having the gang again collectively for the primary time — is that’s simply won’t matter. The Boston Celtics are 16-3 on the season thus far. They’ve discovered methods to win regardless of Porzingis’ absence and Horford’s limitations. It’s not like they’re eking them out both — they’re second to solely the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder in level differential, and put an finish to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 15-0 begin to the season. We all know the Celtics can win even when the script doesn’t go their approach, and simply because it was final yr, an important factor will not be their common season success, however whether or not or not they’ll put their core on the courtroom within the playoffs.
Nonetheless, it was good to get a glimpse of this staff’s endgame, even when it was only one flawed efficiency in late November. These Celtics are nonetheless probably the most gifted staff in basketball, and all of the expertise is lastly right here. They’ve drawn inside a half-game of Cleveland for the Jap Convention lead, and with Porzingis again within the fold, it’s solely potential they’re about to reclaim their throne and run with it. Friday night time’s tilt with the Bulls gave us an attractive glimpse of what’s subsequent to return.
