After the Celtics dominated the Brooklyn Nets 121-105 it’s hard not to get excited with this team. They’re fast, they play together, and they play with tenacity on the defensive end. Taking a look back at the game, here are four things I liked, and four things I didn’t like.
FOUR UP
Rajon Rondo is back
The Celtics captain played great considering how quickly he returned from a broken hand. He finished the game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists, a near triple-double. What I think impressed me most was how easy he just fit into the offense. It seemed like he never missed a beat, and it’s also a pleasant surprise to see how willing he was to take and make jump-shots. This Celtics team’s fast-paced philosophy works perfectly with Rondo’s game style. He’ll only get better the more comfortable he gets using that off hand.
Dominating the Paint
The Celtics owned the Nets in the paint outscoring them 62-40. As undersized as people like to say Boston is, the Nets without Brook Lopez could be even worse. Besides for Plumlee who got in foul trouble, the Nets have no legit shot-blockers. This lead to the Celtics fearlessly attacking the paint with great success. It won’t always be this easy, but it’s great to see the willingness to attack the paint if it’s open.
Kelly Olynk isn’t taking it from no one!
Most don’t really consider Kelly Olynk when you think Center, but that’s what his been tasked to do, and his first act was brilliant. Not only was he our leading scorer with 19 points, but he showed some grit on the boards and stood toe-to-toe with Garnett when things started getting testy. The kid is tough, and it’s great to see the young guys not backing away from this veteran Brooklyn team.
Marcus Smart
Remember where you heard it first, Marcus Smart will be a serious candidate for Rookie of the Year. The rookie had 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals with 28 minutes of action. Offensively, he worked great with Rondo, and seemed very patient on the offensive end taking quality without forcing much. The highlight was probably his four point play in the second half where he got hit by Joe Johnson. He also was a perfect 3/3 from the free throw line, something he struggled a bit with during the exhibitions. Defensively, he looked even better, picking Deron Williams pocket like a veteran, and fighting through picks and recovering like a warrior. He even won a battle guarding Joe Johnson in the paint which was awesome. Brad Stevens comments about Smart sum up his game beautifully, “When things started to go bad, you had a sense putting Marcus Smart in was going to turn things in a positive direction”. When a coach talks that highly of a rookie after his first regular season game, best believe he will be getting a lot of minutes.
FOUR DOWN
Finishing the Game
As good of a win that we had we didn’t finish the game the right way. Brooklyn outscored us 33-20 in the fourth, and turned a 29 point margin to a 15 point game late in the game. Though the game never got to a real dangerous level, what separates good teams from a bad team is usually the ability to play all four quarters. With all that being said it’s not uncommon to see teams let off the gas pedal a little with a big lead late in the game, so this is more nit-picking more than anything.
Evan Turner playing the Point
Evan Turner himself had a good game scoring 10 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists. I just wasn’t a big fan of him playing the point guard position while Marcus Smart is on the floor. He can be a bit sporadic with his ball handling, and has a tendency to throw a lot of dangerous passes. He had three turnovers though he could have had much more if Brooklyn capitalized on some of those dangerous passes. We know Turner is best with the ball in his hands, but against more defensively sound teams we may need to refrain from letting him run the point as much.
What happened to Tyler Zeller?
In the first half Zeller seemed to be playing great, scoring 6 points in 6 minutes and was reaping the benefits of some great Rondo passes. With the big lead I would have liked to see him get some more time to get a better flow with the team. Something tells me we might really need him when take on Dwight Howard and the Rockets this Saturday.
Avery Bradley scored…..
Avery Bradley had a great night shooting the ball scoring 15 points on 7/13 shooting. Problem is he literally didn’t do much else posting 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 0 steals. Though in a game like this you might not notice it, but Bradley could easily lose his starting job to Smart if he doesn’t bring more to table. A legit argument could be made that the only advantage Bradley really has on Smart is his more efficient shooting stroke. However, if he goes through a slump, or has a bad shooting night I wouldn’t be surprised if Stevens leaned on Smart instead. This was only game 1 of 82 so theirs still a lot to see, but that should be an interesting storyline as the season progresses.
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