The Celtics began the stateside portion of their preseason crappy team tour with a stop in Brooklyn to face the crappy Nets tonight. And there’s really one way to describe the Nets…
The Celtics took turns barraging the Nets, with Amir Johnson and Isaiah Thomas teaming up to do the most damage, and receiving support from Jae Crowder and RJ Hunter. They looked crisp for a majority of the first half while the Nets looked disjointed. They fell off a bit in the third quarter, but opened the fourth with a barrage of 3’s and ran off with the game before the end-of-bench scrubs made it close. Don’t let the 109-105 final fool you.. the Celtics cruised through almost every point of this game that mattered…… as much as a game like this can matter.
The Green
After wondering exactly how Amir Johnson might fit into this pace and space system, it’s pretty clear he’s going to be just fine in a pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop offense. The man simply sets good screens and then moves to the open space to get the ball.
RJ Hunter still has a bunch to learn, but his shooting is at an NBA-level right now. When he’s open, he doesn’t care about a defender running at him. He’s the anti-Olynynk in that way… he’s confident in his quick release. And he should be… he got his shots off comfortably and confidently tonight.
I’m still liking what Kelly Olynyk brings. He’s still looking more aggressive and I swear I see some more muscle tone in him this year.
In general, the Celtics offense continues to be fairly smooth with few signs of guys being confused. Sure, the timing isn’t always great, but that comes with practice and playing. But most of the guys seem to know where to be and when, which is impressive at this stage.
The Gross
I’m struggling to find excuses to make for James Young. The contrast between him and his primary rival on the team, Hunter, is just too stark. Hunter looks smooth and confident, Young looks mostly the opposite. It wasn’t until the there were six minutes left that he finally got took a confident shot (a made corner 3).
Jared Sullinger didn’t have his greatest night. On a night where David Lee got a break, it was a great time for Sullinger to shine and make Brad Stevens’ life difficult. He didn’t.
There is no sign of Perry Jones making this team.
Jarrett Jack’s first quarter flagrant 2 on Jonas Jerebko was dumb and dangerous. It’s a preseason game, dude. Lowering the shoulder on a guy starting to take off is mind-blowing at this juncture. Luckily Jonas is OK. I’m looking forward to future dumb decisions by Jack dooming the Nets this season.
The Greenlights
Amir Johnson for 3. NBD.
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.jsIsaiah Thomas is good at offense. Jarrett Jack is bad at defense. https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
Proof that James Young exists:
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.jsThe Grid
- Amir Johnson: 19 pts (8-13 fg, 2-3 3pt), 6 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk
- Isaiah Thomas: 17 pts (6-10 fg, 3-5 3pt), 9 ast, 4 reb
- Celtics: 13-26 3 pt (50%), Nets: 7-22 3pt (31.8%)
- Celtics: 40-85 fg (47.1%), Nets: 35-87 fg (40.2%)
I know it’s hard to not be excited about this team… but as I’ve said everywhere: beware of false positives this preseason. They are playing some really bad competition.
I will not get too excited about this Celtics team, it’s preseason. I will not get too excited about this Celtics team, it’s preseason.
— Toucher and Rich (@Toucherandrich) October 15, 2015
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