Celtics basketball is back! After enjoying Italy for the past few days, the Cs won their preseason opener, 124-91, over their generous hosts, Olimpia Milano. Isaiah Thomas led the way with 18 points, but newcomer David Lee was the most productive overall, looking extremely active while posting 13 points on 5-8 shooting, along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Avery Bradley added 14 and was 4-4 from the three-point line.
One big question in the offseason has been who will be in the rotation, so there was plenty of attention being paid to the lineups. Coach Brad Stevens had said no Celtic would play more than 28 minutes in this game, with top rotation players expected to get 24-28 minutes. That’s about how it worked out, as Jae Crowder tallied a game-high 25 minutes and no one else was above 21. All 15 players in uniform saw action.
The starters were Bradley, Marcus Smart, Crowder, Tyler Zeller and Lee. Thomas came off the bench six minutes into the first quarter. Interestingly, Jared Sullinger did not get off the bench until two minutes into the second quarter, which of course prompted a lot of speculation in the Twitterverse. Sully ended up with 14 points in 15 minutes of action. Stevens had warned us not to read anything into today’s playing time, so who knows? Sully might start the next game.
The first hoop of the preseason was off a Smart hustle play – he leaped to save an offensive rebound from going out of bounds, swatting it back to Zeller for a layup. Smart was solid, driving often on his way to 11 points and 6 assists.
The Celts opened by going inside repeatedly, with drives, pick-and-rolls and post-ups, making use of a size and talent advantage over Milano. Boston’s first 3-point attempt did not come until five minutes in, as Bradley hit from the corner. Lee showed his P&R effectiveness early on, with two straight hoops off feeds from Bradley and Smart.
RJ Hunter was the first rookie to check in and buried his initial shot, a three from the right corner with a hand in his face.
The Celts led, 34-20, with 67% shooting after the first quarter. Thomas had 9 points.
In the second quarter, Amir Johnson demonstrated his ability to hold down the fort defensively, challenging several shots and grabbing rebounds in two consecutive Milano flurries. Boston led, 61-44, at halftime; IT had 12 and Bradley 9. Perry Jones, Jordan Mickey and James Young were the only active Celtics not to see the court in the first half.
Milano cut the margin to eight points early in the third quarter, but the Celts pushed it out to 20 at the first timeout behind balanced scoring. The Green led, 99-71, after three quarters and the final frame was extended garbage time.
The Green:
Mike Gorman remarked that the crowd made it seem like a Celtics home game. Lots of green.
Hunter looks like he belongs. Although he didn’t shoot well, he blocked a shot from behind on a help defense effort; drove and dished off the dribble for a Sully layup; and poked the ball away from behind after his man had dribbled past him.
Terry Rozier had some ups and downs but finished with 9 points on 3-6 shooting and did not look lost.
Jordan Mickey played only the final six minutes but looked good around the boards, posting 7 points and 6 rebounds.
The Gross:
Smart was jeered after making a steal, going in alone, and softly laying it up rather than throwing it down.
We’ve seen the Sullinger selfies but in uniform he looks the same to me. That’s not a bad thing, but whatever physical change he may have achieved is not obvious.
James Young missed his only shot and committed a charge. He’s losing ground to Hunter.
Evan Turner sat out with a minor knee injury. Stevens said he’s day-to-day.
The Greenlights:
Oh my! First ATO gem of the season from Stevens.
Here’s what we want from Smart, every night.
Lee steals and advances on the dribble, just like Stevens said recently that he wants Lee to do.
The Grid:
- Boston shot 56.1% and had 31 assists on 46 field goals.
- Celts had 22 fastbreak points and 70 points in the paint.
- Biggest lead was 33.
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