The Boston Celtics acquired some shock reinforcements on Monday evening 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 because the NBA Finals and the Celtics smothered the Clippers 126-94, however one small footnote nonetheless evaded this crew — Al Horford sat out the second finish of a back-to-back, depriving us of the chance to see the crew at full power for the primary time this season.
We needed to wait 4 days to get our want. Horford returned to the court docket in opposition to the Chicago Bulls, and the Celtics fielded their whole 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 regarded like a world-beater all season, and so they leveled up in opposition to Chicago. For the umpteenth time this season, it regarded just like the NBA single-game three-pointer report was in peril of falling — they completed with 23 makes this time. Tatum scored a ludicrously environment friendly 35 factors (12-of-18 capturing), Porzingis tacked on 21 and Payton Pritchard continued his Sixth Man of the 12 months 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 huge three-point charges, they continue to be probably the most efficient groups on the rim within the league. They entered tonight’s sport capturing 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 publish mismatch into the combo is simply going to drive that quantity increased. He’s already been as much as his traditional tips, offering a cheat button the Celtics can hit at any level when they should generate a simple look contained in the arc.
And, sure, the Celtics take loads of threes. Folks can complain as a lot as they’d like, however given how good they’re at capturing them, it’s tough to argue they need to be doing anything. After tying the NBA report for made threes of their season opener in opposition to the Knicks (and shamelessly, hilariously failing to interrupt the report in rubbish time), any given evening 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 handiest spam performs in basketball.
If you happen to’re going to nitpick this Celtics crew, nevertheless, you can begin on the defensive finish. Issues are a little bit extra wobbly there. Per NBA Stats, their defensive ranking has nudged down from final yr’s second-best mark (110.6) to an eighth-place 111. It’s a delicate slip, lower than half a degree, nevertheless it tracks with the attention check — 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 need to tip your cap to, it did really feel at instances 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 crew, 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 more likely to report 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 loads of issues along with his mere presence, and very like the Celtics’ close-range capturing share, you’d count on they’ll enhance on the rim defensively with him taking up these minutes.
It have to be talked about that Pritchard’s elevated position has an impact, too. He has been nails on the offensive finish and performs with most effort as a defender, nevertheless it’s simply tough for a guard his measurement to actually transfer the needle defensively on the NBA degree. The Celtics will at all times be masking for him on that finish of the ground; their superb defensive scheme revolves round huge guards like Vacation and White overwhelming opposing groups’ ball-handlers. Pritchard deserves credit score for the way exhausting he works, however these bodily disadvantages will at all times make him a goal — a gambit that can simply be value it if he continues to attain on the torrid tempo he has via 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 may not 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, crucial factor is just not their common season success, however whether or not or not they’ll put their core on the court docket within the playoffs.
Nonetheless, it was good to get a glimpse of this crew’s endgame, even when it was only one flawed efficiency in late November. These Celtics are nonetheless probably the most gifted crew 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 fully doable they’re about to reclaim their throne and run with it. Friday evening’s tilt with the Bulls gave us an attractive glimpse of what’s subsequent to return.
