Celtics
White stepped up instead of the injured Jaylen Brown on Friday, scoring a team-high 23 factors on 8-for-16 capturing.
Derrick White and the Celtics routed the Rockets 109-86 within the second half on Friday, claiming their second highway win in as many days.
Listed below are the takeaways.
Derrick White’s All-Star case is powerful (albeit unlikely).
Will probably be very arduous for Derrick White to make the All-Star workforce this 12 months in a really crowded subject, however performances like Friday make his case rather a lot stronger.
On an evening when the Celtics had been with out Jaylen Brown – and on an evening when the Rockets had been useless set on not letting Jayson Tatum beat them – White was greater than as much as the duty of being the Celtics’ second star, hurting the Rockets in all kinds of the way en path to a team-high 23 factors on 8-for-16 capturing.
White was, in fact, very happy to launch threes when the Rockets misplaced him defensively, and he completed 6-for-12. He additionally dropped in a tear-drop floater when the Rockets closed out arduous. Halfway by means of the fourth, he did the identical – making the most of a protection that desperately needed to stop him from getting off a triple.
Defensively, White – like the remainder of the Celtics workforce – was glorious. He was a terror on the perimeter, and he met Dillon Brooks on the rim in transition for what has basically develop into his nightly spotlight block.
Making an All-Star workforce isn’t alleged to be simple, and White positioned tenth within the preliminary voting returns. A few the gamers forward of him are prone to fall off as voting continues (does Jordan Poole, as an example, have a devoted room at his home for family and friends to maintain spamming his title?), however others like Jalen Brunson, Trae Younger and Cade Cunningham could also be arduous to beat.
Nonetheless, Celtics followers would possibly desire White over any of the aforementioned guards, they usually actually know what the workforce has in him – an All-Star caliber scorer who doubles as maybe the perfect guard defender within the league.
Kristaps Porzingis returned.
Jaylen Brown remained out with a proper shoulder pressure after lacking Thursday’s win over the Timberwolves, however Kristaps Porzingis returned after taking an odd step and spraining his ankle throughout the Celtics’ Christmas Day loss to the 76ers.
Porzingis was comparatively quiet in simply 27 minutes of motion, scoring 11 factors on 3-for-8 capturing. Importantly, nonetheless, he buried a pair of 3-pointers and blocked two photographs. The Celtics missed Porzingis’ rim safety, and Houston’s reluctance to drive straight at Porzingis was obvious.
“It’s powerful for him as a result of he’s going by means of a transition of coming in,” Mazzulla mentioned. “I assumed his protection within the second half was large. We went to a few issues that form of obtained him going a bit bit on some pindowns. I assumed for his first sport again, I assumed it was nice.”
Having Porzingis again issues an amazing deal on each ends. The star large man makes attending to the rim rather a lot simpler for the Celtics’ slashers, and the Celtics’ protection generally is a lot extra aggressive understanding he’s waving his lengthy arms at photographs within the paint – Porzingis contested 11 photographs, based on the NBA’s information, second-highest on the workforce solely behind Luke Kornet’s 14.
White, by the way, was third with 9 photographs contested. No one else contested greater than 4.
The Celtics’ protection may be very again.
With out going too overboard and declaring that the Celtics will return to successful ultimately 12 months’s clip the remainder of the way in which, the previous few video games have been a robust assertion by a workforce that was probably the greatest defensive squads within the league final 12 months.
On Friday, the Celtics gave up 31 factors within the first quarter. They then proceeded to permit simply 25 within the second and 16 within the third as they took management of the sport. Within the fourth, they made every part Houston tried a slog, permitting simply seven factors to the common rotation earlier than each groups emptied their bench (the Rockets completed the body with 14).
Earlier this week, Joe Mazzulla appeared to mock the concept the defensive struggles had been a results of a scarcity of effort. The truth that the Celtics have kind of fastened their protection instantly after speaking about how they needed to repair their protection, nonetheless, doesn’t precisely make his case for him.
“The ball stress from guards, however taking part in double-big, having nice rim safety, defending with out fouling,” Mazzulla mentioned when requested concerning the protection. “I feel that they had 11 second-chance factors within the first quarter, three within the second, and we did an amazing job from there on out. I simply thought we had been bodily on the level of assault, had nice level stress.
“Our bigs gave us nice rim safety. Luke was unbelievable on each ends of the ground. His rim safety vs. [Alperen] Sengun and his offensive rebounding. That’s the usual defensively that everyone knows, and it was good to see the blokes do it.”
Jayson Tatum dropped Cam Whitmore
Tatum was comparatively quiet as effectively (20 factors on 7-for-19 capturing) and appeared comparatively content material to let his teammates feast off the defensive consideration paid to him, however he did ship this nasty crossover that despatched Rockets guard Cam Whitmore to the ground.
Tatum completed 4-for-10 from three and notched six rebounds and 5 assists.
Payton Pritchard was absurdly environment friendly.
Pritchard cooked the Rockets, scoring 20 factors on 8-for-10 capturing total and 4-for-6 from three.
A few of Pritchard’s twos had been significantly spectacular – at one level late within the second quarter, he drove proper at Rockets large man Steven Adams and dropped in a pull-up five-foot financial institution shot that created a 2-for-1 alternative for the Celtics.
However he’s, at coronary heart, a devastating shooter.
Pritchard additionally appeared to have one thing to say to Ime Udoka (Udoka, for what it’s price, didn’t take it too arduous).
“We got here out right now and competed at a really excessive stage and set the tone, particularly within the second half, and obtained the W,” Pritchard instructed NBC Sports activities Boston after the sport. “So that is the way it’s obtained to be for the remainder of the 12 months.”
The Celtics’ second-unit bigs excelled.
One in all Tatum’s assists was this nifty dime to Luke Kornet, which changed into one of many extra unlikely posters of the season.
Kornet was glorious on the rim defensively (though Jalen Inexperienced hammered dwelling a dunk on him that can nearly actually prime Friday’s nightly dunk scores), and he tallied 9 factors and 4 assists. He additionally grabbed 10 rebounds, together with six of the Celtics’ 10 offensive boards.
Neemias Queta, in the meantime, had one other good displaying in 19 minutes off the bench after wanting good towards the Timberwolves on Thursday, punching dwelling a pair of giant dunks.
Al Horford will flip 39 this season if the Celtics make a run as deep as they hope. Porzingis performed simply his twelfth sport on Friday. Having gamers like Kornet and Queta to sop up minutes has confirmed invaluable thus far.
Ime Udoka vs. Joe Mazzulla has been one-sided thus far.
After Ime Udoka was employed late within the 2022-23 season, the Rockets have been steadily trending upwards – their younger expertise thriving beneath a coach who doesn’t let anybody off the hook in the event that they don’t defend at a excessive stage.
Mazzulla and the Celtics, nonetheless, at the moment are 3-0 towards Udoka after beating him twice final 12 months, and two of these wins have been by greater than 20.
Celtics-Rockets may develop right into a enjoyable inter-conference rivalry if the Rockets’ younger gamers proceed on their present improvement path, however towards a Celtics workforce that rivals all-time nice rosters in NBA historical past, Houston nonetheless has plenty of floor to make up.
Celtics followers proceed to journey effectively.
Celtics followers have made themselves heard in a couple of completely different locales – Washington DC particularly seems like a house sport at occasions – however they had been unusually loud in Houston because the Celtics pulled away.
A reporter requested Tatum about taking part in on the highway.
“Seeing all these folks on the market with Tatum jerseys and shirts, and folks having my sneakers, and like I mentioned, youngsters would possibly’ve obtained this ticket for his or her birthday or Christmas, understanding that’s the one time I get to return on the town,” Tatum mentioned.
“That’s why I by no means need to miss highway video games. That’s why I perceive the significance of taking part in in entrance of your followers, particularly on the highway. I really like happening the highway, I really like taking part in in entrance of various crowds and seeing all of the assist now we have across the nation.”
The highway journey continues.
Any affordable observer would have mentioned {that a} 3-1 highway journey for the Celtics could be a serious success.
They’re now 2-0, they usually took care of a brutally troublesome back-to-back towards two playoff groups within the Western Convention separated by practically 1,200 miles.
Subsequent up, the Celtics get their first crack of the season at one of many real contenders within the Western Convention: Shai Gilgeous Alexander and the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder.
“Phenomenal participant, it’s going to be an enormous problem,” Porzingis instructed reporters afterward, earlier than stopping and chuckling. “These are like tremendous typical solutions. However actually – some challenges, and we need to attempt to restrict him on the rim as a lot as we will and attempt to make it as grinding as doable for him to try to put on him down.”
That showdown suggestions off Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
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