Celtics
Porzingis notched a game-high 27 factors and was a mismatch for the Jazz.
The Celtics cruised by means of a lot of Friday’s sport and picked up their vitality as obligatory to say a snug 121-99 victory.
Listed here are the takeaways.
Kristaps Porzingis is a matchup nightmare.
We aren’t breaking a lot new floor right here, admittedly, however on an evening when Jaylen Brown sat out and Jayson Tatum was a bit cold and warm, Porzingis was the proper third star for the Celtics.
A lot is (very appropriately) manufactured from Tatum’s seemingly limitless offensive arsenal, however much less is manufactured from Porzingis for some purpose, despite the fact that Porzingis can attain equally deep into his bag and emerge with all kinds of choices. He was 3-for-5 from three, moving into triples with confidence. The Celtics had been more than pleased to toss the ball into him each time he had a guard remoted within the publish, and he’s well-practiced at baiting defenders into contact from 10-15 toes from the ring after which discovering a approach to sneak the ball in anyway. At first of the third quarter, he faked a hand-off to Derrick White, then put the ball on the ground and curled round his defender to the rim for a giant one-handed slam. Porzingis completed with 27 factors on 9-for-15 capturing to go together with 10 rebounds and 6 assists, and he did all of it in slightly below 25 minutes of motion.
The Celtics received the title final yr with Porzingis sidelined for the overwhelming majority of the postseason, however they’re much extra harmful and dynamic with him on the ground. If you wish to see the Celtics make a deep run — and we’d presume you do, since you’re right here studying this — knock on any wooden you could find whereas desirous about a wholesome Porzingis, as a result of there aren’t plenty of groups within the NBA who’ve a solution for him.
Jayson Tatum began and ended brilliantly.
Tatum seemed like the very best participant on Earth for the primary 12 minutes of the sport, and his flurry of closing punches pushed the Celtics over the end line comfortably earlier than he checked out from the previous few minutes of the sport having performed slightly below 34 minutes.
Within the center, nonetheless, Tatum was fairly quiet. He did simply sufficient to assist the Celtics win comfortably, however he by no means actually gave the impression to be taxing himself a lot.
That, after all, is okay on an evening when the Celtics beat a lottery-bound Jazz squad by 23. The Celtics didn’t want Tatum to attain the 56 factors he was on tempo to tally after the primary quarter — not when a much more informal 11-for-25-from-the-floor, 26-point efficiency with six rebounds and 6 assists was loads to get the job finished.
Tatum additionally despatched the NBC Sports activities Boston broadcast into hysterics when he appeared to inadvertently bump the ball to himself together with his heel in transition — a transfer that ought to make the flailing US males’s nationwide soccer crew sit up and take discover.
The Celtics pressured a ton of turnovers.
The Celtics have been the very best offensive crew within the NBA over the past month, however the Jazz appeared badly flustered by the Celtics’ protection. Utah turned the ball over 17 instances, together with 5 alone by rookie Kyle Filipowski. The Celtucs, in the meantime, recorded 13 steals together with three every by Derrick White, Jrue Vacation and Tatum to go together with three blocks by Luke Kornet.
The Celtics outscored the Jazz 26-6 in transition.
“Simply good exercise from all people,” Joe Mazzulla mentioned afterward. “I assumed it begins with the person protection. I assumed we did a great job a lot of the sport on our particular person protection, after which the exercise, after which the belief behind. So all people was very lively, and that’s the kind of effort that we’d like, and it was nice.”
The Celtics are discovering causes to compete.
With the Celtics primarily locked into the two-seed, Mazzulla and the gamers have been pressured to seek out artistic methods to remain current and cope with the problem of profitable within the NBA evening to nighttime.
“The method of profitable, execution, rebounding, the small print, the right mindset of being aggressive, toughness,” Mazzulla mentioned when a reporter requested what the keys are to the tip of the season. “So simply the issues that result in profitable, and we’ve acquired to maintain doing it.”
Even towards the Jazz, a win isn’t assured — the Celtics seemed dominant for a lot of the sport, however a run spurred by Collin Sexton within the third quarter trimmed the lead as little as 4 earlier than the Celtics ran it again up once more.
Mazzulla mentioned he appreciates his crew’s aggressive nature.
“On the finish of the day, we’ve acquired to win, however we’ve acquired to do it the best method,” Mazzulla mentioned. “We’ve acquired to do it by means of the method. So we did that tonight. Received to stick with it.”
Jrue Vacation put collectively an excellent sequence.
One factor about having a crew with as many particular person stars because the Celtics is that whereas a participant like Jrue Vacation may end a sport with simply eight factors on 3-for-6 capturing, there are sometimes a couple of Easter eggs hidden in a blowout like Friday’s that remind you simply how good he’s.
This sequence is an effective instance.
Our condolences to the assistant coach on the Jazz bench who was so infuriated he began smacking his hand with a rolled up piece of paper. Taking part in the Celtics appears to be like irritating.
Baylor Scheierman prompted a fantastic problem.
After his large sport at TD Backyard on Tuesday, Baylor Scheierman has now earned — and received — the Celtics his first inexperienced gentle particular.
Early within the fourth quarter, Jazz ahead Micah Potter rumbled towards the rim, trying to throw down a giant one-handed dunk. Scheierman, nonetheless, acquired in his method and jumped straight up within the air, throwing each of his palms up. Potter missed the dunk, however he acquired the whistle, and the Celtics’ bench leapt up in protest. Mazzulla took a fast look backwards, and positive sufficient, his assistants advised him to overview it. As Scheierman walked to the bench together with his arms up – demonstrating how he defended the dunk try – he obtained a number of excessive fives, and the Celtics received the problem.
Joe Mazzulla burned his second problem three minutes afterward an out-of-bounds name that even seemed apparent on TV, leaving the Celtics and not using a problem for the ultimate 5:12 of the sport.
Scheierman couldn’t replicate Tuesday’s heroics, ending 0-for-4 from 3-point vary, however to Joe Mazzulla’s level postgame: Scheierman’s job this season isn’t to be a 3-point bomber. His job is to indicate that he can grasp on the NBA stage doing different issues, and difficult a large dunk try straight up is a pleasant begin.
Jaylen Brown might have a tricky street forward.
On Friday, the Celtics introduced that Jaylen Brown — who sat out Friday’s sport — has a bone bruise and also will miss Sunday’s sport earlier than he’s re-evaluated on Monday.
That creates a dilemma for Brown, who — presumably — want to take a few video games off earlier than the playoffs, however who now not has a lot of a cushion if he hopes to be eligible for end-of-season awards. To stay eligible, Brown would wish to play in 9 of the Celtics’ final 11 video games earlier than the postseason.
Given all of the gamers who is not going to be eligible (and, after all, his contributions to the Celtics’ success as an entire), Brown would have a shot at an All-NBA crew, which might look excellent on a future Corridor of Fame candidacy, particularly alongside his Finals MVP.
Brown is aware of his physique and presumably will make the best selections, however his All-NBA candidacy could be the one factor in regards to the Celtics’ season that comes all the way down to the ultimate few video games.
A busy street journey forward.
The Celtics will proceed their street journey on Sunday after they journey to Portland to tackle the Path Blazers — presumably a possibility for Pritchard to place collectively a giant efficiency in his hometown because the Celtics play a break up squad on the entrance finish of a back-to-back.
On Monday, the Celtics can be in Sacramento for a sport towards the Kings which ideas at 10 p.m.
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