The Celtics were able to pick up their 2nd consecutive win tonight, beating the Charlotte Hornets 126-94. This win is Boston’s 7th in their last 8 games. It was also another game where they were without Kyrie. Very impressive to say the least.
The Celtics and Hornets went back and forth for the early part of the first. This went on until the C’s went on a run and opened up a nice lead. They led 35-28 after the opening quarter. Things were going pretty well for the first part of the second quarter. The Celtics opened up an 11 point lead. It wasn’t long before Charlotte evened things up. Boston went into the half with just a 4 point lead. After halftime the C’s really stepped on the gas. The were able to pull away quite a bit in the third, building themselves a 23 point lead by the end of the third. Boston did even more damage in the fourth. They were able to outscore Charlotte by 9 in the final frame to get themselves the 32 point victory.
Tonight’s win brings the Celtics within 0.5 games of the Pacers, who lost to the Wizards tonight. Tomorrow’s slate of games should be very interesting. There’s potential for the Celtics to make some serious strides, including taking the 4th spot from the Pacers should they lose.
Playoff Celtics Return
The heroes from last postseason showed their beautiful faces once again tonight against the Hornets. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Terry Rozier all had great showings. As much as I hate to say it, this could be huge in any trade in the offseason. I don’t like seeing players go, especially those on the younger side. Either way, it was a good night from the young trio.
The Celtics got a big boost from their bench thanks to Jaylen Brown. He had a magnificent game tonight, scoring 24 points on 10-18 from the field. Brown also pulled down 10 rebounds to give himself a double double. He was able to get himself a lot of dunks tonight. Obviously, that’s what any player should want, especially Jaylen. His athleticism gave him some easy points against Charlotte.
The starter version of Terry Rozier balled out tonight. Terry scored 17 points as the starting point guard, and made 3 of his 5 threes. He, like Brown, was also able to put together a nice double double, but with assists. Rozier dished out 10 dimes in the Blowout win. Hopefully this type of play carries over after Kyrie comes back. The Celtics could certainly use this type of efficiency off the bench.
Jayson Tatum was a big part of the Celtics’ success tonight. Tatum scored 13 of his 20 points in the first quarter. Had he not been so effective, the C’s could’ve trailed behind the Hornets very early. He also had a nice night shooting, making 9 of his 15 shots. I was a bit disappointed to see him not be as aggressive after the first, but it proved to not be detrimental to the team’s success, which is really what matters. It’s actually more of a good thing because he didn’t force things while other guys were showing out. Things will be similar when Kyrie is back in the lineup.
Gordon Grinds Away
Lately, lots of fans have been upset with the lack of performance from Gordon Hayward. Obviously, he’s not living up to his paycheck, which is a quick way to become the center of criticism. Over the last two games, he’d only scored 2 points each night. He’s simply got to be better than that. Everyone knows he’s capable of it, they’re just confused why they’re not seeing it.
Tonight he was much better than he had been. Gordon finished the game with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 24 minutes of play. He was also a lot better from the field, shooting 5-10 overall and 1-1 from deep. Seeing shots go in is a big thing for him. Tonight was a night where the first 2 fell for him, so he was able to get a rhythm going. Another impressive part of his stat line was the team high +31. In recent games, we’d seen him be ineffective on the floor. Things were going during his minutes, and people were making him the scapegoat.
Hayward was just doing what he could to help the guys beat the Hornets. Things seemed to pick up when he was out there. The defense was better, and it created transition opportunities for the Celtics.
He was also much more aggressive. In all of the better games Gordon has played, it’s been when he’s going to the basket hard. Scal had some things to say about this during the game. He mentioned how when Hayward was in Utah, he’d take the ball inside and guys would bounce off of him. Now he’s being a bit more passive and it’s hurting his play. This isn’t anything new, but it’s still got to change for things to get better.
The Celtics Did Everything Right
This game was a joy to watch. I titled the first section “Playoff Celtics Return,” because that’s exactly what this game looked like. The team brought intensity in a game against a team that really posed no threat. Guys were hustling, the ball was moving, and most importantly it was going in the basket.
The hustle was definitely there. Just take a look at this play.
It wasn’t just things like this, the Celtics were battling down low for the rebounds. The Hornets were a bit small, but the effort was still there. Boston out-rebounded Charlotte 53-31. It’s kind of hard to lose games with all those extra possessions.
The Celtics did a great job of moving the ball. It’s been an obvious pattern this season, when the ball moves, the Celtics win. They’re 13-4 in games with 30+ assists. Well, tonight they got 34. The starting backcourt of Rozier and Smart combined for 17 of those. Very promising stuff, especially from Rozier, who’d been thought to be playing a bit selfish earlier in the season.
It’s really hard to lose when shots are falling like they did against the Hornets. The C’s shot 55% from the field and 41% from deep. I always say how assists and shooting percentage go hand and hand because of their dependency on each other. This was just another example of that. Every player on the Celtics shot 50% or above except for Marcus Smart who was 1-7. I’m so excited to see this carry over when Kyrie’s back in the lineup.
The Celtics are back Friday night, when they travel MSG to play the Knicks. New York has the worst record in the league, so hopefully the Celtics will take care of business.
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