TD Garden is already buzzing.
On an in any other case peaceable autumn Sunday afternoon in Boston, the amount contained in the Garden was piercing. It was solely their preseason opener. But the thrill for this Celtics staff was clearly obvious because the ball tipped off for the primary time this season.
Maybe it helped that the awful Patriots had simply suffered one other blowout loss mere hours beforehand, which put the highlight solely on Boston’s lone championship favourite. The Celtics are the satisfaction of the town proper now, and so they confirmed why on Sunday.
The Celtics obtained a superb have a look at their two prized additions, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. And Payton Pritchard, with the ink nonetheless drying on his new contract extension, took over late, because the Celtics got here from behind to beat the 76ers with a 114-106 preseason-opening win that left Joe Mazzulla happy.
“We played with physicality. Defensively, we played with the right mindset, we played with the intentionality of trying to do the right thing,” Mazzulla stated. “And as long as our intention is there, and our effort is there, and our mindsets there … we didn’t execute great, but it’s the first game. So I care about the other stuff.”
The power contained in the Garden was uncommon for a preseason recreation, however it left each Porzingis and Holiday impressed and excited for the long run.
“That was insane for a preseason game,” stated Porzingis, who completed with 17 factors in his debut. “I’m very happy to be a Celtic, I’m not gonna lie.”
Takeaways from the Celtics’ victory:
– Porzingis was feeling himself. The new Celtics large man, within the midst of a powerful first quarter, completed a lob from Derrick White with authority, flushing the alley-oop with one hand. He took a look on the Celtics bench, the place his new teammates had been celebrating the play, with a glance of gentle shock of himself.
As a lot as pleasure has been generated during the last week with the acquisition of Jrue Holiday, Porzingis stole the present on Sunday. In his first recreation with the C’s, he appeared just like the pure match that Brad Stevens will need to have been envisioning when he made the commerce in June to half with Marcus Smart. Porzingis scored from all three ranges, opening the sport with a 3-pointer from the wing. He appeared deadly within the two-man recreation with each Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, working with them to generate straightforward appears to be like all over the place.
“I think he has the ability to play both ends of the floor and just having that dynamic just opens up the floor for us,” Mazzulla stated. “I think just the guys getting used to playing with each other, I thought we passed up some open shots, but he gives us a different dynamic, makes the game easier for all the guys and it’s gonna continue to get better.”
Defensively, Porzingis was impactful, too, as he stopped a number of shut appears to be like on the rim within the early going and even mixed with Al Horford on a transition block.
Porzingis, who missed a few month this summer season with plantar fasciitis in his foot, appeared snug. It was a powerful first impression and a reminder that Porzingis’ addition will make life depressing for opposing defenses, who’ve to fret about him in addition to Tatum and Brown.
“It’s super easy honestly,” Porzingis stated. “Those guys are so talented, Jayson draws so much attention that it opens things up for me and that’s a perfect scenario for me. … We’re freestyling it and playing off of each other. So it has to be pretty impossible for the other team to understand what’s gonna happen.”
– Mazzulla opted to begin Horford over Holiday on Sunday, which shouldn’t be learn into. Mazzulla stated Holiday continues to be acclimating to the staff, and the C’s will play a number of completely different lineups over the course of the season. Holiday is prone to begin. Sunday was a superb have a look at the double-big lineup with Porzingis and Horford, and the 2 appeared good subsequent to one another.
Holiday obtained an prolonged look with the anticipated beginning 5 within the third quarter, when the unit went on a 9-0 run with all of the factors scored by Brown. That group is clearly nonetheless gaining some chemistry collectively.
“I think it’s just about time. Time on the court,” Holiday stated. “Getting a chance to play with them and see what’s going to happen, see where I’m supposed to be and where I’m going to be getting the ball, and things like that. But real fun, glad I got to go out there and play.”
– Sam Hauser described Pritchard as a participant “out for blood” this season after a powerful summer season and begin to camp, and the early returns of that remark are right. Pritchard led all scorers with 26 factors, which included six 3-pointers and the dagger triple with underneath a minute remaining to assist seal the victory.
Pritchard made large strides over the summer season and he appears to be like able to seize a bigger position off the bench this season.
“What you saw tonight and what you’ll see throughout the year is just his mindset, and his professionalism to just be prepared over the last three years,” Mazzulla stated. “And, guys like him, they get rewarded in some capacity. And as I said before, we’re gonna rely on him to give us another layer of toughness, another layer of physicality, another layer of playing with the right mindset.”
– Tatum had a tricky capturing recreation in Sunday’s opener as he began 2-for-11 and completed 3-for-13 for 13 factors. But Mazzulla preferred the star’s method as he performed extra within the put up.
“At the end of day, just playing with physicality, whether it’s from three, whether it’s from the post on, and even on some of the missed layups that he had, I thought he went downhill with force,” Mazzulla stated. “And so he’s doing a great job of just understanding where he’s going, what spots he’s gonna get to at different spots of the game, and as long as he does it with physicality and be ready to make the right play.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com