Boston Celtics: Balanced Attack Leads to First Victory

Balance and depth gave the Boston Celtics an ugly first victory

The Boston Celtics had a disastrous start to the season. Starting 0-2 was just the tip of it, because the Gordon Hayward injury changed the trajectory of their season, and Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart‘s absence put even more strain on recovering.

The Celtics knew they needed to find a way to beat a team like the Philadelphia 76ers, and it was not pretty to start this game. It was back and fourth, but not in a good way. Neither team was able to establish much rhythm, with the stars on both sides struggling to take over at any point.

That being said, everyone that saw the court was contributing for the Celtics. Brad Stevens made sure that he did not put this on any individual, because it will be impossible to make up for these injuries without doing it as a team.

The Celtics needed a response, and six players reached double digit scoring, with Jaylen Brown being the only started under that at nine points. Kyrie Irving and Al Horford lead the way, but the Celtics do not get this victory without Aron Baynes‘ reliability, Jayson Tatum‘s great ability to get to the line, and phenomenal displays by backup ball handlers Terry Rozier and Shake Larkin.

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Despite missing their most important second unit ball handler, the Celtics were able to use their depth to take advantage of a weaker 76ers team. Larkin finished a remarkable +16 on the night, and he was as effective as anyone, missing just one shot and collecting four assists.

This may have been an unexpected way for the Celtics to get their first victory of the season, but it is the kind of thing that will help them grow a lot. There is so much unknown on this team, and Stevens will not figure things out if everyone is not getting an opportunity.

It will take time for Stevens to gauge how he can use each and every player on this team, and it is even more difficult for bench players. When you have a game like this, where those unknown players step up when they are on the court, it makes the process a lot easier for Stevens.

Figuring these things out usually means having too many liabilities on the floor, but that was not the case for the second unit against the 76ers, and Stevens went to the deepest parts of his bench.

Larkin is the one that stands out the most, but Abdel Nader was the only one with a negative +/- on the second unit, meaning they were finding ways to make it work without anyone being taken advantage of.

Obviously, it is a lot easier to do this against a team like the 76ers, who have almost no depth what so ever. This kind of performance will not cut it against the top teams in the league, but this is going to be a transition for the Celtics, and the most important thing right now is finding a way to win these ugly games.

It is becoming clear that this is not going to be smooth for the Celtics, especially in the early stages of the season. If the Celtics can trust that they will get these surprise performances, allowing them to win games where they do not play particularly well, then they will be able to overcome these injuries, and have a successful regular season.

The Celtics get a long break before their next game now, and they needed that desperately. There is a chance that both Morris and Smart will be able to return for their next game on Tuesday, and then all of a sudden their depth can start to look like an advantage.

It could push their chemistry even further back, but it will finally allow them to work with the roster that should stay consistent for the rest of the season.

Next: Brad Stevens has Freedom to Experiment

The start of this season has truly been a disaster, but that victory against the 76ers is a sign that the disaster may not be dire enough to ruin this season.

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