Boston Celtics: Tremont Waters thoroughly impresses in win over the Sacramento Kings

After a one point loss to the Sacramento Kings last week, the Boston Celtics answered with a one point win of their own, winning by a score of 103-102.

Without starters Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker, and Daniel Theis, the Boston Celtics struggled on offense throughout the first 18 minutes of the game. Then, they closed the first half on a 25-7 run to lead by a score of 53-46 going into halftime.

The spark came from rookie Tremont Waters, who saw his first NBA action tonight due to Walker’s injury. He finished with 7 points and 3 assists along with a +/- of +20 in 20 minutes of action. Although he may be only 5-10, Waters showed he can be an effective NBA player on both ends of the floor, diving for loose balls on defense and facilitating to open teammates on offense.

In the first game between these two teams, Buddy Hield went off for 35 points on seven threes. With Boston’s wing defenders, it was unlikely for a performance like that was going to happen again. However, he scored 41 on 11 for 21 shooting from downtown, both career highs. He was hitting everything from beyond the arch — the Boston Celtics were lucky when any of his shots rimmed out.

He was the majority of Sacramento’s offense, as his Kings sixth man Bogdan Bogdanovic had a tough night, shooting 5 of 20 from the field to score 13 points. He hit a three with 40 seconds left in the game to put the Kings up by one, but they would never regain the lead.

Marcus Smart became the point guard for the Boston Celtics without Walker, and made the most of his opportunity. He ended shooting 7 for 12 with 17 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. He hit a fall away jumper, a driving layup, and stole the ball from Bogdanovic all in the last minute of the game, sealing the win.

However, he did seemingly walk off the court after the win holding his left hand and directly towards the trainer.

He always seems to make the winning play — that’s why Celtics fans love him so much.

Jaylen Brown also made the most of his increased offensive workload, scoring 24 points on 9 for 16 from the field. He was unstoppable in the third quarter, scoring nine points in only 2:30 of game time. The Kings couldn’t find an answer to Brown’s aggressive drives to the rim, and it can be questioned why Coach Brad Stevens didn’t look to him more down the stretch.

Jayson Tatum finished with 20 points on 7 of 18 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three assists. It was a well-rounded performance, as he also got to the line seven times.

Semi Ojeleye stepped into the starting lineup in Walker’s absence, playing 27 minutes and racking up seven points. He is still a negative on offense, but has proven himself as a tough defender and rebounder, gaining coach Stevens’ trust. Look for Ojeleye to continue to find a role in the starting lineup.

For the center rotation, without Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter drew the start. He looked good on offense and poor on defense, something that is expected for Kanter. However, he managed to get by against Sacramento center Richaun Holmes, as he did not get taken advantage of as much as he would in other matchups. Robert Williams also ended up playing 23 minutes off the bench, scoring six points and six rebounds. He also had a great contest on the game-winning attempt from Bogdanovic, altering his shot.

Brad Wanamaker had maybe his worst game as a Boston Celtics member, scoring three points on 0 for 8 shooting from the field with a -22 +/-. He had many drives where he would get to the basket, then just throw up a lazy layup, easy for the Kings to swat away. Sacramento ended up with eight blocks this game, whereas the Celtics finished with four. If Wanamaker continues to have poor performances, Stevens may look towards Waters and Edwards to play more minutes.

Speaking of rookie Carsen Edwards, he provided decent offense off the bench, scoring six points in 13 minutes. Many of the bench lineups included both Edwards and Waters, both guards under six feet tall, yet Boston didn’t get crushed on the defensive end. If they can manage to play together while not being a negative on defense, the bench unit for the Celtics will be helped out tremendously.

In all, while the Boston Celtics didn’t shake their West Coast shooting funk, only shooting 23.3% (7/30) from downtown. Compared to the Kings 38.3% (18/47), it was impressive to come out with a victory. The Celtics finished with eight less assists than the Kings, likely due to the lack of ball movement without a true point guard in the starting lineup.

The Boston Celtics played well enough to beat an injury-riddled Sacramento Kings by a point – but they will need better offensive performances in the future to stay afloat without All-Star point guard Kemba Walker.