The Boston Celtics won a classic game on opening night against the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s look at how they came out with the victory.
The Boston Celtics found themselves down one to the Milwaukee Bucks with eight seconds remaining. Enter star Jayson Tatum, who didn’t call bank… he called GAME.
The All-Star hit the clutch three over Giannis Antetokounmpo with 0.4 seconds remaining, leaving Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer to draw up a play.
New addition Jrue Holiday lobbed up a pass for Antetokounmpo to tip in, and Tristan Thompson was called for a foul despite not making significant contact with the reigning MVP.
This sent Giannis to the line for two free throws to tie the game.
A 72 percent shooter from the charity stripe, he ended up making the first and leaving the second short, giving the Boston Celtics a 122-121 win on opening night.
Tatum finished the night with 30 points on 12-28 shooting and seven rebounds.
Struggling to finish in the paint over taller Bucks defenders, the forward ended up shooting 6-13 from downtown, with his 13 attempts being a career-high.
With no Kemba Walker for the foreseeable future and Gordon Hayward now in Charlotte, both Tatum and Jaylen Brown will need to carry the offensive load for coach Stevens.
The Cs ran more sets with Tatum in the pick-and-roll, either as the ball handler or the screener. Both he and Brown were repeatedly open off the pick-and-pop, improving their shot selection compared to isolation attempts.
On the less glamorous side of the ball, JT continued to showcase his impressive help defense, effective against Milwaukee’s drive-and-kick offense.
Brown was the best player on the court tonight and kept the Boston Celtics in the game.
In 38 minutes, the 24-year-old scored 33 points on 13-24 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, and had four assists. He repeatedly got to the elbow off screens and drained them with ease, going 10-16 from inside the arc.
Getting more reps as the pick-and-roll ball handler, Brown has improved his craftiness, passing ability, and finishing.
The fifth-year man couldn’t make these types of plays even last year, and has improved immensely to become an effective second star on a championship contender. In the last 2:32 of the first half, he scored 10 points, giving the Celtics a five-point lead at halftime.
On defense, he was able to hold up on switches against Giannis and Khris Middleton, and seemed more engaged than ever.
He sometimes was too eager on the defensive end, continuing to jump on pump fakes which can lead to easy points from the opposition. Along with this, he got beat in transition defense after missing a shot in the first half, something that will likely not happen again.
The Bucks had 16 fastbreak points in the first half alone.
Jeff Teague led the second unit, continuing his preseason success. He ended with 19 points and four assists while shooting 7-15 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from deep. So far, in a Celtics uniform, he has hit all nine of his 3-point attempts.
Teague will always be a liability on defense because of his size, but he fits the mold of a playmaking backup point guard that can create his own shot. He was able to drive to the rim both off the p&r and in isolation, beating up on poor Bucks defenders such as Donte DiVincenzo and Pat Connaughton.
The combination of him and Tristan Thompson give veteran leadership on the second unit, something that this young Boston Celtics team has lacked going into the playoffs over the years.
The aforementioned Thompson was not only available after not seeing any preseason action, but started alongside Daniel Theis.
TT finished with 12 points and eight rebounds (four offensive), and was assigned the difficult task of guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He was able to move his feet well enough to keep in front of Giannis in most situations. Up until the fourth, the reigning MVP was held in check for the most part, relying on other Bucks to create points from beyond the arc — in saying this, he still finished with 35 and 13 rebounds after exploding in the final quarter.
Thompson provides more size inside, leading to more second-chance points. Boston hasn’t had an offensive rebounder like Thompson in quite some time.
Daniel Theis played well, stretching the floor by hitting two threes and finding the open shooters with three assists. He has always been an underrated passer from the top of the key, and look for the Celtics to put the ball in his hands more with no Kemba.
Coach Stevens’ choice to start both Thompson and Theis allowed for Robert Williams to get backup center minutes as well, giving playing time to all three of the C’s bigs.
Williams and Grant Williams combined for seven points in 27 minutes, playing acceptable defense without making too many mistakes.
Semi Ojeleye had his biggest minutes-turnout in a decent amount of time, scoring five points in 19 minutes for a team-high +/- of +20.
Ojeleye always plays well against the Bucks dating back to their playoff series during his rookie year, as he matches up well against Giannis due to his size and strength. On the offensive side, however, he hit a three, led a fastbreak with a eurostep and-one, and even threw out a no-look pass.
Compared to the low expectations set by Boston Celtics fans for Semi, this was a pleasant surprise in the first game of the year.
Marcus Smart said he would focus on his shot selection leading into the new year, and that led to a lot less shots from the defensive specialist.
Only finishing with three points on three shots, he focused on finding the open shooters on the perimeter, leading to a team-high seven assists. On the defensive end, he drew three charges on Giannis, getting the superstar in foul trouble earlier than he had hoped.
As a team, Boston shot 18-40 from downtown (45 percent) and 48-101 (47.5 percent) from the field. Additionally, they only had six turnovers compared to Milwaukee’s 16, which always gives the team a great chance to win the game.
The Boston Celtics went into the fourth quarter with a 17 point lead and saw that advantage slip away in only half the quarter, with them winding up having to fight their way to a victory.
This is a worrying trend that has seemed to carry over from the bubble, but as long as they get the win, none of it matters… right?
For the Bucks, Middleton had an impressive stat line of 27 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists on good efficiency, but him, Giannis, and Jrue Holiday’s 25 were not enough to defeat the shamrocks.
The Boston Celtics won an electric opening game in what hopes to be a sign of things to come in this new NBA season.
What a game!