The Boston Celtics came out to Madison Square Garden Saturday night with a 5-3 record fresh off a narrow win over the Chicago Bulls. On the other side, the New York Knicks have a modest 4-4 record, after a very tumultuous start.
The Celts would be without the services of veteran big Al Horford, as customary on any back-to-back to preserve his aging body. Luke Kornet would have been the next man up but did not travel with the team due to personal reasons. Rob Williams is still recovering from surgery on his knee. Danilo Gallinari is out for likely the season with an ACL tear.
For the Knicks, Quentin Grimes (left foot) and Mitchell Robinson (knee injury) were sidelined leaving big cracks in the rotation. Isaiah Hartenstein and Cam Reddish became the candidates for an insurgence of minutes.
The first question on many Cs fans’ minds was replacing the hole of production in the frontcourt sans Timelord, Big Al, and Kornet. Blake Griffin got the early start, Grant Williams played some small five minutes and Noah Vonleh had a major impact.
Boston’s temperature rose quickly, hitting five of their first six 3-point attempts, leading to an early 15-5 run. The Knicks called a timeout to recuperate and resurged with a 10-0 run which turned into a 17-5 run led by the offensive brilliance of Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.
The second quarter saw the Boston Celtics get out to an early lead with their smooth shooting and terrific punch from the reserves like Sam Hauser, Grant Williams, and Malcolm Brogdon. Jaylen Brown got his point total up to 21 at the half.
The Knicks kept pace with the shamrocks through two, with an assault on the paint nearly doubling in the paint points department. Barrett’s barrage from deep brought it to a one-point game at the break.
The third frame was very back and forth like floss in the teeth as New York opened the quarter grabbing hold of the lead briefly, but the perimeter scorching would keep the Celts in the game and eventually allowed them to get the distance in the score column.
The fourth quarter saw the Celtics set a franchise record 27 made 3-pointers off a Jayson Tatum trey. Despite, the Knicks keeping it interesting late, the old saying goes threes are worth more. Joe Mazzulla is a mathematician on the sideline. The Celtics get the win 133-118 behind Jaylen Brown’s 30-piece McNugget.
Here are three takeaways from the Boston Celtics 15-point victory over the New York Knicks
No. 1: The Celtics set a new franchise record with 27 3-pointers
The Boston Celtics were packing serious heat shooting Saturday night setting MSG ablaze for all Knicks fans in sight. It wasn’t just the high volume of 3-pointers made, but they were quality looks generated from well placed passes.
The decision to not force bad shots was a common theme on the night. Take what the defense gives you, and that word seemed like a foreign concept for the opposition who made no concerted effort to get out to those open shooters.
There were 27 made threes on 51 attempts which netted at about a 53% clip. All nine Celts that logged minutes tonight hit at least one 3-pointer — and yes, this includes even the likes of Blake Griffin and Noah Vonleh on the short corners.
The Jays combined for 12 treys out of 25 attempts on the night, each swapping six a piece from beyond the arc. Sam Hauser led the bench scoring attack with 17 off five three-point conversions.
Boston Celtics entered the night with the fourth-best offense averaging around 117 points per game and they are certainly making a case for becoming the top offense in the 22-23 season. The Green team desperately needed floor spacers this off-season and they got them in honey bunches of oats.
Players 1 through 15 on the regular roster can stretch out a defense. Not many teams can say the same for their team DNA. This may be one the deepest squads Beantown has constructed since the 2009-10 team.
This may be a Mike D’Antoni-Esque coaching approach to the game of basketball, but tonight the team took quality shots, and nothing seemed to be forced out there. The coach loves 3-pointers and math, and so far it is yielding wins as an outcome.
No. 2: 50 Bench points for the reserves
Depth was not a quality to be associated with the 2021-22 Boston Celtics. Things have changed with the addition of Malcolm Brogdon and the emergence of the sophomore sniper, Sam Hauser. Grant Williams is coming into his own in a contract year, while players like Luke Kornet, Noah Vonleh, and Blake Griffin provide steady play out there.
The team is so deep that Payton Pritchard, once a promising young part of the rotation, no longer sees the floor. Justin Jackson who has been in NBA rotations for most of his career does not see the floor. Adversely, if one of the main guards goes down to injury, the C’s are admirably deep at that position.
Williams(12), Brogdon(14), and Hauser(17) all scored in double digits while Vonleh led the game in rebounds (7) and +/- of 20. When Robert Williams gets back this may be the deepest team in all of the association. This team is full of shooting, playmaking and decent to great individual defenders.
This second unit has the chance to be a special one as some nights it will be Malcolm Brogdon taking over, and tonight we saw each of the four players share a piece of the pie. Everyone contributed.
Presumably, once Timelord returns in the New Year, Derrick White will join that unit and Blake Griffin will be a vital part too. And if we even see a glimpse of Danilo Gallinari by playoffs, forget it.
Depth was a huge issue last year as Ime Udoka would only go eight deep partly because of his stubbornness, and partly due to the lack of reliable players beyond the front five.
Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla does a better job of managing the rotation’s minutes than his counterpart did. It’s still very early, but this is a positive trend of truly maximizing the available talents.
No. 3: Al Horford can rest well
Let Al Horford continue to rest well on back-to-backs because he will be fresh and ready to go for a deep playoff run. Do not rush Rob Williams back, as his health will be critical for the long-term success of the pursuit of Banner 18.
The other night Luke Kornet delivered, and tonight minutes were dispersed between Blake Griffin, Grant Williams, and Noah Vonleh, and the results were positive. Griffin started the game doing the little things off the ball as setting screens and getting his share of points too with seven in just 15 minutes of playing time.
Batman was a presence on the floor tonight as he has been customarily the first person off the pine for the Boston Celtics each game. Joe Mazzulla likes to play with the pace with Williams at the five and he has dazzled with his surprising improvement in his driving and finishing ability creating off the bounce.
The Haverhill native had his best outing on the young with seven points to go with a team-leading team-leading seven rebounds in 16 minutes of playing time. His tenacious energy on the offensive glass to keep possessions alive is so valuable. As a former lottery pick clinging to his NBA dream just making one of the last roster slots in training camp, the chip on his shoulder is showing.
The next challenge for this contending green and the white squad is MVP candidate Ja Morant, and the youthful and exuberant Memphis Grizzlies. The game tips on Monday night as a part of a 15-game bonanza of NBA action.