3 takeaways from Boston Celtics MLK day win over Hornets
The Boston Celtics enter the day having won six straight games and owning the top record in the association. Playing the Charlotte Hornets again at the Hive for the second time this weekend, the Cs nixed the Hornets 122-106 in their previous meeting Saturday.
The injury report was essentially identical for both teams. The most significant update was the availability of guard, Derrick White who suffered a disturbing fall after an accidental collision with a teammate, Marcus Smart on Saturday Night.
Hornets starting forwards, Gordon Hayward (hamstring soreness) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (hand) each missed this contest. Jaylen Brown is still out for presumably another week with right adductor tightness.
The game opened on White’s alley-oop to Smart for a two-hand slam for the first points of the afternoon. Then, much like the previous game between these two teams, it was back and forth for the opening of the quarter.
Jalen McDaniels has been a nice surprise for Charlotte hoping into starter-level minutes with numerous injuries on their squad. His ability as a willing cutter and a smooth shooter off the catch on the perimeter makes him a duel threat out there.
The Celtics started to connect on their treys at a rapid rate to end the quarter as the bench unit took the court. A pair of treys from Malcolm Brogdon and one from Payton Pritchard, all working to make a comfortable 35-22 lead for Beantown.
The second quarter saw a Tatum-less C’s group grow their lead with stellar play from Malcolm Brogdon, Grant Williams — whose playmaking netted a career-high six assists all in the first half — and Luke Kornet.
One pivotal changing play with Brogdon being cut open on a nasty bump from colliding with Lamelo Ball. The six-foot-five guard was up to 13 points off the bench by the time of his injury. The Cs would still battle as their guard depth is one of the deepest in the league, Smart and White held steady managing the ball-handling duties in their sixth man’s absence.
The Hornets despite one of the best halves of Jalen McDaniel’s young career, struggled to delete the deficit whether it was not converting at the line or fouling three-point shooters on the other end. In one word, they looked undisciplined.
The second half was the Jayson Tatum masterclass in session, with 31 of his 51 points coming on the backend of this one. LaMelo Ball started to erupt with some tough buckets and a surprising quarter from Mark Williams cut the lead to six with 12 to go.
The fourth quarter started with some timely buckets from ol’ reliable, Grant Williams, who despite an off-shooting night, caught fire at the right time. Ball would drill a tough step-back three to cut the lead to four and a few more solid possessions saw the lead trimmed to a deuce.
The rest of the game was all Celtics and it changed with another undisciplined foul by Dennis Smith Jr. on Derrick White which led to three free throws. Then, Tatum went nuclear hitting trey after trey on route to 51 points and the W. The Final score saw the Cs beat Charlotte 130-118.
Here are 3 takeaways from the Boston Celtics MLK win over the Hornets
No. 1: Jayson Tatum’s 51-Point Day
Jayson Tatum continues to add to his MVP-caliber seasons in what has been one of the best stretches in his NBA career. The best player on the best team narrative already helps tremendously, but this latest performance may help separate him from the field.
Entering today, Tatum had been averaging nearly 30 points in the C’s six-game winning streak — which is still flying under the radar because certain NBA fans/pundits want to argue if he should be an All-Star starter.
Let’s do a bit of a deep dive into the latest 51-point McNugget of No. 0’s season, and let’s start with the incredible efficiency on this 51 ball, on 65% shooting from the field, 15-23, and a perfect 14/14 from the foul line.
The 24-year-old superstar is starting to finish through contact and convert at the line at an elite rate. You know the saying: great players get to the line. Tatum also went nuclear from outside the arc netting seven out of 12 3-pointers.
It was not just an elite scoring game for Jayson, but he continues to impact games in a variety of ways showing himself as a complete player. He was a stout defender on Monday with a team-high nine boards to go with five dimes.
The four turnovers need to be put into higher perspective with the weight he is carrying with no Jaylen Brown in the lineup, he’s expected to do even more.
No. 2: The Celtics clamped LaMelo Ball
As any casual basketball fan knows, the Hornets’ offense goes as their star, LaMelo Ball goes and he only connected on three of his first 12 shots. The guard has a knack for being hard to contain, but every shot he took was highly contested tonight.
Whether it was Derrick White, Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, or Malcolm Brogdon sticking him, they had that jailhouse defense today. The shamrock penitentiary was in full effect.
The Hornets guard did finish with 25 points on an inefficient, 8/23 shooting slump of a game. When Ball’s shot is off, he is having to work harder on possession, he is too gassed to put any effort into the defensive side of the rock.
The -18 was by far the lowest mark of any player in the game today. Lavar Ball is probably in hysterics somewhere, but the only thing that caught fire was a dumpster because this performance stunk.
The guards for the Cs were on point this afternoon and it is really picking your poison having extensive depth in the backcourt, one day it may be Derrick White, then Malcolm Brogdon the next, and do not forget about the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart. Even Payton Pritchard continues to make contributions, making it tough to dangle his name in trade talks.
No. 3 The Streak Continues
Just when many and their moms counted out the Boston Celtics from sustaining dominance after a rough December, the New year bred new flow. The Cs are now sitting over four games up on the Brooklyn Nets for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but also hold the best record in the NBA.
Since the Oklahoma City Thunder hung 150 points on the Boston Celtics without their superstar in Shai Gilgeous Alexander, the Celts quickly reverted back to the beast of the east we know and love.
They would go on to blow out the Dallas Mavericks, ending their seven-game streak, beat the Spurs, avenged their loss to the Bulls, grounded the Pelicans, took out the surging Brooklyn Nets, and completed a duet of beatings to the Hornets this weekend.
It begs the question, how long can this streak go? Especially still being within their second in command in Jaylen Brown. The Celts will now get to rest for three days until they square off against the defending champs, Golden State Warriors, who are becoming a full bill of health as we approach All-Star break.
If they manage to beat the Warriors on Thursday, then the path to a 10-game win streak looks incredibly doable as they’ll meet the up-and-down Toronto Raptors and turbulent, Miami Heat. The hope is by the end of next week, we can start to see a timetable for Brown’s return to action.