Dreams of an NBA Cup run for the Boston Celtics might've died in Orlando on Friday night. Boston fought to keep themselves in the game, but eventually couldn't keep up with the Magic, falling 123-110.
Derrick White
Derrick White’s shooting struggles to start the season have been no secret. Entering Friday’s game in Orlando, the Celtics guard was shooting just 32.7% from the field and 27.2% from beyond the arc.
Far below the standard he’d set for himself through his first three-and-a-half years in Boston.
Throughout his slump, head coach Joe Mazzulla has stressed that he and Payton Pritchard, who is also struggling, need to find ways to impact the game beyond making threes.
That’s what White did at Kia Center on Friday.
He still struggled to find the bottom of the net, but did a good job of finding his teammates. He finished the night with nine assists, and looked comfortable facilitating through the pick-and-roll.
Whenever (if) his shot returns, White should be ever more dangerous in that action.
Payton Pritchard is Boston’s second-best offensive player
Friday night was yet another early-season Payton Pritchard masterpiece. After the Celtics came out of the gates like a bunch of zombies, Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh helped spark a second-quarter run to keep them afloat.
Of course, in that group, Pritchard was the scorer. He was once again tremendous at getting to the paint on controlled drives, where he’s been elite so far.
Plus, he found his stroke from beyond the arc making five of his seven attempts on Friday.
Anfernee Simons might’ve saved his spot in the rotation
Since we’re talking about the guards, Anfernee Simons still hasn’t found his fit on the Celtics. He may soon be finding his way out of the team’s rotation.
Simons played just four minutes in the first half of the loss.
There have been a lot of times when he doesn’t really add anything on offense, despite having a history of being an effective scorer in the NBA. Most possessions where he plays an initiator role for the Celtics, there is no initiation. He just winds up taking a difficult shot without really making the defense earn their stop.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t managed to be impactful on defense, either. He definitely looks like he’s making an effort, but just gets lost a lot when he’s guarding off-ball.
I will say, he’s been a great catch-and-shoot option this season and continued to do so in Orlando, which might’ve saved his spot in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation.
Simons made back-to-back triples to tie the game early in the fourth quarter when Boston desperately needed some points. Then stayed hot for the remainder of his minutes, finishing the game with 11 points -- all in the fourth quarter
Jaylen Brown continues to be awesome
It’s all in the H2 here. Jaylen Brown once again delivered. He finished the night with 32 points, 14 of which came in the third quarter, to help the Celtics tie the game for the first time since the first quarter.
I won’t harp on this too long, since I’ve been writing a lot of positive JB stuff lately, but he’s just been so in control this season. Super impressive