The Boston Celtics traveled up north for their final game of the preseason on Tuesday night, dropping a tough game to the Toronto Raptors by a score of 119-118. Scottie Barnes and the rest of the Raptors lit the net ablaze in the first quarter, jumping out to a huge lead off three-pointers alone. But the Celtics battled back in the second.
Led by a Jayson Tatum-and-the-rest group, the Celtics opened up the second quarter with a 19-0 run, getting themselves back in the game. But Gradey Dick’s incredible night was too much for Boston to handle. Despite a late surge, the Celtics fell just short, ending the preseason with a 4-1 record.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ preseason loss to the Raptors on Tuesday night.
Note: Derrick White and Payton Pritchard both played well enough to earn a stud spot, but their relative inefficiency gave the nod to others.
Stud - Jayson Tatum
This was the best Tatum looked all preseason. Tatum was solid on defense, a monster on the boards, and giving the Raptors’ defense headaches. He cooled off by the end of the game and got a bit three-happy, but Boston was better with him on the floor.
Tatum finished the contest with 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals while shooting 9-of-21 from the field and 5-of-13 from three-point range.
Barnes was red-hot to start the game, so Tatum was at the wrong end of that, but outside of the All-Star’s hot stretch, the Celtics star was locked in on defense.
Offensively, his shot was falling, but more importantly, he drew the attention of the defense at all times. At one point in the second quarter, as the Celtics were busy erasing a 19-point deficit, two Toronto defenders double-teamed Tatum, leaving Payton Pritchard wide-open for a three.
His gravity alone was enough to help Boston make a massive comeback.
Dud - Al Horford
The rust was evident for Al Horford on Tuesday night. It was the veteran’s first (and only) preseason action of the year, and nothing was falling for him.
Horford shot just 1-of-6 from the field and 0-of-4 from deep.
He added a nice block in the first half, but on the offensive end, he just couldn’t find a rhythm. There’s no need to worry about the 38-year-old. He’s been a beacon of consistency for almost two decades, but it was an off night for him on Tuesday.
Stud - Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman
This was an awesome game from Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet.
Tillman didn’t hit his threes in this one, but he’s looked great from deep up to this point, and he showed off his skills as a rebounder and playmaker on Tuesday. His offensive rebounding was a huge reason the Celtics stayed in this game, and he was very active on defense, too.
As for Luke Kornet, he’s constantly in the right spots, attacking the glass, and setting great screens. He also made an impact on the offensive boards, and he didn’t miss a shot all night, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor.
Dud - Neemias Queta
This may be a bit unfair to Neemias Queta, but he’s just looking like the odd man out in the Celtics’ center rotation. He got in the game for a few minutes on Tuesday but was fairly invisible while on the floor.
Queta had a nice defense stand and grabbed a board, but other than that, he just seemed a bit out of place. He was playing next to Horford, but both spent a lot of time standing in the dunker spots. Boston didn’t have enough space to work.
Obviously, Queta still has a ton of room to grow, but it seems as though he could get the fewest minutes of the backup bigs.
Stud - Jordan Walsh
Though his first-half stint was brief, Jordan Walsh looked very comfortable with the Celtics’ regular rotation players. He was in the right spots, playing solid defense, and he even hit a confident three-pointer.
He got back in mid-way through the third quarter with Tatum and Derrick White still on the floor, and once again, he looked comfortable. There were some spots where he was a bit too eager on defense, but overall, Walsh didn’t look out of place. And that’s a massive win for the Celtics.
Walsh even had a huge bucket late in the game, driving to the hoop on Summer League Celtic Jahmi'us Ramsey to tie the game at 115-115. And while he couldn't nail the game-winner, it was still a great game for the 20-year-old.
Dud - Third-quarter Jaylen Brown
In the first half, Jaylen Brown was getting whatever he wanted. He found his spots, bullied the Raptors down low, and was a scoring machine from inside the arc. But when the third quarter came around, he got a bit reckless.
Just as the studs and duds nitpicked Tatum a couple of preseason games ago, Brown will get the same treatment, as both are superstars.
Brown was going too much in the third quarter. He got in turnover trouble, took some ill-advised shots, and wasn’t keeping his head up for potential passes.
There’s no need to worry about the Celtics star, but the third quarter was one he should want to forget.
Bonus - JD Davison
When the Celtics needed him most, JD Davison was there. He only played for a few minutes at the end of the game, but he absolutely took over when he was on the floor.
Davison had a four-point play to keep the Celtics in it, stipped DJ Carton on a layup attempt, and a huge step-back three to put Boston up 118-117 with just under 26 seconds to go in the fourth. He committed a tough foul with 11 seconds in the game, but it was still an impressive showing for the third-year two-way player.