What many Boston Celtics fans will take away from tonight first and foremost is Jaylen Brown's controversial ejection is what did it tonight. It will overshadow the fact that they have one of the NBA's best teams a good fight on their home floor while dealing with no Brown and Jayson Tatum still in the midst of getting his legs underneath him.
Something else that will fly under the radar is the unconventional strategy the Celtics threw at the Spurs that surprisingly worked: throwing Luka Garza in during Victor Wembanyama. It seemed a little unconventional at first, but Garza does something Neemias Queta can't as a big man: stretch the floor.
That helped the Celtics get back into a game that looked like it was about to get away from them. Spurs were winning 11-3 when Garza subbed in. Not too long afterward, the Celtics were winning 13-12.
Garza's floor spacing - he immediately hit a three once subbed in - forced Wembanyama out of the paint, which opened the gates for the Celtics to score. Obviously, it didn't turn the tides completely, but it forced the Spurs to make some adjustments.
Even better, the Celtics have two stretch bigs
Garza's insertion forced San Antonio to be more honest while defending the perimeter. He wasn't necessarily the No. 1 reason the Celtics got back on their feet, but the Spurs' defense suddenly wasn't the forcefield many thought it was.
If that's not encouraging enough for Celtics fans, Nikola Vucevic offers even better floor spacing, since it doesn't matter how his numbers compare to Garza's when shooting from deep. Teams are more frightened of him when he spots up from behind the arc because they know he can go off.
For every minute Wembanyama is on the floor, Boston should always make sure they have a floor-stretching big man. Doing so will make the Spurs have to react accordingly. The Celtics having floor-spacing big men isn't necessarily a key ingredient for every single one of their matchups, but it's clear that against the Spurs, it absolutely is.
The other thing to consider here is that Garza is not a heavy-minute player. For all the good qualities he brings, he can't play 30-plus minutes a night, which fits snugly with the Celtics because they would only have to play one of him or Vucevic whenever Wemby is on the floor.
Tonight definitely sucked, but at least the Celtics will be better prepared for the Spurs when they face off again, whether it's next season or in June...