Nikola Vucevic gave Celtics fans plenty to be excited about before All-Star break

The Boston Celtics capped off the unofficial first half of their season with an exclamation point, blowing the doors off the Chicago Bulls, 124-103.

Here's what stood out:

No one has it worse than Anfernee Simons

Think about it. Just over eight days ago, Anfernee Simons was going through his gameday routine ahead of the Celtics’ matchup with the Dallas Mavericks when he found out he was traded to this Bulls team.

The Celtics have played some awful teams over the past few weeks. Let me tell you, the Bulls may be the worst. Granted, they’re in the process of integrating almost an entirely new team after a busy trade deadline, but yikes.

Bad offense, disconnected defense; Chicago put on a clinic of how not to win in the NBA.

I genuinely feel so bad that Simons went from a surefire playoff team in Boston to this Bulls squad.

(Insert dove emoji).

Boston was due to make some threes

After two of their shakier shooting nights of the season, the Celtics got back to their normal shooting ways. Their threes finally starting falling and the Bulls (probably were cooked regardless) couldn’t keep up.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, Boston sank 18 threes on 40% shooting from deep.

Jordan Walsh, have a night

Earlier this season, Jordan Walsh was a game-changing player for the Celtics. He provided pesky defense, a presence on the glass, as well as some reliable low-usage scoring. The third-year forward got sick in late December and never quite refound his rhythm after missing a few games.

Wednesday’s blowout win was the closest he’s looked to his peak since.

The 21-year-old was active. He played disruptive defense all night and totaled three steals and a block. Meanwhile, he hustled for four offensive rebounds on the other end. A few of them even opened the door for some loud putback slams.

This was the best Nikola Vucevic game so far

Nikola Vucevic undeniably had some nice moments in his Celtics debut on Friday, but Wednesday’s outing against his former team was the most-well rounded showing fans have seen since his arrival.

This was the first time that Vucevic had gotten himself going from beyond the arc. He sank his four triples in rhythm and with confidence. If he’s able to connect from distance consistently, he’ll provide some much-needed spacing for the Celtics’ ball handlers.

His passing continues to be his most underrated skill. Not only can he fire lasers to his teammates, but he’s always eager to make the extra pass. There were several times throughout this one when it felt like he should’ve shot, but moved the ball instead, creating even better opportunities for the team.

Take this play, for example. Vucevic has a clean look at a three, swings the ball, and it makes its way all the way back to him for an even cleaner look.

Defensively, it looked like the big man’s first practice with the team helped quite a bit. There were very few possessions where he felt like a liability or like he was disconnected.

Vucevic finished the night with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal on an efficient 7-12 from the field and 4-5 from deep.