The Boston Celtics blew out the Denver Nuggets in their second preseason game, earning a 130-104 victory over the 2023 champs. Jaylen Brown led the team in scoring with 21 points as Sam Hauser bounced back from a rocky first game, pouring in 15 while shooting 6-of-7 from the field.
Al Horford remained out of the lineup as the Celtics wrapped up their two-game trip to Abu Dhabi, but they didn’t need him. With the two wins, the Celtics remained undefeated all-time in games played outside of North America, and they’ll head back to TD Garden feeling pretty good about themselves.
Let’s take a look at the grades for every player on the roster. (We can get the quick hitters out of the way. Playing time will be in parentheses.)
Lonnie Walker IV (6:51)
When the Celtics signed Lonnie Walker IV toward the end of free agency, people got very excited. Maybe a bit too excited. Through two preseason games, Walker hasn’t done much.
To make matters worse, the shots Walker did get in this second preseason game were almost all forced. His shot of making the roster is fading by the day. Grade: D
The rest of the bench
Walker is the only one of the low-minute guys who provides much intrigue, but let’s touch on the rest of the group anyway.
Baylor Scheierman (12:00) couldn’t find a rhythm again. He’ll have plenty of time to develop this year, but he needs to focus on being a bit more fluid within the flow of things. Grade: D+
Anton Watson (6:51) didn’t do much in this game. He got in for the last few minutes but didn’t have much of a chance to make an impact. Grade: C-
Drew Peterson (12:00) got rung up on a couple of weird calls at the end of the game, but he’s looked pretty good. He’s proving to be more than just a shooter, and it’s nice to see. Grade: B-
JD Davison showed off his impressive playmaking skills in this game, but it was all in garbage time, as the contest was decided at that point. Still, the third-year two-way player looks like he’s made improvements. Grade: C+