The Boston Celtics opened up their preseason slate with a 107-103 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday afternoon, their first of two games in Abu Dhabi against the 2023 champs. It was a rough showing early on, as it was fairly obvious that both sides hadn’t played a competitive basketball game together in a few months. But by the end of the contest, it turned into a thriller.
Al Horford did not play for Boston. Instead, Luke Kornet got the start. And for Denver, Christian Braun started in place of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed with the Orlando Magic this past summer. When the end of the contest rolled around, it was a one-possession game. JD Davison went to the line with 7.9 seconds left after an untelevised Nuggets foul. The scoreboard showed the Nuggets up one, but in reality, they were down one, so Davison was intentionally fouled, and he sank both free throws to put Boston up by three.
After a Celtics foul sent the Nuggets to the line, chaos ensued. Jahmir Young missed his second free throw on purpose, but the Celtics held on to win.
Here are three studs and three duds from the contest.
Stud - Jayson Tatum’s three-point shot
During the Celtics’ 2024 postseason run, Jayson Tatum was ice cold from beyond the three-point arc. The issue carried over into the summer, as Tatum didn’t make a single jump shot during Team USA’s run in the Paris Olympics.
However, he adjusted his shot over the summer, and in Boston’s first preseason game, it looked pretty good. He shot 3-of-7 from distance, and the form looked good.
Obviously, Tatum has a long way to go before there’s any guarantee that his new form is going to stick, but this was a great first sign.
Tatum was a solid shooter during the regular season last year, but if the Celtics want to repeat as champions, they’ll likely need him to be a bit better from deep during the playoffs.