Boston Celtics: Preseason game one reaction and analysis
The Boston Celtics played their first NBA preseason game on Monday night, and they did not disappoint.
Basketball is back! I can’t say it enough guys. After a crazy off season, the Boston Celtics finally played a game against an opponent with their brand new roster. It was so much fun, and preseason is usually never fun.
There’s so much to unpack, but I’ll try to keep it simple. Kyrie Irving was solid with nine points, four rebounds and three assists in nineteen minutes. Every time Kyrie touched the ball he seemed more interested in looking for his teammates than just automatically going into his offense. He made some nice passes, but he also scored pretty well too. I stand by my thoughts that Irving is going to be so much better than he was in Cleveland.
Gordon Hayward didn’t do much in this one, but it’s obvious he’s still trying to understand where he fits into the offense. He made some nice passes and hit a few shots, when he understands where his shots are coming from we’ll start to see All-Star Gordon Hayward.
Al Horford was his usual solid self, and with all this offense around him expect the big man to have even bigger assist numbers than last season. Also, Aron Baynes got to show everyone that he means business, the big man got into a scuffle during the first half and is a great physical presence for this Celtics squad.
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The Young Guys
Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, etc. How did they perform? Overall, pretty damn well. Brown started and much like the rest of the fanbase, I expect him to be in the starting lineup throughout the season. He was aggressive and much like we saw last year, he wasn’t shy with his offense. Marcus Smart showed off that new body of his and hit a few threes while flying around the court. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching him this year. Jayson Tatum was clearly nervous in this one. He had a few shots go in, but what impressed me was just how long his wingspan really is. He was blocking shots left and right, and he would be in the mix for rebounds here and there.
Lastly, guys, I’m going to touch upon…DANIEL THEIS.
Next: Hayward embracing the Boston spotlight
Okay, so…here’s a kid Danny Ainge signed from Germany who’s been a pro since he was fifteen. I’ll get more into him in a separate article, but his 12 points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes was impressive. Also, the energy he brings is going to be very important to this team moving forward into the season.
I can’t wait for October 17th. Bring on the regular season!