Boston Celtics: 3 thoughts and concerns from win over 76ers

Thought 1 – depth saves the day

One encouraging thing from Tuesday night’s game was how good Boston’s bench looked. Marcus Morris scored 16 points on 7-12 shooting in 21 minutes of action off the bench. Aaron Baynes chipped in two three-pointers and some gritty defense against Joel Embiid. Watch this clip:

The Terry Rozier block is the iconic part, and we’ll get to him, but let’s also take a minute to appreciate the quieter defense from Baynes. Against a physically imposing matchup like Embiid, sometimes your job is just to slow them down enough to allow help to come over. That would have been an easy dunk for Embiid against a lot of guys, but Baynes absorbs Embiid’s bumps and forces him into a blockable shot.

But seriously, look at this iconic photo that might just be the coolest moment from Rozier’s career so far.

Rozier was on point last night. His 11 points on 5-10 shooting were big, and he looked calm and collected throughout. It speaks volumes that he ran the offense instead of Irving when they shared the floor, and that Stevens left him out there in the waning minutes of the game in place of the struggling Kyrie Irving. The Celtics needed Rozier’s clutch mid-ranger down the stretch.

Marcus Smart, who also stayed in the game late (the lineup down the stretch was Rozier-Smart-Tatum-Hayward-Horford), went 2-4 from deep (the only shots he took last night) and repeatedly showed off the fact that he’s Boston’s best passing guard. Defenses might not have to worry about his jumper, but the threat of his lob pass is something they seriously need to take into consideration.

In any case, it’s reassuring to see that the Boston Celtics’ depth can carry them when their stars can’t. Al Horford isn’t exactly a bench piece (you can argue he’s Boston’s most important player), but let’s throw him in here. His defense was terrific, and his nine points were important ones. He picks his spots brilliantly, knowing exactly when to facilitate and when to erupt. Check out this very impressive bucket.

Kyrie Irving (2-14, 1-8 from deep) and Gordon Hayward (4-12, 1-3 from deep) struggled. There shouldn’t be too much concern over Irving – he looked healthy last night and throughout the preseason, and there hasn’t been any indication that last night was anything but a cold game. Hayward, on the other hand, still has a ways to go both athletically and in terms of team flow. He still seemed like he was just trying to fit in, and he doesn’t yet have his explosiveness or body control back. That’ll take some time.