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

Three thoughts about the Boston Celtics opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night 105-87. Boston led by five at halftime, then pulled away midway through the third quarter. They did so despite shooting only 43 percent from the field and 30 percent from deep.

While Boston has won ten straight home games against Philadelphia (and Joel Embiid remarked that this isn’t a rivalry until Philadelphia is able to get up to Boston’s level), the away team displayed why they’re considered a threat to Boston.

The Celtics forced Embiid into a relatively poor shooting night (9-21 from the field, 1-4 from deep) and he struggled with turnovers, but he still had a tremendous impact on both sides of the floor. Ben Simmons put up big stats (19 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists) and regularly displayed his crazy athleticism and passing ability.

But the 76ers have nowhere near the impressive depth that the Boston Celtics have, and that’s what ultimately made the difference. J.J. Redick was their only bench player to score more than five points; four Celtics not only did that, but did a variety of positive things to start living up to their “bench with attitude” moniker.

Both teams still have a lot to figure out. But after months of speculating on ridiculous hypotheticals and picking apart summer league footage that was as much a Red Claws showcase as a Boston Celtics one, analyzing an actual game is a treat.

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.

Thought 2 – Jayson Tatum’s place within the offense

Nobody is denying that Jayson Tatum is a budding star. He scored 116.8 points per 100 shot attempts (72nd percentile in the league) with a usage rate of 18.5 percent (64th percentile) in his rookie season, per Cleaning the Glass. He was the first Boston Celtics rookie to score 20 points in four straight playoff games since Larry Bird, and is now the youngest player ever to accomplish that feat (stealing the honor from Kobe Bryant). He’s second to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in playoff points for a rookie. And forget the stats – watch him play, and it’s evident his scoring ability is flat-out special. Watch this ridiculous shot.

He didn’t even look phased. He shot that with the confidence of Kobe (who he worked out with this summer, by the way) and made it look easy even though it was a ridiculous shot.

But here’s the thing – on a team that’s stacked with capable scorers, including three guys with All-Star appearances…do you want Tatum taking those shots? With 16 seconds left on the shot clock, no less?

Writing this section feels ridiculous after a night like he just had (23 points, 9-17 from the field, 9 rebounds). He led the team in scoring and did it efficiently. If he did that every night, you’d certainly take that. But it’s hard to deny that Tatum’s shot selection was weird. Watch this clip.

That’s a lot of dribbling around, and the result was a contested mid-range jumper. And that’s okay, sometimes. Heck, maybe it’s okay a lot – he did hit it. He is a very solid shooter off the dribble and in traffic, and his ability to hit mid-range jumpers in isolation is very impressive, especially given his age.

But this was a thing all last night, and all preseason. He was known as an isolation scorer going into the draft, and that scared some teams off. Then he shut everyone up in his rookie year by playing with great efficiency and working within the team concept on offense – he only went rogue when he had to.  But consistently throughout the preseason and throughout last night’s game, he hunted for his shot and took contested jumpers when there were better options. It’s like he’s regressing to his college bad habits.

Notice I described this as a “thing,” not a “problem.” Maybe it’s not a problem. It’s so hard to say. Some teams in the league are trending away from the Beautiful Game that was considered the only way to win for years. The Rockets had a historically great offense playing a ton of iso –  it’s not inherently bad.

But even Kevin Durant, perhaps the best scorer of this generation, gets a lukewarm reaction when he takes these kinds of shots. Even if you hit them at a high enough rate to statistically justify taking them, going rogue messes with an offensive system in a way that usually hurts the team. The whole rhythm of the offense is thrown off. Even when you are successful looking for your own offense, you’re letting the defense off the hook by not doing more

Maybe this isn’t a problem even if it continues. Maybe it won’t continue at all – maybe Tatum is just taking these kinds of difficult shots because the offense hasn’t found its rhythm yet. It’s probably nothing to worry about, at all. But it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

Thought 3 – Concern for the matchup with the Warriors

Look, if the concern about Tatum’s shot selection is likely nothing to worry about, then this observation is almost definitely nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t blame you for stopping reading right here. But this happened enough to at least talk about it (and our access to shareable game footage is limited, so you’re just gonna have to settle for my words).

More from Chowder and Champions

• 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox
• 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline
• MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return
• 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season
• Red Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win

The Celtics had a surprising amount of difficulty chasing J.J. Redick around. Oftentimes Jaylen Brown was the one guarding him, oftentimes it was someone else, but it didn’t seem to matter. Nobody could follow him around screens individually, and the team defensive structure repeatedly broke down, leaving him with open shots as help defenders looked on confused. Sometimes they just lost him in open space, too. His 7-17 shooting from the field and his 2-8 shooting from deep could have easily been much better if luck swung his way a bit more.

A couple qualifiers here: 1) Redick is world-class at getting himself free for shots from deep – his career is arguably founded more on his ability to navigate screens and his shiftiness than his shooting ability; and,  2) following guys around screens is inherently very, very difficult.

It’s also only game one, and you expect this to improve as a season goes on. But as I watched individual defenders fail to stick with him, and as I watched the team repeatedly execute switches off screens poorly, one thought kept coming up.

What if this was the Warriors?

The Boston Celtics are thinking Finals or bust, and their likely finals matchup is Golden State. While the 76ers only really run Redick off screens on a consistent basis, the Warriors offense is built around all-time-great shooters running off screens. It’s nonstop action, and their shooters are a heck of a lot scarier than Redick. If Boston had so much trouble following around one aging sharpshooter, what is their plan when they have to track three lethal perimeter threats?

The Celtics have historically performed well against Golden State, so you don’t expect this to be a significant problem. It’s an early-season thing that they’re going to clean up. But this is definitely something to watch out for. It’s not like the Warriors are the only team that likes to screen away from the ball.

But honestly, let’s just be happy that the Boston Celtics are back in action. This article pointed some concerns out, but Tuesday night had a lot more reason for optimism than pessimism.