The Boston Celtics won their second consecutive game without Kyrie Irving Friday night at TD Garden behind great ball movement and timely defense.
No Kyrie Irving, no problem. In fact, the undermanned Boston Celtics team always seem to find a way to win basketball games and that is a testament to the team’s depth and also players ready to step up when their name is called.
In Friday night’s 114-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics avenged an earlier loss to Luka Donocic and the Mavs by coming out of the gate flying. The team grabbed an early double digit lead in the first quarter off some hot shooting by Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart and aggressive defense that led to early turnovers by Dallas.
Jaylen Brown, who got the start in place of Marcus Morris, continued trending upward with his play by driving aggressively to the hoop and allowing the offense to come to him.
After jumping out to a 17-point lead in the second quarter, the Celtics did allow the Mavericks to get back in the game, but a late quarter spark gave the team a 58-51 lead going into halftime.
Early in the second half, the Mavericks got within a point of the Celtics, but a quick timeout by Brad Stevens motivated the team to respond with a frenzy of points. A trio of 3’s by Terry Rozier, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum put the Celtics back up double digits in the game and basically put it away.
Although the Boston Celtics did go through a scoring drought in this game, they continued to move the ball and find open shots. Eventually, the shots started falling again and the team was able to cruise to their 13th home victory of the season.
From the play of Brown to another solid game from Gordon Hayward, there were a lot of positives in Friday night’s game that should give fans reason to believe this team has finally put it all together.
Here are three great takeaways from the team’s 114-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Wanamaker answers the call
Talk about depth.
Without Kyrie Irving, Brad Stevens reached deep on his bench and called on Brad Wanamaker for some early minutes backing up Terry Rozier at the point guard position.
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Not only did Wanamaker notch some valuable minutes, he delivered two early three-point shots that helped the Boston Celtics extend their lead in the first quarter from 26-23 to 34-23.
The early call into the did shock Wanamaker, but he made the most of his opportunity with a career high eight points. He also added four assists and contributed to the defensive intensity with three steals.
Although he hasn’t gotten much playing time since coming over to the NBA following a successful stint overseas, Stevens and his teammates weren’t surprised about Wanamaker’s contributions. The signing of the 29-year-old guard could end up becoming a key addition as the season wanes.
Postgame comments from his coach, certainly proves how much the team admires what he brings to the table.
"“This is a guy that probably turned down a ton of money playing overseas to get a chance to play in the NBA for the first time and doesn’t get to play and has never been through that in his life where he doesn’t get to play,” Stevens said following the game, via Celtics.com. “So, you’re really, really happy for him.”"
Similar to Shane Larkin’s role a season ago, Brad Wanamaker may have an opportunity to slide into the backup point guard role if the team does move Terry Rozier by the NBA Trade Deadline. His play when given the opportunity definitely gives Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge something to think about.
Brown is doing things better
A week ago, I noted three things Jaylen Brown could do better this season and well, he is doing it.
Following a 30-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs to end 2018, Brown continued trending upward for the Boston Celtics.
After a 21-point performance in the beatdown of the Dallas Mavericks, the third-year wing has averaged 20.3 points and is shooting a whopping 61.2 percent from the field over the past three games.
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Much of that productions has stemmed from consistent play and just trusting his game. Not only is he taking it to the hoop more and playing good defense, he is taking good shots and not rushing his offense.
Following a slow start, there were questions about Brown’s focus. It also appeared he was one of the players Kyrie Irving was calling out earlier in the season when the team was playing sluggish basketball.
Whether or not that was the case, Jaylen Brown has credited his recent success to Irving’s outspoken nature and support.
"“We continue to give each other confidence and things like that and it starts with Kyrie,” Brown said, as transcribed by WEEI. “Kyrie’s been more vocal and putting that into people – just been putting that confidence. Just by him saying something, it moves mountains. Giving each other confidence and having each other’s back out there makes the game a lot funner, a lot smoother.”"
Inserted back in the starting lineup due to the absence of Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown was impressive more so because he continued to play the game with more urgency. If that continues, the Boston Celtics will be a very tough team to defend.
Another solid game from Hayward
For all the Boston Celtics fans calling for a Gordon Hayward trade, just put those wishes on hold.
After logging 35 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Hayward followed it up with an all-around game that almost resulted in a triple-double.
With16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Hayward showed he can help the team win in other ways when his shot isn’t completely dropping. While Friday night’s performance is more of what to expect from Gordon Hayward on a nightly basis, his ability to explode offensively is exactly why he was high on the team’s radar when he was a free agent.
In the way he is moving and not hesitant when going to the basket, Hayward is demonstrating that he is getting into the flow of the game mentally. It also helps when the team is winning and just having fun out there on the court.
"“It was fun,” Hayward said following Friday night’s game. “I think when we have good spacing, we have talented players and it just makes the game easier. If you make the right read, everybody gets involved and it’s fun.”"
With balanced scoring and contributions from everyone who got minutes, the Boston Celtics are finally playing the right was on a consistent basis. The key now is maintaining that when Kyrie Irving is back on the court.