I don't know about you, but I have been jonesing for some Celtic basketball ever since the game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Red Sox and their 107 wins thus far have done a good job placating me. But I am focusing on Banner 18, and it's time to get to work.
Here we are at the beginning of the fall season and the original five we be playing their first game since October 17th of 2017. So, how did they and the rest of this championship contending team look in their first public exhibition game of the 2018-19 season against the Charlotte Hornets.
I won't lie, I spent the better part of the first quarter watching Gordon Hayward's ankles and hoping he landed safely after every shot, jump pass or block attempt. He seemed comfortable in the offense in the respect he knows where to be. However, minus the follow up of Jayson Tatum's missed layup, he showed the normal rust you would suspect after being out for a year, but still managed a quiet 10-points in 23 minutes.
Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown and Tatum looked they are ready to play right now. Although, it bothered me early when Tatum had another hard layup, one of the things I wanted him to work on, which I wrote about in July.
It is going to be interesting to see how the offense will transform with Al Horford and Hayward on the court with Irving, Brown and Tatum. Horford and Hayward seemed to play identically (top of the key) but I have confidence that they will be one smooth unit come opening night. It wasn't as if the Celtics had difficulty scoring. They had 60-points at the half.
One thing I noticed was the lack of pick and roll played with the first team, for any unit for that matter. I hope we see some of that in the second pre-season game.
The Bench
The second unit of Aron Baynes, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, Semi Ojeleye and Guerschon Yabusele who played no doubt in place of Marcus Smart who was away from the team due to personal reasons, played well.
I did like Yabusele using his big body in the paint. Actually, I think a lot of the guys looked like they put some muscle on, notably Jayson Tatum.
I can definitely embrace Morris' self titled second unit moniker B.W.A (Bench with Attitude). Replace the Dancing Bear with Marcus and you got a ferocious second unit. Depth, barring injury will definitely be an asset with this team.
We also saw a number of other guys such as Daniel Theis, Robert Williams, Walter Lemon, P.J. Dozier, and Brad Wanamaker.
Theis is coming off injury so I imagine it will take him some time to get comfortable. I was encouraged with what I saw from Williams. He has quick feet and hands for a big guy noted by his steal in the fourth quarter. There is no doubting his athleticism and paint presence.
Overall Thoughts and Observations
Did anyone notice that Morris' jersey read Morris Sr.?
Although it is pre-season, it bothered me once again that a Celtics huge lead was overcome. This was something that plagued them last year. Either they gave up a huge lead and made their workload harder then it needed to be or the would build up a lead and slowly watch it erode. I hope they can be more consistent.
Four turnovers and 60-points in a half will spell a lot of W's if they can play a total 4 quarters.
The Celtics have a plethora of ball handlers that can bring the ball up encouraging transition basketball.
I will be watching closely who will fill the spot, which I believe will left open, by Jabari Bird. I think this may be between Lemon and Wanamaker.
Next game is tomorrow, Sunday, September 30th, against the Hornets. Deja Vu.
