Celtics maintain off livid 76ers run, win third straight: Takeaways

Boston Celtics

The Celtics escaped with a win they deserved however very almost frittered away.

Jaylen Brown and the Celtics almost let one other winnable recreation towards the 76ers slip away, however they held on late and claimed their third straight victory with a 109-108 win, enhancing to .500 for the primary time this season and 1-0 within the NBA Cup’s Group B play.

Listed below are the takeaways.

That was shut.

The previous few breathless seconds of Friday’s recreation had an uncomfortable sense of inevitability to them.

With the Celtics up by eight and 1:30 remaining, a 76ers workforce that appears to have embodied the By no means Give Up spirit of Tyrese Maxey this season as a substitute of the They All the time Beat Us spirit of Joel Embiid started to chip away, and destiny began to tip of their favor.

In fact Maxey buried a large 3-pointer.

In fact Derrick White, who struggled enormously as soon as once more, missed a makeable floater on the following possession.

Naturally, V.J. Edgecombe – who in any other case had a a lot quieter recreation than his roaring debut within the season opener – canned a 3-pointer that lower the result in two with 51 seconds left.

Jaylen Brown then drew a foul, and – in fact – he missed one among his two free throws, leaving the door open for the Sixers, who – as one would count on – lower the result in one on a driving end by Maxey.

The wheels then got here off in earnest for the Celtics, who couldn’t get the ball inbounds and over the half-court line in time, and Brown’s determined try to take action resulted in an offensive foul, which felt like it could inevitably result in the go-ahead bucket.

The chaos wasn’t completed – Maxey missed a tricky layup, and Josh Minott obtained the rebound solely to overlook each free throws, opening the door for the Sixers as soon as extra with three seconds left.

Lastly, nevertheless, the Celtics appeared to get their defensive legs beneath themselves. They stored the ball out of Maxey’s palms on the ultimate possession, and the Sixers have been compelled to inbound to Quentin Grimes. Grimes took too lengthy and handed to Embiid, who hoisted a 3-pointer after the buzzer sounded and missed badly because the Celtics escaped with a win they deserved however very almost frittered away.

Jaylen Brown because the 1A celebrity has been improbable.

Earlier than the sport was dragged via the muck within the second half, Brown put collectively one other masterclass. He managed the tempo of the sport offensively within the first half seemingly effortlessly, getting no matter he needed inside and outdoors the arc. The Sixers by no means had reply for Jayson Tatum, they usually don’t actually have something for Brown both now that he’s taking part in Tatum’s function.

Brown completed with 32 factors on 13-for-19 capturing and made 4 of his seven photographs. His 5 turnovers have been lower than ultimate, however his six assists have been the product of a participant who had his palms on quite a lot of what went proper because the Celtics constructed their lead.

The Celtics are enjoyable after they have a rhythm.

When the Celtics can get out in transition, they’re an extremely aesthetically pleasing workforce to observe.

A part of the reason being the trouble – the Celtics at their greatest are a scrappy group that performs extremely quick and is glad to have any participant push the tempo. They’ll get to the rim, they’ll spray the ball across the perimeter to generate threes, and – as they proved all through a lot of the primary quarter – they’ll knock down open mid-range jumpers. When Anfernee Simons will get going, the offense turns into actually tough to cease, particularly in tandem with Brown’s early-season brilliance.

The issue, in fact, is that it’s very tough to take care of a free-flowing tempo over the course of a complete recreation, particularly towards a workforce just like the Sixers that may grift their solution to the free-throw line. Because the Sixers made a 32-8 run to tie the sport late within the second quarter and deep into the third, they discovered themselves on the free-throw line time and again – by the tip of the third quarter, the Sixers had a 26-8 benefit on free-throws tried.

Basically, the Celtics performed 20 minutes of their greatest basketball of the season early and spent the remainder of the sport clinging to it. Finally, they have been profitable, and over the previous couple of video games, we’ve gotten a genuinely encouraging have a look at what the Celtics might be at their greatest. They received’t be excellent, however after they can stand up and down the ground, they’re harmful.

Hugo González threw himself all around the ground.

Happily for González, 19-year-olds are notoriously fast at bouncing again from aches and pains. That’s essential, as a result of González performed Friday’s recreation with out an iota of regard for his private well being and security.

Possibly González’s most painful-looking collision occurred between himself and the basket stanchion – within the closing seconds of the third quarter, Anfernee Simons tried to do some an excessive amount of (not for the final time), and the Sixers obtained a breakaway. Quentin Grimes flew up the ground and tried a one-handed dunk, however González swooped in and dedicated a foul, slamming himself into the basket. Grimes hit each free throws, however the effort by González was notable. The rookie additionally dove for a unfastened ball, flew via the air to create quite a few second-chance alternatives, and took a shot from a flailing Embiid to the midsection which the officers referred to as a foul on him as a substitute of a flop by Embiid.

González sat down with 5 factors, 5 rebounds (three of which have been offensive) and 5 fouls in his quarter-hour of motion. The trouble is unquestionable, even when the polish isn’t solely there but.

Anfernee Simons tried to be extra aggressive (with blended outcomes).

Simons has had a pleasant begin to the season in Boston, however he appeared to be urgent on Friday, particularly within the second half.

Twice, Simons spent almost your complete shot clock attempting to assault Sixers defenders who in the end compelled him into the paint the place Adem Bona swatted him on the rim. Late within the third quarter, Simons tried to do an excessive amount of and obtained ripped, which led to the aforementioned Grimes breakaway and González’s try and impale himself on the stanchion.

Talking to reporters afterward, Simons mentioned Celtics coaches have begged him to be extra aggressive. He actually was on Friday, and when he’s on, the Celtics’ offense is basically tough to cease – Simons’ three-level scoring is a large asset on a workforce with a number of different three-level scorers, and his microwave 3-point capturing alongside Sam Hauser’s microwave potential can result in exponential runs (Simons was a team-high +23 within the field rating and was essential because the Celtics constructed their lead).

Nonetheless, discovering the steadiness between urgent and being aggressive appears to be the following large precedence for Simons.

Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are nonetheless struggling.

White hit a pair of spot-up 3-pointers within the second half, however he nonetheless completed 2-for-7 from deep and 6-for-16 total – persevering with his struggles as he tries to shoulder extra accountability. Up to now, he merely doesn’t look as comfy capturing with extra defensive strain and extra ball-handling obligations.

The answer nonetheless may merely be endurance – give White an opportunity to rise to the event, like he has completed so many instances beforehand in Boston.

Pritchard, in the meantime, got here up together with his personal answer for a 3-point stoop: He began capturing nearer to the basket. He made the Celtics’ first three photographs and 4 of their first six all contained in the arc, ending 6-for-8 from two and simply 1-for-9 from three.

It’s arduous to not marvel what would possibly occur if Pritchard and White get away on the similar time.

Joel Embiid nonetheless regarded fairly dangerous.

Embiid regarded higher than he did through the season opener when he appeared to be actively making the Sixers worse, however he’s nonetheless removed from the dominant power the Celtics have confronted and so successfully restricted prior to now. He settles for jumpers far too usually, seemingly largely as a result of he isn’t wholesome sufficient to get into the paint, and whereas grifting foul photographs has at all times been a giant a part of his recreation, he wanted his 7-for-7 efficiency to get to twenty factors much more than typical. On the defensive finish, the Celtics weren’t afraid to assault him both on the perimeter and even when he was attempting to guard the rim.

The Celtics equaled the Sixers in rebounding.

The Celtics and Sixers each completed with 56 rebounds in complete, and the Celtics grabbed extra offensive boards than Philly – 16-9 as González, Minott and Hauser snagged three apiece.

Mazzulla’s mitigation methods appear to be having an affect, though an enormous check is on the horizon.

Subsequent Up

The Celtics will now head residence to face a Rockets workforce on Saturday that, on paper, has sufficient dimension to seize nearly each accessible rebound, however they’re catching the Celtics at a time after they appear to be figuring themselves out.

Subsequent week, the schedule eases a bit with video games towards the Jazz and Wizards on Monday and Wednesday respectively.