The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers didn’t put on the best display of basketball Friday night.
But Boston’s 81-65 win at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., did signal the end of the preseason, during which the Celtics won six of their seven games and showed plenty of promise as they gear up for their third season under head coach Brad Stevens.
One bright spot for Boston throughout the preseason has been the play of the rookies, as first-round draft picks Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter both have put together impressive performances.
Friday night was second-round pick Jordan Mickey’s turn, as the LSU product racked up 10 points in 12 minutes of playing time while tallying four rebounds, one assist, two blocks and a steal.
Mickey hasn’t received too much playing time this preseason, but his ability to block shots and finish with authority already has become clear.
Let’s dive into some more notes from Friday’s preseason affair.
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— Avery Bradley exited Thursday night’s game with an injured right shin, and he certainly wasn’t required to play the second game of a preseason back-to-back. But Bradley started Friday night anyway, and Stevens lauded his shooting guard’s toughness after the game.
“Avery knew we might give him (Saturday) off, so he wanted to make sure he got a good workout in,” Stevens joked to reporters in a postgame interview aired on CSN New England. “… Obviously it wasn’t bad enough that we thought there was any risk, but certainly it says a lot that he wanted to play. That’s a really good thing.”
— Another “really good thing” was that Boston didn’t suffer any major injuries during the preseason. While several players rested with minor ailments — including a few cases of strep throat — in the first six preseason contests, all 17 players were active and saw playing time against Philadelphia.
Stevens was asked after the game what he hoped to get out of the preseason, and apparently emerging unscathed was a top priority.
“Knock on wood, we walk out of here healthy,” Stevens said. “That’s obviously goal number one, right?”
— The Celtics need to trim their roster from 17 players to 15 before Wednesday’s season opener against the Sixers. According to Stevens, that trimming will happen sooner rather than later.
“I really have spent very little time talking about that with (Celtics president of basketball operations) Danny (Ainge) since we made the cuts earlier this week, but I’m assuming it’ll be within the next 24 to 48 hours,” Stevens said after the game.
Training camp invite Corey Walden and forward Perry Jones are the likely candidates to get cut, but the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy suggested something else could be in the works.
Thumbnail photo via Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports Images
