Well, Game 1 of 82 is in the books, so that means the time has arrived for us to make sweeping statements about the 2019-20 Boston Celtics.
Not really, but there’s at least some stuff to chew on.
The Celtics kicked off their campaign Wednesday night with a 107-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. It was a messy rock-fight of a game, which was mired by obtrusive officiating and both teams clearly not having a system fully established — which typically is the case this early in this season.
So, what should we make of the Celtics’ opener? Here are eight thoughts, takeaways and knee-jerk reactions as the Celtics gear up for Friday’s home opener against the Toronto Raptors.
— Gordon Hayward seems to know what he needs to do to be successful this season.
Hayward will be the first to say he was way too tentative last season, and it’s tough to blame him given the injury he was coming off of. But taciturn he was not Wednesday night, willingly attacking the rim and initiating contact to draw fouls, ultimately earning 11 free throw attempts. This stat says everything you need to know about his aggressiveness.
Though Hayward took a fair amount of mid-range shots, with which he had mixed success, he scored a game-high 25 points by driving and not just trying to heat up from the perimeter. Not only does that show confidence in his health, but also his ability to do what he does best, which is get to the rim and finish.
Gordon Hayward shot chart, via ESPN
Hayward is the Celtics’ X-factor this season. Continuing to play this style — which also creates space at the perimeter for more pure shooters thrive — will be hugely valuable.
— Kemba Walker’s performance was troubling but in another way encouraging.
You can look at Walker’s ghastly shooting night as worrisome, and sure, it was. But here’s another way to look at it: The Celtics can still be competitive when he’s not on.
Now, obviously, Walker going 4-for-18 every night isn’t exactly a recipe for success, but one has to think it won’t be commonplace for him to shoot at or below that level. The Celtics at least hung around against the Sixers despite the abysmal shooting performance from Walker (and Jayson Tatum for that matter). That most likely won’t happen regularly, which should inspire confidence that they’ll easily be able to keep up with the conference’s best when both Walker and Tatum play to their potential.
—Robert Williams looked good.
The second-year big man was the only Celtic with a positive plus/minus (plus-seven), but make of that what you will since he played 11 minutes. He looked like he belonged defensively, though fouling is always going to be a potential issue for him. Still, he had an impressive blocked shot and didn’t get just totally manipulated in the paint by Philly’s big men. He’ll probably never reach a Clint Capela-level of scoring ability for his position, but Williams’ ability to throw down lobs means he can’t just be forgotten on the offensive end.
Williams was a lottery pick-level defensive talent who slipped to the Celtics last year because of worries about his attitude. In other words, he has skill, and it seems like the opportunity for him to take a step forward is there.
That said…
— Boston’s centers are really specialized, which could become problematic.
Daniel Theis does a lot of things fine enough, but nothing well above average.
Enes Kanter can score and grab rebounds, but is an abject liability defensively.
Williams is a solid defender, but fouls lot and isn’t a huge threat offensively.
Vincent Poirier was a good rim protector overseas, but hasn’t played regular-season minutes yet after a DNP Wednesday.
So what does that mean? Well, it means that against teams like Philly that boast a frontcourt with multiple All-Star-caliber players, Boston will be thoroughly outmatched. Head coach Brad Stevens knows that if he wants to give Kanter big minutes, Boston will score many points but also concede them. In playing Williams, the defense should be fine, but he’s only good for putting down alley-oops on the other end. No matter who is in, Boston’s almost always sacrificing something in one phase of the game.
They’ll be fine against a team like the Washington Wizards, but teams of the Milwaukee Bucks/Indiana Pacers/76ers ilk could lap them.
A thought: The Celtics must hope/think Theis takes a big step forward this season. He regressed in his second NBA season, but there appears to be a hope he can become a more complete and reliable player so he can start logging big minutes and help alleviate some of the issues created by having one-dimensional players.
— Free throws might be an issue.
Going 20-for-34 from the free throw line is nothing short of reprehensible from an NBA team, and while they probably won’t shoot less than 60 percent from the line every night, free throws might be a season-long issue for Boston.
This current group of Celtics doesn’t make up an overly gifted bunch of free throw shooters (see: Jaylen Brown), which could really put them in a bind in close games.
— Here’s an interesting tweet from Tuesday.
Kanter starting was a bit of a surprise Tuesday night, and it seems unlikely that will be a regular occurrence. In our opinion, this type of starting five would make a lot of sense. For one, it’s a defensive-minded group with Smart and Williams, which will help on nights guys like Walker and Tatum struggle to score.
Furthermore, Smart was good as a starter last season, and you could do worse than Brown as the first guy off the bench. Sure, the optics of using a guy who just signed a four-year deal with $103 million in guaranteed money as a reserve aren’t great, but Stevens doesn’t come off as the type of coach that would let a player’s salary faze him.
— Rock fights might be the way the Celtics win a lot of games.
This group seems more than content to play a blue-collar brand of basketball, which is the approach that endeared the 2016-17 C’s to fans. That might have to be the mindset with this squad: Have a couple of volume scorers but mostly hang the proverbial hat on playing hard defensively.
— Let’s wrap this up with a take: Carsen Edwards will be the Celtics’ most important rookie this season.
Is this take spicy? It doesn’t feel that spicy.
Anyhow, Edwards was the first Celtics rookie to check in Tuesday. His ability to hit shots from really anywhere on the floor seems like it will net him routine minutes, and Stevens always has time for guys that play with tons of energy (Shane Larkin comes to mind). Be it in college, summer league, or the preseason, Edwards proved that he really can’t be stopped when he’s hot. That trait probably will help the Celtics win some games this year.
