Coming off an NBA Finals appearance, and seen as one of the favorites to get back there this season, nobody would blame the Boston Celtics if they coasted through their preseason schedule.
But it’s been the exact opposite from the team in green.
The Celtics continued to impress Friday night by taking down the Charlotte Hornets, 112-103, at the Greensboro Coliseum. While the terrific play from starters and reserves alike — albeit coming in exhibition contests — has to excite Green Teamers, Celtics guard Derrick White relayed the team isn’t getting ahead of themselves.
“No one is saying we’re in mid-season form,” White, who tallied 18 points, four rebounds and six assists in the win, told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. “I mean, we started off pretty slow today. Just things like that we need to work on. Coach says not (to) skip steps. It’s a long season, it’s a long way to go, but we just got to get better each and every day and take each opportunity, like today, and make the most of it.”
The cohesion from last year’s terrific campaign is definitely paying dividends already, especially on the offensive end of the floor. The 112 points Boston put up was its lowest scoring output of the preseason, but they shot over 42% from beyond the arc for the second time in the last week.
The Celtics do have to clean up the turnovers — averaging 17.7 per game thus far in the preseason — but their offense has been running on pretty much all cylinders from the outset.
“I think we’re just carrying (on) from last year, showing our identity,” Payton Pritchard said, per NBC Sports Boston. “I think it starts defensively for us. And this year, just clicking right from the jump on offense, knowing what we’re trying to do. Everybody knows their roles on the team and we know what this team is capable of.”
All of this should be taken with the caveat that is it the preseason. Yes, the Celtics have looked dominant for long stretches in these games, but things can certainly change once teams flip the switch when the regular season begins.
Boston has one more preseason tune-up next Friday before hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden in the season opener on Oct. 18.
