In their first game back at TD Garden since winning Game 5 of the Finals and clinching Banner 18, the Celtics crushed the 76ers 139-89 in a 50-point blowout.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla started a familiar opening five — Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Luke Kornet all started in both games against the Nuggets in Abu Dhabi. For the visiting 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back, Nick Nurse went with Ricky Council IV, KJ Martin, Jared McCain, Jeff Dowtin Jr, and in a pleasant October surprise, former Celtic and fan favorite Guerschon Yabusele.
Against Denver, the Celtics put up a whopping 108 three-pointers down in the UAE. That shouldn’t surprise fans. They lead the league in attempts last year and were second in 3FG%.
“The goal is never to just shoot them. The goal is to find the best shot,” Mazzulla said in his pre-game presser.
“In the two Denver games, the big was up and they were helping from the weak side corner and we made the pass pass to the corner three. We’re never going to pass those up. They were working on their system, we were working on our system, and those were the shots that we’re available because of the execution.”
Tonight was another impressive showing for Mazzulla Ball. They caught fire in the first half, hitting 10 of 23 from behind the arc and contributing to 71 points after two quarters. They finished the game making nearly half of their 47 attempts (48.9%) and 38 assists on 53 made field goals.
With the team slow-playing Al Horford’s preseason, it sure looks like Kornet could be their starting center heading into the October 22nd opener against the Knicks. He’s shown an ability to create from above the break as a capable screener and passer and his 7’1 frame makes him a big lob threat and cutter. Kornet finished with 15 points (11 in the first quarter), 8 rebounds (five offensive), and two assists.
“I got a lot of dunks. That was fun,” Kornet told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin at halftime.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum look like they’re in mid-season form, too. Albeit in exhibition, they seem to be playing with a freer spirit and style on both sides of the ball. On defense, they fly around like free safeties on the perimeter and bodying smaller players like defensive ends. Offensively, they’re attacking more and spraying it around to shooters.
Brown finished with 18 points (7-of-12 from the field) and four assists. Tatum nearly had a triple double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The blowout wasn’t just Boston’s regulars beating up on Philly’s third string. Rotation standouts sans Horford showed out, too. Sam Hauser made five three pointers for 15 points. Payton Pritchard contributed 11 points with eight assists. Xavier Tillman made all three of his threes and grabbed seven rebounds.
Unfortunately, we won’t do this for real until December 25 at 5 pm EST. Both teams will be about thirty games deep into their regular season schedule and will have a better sense of where they’re at internally. For the Celtics, the energy could dramatically shift though. That Christmas Day game could coincide with the much-anticipated return of Kristaps Porzingis.
However, in this October preseason game against Sixers scrubs, the only thing to glean from it is that the Celtics seem ready for the regular season to start.
