Ten takeaways from the Celtics blowout win over the Wizards

1. Poole Party

Regardless of your personal feelings on Jordan Poole, he can fill that point column up quickly. Watching him drill 3’s off the dribble will probably always sting a bit after the 2022 Finals, but less so after seeing the Celtics raise a banner of their own.

In this game, the Poole party started with a splash.

JP was a big reason that the Celtics found themselves in an early hole. He hit a ton of 3’s, finishing the first half shooting 6/9 from behind the arc on his way to 20 points. There were a number of difficult looks that Boston couldn’t have defended much better, Poole knocked them down anyway.

Even with that big start though, the Celtics dug themselves out of an early deficit with ease. For all of Poole’s success, he was the only Wizard to hit a 3 in the first half. Patrick Baldwin Jr. hit the only non-Poole 3 in this game with five minutes left in the 4th quarter. That is not a recommended strategy against Boston.

2. Seeing double (bigs).

in Sam Hauser’s absence – while playing an inferior opponent – Mazzulla leaned on double big pairs over other possibilities.

Boston cycled through a variety of combinations including Kornet/Tillman, Horford/Tillman, Horford/Queta & Tillman/Queta. In the early stages of the season against a team without any playoff hopes, this game served as the perfect opportunity to test things out.

For the most part, each of these pairings was effective together. All four centers bring a unique skill set to the table, and it’s a great idea to get a sense of how they could compliment each other.

It also feels like Mazzulla wants to push the limits of their scheme, seeing if the team can continue to generate good offense with two non-spacers on the floor.

3. Tatum is playing like an MVP.

Washington made an effort to limit Boston’s effectiveness from 3, and instead of forcing up shots, Tatum worked himself into a rhythm.

He started the game taking advantage of, and shooting over the top of smaller defenders.

A reliable back to the basket game has been an extremely useful tool for Tatum. It felt like last season was an introduction to this version of JT that is both comfortable and effective playing a more physical style when necessary.

His 3-ball never fully came around this game, but he had a few impressive makes. That included this devastating welcome to the league moment for rookie Alex Sarr.

Tatum’s rebounding and all-around contributions seem to get glossed over in discussions about his impact, but it’s one of the big separators between him and many of the players he draws comparisons to. In just 28 minutes, Tatum notched 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Not that he would mind, but the Celtics greatness might be enough to actually harm his MVP case in the sense that they end games in the 3rd quarter.

4. Derrick White, the stabilizer.

The term connector has popped up in recent years as a way to describe a player that does the little things that tie a lineup together. Derrick White is one of the finest connectors the league has to offer.

Offensively, he has become a consistent offensive weapon that can add value in any way you could imagine. White is obviously a dynamic shooter off the ball, but his ability to be the screener for inverted pick and rolls is a wrinkle that most offenses are desperately trying to emulate.

Nowadays, the Celtics rarely need to be settled down. When they do, Derrick is often the guy to stabilize things. It’s not usually with his voice, rather the ability to make the correct play/read time after time. His defense and IQ helped ease Boston into this game.

5. Jrue is a vet.

This wasn’t a big Jrue Holiday game by any means, in fact it was probably one of the least involved performances we’ve seen from him in quite some time.

Despite the relative lack of production, Holiday’s veteran savviness stood out on a pair of possessions in the 2nd quarter. On both occasions, he takes advantage of the youthfulness of Alex Sarr.

On this first possession, Holiday is faced with a low shot clock and limited options. He can either try to quickly take Sarr to the rim, or shoot over the 7-footer. Instead, Jrue manages to pry open door number 3.

He didn’t have the upper hand here, so his intelligence had to be the advantage. He clearly noticed the drained shot clock, but his decision to pump fake makes it clear that he recognized Sarr was probably aware of the limited time as well. He played the man in this scenario, knowing that it would necessitate a more aggressive closeout and give him the best opportunity to make something out of nothing.

Less than a minute later, Jrue found himself on an island with Sarr again:

Jrue tests him right away with a pump fake at the 3PT line to see if he’d bite again. Sarr learned from his mistake temporarily and stayed down this time. Jrue is gifted an angle to drive to his dominant hand, but opts to attack Sarrs top foot, forcing him to flip his hips. With the Wizards young big firmly in recovery mode now, Jrue creates space with a slight bump and sends him soaring into the air once again with the fake.

This type of grasp on the game comes with time, and it’s something that Holiday brought to the team instantly upon his arrival. He didn’t make a single bucket here, but managed to flip a 3 point deficit to a 2 point lead.

6. Jaylen Brown’s emotional intelligence

Jaylen had a rough start to the game, finishing the 1st quarter shooting 1/5 from the field. He took several tough shots off the dribble that were outside of the flow of the offense. That’s not entirely unusual or disappointing, but the quality of the looks were low and the percentages reflected that.

However, Jaylen didn’t let the poor shooting deter him. He dialed it in and was more purposeful in his approach. In the 2nd quarter, all five of his shot attempts came at the rim.

Brown is terrifying in transition and as a driver in the half court. Being able to recognize so quickly that his shot diet needed an adjustment says a lot about how he’s thinking the game at this stage in his career.

Another sign of that was this pick & roll rep with Neemias Queta:

His patience here to manipulate and hold the big while also keeping his own defender in jail is extremely advanced. Brown plays this perfectly and finds Queta up top for the easy lob.

After successfully playing himself into a flow, JB allowed himself to have another pull-up 3, as a treat.

7. Any reason to worry about Horford?

The answer is a resounding no.

Horford finished the game with zero points and just two FGA. He wasn’t involved in a meaningful way offensively, but still managed to be useful. This is highlighted by the fact that he finished the game as a +17. In many cases +/- doesn’t tell the whole story, but for Horford it’s an accurate portrayal of contributing in ways that don’t always show up on the box score.

Take a possession like this for example:

Horford sets an excellent screen that completely wipes Pritchard’s defender out of the play. He is not credited with an assist, but you could argue that his screen is deserving of one considering it leads directly to a wide open look.

He chipped in with a few rebounds to help finish off possessions, and had his moments defensively.

In his 18th season, it is as important as ever to make sure that Horford’s workload is manageable. If there’s nights like this throughout the regular season where very little output is needed from him, that should only be viewed as a positive. Having three capable centers behind him, should continue to be a big boost for him as well.

8. Flashes of Queta

As previously mentioned, it’s a major plus that Boston can trot out four quality bigs while their borderline all-star center rests up. Queta played just under 14 minutes in this game, but it was filled with glimpses of the type of contributor the Celtics are hoping to help mold him into.

Queta makes a ton of energy plays, and has a high motor when it comes to chasing offensive rebounds. Gaining extra possessions on the glass is something that any team would appreciate.

I find it useful to take note of possessions like that where he’s matched up with a legitimate NBA center and is able to get the best of them. The defense is a work in progress and more game time should help him grow, but there were still a few occasions where he came up with a stop on Valančiūnas.

Now that he is in Boston full-time, his role will only increase if he’s able to stack up performances like this.

9. Payton Pritchard’s Sam Hauser impression

After an inefficient game one, Payton Pritchard returned to his usual sharpshooting self.

There was a Sam Hauser sized hole in the rotation, and Pritchard filled it. 3PT shooting isn’t exclusive to Hauser, but the type of looks that Payton got tonight were reminiscent of Sam’s typical shot types.

It was a heavy dose of movement shooting and screens on the way to five made 3’s for Pritchard. One of the best looks of the night was a stagger screen from Holiday and Kornet to free him up.

10. Scheierman’s first NBA points

With the departures of Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk, garbage time is in need of a new hero. At the moment, it looks like this could be Baylor Scheierman’s opportunity to shine.

He was off on a pair of 3’s, but secured his first NBA bucket on a transition layup that was enough to earn him the game ball.

Rotation minutes are scarce, but with Boston constantly grabbing 20+ point leads, Baylor has a chance to play for longer than usual. Considering he’s on a standard contract, there’s no limit on the amount of games he can play for Boston this season, but making the most of these minutes while eventually spending time in Maine will be best for his development in the long run.