Celtics-Warriors Notebook: Steve Kerr and Steph Curry say Celtics fans shouldn’t worry, new sub-pattern benefits Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown

SAN FRANCISCO — Are the Celtics back?

It’s only one win, and it was against the shorthanded and struggling Golden State Warriors, but it was as resounding and much-needed as they come.

With the 125-85 thrashing of the Warriors on MLK Day, the Celtics improved to 30-13 on the season, and open up another four-game Western Conference road trip with a victory.

The Warriors, meanwhile, were without Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Brandin Podziemski, and looked pretty lifeless from the start. Chase Center was one of the quieter NBA arenas the Celtics have visited in recent weeks, and the Warriors — who shot 34.8% from the field on the night — didn’t give the crowd much to cheer for.

Still, this was a strong two-way performance by Boston and a great start to the trip; Joe Mazzulla praised the Celtics’ physicality after the win.

Here are four on-the-ground observations from the Celtics 40-point win over the Warriors.

Six Celtics score in double-figures en route to 33 assists

Tatum finished the night with 22 points (9-20 FG), 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Kristaps Porzingis continued his strong offensive play with 18 points on 6-13 shooting alongside 7 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown posted an efficient 17 points on 8-14 shooting.

In total, six Celtics scored in double-figures, including Jrue Holiday (10 points on 4-5 shooting), Sam Hauser (11 points on 4-7 shooting), and Payton Pritchard (14 points on 5-10 shooting, 9 assists). That well-balanced attack allowed the Celtics to rack up 33 assists — nearly 8 more than their season average of 25.3.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics benefit from a new substitution pattern

For most of this season, Jayson Tatum has played the entire first quarter, and Jaylen Brown has subbed out at the six-minute mark. Occasionally, when Brown has really had it going offensively, he’s played the entire first quarter (as he did all of last season).

But, for the past two games, Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics coaching staff have mixed it up, having Jayson Tatum sub out at the six-minute mark like he did for much of last season, and then having him check back in for Jaylen Brown for the final three minutes. In effect, that has meant that rather than having one of the Celtics’ All-Stars play 12 first-quarter minutes and the other play 6 minutes, each has played 9 minutes.

Brown has appreciated the rotation change — and he’s voiced on a number of occasions that not playing the entire first quarter made things more difficult.

“I’m usually the one that set the tone for the team so sometimes not being out there, we kinda have a sluggish start,” Brown said. “I feel like at different times at my career, that’s been me to help negate that. Different year, things get switched up, and you just got to be alright with that. I don’t really complain or anything I just try to come out and be the best version of myself.”

The Celtics jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, and finished the first quarter up 29-18, setting a great tone for the rest of the night. The substitution pattern change is far from the only reason for the solid start, but it’ll be interesting to see if Mazzulla and company shift toward this new pattern on a more regular basis.

So far, it’s resulted in two good starts for the Celtics.

Steve Kerr, Steph Curry say Celtics fans should not worry about the Celtics

Before the game, Steve Kerr was asked about the process of trying to repeat and expressed optimism for the Celtics, who had lost 8 of 16 games entering Monday.

“The NBA season is such a long haul,” Kerr said. “And, if you go to the Finals, it’s over 100 games. And so, if you go to the Finals and come back the next year, you’re right back at base camp, and that’s intimidating. Especially for the Celtics, they’ve been at it for 7, 8 years, playing deep into the postseason.”

Kerr knows the challenge of trying to go back-to-back quite well; he’s coached the Warriors to four championships, and they were the last NBA team to go back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. Kerr also won four consecutive NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1996 to 1999.

“It’s perfectly natural for them to have a little bit of an emotional hangover and maybe not be at their best game after game,” Kerr said. “I’ve seen that a million times in this league. But, what I would expect is, come playoff time, they’ll be ready to roll. They’ve still got guys in their primes, well-oiled machine, well-coached, they know who they are, so I wouldn’t worry about the Celtics if I were one of their fans.”

Joe Mazzulla has repeatedly said this season that the Celtics aren’t viewing this season as a title defense — rather, they’re simply trying to play their best basketball.

“Every season, regardless of the past result, brings about challenges, opportunities, ups and downs regardless of the past,” Mazzulla said. “So at the end of the day, it’s more about making sure we’re sticking to the process of trying to play our best basketball as best as we can. Holding each other accountable to that, and just taking whatever the regular season presents to us as an opportunity to learn and grow. So, I think that’s the mindset that we’re in, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”

Steph Curry, who has won four championships of his own, echoed that sentiment postgame.

“It’s a marathon of a season — you do have a championship kind of aura about you, and you can kind of carry that, but you’re getting everybody’s best shot every night. Teams spent all summer trying to figure out how to beat you because you’re the one that was holding up the trophy. And now, you’re kind of held to a championship standard knowing that you’ve accomplished it.”

“So there are gonna be lulls throughout the season. It kind of happens. But you try to get to the playoffs with a good identity, good momentum, good confidence, good health, and then you just roll the dice trying to run it back.”

Curry said the Celtics’ record speaks for itself.

“I don’t know what people expected — they’re 30-13. They’re doing alright.”

Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh shine in garbage time

Baylor Scheierman, Xavier Tillman, Jordan Walsh, and Jaden Springer all got some rare playing time in the final minutes, helping the Celtics close out a 40-point win. Jordan Walsh looked comfortable in his PT, hitting 2-3 threes.

Baylor Scheierman, meanwhile, hit his first NBA three-pointer, summoning enthusiastic celebrations from their bench. He also grabbed three rebounds and hit a pull-up jumper en route to recording a career-high 5 points.

“You try to find small moments to have those guys spend time with us — to validate the work, to continue to see what we’re doing here,” Mazzulla said. “So, he’s had a great attitude.”

The Celtics’ road trip continues Wednesday vs. the Clippers

The Celtics are off on Tuesday as they travel to Los Angeles, but will be back in action on Wednesday, where they’ll face the Clippers, who should have two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard available.

Then, they’ll play the Lakers on Thursday and the Mavericks on Saturday before returning home for a two-game homestand against the Rockets and the Bulls.