Halftime hot takes: It’s never too early for some Celtics basketball

The Boston Celtics are looking to secure their spot in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals this afternoon. So far, they’re doing an okay job and have opened up an eight-point lead over the Orlando Magic.

If Boston holds on for the victory, they’ll punch their ticket to the quarterfinals of the competition, regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.

Now, after about a two-week hiatus, get ready for some halftime hot takes, buddy.

White jerseys should never be worn on the road

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. There’s absolutely no reason that the Celtics home jerseys should ever be worn away from TD Garden. It just doesn’t look right. I know it’s all been part of the Nike regime in the NBA, but I just can’t suffer in silence anymore.

You can’t tell me the Cs away greens wouldn’t do the trick today as a contrast to Orlando’s navy blue City Edition jerseys.

It’s nice to see that the Celtics aren’t sleepwalking out there early

So, heading into this one I was a bit concerned about how Boston would start with tip-off being so early. The 2:30 p.m. tip on a Friday is an odd start time, to say the very least.

In years past, the Cs struggled quite a bit to get going in matinee games. I’m sure there’s a trend throughout the association for that, as guys are thrown out of their normal gameday routines.

Today, they came out looking mostly normal and managed to build an 11-point lead after the opening quarter in Orlando.

Orlando battled back in the second quarter, but the Celtics managed to re-distance themselves by the halftime buzzer.

Jaylen Brown clearly listened to this week’s ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast’ episode

So, in anticipation of Thanksgiving, founder of The Ringer and host of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Bill Simmons chatted with CelticsBlog alumni Kevin O’Connor about Jaylen Brown. More specifically, the two discussed Brown’s place in this season’s stacked Celtics team, and how at times it feels like he might not be the greatest fit.

O’Connor even went as far as to suggest that if Boston fails to meet their championship goal, Brown may find himself on the trade block next summer.

Welp, the $304 million man clearly heard the noise and has turned up in the games since the episode was released. Of course, JB had an excellent game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday and has gotten off on the right foot today at Amway Center.

Brown carved up the Magic defense like a Thanksgiving turkey for 12 first-quarter points on a blistering hot 4-of-5 start from the field.

He did it all. Threes, fadeaways, drives, even free throws, it was all falling for JB early on and it was a sensational thing to watch.

It truly feels like Brown can have a massive impact on the ceiling of this Celtics team, so it’s great to see him stringing together multiple solid games.

Oh hey, Luke Kornet has arrived

Listen, I know that both Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard have seemingly found their footing in recent weeks. But, man does it feel great to see Luke Kornet looking comfortable out there.

The backup big man scored 10 points and rejected a pair of shots through the first 24 minutes of this one, giving the Cs a great boost in a game where Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t been all that sharp.

As a whole, the bench has looked solid against the Magic, combining to score 15 of Boston’s 56 first-half points.

Mo Wagner is the absolute worst

I can’t stand this guy. Mo Wagner spent a short time with the Celtics during that disastrous 2020-21 season and has had a chip on his shoulder ever since.

Today has been no different.

The Magic big man has poured in 11 points off of Orlando’s bench. His energetic play has given his squad a charge and helped them to get back into this one before the break.

On top of that, he’s just always seemingly in the middle of mischief. Just take a look at this.

Let us know what your halftime hot takes are in the replies below!