Ten takeaways from Boston’s preseason opener

1. The Celtics are back. Life is good.

We survived. Despite this being the shortest offseason possible with a Finals victory, Summer League and Olympic appearances, this Celtics hiatus still felt far too long. The champs have returned though, and all is right in the world again.

It wasn’t their finest performance by any means. There was your standard preseason sloppiness combined with something that resembled a bricklaying competition. Regardless, I enjoyed every moment of it.

2. Kornet is the starter, but Tillman brought some juice.

With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, and Al Horford taking the day off, it was Luke Kornet that got the nod as the starting center. He joined Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the opening lineup.

This configuration is what we should expect to see on Horford’s rest nights, but in typical preseason fashion, they got off to a bumpy start. Great flashes of ball movement weren’t capitalized on as the Celtics starters shot a combined 3/13 from 3 in the 1st quarter.

Xavier Tillman checked in for Kornet with around six minutes left in Q1. X didn’t exactly spark the offense, but his defense and overall presence was steadying. He picked up a few deflections and made Jokic work a bit harder, which is about all you can ask.

The big question mark for Tillman this season is where he fits into the scheme offensively. Whether it’s as a screener or a floor spacer, the Celtics will need to find ways to maximize his ability. What if the jump shot is real though? That could change things drastically. I’ll take it easy on the preseason overreactions, but knocking down two corner 3’s is enough to give us hope.

3. Jaylen Brown’s underwater workouts are paying off.

With under two minutes left in the 1st quarter, Brown’s freakish athleticism was put on display.

In full pursuit of the ball, he explodes off of the ground and aggressively stamps the layup attempt off of the backboard. Moments later he connects with Tillman on a cut and detonates on the rim.

Jaylen has always had the tools to be a world-class defender, but last year’s playoff run was the start of a real elevation to that level. If he’s able to build off that with the numbers to back it up, an All-Defensive Team nomination is on the table.

If these two plays are any indication, the Jaylen Brown revenge tour should be fun.

4. Mazzulla plays his guys for the entire 1st quarter.

Whether it was an attempt to knock the dust off or not, Joe Mazzulla went with his star quartet for the length of the 1st quarter. It’s not always easy to predict what minutes will look like in games that don’t count for anything, but Joe likely doesn’t think of them that way. He uses every possible moment as a lesson, or an opportunity to try something.

The regular season comes up quick, so there’s a lot of value in getting your team game reps and conditioning when you can. Doing so against a talent like Jokic is extremely beneficial too.

You run the risk of unnecessary injuries in games that don’t count toward the standings, and there were a few occasions where players came up looking hobbled that fortunately didn’t result in anything substantial. Injuries will always be a factor though, and allowing your starters to take a few bumps at game speed is another way to support their conditioning.

5. Payton Pritchard has no off-season.

Pritchard was phenomenal, and one of the few players that shot the ball effectively. He looked like he was in mid-season form and didn’t have any of the rust that plagued nearly everyone else in that gym.

That seems to be who Payton is at this point. He can come off the bench in the NBA Finals to drill a buzzer beater, or knock down six 3’s in his first game of the new season. He epitomizes the idea of staying ready.

6. Queta couldn’t find his footing.

For as ready as Pritchard looked for this game, Neemias Queta fell on the opposite end of the spectrum. His minutes weren’t very impactful, and he had a difficult time executing in a few different areas.

Offensively, he had a couple of poor decisions resulting in turnovers when asked to be a playmaker. There also wasn’t his usual amount of hustle/motor plays, highlighted by just three total rebounds with zero on the offensive glass.

Defensively, he struggled initially to stay down when guarding and even wound up chasing a block that led to his own man scoring. Eventually he did manage to settle in on that end picking up a block on Julian Strawther and defending well on a few drives.

It didn’t do him any favors that his first minutes were playing alongside another big in Tillman. Mazzulla had his reasons to try that combo, but there was a bit too much overlap in their roles. Queta is best suited playing as the solo big, or alongside a Horford-level spacer, which Tillman is not (yet?).

7. Nikola Jokic is awesome.

I know, this one is a hot take. Seriously though, the way Jokic operates it’s as if he’s dictating the pace of everyone else on the floor.

He manages to simultaneously be one of the most graceful and forceful players in the league and it’s simply not fair. He can play right through the chest of an undersized player, or beat taller matchups with finesse.

You can’t ask for anything more from Luke Kornet here, Jokic just happens to be able to casually transition from a lefty hook into a righty fadeaway in one smooth motion.

Some may be more willing to admit it than others, but there was a collective sense of relief from Celtics fans when a series vs. Denver was no longer a possibility. The Celtics very likely would have won still, because they are that good, but Jokic is someone that the Celtics don’t have an answer for.

8. Hauser shooting practice.

If there’s ever a player who’s poor preseason shooting should be disregarded, it’s Sam Hauser. Hauser didn’t have it today, but that didn’t stop him from looking for it. He was hunting 3’s from all over the arc.

Part of what makes Sam such a special shooter is this next shot mentality where he can shrug off a miss and fire the next one up with even more confidence. He finished the game just 2/8 from 3PT range, but his two makes were both difficult shots on the move.

One thing about Sam is that his percentage is always going to even out. He could start the season 0/50 and I’m still pretty certain he’d find his way back to 40%.

9. The Jordan Walsh Game.

If you are a Jordan Walsh fan, or even a skeptic, this is exactly what you want to see. Jordan had a rough Summer League to say the least. Things were just not clicking for him in that environment, and it felt like he was trying to fill a role that he’d never have to in the NBA.

Walsh in this first game was honed in on the traits that will give him a chance to eventually crack this rotation. He knocked down two 3’s, picked up three blocks and dished out four assists. Jordan doesn’t need to be an off the dribble isolation scorer to succeed when simply being a connector will do.

The fact that he popped on both ends is exciting. Defensive versatility and potential are the top selling points for him so it was nice to see him live up to that against legitimate NBA talent.

For someone that isn’t necessarily known for his playmaking, he was seeing the floor well, too. He was looking defenders off before slinging it to the open man and making twisting kick-outs on drives.

Walsh put the exclamation point on his night with a loud putback dunk that seemed to say, “don’t forget about me.”

10. Where was Walker?

It’s no secret that Lonnie Walker IV is going to have to earn his place on this team, but today, he didn’t have much of a chance. Walker didn’t take his warmups off until there were four minutes left in the game.

Maybe this should’ve been expected because he’s not on a guaranteed contract, but the position he’s in feels more unique. He’s made it clear he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help this team, but it’s hard to show much of that in four minutes of game time.

It’s also possible that giving him less minutes in game one leads to a larger opportunity during the next game. If that’s the case, it’d be helpful to see him alongside a starter or two to get a better idea of what he could provide. That could be something that Mazzulla already has a feel for, and he’s using this time instead to get a deeper look at a few of the younger guys.

With Walker’s talent, and how highly his new teammates have spoken of him, I’m still hopeful he can earn his spot. I can’t deny that his place in the pecking order during this game made me a bit more doubtful though.