Ten takeaways from the Celtics early-season heavyweight matchup vs. the Warriors

1. Playoff atmosphere.

It’s unusual these days to have an early November game that feels like a playoff game. This Warriors team brought it in every way though, and the TD Garden crowd was locked in for all of it.

Last year, the Celtics played the Wolves in an early season matchup that had a similar feel to it. This is the type of game that the Celtics and Warriors usually find themselves in, but you could sense that Golden State had an extra gear. Buddy Hield said so himself:

You obviously can’t discount the fact that Boston was missing two starters, but the Warriors showed signs of a team that’s ready to make some noise in the playoffs again.

2. Derrick White, the 2nd option.

White got the Celtics scoring started early and helped them jump out to a quick lead.

He is continuing to build on an impressive start to the year as a scorer. Without Brown, White has comfortably stepped in as the offenses #2 option. He’s not hesitating at all, and looks like he wants as many shots as he can get. It’s a pretty stark contrast between the more cautious player the Warriors faced in ‘22.

There was some creation off the dribble in the mid-range, but a majority of his spectacular evening took place beyond the arc. He probably launched enough 3’s to make James Naismith turn in his grave, but it’s easy to accept when he knocks down seven of them.

He unfortunately ran out of juice at the end of the game, but he was making the Warriors pay for giving him any space at all. Even the tightest of windows don’t bother him much if the defender doesn’t have a hand up.

He brought his usual excellence on the defensive end as well. There was a stretch in the 2nd quarter where he took a charge, stole a pass from Draymond and hustled back to break up a full court pass.

The competition at his position makes it a tall task, but White’s two-way play gives him a legitimate All-Star case. That’s not to say he’ll make it, but so far he’s been one of the most productive guards in the East when you factor in both sides of the ball.

3. Neemias Queta is a revelation.

Queta was called on as the starting center, and he delivered one of the more impressive performances of his career.

When he was in the game, good things happened. That’s a fairly simplistic view, but the Celtics won his minutes and didn’t look quite the same when he was on the bench.

He looked comfortable switching on the perimeter, even matched up with Curry on a few occasions.

Queta did some of the little things, like being an effective screener and working the glass. He also did the large things that you could feel through the TV screen.

Games like this show the reason this organization continues to invest in his development. Queta still has things to clean up, but he grows with each minute he spends on the floor and continues to give Mazzulla no choice but to play him.

4. The other bigs.

Queta was great in this game, that much was extremely clear. What was also noticeable was the fact that no other Celtic big could match his impact in this game.

Horford’s counting stats were solid, and he provided about what you would expect from him on most nights at this point in the season. Mazzulla made the decision to close the game with him though, when it looked like Queta as the lone big should’ve been the way to go.

Kornet didn’t have anything for this matchup either. He was on the floor for a strong close to the 3rd quarter, but ultimately looked a step slow. He wasn’t able to make a difference vs the Warriors ball screen actions, and seemed to be more of a pressure point for them to push on. In Kornet’s defense, Kyle Anderson confidently stepping into and drilling multiple 3’s is not something that you generally have to account for.

With Luke’s subpar performance, it was interesting that Tillman’s name was never called. He seemed like a more useful option when switchability and lateral movement is a necessity. He hasn’t seen much playing time lately though, and has been leaped in the rotation by Queta.

In the 20 minutes with Queta off the court, Boston had a stunningly bad -47.7 Net Rating. That jumps up to a 21.1 Net Rating in his 28 minutes. It’s been an exciting stretch of games for Queta, and the Celtics will be in great shape if they can get more impactful center minutes from others to support him.

5. Tatum figured it out eventually.

There were expectations, fair or not, that Tatum was going to have a big performance as a revenge game of sorts for Steve Kerr benching him in the Olympics.

After a slow start, and a lot of attention from the defense, this did not seem like a game that Tatum was going to leave his mark on as a scorer. Once again though, he exceeded 30 points on an efficient 10/20 from the field.

This feels like a sign of his maturity to be able to navigate tough coverages and strong defenders without forcing up shots. There was some of that early on, but he seemed to correct it and play within the flow of the game.

Once he got into a rhythm with three straight catch & shoot looks, the game started to open up for him. He began to play with more confidence attacking his matchups and had a lot more success getting to his spots.

It wasn’t an outstanding night for him, but that says a lot more about the kind of standards he’s held to, because it was still a good game overall.

6. The Warriors defense is legit.

On a related note, the Warriors are versatile and physical defensively. Sure, the physicality bordered on fouls most of the time, but it wasn’t any different than what they would see in the postseason.

They forced the Celtics into some uncomfortable positions, which isn’t something you can usually do against this team. Aggressively trapping the pick and roll didn’t feel like something Boston was prepared to handle, and Golden State defaulted to that as often as they could. There were times where they managed to force Boston to retreat extremely far back, which even resulted in a forced backcourt violation.

Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Draymond are a difficult trio to dribble around, and they understand defense at an extremely high level. They were a big part of the reason why Boston was held to just 40 points in the 1st half.

This makes it more impressive that the Celtics put up 72 points in the 2nd half, behind some meaningful adjustments. They handled traps better, giving the ball up quicker and making good reads on the short roll. This made it a less viable coverage for the Warriors, and allowed Boston to take back control of their offensive approach.

The Celtics ultimately came up short, but GSW’s defense is tough to crack and they nearly did so without two of their most important offensive weapons.

7. This is Celtics basketball.

Boston needed something to really get the crowd behind them. With 7:30 left in the 3rd quarter, they put together one of the more exciting possessions you’ll see from a team.

This sequence has everything. Wonderful passing, incredible hustle on the offensive glass, effort to keep the play alive and a Tatum 3-ball to cap it all off. You can see a glimpse at the end of that clip, but the fans fully appreciated that display of pure Celtics basketball.

A few minutes later, Payton Pritchard caused another eruption from the crowd:

8. Keeping tabs on Holiday.

Holiday finished the game with a near triple-double, recording 6 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. He filled up the stat sheet, but it was a quieter night for him than those numbers would indicate.

For one thing, he shot 3/11 from the field including 0/6 from 3PT range. Boston typically has the luxury of allowing Holiday to fill in the gaps and be more selective with his shots. In a game without Jaylen though, there’s an expectation that Holiday would be able to step into a larger offensive role. He tried to make things happen occasionally, but never found a scoring rhythm.

It’s not something that worries me, considering we all know what Jrue is capable of. It’s more of an expectation based on his abilities that he should feel confident enough to step up and call his own number when needed.

9. Pritchard 6MOTY momentum.

Payton has had more productive games than this one, it was another solid scoring output for his Sixth Man of the Year campaign though. Pritchard wasn’t very efficient, but scored 16 points, marking the 7th time in 9 games that he has scored 15+.

Even for those that were high on Pritchard’s chances to crack the 6MOTY conversation, he has exceeded most reasonable expectations. In the early stages of the season, he has emerged as the betting favorite for the award.

If he can maintain this level of production, Pritchard may put himself in the running for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award too. As it stands, he’s raised his scoring average by nearly six and a half points per game compared to last season.

10. Steph can’t hurt us anymore

Steph took over a critical stretch of the 4th quarter to give the Warriors the lead, and reminded Celtics fans of his greatness. I’m here to say that it simply no longer stings as much as it used to.

The Finals loss in 2022 was brutal, and Steph inflicted damage that I wasn’t sure could be let go. That pain was lifted the moment Boston won game 5 against the Mavericks, and it’s reached the point again where I can watch a Curry takeover not with bitterness, but with admiration.