Ten takeaways from the Celtics near comeback to the Pacers

1. It was one of those nights, until it wasn’t.

Boston had no business being in this game, but the team would never see it that way.

The Celtics missed open threes and easy layups, along with a variety of looks that make up their typical shot diet. The Pacers had some impressive moments defensively, but it reached the point where you shrug your shoulders, walk away from the TV and declare “It’s just one of those nights.”

All of sudden though, the signs of a comeback start to pop up, and you are drawn back in.

2. Mazzulla doesn’t waive the white flag.

This game was approaching out-of-reach territory quickly, and Mazzulla opened up his bench a bit. With 8:54 left in the 4th quarter, Tatum/White/Kornet were swapped for Walsh/Tillman/Queta.

At this time, Boston was down 91-112 and looked ready to move on to the next game. That’s not how Mazzulla operates though. He saw a teachable moment, and a chance to guide his team through a difficult scenario.

If the Celtics coach truly believed this game was finished, Jaylen would’ve been pulled alongside Tatum and White. Instead, Brown and Pritchard helped orchestrate the foundation of a resurgence.

3. Neemias Queta had the juice.

Queta has been called upon in limited minutes this season, and up until this point he was firmly the 4th big in the rotation. This game might’ve changed that.

For all of the missed shots that set them back, it never felt like the Celtics could quite match the youthful energy of Indiana. Queta stepped foot on the floor, and a spark was ignited.

This lob came seconds after Queta checked in, and it was his only point of the evening. His plus/minus of +18 was no mistake though, his fight on the glass gave the Celtics life.

Defensive positioning and discipline have been the missing piece to the puzzle for Queta, but he was exactly where he needed to be on a massive defensive stop.

This is a big time rotation, and an impressive display of coordination to stay down and time up the layup attempt perfectly for the block.

It cannot be overstated how valuable his presence was, these were some of the best center minutes we’ve seen for Boston in the early part of this season. It was all complimentary basketball too, he didn’t need more than a handful of touches to be impactful.

4. Sticking with your guys.

We can use all of the revisionist history we’d like, but despite the loss, Mazzulla made the right decision to stick with the players that started the comeback.

White and Tatum entered the game together with 5:17 left in the fourth, down by 14. Their clutch shotmaking was a big reason the C’s managed to claw themselves back into this game. However, it was Queta’s contributions and general peskiness from Pritchard that allowed them to gain any momentum in the first place.

After miraculously making it to overtime, there wasn’t enough left to finish the job. Missed free throws were a killer for Boston, but they also shot just 2/9 from the field in OT. It’s reasonable to question why Holiday and Horford weren’t inserted back into this game. Despite coming up short, I imagine that’s a decision Joe would stand behind every single time.

We know what those two veterans are capable of in high pressure scenarios, but a regular season game in late October is the right time to build trust and confidence in other options. It says a lot to your players when they’ve been empowered to finish the run they started.

5. Flipping the switch.

Historically, there has been a notion that certain great teams are able to flip a switch and instantly take their game from 0-100 even on a bad night. With how the Celtics play sometimes, it has me wondering where Mazzulla keeps that switch hidden.

Relying too much on a mentality like that is dangerous, but the Celtics usually come ready to play. There are very few nights where they can’t figure it out on either end, but they came pretty close in this one. There were pockets of the game that looked like a pulse, it was almost always followed but an answer from the Pacers. That 4th quarter run was a different story.

It was a testament to the Celtics greatness that they managed to turn it up a notch in a position where most teams pack it up and get ready for a plane ride. You have to be prepared to play a complete 48 minutes of flawless basketball against this team, or they will find a way to break through.

6. Can’t spell Pacers without pace.

Indiana has a unique style offensively, and regardless of their slow start to the year, it’s a challenge to keep up with a team that wants to get out and run at all times. During the ECF, Mazzulla keyed in on the idea that the Celtics defense would have to start on offense. Made shots and offensive rebounding are great ways to slow down a team that consistently gets across half court in ~2 seconds.

The Celtics had an inefficient 1st half, shooting 37.3% from the field. This allowed IND to push the pace and take advantage of transition chances – an area where Boston has struggled to start the year.

Much improved shooting in the fourth quarter, combined with better on-ball pressure ground the Pacers tempo to a halt and forced them to operate more often in the half court.

7. Missing Porzingis

Until he returns, there will be moments and games where the absence of Porzingis is more noticeable. Against the Pacers, they missed him on both ends. There were many issues early on, but a lack of rim protection felt like something Indiana really enjoyed.

This is an obvious hole that Porzingis helps to plug up with his size and shot blocking prowess and it can’t be replicated elsewhere.

On the other side of the ball, Kristaps in the post is enough to delay the Pacers transition game to some degree. His overall consistency as a scorer would’ve been a much needed boost in a game where the Celtics struggled to capitalize on advantages.

I’m sure this feeling will be common in the few losses Boston has between now and his return, but this specifically felt like a game that he’d be particularly helpful.

8. Time to go hunting.

For a while there, I had forgotten what watching your team lose felt like. The dream of 82-0 has officially ended at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.

It comes with the territory, but each game in the early stages of this season has looked like teams seeing Boston as an opportunity to gain momentum and/or make a statement. This is a mentality that Mazzulla made very clear he wants his group to avoid.

The schedule has a few weaker targets coming up, and it’s time to get back to being the aggressor. LaMelo Ball and the Hornets are up next and they’re a fast, young team like this Pacers squad that wants to make a name for themselves. Boston would be wise to put them down early.

9. Good to have Sam back.

It wasn’t Hauser’s finest performance, but it was good to see him back on the floor. Back injuries can be tough to deal with, so the fact that he was willing to put his body on the line and pop right back up was encouraging.

Even without a strong offensive performance, Boston won the minutes when he was on the court with Sam finishing the game as a +12. He’s an extremely important piece to what makes this team so dangerous, and it shouldn’t take long for him to have the 3-ball fully firing again.

10. “I’m leaving here with something”

The moment may be tainted a bit with the unfortunate ending, but this was an absolutely incredible shot from Tatum to tie the game and force overtime.