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You have to be impressed by the Boston Celtics. A lot of teams that lose in the Finals, especially a close series that could have gone either way, have a bit of a hangover the next season and underperform. Not these guys. Plus the Ime Udoka saga didn’t seem to faze them at all. They are one of the main early stories of 2022-23. Boston has way more wins than anyone else, one of the best offences ever, at this point (thanks largely to 40% three-point accuracy on the most attempts and 85% from the line). Jayson Tatum has made another leap to MVP candidate and just wait until one of the NBA’s best defenders, Robert Williams III, joins the lineup. This will be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs.
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They’re also a team that seem to have Toronto’s number. Jayson Tatum is a problem at both ends of the floor, Jaylen Brown is a lesser version who still happens to be an all-star level (or close) player. Plus there’s an elite defender in Marcus Smart, two steady guards in Malcolm Brogdon (not even available against the Raptors) and Derrick White, plus steady bigs Al Horford and Grant Williams. Even the guys who often don’t play much are capable of stepping up, as some did against Toronto with Horford and Brogdon out, and Sam Hauser can light it up. It was a bit surprising to see how easily they handled a rested Toronto team despite having played the night before.
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Tatum is now third in points per game by a Celtic behind only Larry Bird and Paul Pierce. He’s a hell of a player. But keep in mind his growth hasn’t been linear. A lot of players, even the elite, don’t just go straight up. He looked like a star in waiting as a 19-year-old rookie, kind of like Scottie Barnes as a 20-year-old. But then Tatum regressed as a sophomore, just like Barnes has so far. By his third year Tatum was an all-star and he keeps getting better. Can Barnes follow suit? It will be fascinating to watch and it’s useful, for those panicking about the regression Barnes has shown, to use Tatum as a comparable (which isn’t to say Barnes will get to his level, just that the sophomore slump isn’t fictional).
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Some more thoughts:
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- A belated shout out to Pascal Siakam for passing Andrea Bargnani for fifth on Toronto’s all-time scoring list. He’s also sixth in points per game by a Raptor at 16 a night, a figure that rises every game. Kyle Lowry’s 17.5 a game will be the next target, followed by Damon Stoudamire and DeMar DeRozan. Only Vince Carter and Chris Bosh averaged 20 a game as Raptors.
- It was actually surprising to see the Celtics miss a third of their first 16 free throw attempts. Not so much the Raptors missing seven of 22 to start. Toronto came in just 20th in free throw marksmanship. The good news is the team came in 10th in attempts.
- It took until there was just under five minutes remaining in the game before VanVleet hit a three-pointer. It was that close to being the third game this season where VanVleet didn’t hit a three-pointer at all. That’s not uncommon for most players, but it’s extremely uncommon for VanVleet. In fact, it had happened only twice in the three previous seasons combined before the two times this year.
- Gary Trent Jr. didn’t seem bothered by first being named a starter and then being sent back to the bench. He hit all three of his three-point attempts and after an ice cold run nailing 14 of his last 32 attempts to get up to the league average or thereabouts (34%). Still a far cry from the 38.3% he hit on huge volume last season, which happens to be exactly his career mark.
THREE STARS:
1 Jayson Tatum
2 Pascal Siakam
3 Jaylen Brown
H.M.: Gary Trent Jr., Marcus Smart, O.G. Anunoby
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