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[bobheckler]

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/post-102616-celtics-pass-first-test-contagious-ball-movement?sf40045422=1



Celts Pass First Test Via Contagious Ball Movement

Posted: Oct 27, 2016


By Taylor C. Snow |  @taylorcsnow
Celtics.com


October 27, 2016

BOSTON – It often takes a few games for an NBA team to discover a consistent passing rhythm as players shake off their offseason rust and acclimate themselves to new teammates. The Boston Celtics, however, proved to be a well-oiled passing machine out of the gate Wednesday night when they opened their season with a 122-117 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Boston dished out 36 assists on 48 field goals, which marked the highest assist total by any NBA team on Opening Night since 2001.

“It was great,” Al Horford (six assists) said of the collective passing effort. “Guys were really moving the ball well and it’s kind of contagious when you start having some success like that. We’ll have an opportunity to wear teams down if we’re able to move the ball at that pace. So I was pretty impressed – 36 assists is pretty good.”

Isaiah Thomas accounted for one quarter of that assist total. As Boston’s lead playmaker, he was extremely effective driving to the lane and drawing in multiple defenders, which opened up his teammates for wide-open shooting opportunities.

“We were just making the right play,” said Thomas, who recorded a game-high 25 points and six rebounds to go along with his nine dimes. “Guys were playing inside-out. Coach always says to attack the paint and make the right play, whether that’s to score for yourself or get another teammate involved, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”

The fact that Boston was able to share the rock so successfully was particularly impressive considering the energetic defensive effort put on by the Nets. Brooklyn hounded Boston all night long and managed to force 19 turnovers, but the C’s got the better of the Nets on most occasions.

“They were blitzing a lot of screens, so they were going to be tight on us and we were going to have to draw to and move it to the next guy,” said C’s coach Brad Stevens. “Our guys [did] a good job of that in the preseason, and in the first 40 minutes I thought we really played with great presence and purpose.”

One guy in particular who played with great purpose was Horford, who looked right at home during his Celtics debut. The veteran big man stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks, but it was his assist tally – six in total – that stood out.

Horford had a number of impressive dishes – one in particular during the first quarter when he faked a 3 from the right wing, drove hard to the basket, and then kicked it out to Avery Bradley for a wide-open 3 from the left corner.

The big man assisted on four of Bradley’s seven buckets on the night, and the veteran guard said after the game that he’s already falling in love with Horford’s unselfish style of play.

“He made some great passes all night,” said Bradley. “It’s contagious and he knows that coming from Atlanta. They shared the ball very well and that was part of the reason why they were successful.

“We’re trying to bring that here. We want to share the ball because we have a lot of players that can have a great night on the offensive end. So we just have to understand that every single game and make sure that we’re playing team basketball, because that’s what’s going to win us games.”

Boston’s brand of team basketball is what led it to its first win of the season Wednesday night, and if the C’s keep it up, it should allow them to produce many more throughout the remainder of the season.

_________________________________________

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/10/in_debuts_al_horford_jaylen_br.html



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In debuts, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown reconfirm Boston Celtics as a team on the rise

Al Horford, Avery Bradles
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) talks with Avery Bradley during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. The Celtics defeated the Nets 122-117. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com


on October 27, 2016 at 4:00 AM, updated October 27, 2016 at 5:07 AM



BOSTON – The third-quarter chant came after some overzealous Boston Celtics fans conjured a new way to share their appreciation for rookie Jaylen Brown. Instead of simply cheering on the wing, the fans thought it might be better to insult the Brooklyn Nets at the same time.

"Brooklyn's draft pick," came the calls, over and over, as Brown stood at the free throw line. It was just a taunt, a funny moment, something to chuckle at while watching a basketball game. But it's still remarkable to consider how badly the Celtics fleeced the Nets – and how, because of a 2013 trade between those two teams, Boston can build out a competitive veteran core while mining the lottery for future stars.

A playoff team debuting the No. 3 overall pick and a top free agent acquisition on the same night isn't supposed to happen, but the Celtics did just that Wednesday while holding off the Nets, 122-117. We have discussed for a long time how well Boston has set itself up, but now – with Brown spewing out various highlights and Al Horford contributing a bit of everything – we can see up close the shape forming from two different directions.

In wildly different stages of their careers, Brown and Horford represent both sides of the Celtics' promise; the present is exciting but the future might be even better. Imagine if the two paths merge, if Brown or one of the future #NetsPicks develops into a rising star while Horford, Isaiah Thomas and the other talented veterans enjoy their primes. In the best-case scenario, Boston signs a worthy maximum-contract guy next summer, plucks at least one star from the draft, and continues building the current players.

It's a great dream, right?

Even without Horford and Brown, the Celtics would have been a fun, competitive squad this year. But for now and for later, those guys raise the team's ceiling. Though it's way too early to know what Brown will become, he has shown a wide variety of skills since joining the Celtics. Horford will be more of a constant positive right away, the All-Star who saw Boston as a destination -- and then turned it into a better one by playing a delightful brand of basketball. In the opener, he contributed in all the expected ways, tallying 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and four blocks.

"He makes our team way better," said Avery Bradley. "Not to take anything away from the guys who were on the team last year, but Al just understands how to play the game. He's a great teammate. I love playing with him."

Check out this:

http://giphy.com/gifs/l3vRm6Vi2nyaqEs5W?utm_source=iframe&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=tag_click


That's Horford jab-stepping his defender, handling the ball in the pick-and-roll, and delivering a pinpoint pass to Jae Crowder on the opposite side of the court. Stevens will have fun experimenting with Horford this season.

"He can fit in with any team in the NBA," Bradley said. "Any team. He just knows how to play basketball, and he plays it the right way. He's a great leader and it's contagious when he plays that way. When he makes the next pass, it makes me or Jae make the next pass to the next guy because you know that we're all playing for one another. It doesn't matter whose scoring, it doesn't matter who's taking shots, we're all going to get shots when we're sharing the ball."

It feels weird to focus on the two newcomers when the returners produced some big lines. Isaiah Thomas can still treat defenders like children. Crowder scored frequently and efficiently. Offensively, almost everybody had a good game, and Stevens' team racked up 36 assists – a number NBA teams only reached 17 times all of last season. The ball movement was so crisp the Celtics coaches even got pumped up after one turnover.

"I never saw coaches clap on a three-second call," Crowder smiled, shaking his head. "We moved the ball in the first quarter so much, we had a three-second call because Amir thought we was going to shoot."

When the Celtics did shoot, they did it pretty well, with the notable exception of Jonas Jerebko who missed all five of his 3-point tries. The Nets big men are either slow, short or both, making it almost impossible for them to keep up with all the speed Boston can throw on the court. When Brooklyn focused on Thomas, he hit one of his teammates. When his teammates didn't have clean looks, they set their sights on the paint to charge the offense all over again.

Would it have been nice for the Celtics to play more defense? Sure. Should they have avoided committing five fourth-quarter turnovers? Certainly. Could they have done a better job valuing a big lead? No doubt. Still, players were in good moods after the win.

Deep into the night, Amir Johnson sauntered back into the Celtics locker room, looking to retrieve the rest of his belongings.

"Why did you let me leave without my phone and wallet?" the big man asked one of his teammates, drawing a laugh.

Around the same time, Crowder smiled while remembering his team's late-game collapse. If the Celtics had given away their whole lead, Crowder would have reacted differently. He likes losses about as much as Bill Belichick appreciates fumbles in the red zone. But because of the win, Crowder could maintain perspective. Sloppy fourth quarter or not, optimism rules in Boston, where a good team looks poised to keep growing for a long time to come.



bob


.

[bobheckler]

Box Score:



http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400899380



bob


.

[sinus007]

Hi,
Congrats all - season has started!
The team is still rough at some points, needs some polishing. But overall I liked what I saw.
What happened in the 4th quarter? I turned the TV off at about 2 minutes into the 4th and 22 point Celtics lead. I came back to watching the game 2 minutes before the end and it was only 8 points lead and Celtics looked like sleepwalking. They got tired or what?

AK

[beat]

https://i.servimg.com/u/f97/14/44/07/01/14632910.jpg

https://i.servimg.com/u/f97/14/44/07/01/14732310.jpg

First NOTHING beats being in the GARDEN.......Nothing !!

couple observations.........

WE have a lot of work to do. (obviously)  in the first half the Nets just got hot and kept hanging around, we didn't close out particularly well on the outside shooters, we seemed to switch pretty well but even then Nets had some wide open looks and made a lot believe they took well over 40 treys and made over a third of them.  Have to wonder if a dose of Smart might have cut that number down a little?

Usually when you go to the home teams games you at least see a smattering of the opponents gear be it a hat jersey or something. Last night I saw NOTHING that said Nets on it (except the scoreboard)

A few empty seats, certainly not a sell out.

They had tee-shirts drapped over all the seats...made for a really green view when you first got in.

Crowd really got behind the newbees Horford and Brown. Was nice to see Horford make his first shot and then to see Brown the first one off the bench. He also made his first shot, and in keeping with the NEW NBA, nutted a Net when he went in for a dunk. Although he missed the dunk it was quite apparent the Net player got the worst of it challenging him. (plus Brown made both free throws after the foul). He's gonna be a special player. Can't wait to see him after he has say 40-50 games under his belt.

Rim protection you ask? We had 9 blocks last evening. Zeller can dunk the ball but still missed an easy reverse layup off a nice feed from Brown I think..................in that note we had a ton of assists and Horford sure looked good moving the ball, perhaps like others last evening we passed up some pretty good looks a little too often.

Fell asleep a couple times after scoring and gave the Nets a stinking LAYUP at least 2 times by not getting back or stopping the ball, after the second one Stevens called a TO and chewed them out pretty good, our seats were up behind the C's bench about 20 rows or so and you could hear him quite clearly.

Marcus and I had expresed the desire to get a glimpse of both James Young.......and Geno.  Well we did at least see Young albeit on the bench, but Geno had to be put back on the rack due to our almost total collapse over the last 7 minutes.  Funny how many people got up and left with 8-9 minutes to go and we had a 20+ point lead. Watching a lot of Syracuse Football Games over the years (mainly when they loose which is too often) fans go streaming out quite early. Here I'm pretty sure NO ONE imagined a three point lead with 50 seconds to go and the NETS having the ball.  Live ball turnovers really hurt. When Stevens was forced to bring back the starters with 2 minutes to go they too made several bonehead plays to the point when the Nets got a really good look from 3 that would have tied it up......thank goodness it was a miss, that allowed us to limp home with a W.  On the drive back from Boston this AM was listening to NBA radio...the guy talking said we should only get 1/2 a win. Perhaps but in the walk back to the car from the arena I said to Marcus, "It almost feels like we lost."

Also the drive back home this early AM allowed me to get my first taste of driving in the white stuff this season, I am sooooo not ready for it.

A win is a win is a win and it sure beats the alternative. Nets are a scrappy bunch and if they play like that all year will win a few games, hell last night they may have peaked and the rest of the way will be down hill.

Look at it this way, if the season were to be over today, the Warriors would be a lottery team.  

Onward to this evening on the road, no one played big minutes so we should be fine in that department plus Stevens has done very well when the second of Back to backs has been on the road.

1-0

looking for 2-0

beat

[dboss]

The Celtics came close to losing this game after building what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. I'll take the win.

Some interested tidbits (Stats)

The nets put up 44 3 point shots
Horford has 4 blocks and 6 assists
Bradley grabbed 9 rebounds and handed out 5 assists

Other observations

The Celtics out rebounded the Nets but lost the battle on the offensive glass.

Brad needs to spend a session or two with out-of bounds plays and breaking a press and on blocking out as the Nets repeatedly went over the top for OR

Jalen Brown did not play like a rookie.

Gerald Green was a very good addition.

Rozier fiddles and diddles with the ball too much

Jonas has been in a shooting slump since the beginning or pre-season. He shot 0-5 last night from behind the arc

The perimeter defense last night was not good. Celtics too slow closing out.

dboss

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