Post Game Toronto - PRESEASON - Home, 10/9/21

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401365923







Bob
MY NOTE: Just looking at the highlights and the boxscore it looks like Romeo and Grant had good games. Tatum with 7 assists but 6 turnovers and that's not good. What'd I miss?



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We jumped out to an early lead and looked unstoppable but then like 100% of games where the first team runs out, we decided to build a shopping mall 3-points at a time and TOR got back in the game.

All in all a very entertaining game. Horford was trying to prove something with his play in that he still has it and and hinting to coach he should be starting. Nice game, Al!!

Jason doesn't seem to play great when his buddy is missing. And he's still getting used to everybody. He did have 7 assists which means he's looking to free himself up and get others involved. Those looked like a hard 20 points. 23 total team TO's has to improve and will over time.

RWIII will a standout +22 +/1 but with only 2 points. No one else but Pritchard even close to that number vs. rest of team. Not really sure what that implies if anything but keeping him on the floor is a must (and Pritchard for that matter) if you want to use your sample space as n=1, regardless of points. Lots of intangibles in play. Tangibles via points, rebounds, blocked shots, etc. will come once RWIII gets used to playing starter minutes sans injuries.

Pritchard looks scary good. He's what Carsen Edwards coming out of Purdue wanted to have his game look like. He keeps that up and a starting role may be in his not to immediate future.

Wherefore art thou, Romeo? I think we found him or at least he found himself. Great game for him. He glides when he plays. Like on skates. That performance plus the game winner last game and someone's confidence is brewing. Dangerous for the competition.

Ime likes to mix things up in the last 6 minutes. I'm not going to say unorthodox or going with the hot hand or what, but he's not afraid to go with his gut. This has work 2 for 2 times now. Something to watch for sure.

Sam would be proud. 29 assists for 38 fgm. I'm thinking this game should have been a blowout by us, but TOR is a hard out even sans Kyle Lowry.

I don't think the bench is going to be a problem this year. Everyone is stepping up when their number is called. Very encouraging!! Now just win some games outright and quit playing with fire!!

db

Romeo is showing everyone what he is capable of....finally. He hit his three pointers without a hitch in his shot, so smooth. His defense is excellent also. Grant Williams looks very good, the 15 pound weight loss is helping him move quicker, and not needing that weight as he will not be playing the bigs on the opposing teams. His basketball IQ is right up there, so for those who think he is on the cusp, I believe you are wrong. His 15 minute stint on the floor was productive at both ends.

Al Horford has sent the word out (in his interview after the game) that he believes he is a starter and likes to start the game. He is playing excellent and had an effect on both ends of the floor last night. His three point shooting is so smooth. Let's see how the coach handles this one.

Tatum "only" scored 20 pts last night, but, was doubled at times and found a way to distribute the ball to his teammates. He has got to take care of the ball better though, with 6 turnovers to his credit. I saw where dbrown feels he does not operate as well without Jaylen, I just think getting used to other players comes slower for him. He will be fine.

I was impressed with Richardson, if his shot falls, he will be a weapon. His defense is excellent.\
No Schroeder last night, hopefully just out for one game. Robert Williams had a couple of excellent blocks, but they have not gone to him for the dunk at all. Wonder what that is all about.

Two more preseason games and then the cuts, (if some don't happen sooner). At the end of the game last night, other than Parker and Gomez, I couldn't figure out who was who!!!

Rosalie

dbrown4 wrote: we decided to build a shopping mall 3-points at a time

db      

Quote of the day by dbrown.

Excellent game summaries from dbrown and Rosalie. Both satisfy my curiosity until I get the chance to watch the recording post-football weekend.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:At the end of the game last night, other than Parker and Gomez, I couldn't figure out who was who!!!  

Rosalie  

I was also confused and went to look for a box score that included who was on the floor. I was thinking, "For this game, no Brown, no Schroder and in the fourth quarter, no one I recognized!"

Sure, I knew Parker and Gomez, but who was #51? I knew that the 2-way player was out there, but I haven't learned his name yet.

It seemed like winning the game was not a priority for the coach, he just wanted to see how the end of the bench withstood the pressure of a tight game.

Bob


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I was extremely critical of GW as an undersized big, but he's looking more like the guy who played for the Vols. That's a good thing.Say what you will about Enes, but he's a rebounding machine. There will be times when that comes in very handy. I am probably in the minority, but I think Jabari makes the team . He pkayed well after a slow start and can put the ball in the hole. Looks pretty spry physically. Just don't play him and Kanter together unless you want to give up 200 points.The point guard from the Bulls showed me nothing. He's way too slow and deliberate for an NBA point guard, from what I saw.

"He glides when he plays. Like on skates."

Excellent characterization of Romeo by dbrown.

I also love his awareness. Really hoping that he will find himself as a NBA player, he can be very special. This was the highlight of the game for me.

The lowlight was point guard play. A lot needs to be worked in at that position.

Josh Richardson continued to look uncertain. Waiting for him to find his game.

I am quite looking forward to what new identity the Celts will discover.

dbrown and Rosalie with excellent analysis.

The Celtics have managed to win 2 razor thin games. Coach Udoka played 15 guys last night. This was a team win.

Romeo Langford and Grant Williams are two guys that really are starting to look like they can be important contributors to the team. Both seem to be taking full advantage of their opportunities.

Boston turned the ball over 23 times. I attribute that to adjusting to a new style of play and the lack of familiarity with guys playing together. Udoka has put a lot of different lineups on the floor.

As of today Al Horford is making a strong case to be in the starting lineup and in his postgame interview he said that he wanted to be a starter.

Rob did not take a shot yesterday. I am not seeing any PNR action. I would think that before the preseason is completed we should see the team roll out that option.

Kanter is a rebounding machine. He plays 15 minutes and you look at the box score and he has 10 rebounds.

We have seen some good play from Pritchard, Nesmith, Langford and G Williams.  

Udoka's hardest problem may be finding minutes for several young guys that are really improving.

Celtics-Raptors takeaways: Romeo Langford fills in nicely for Jaylen Brown

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/celtics-raptors-takeaways-romeo-langford-001159657.html

The Boston Celtics hosted the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night in another entertaining preseason game at TD Garden.

A strong 3-point shooting night propelled the C's to a 113-111 win that brings them to 2-0 in the preseason. They hit almost 50 percent of their 3-point attempts (19 for 40) and shot 46.9 percent from the field.

The Raptors didn't go down without a fight, tying the game twice in the final 30 seconds. Boston ultimately was able to seal the victory with a pair of clutch free throws from Juancho Hernangomez.

Here are a few quick takeaways from the second of four Celtics preseason matchups.

We likely won't see Jaylen Brown until the Celtics' regular-season opener on Oct. 20 due to health and safety protocols. The All-Star wing tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

Romeo Langford was Brown's replacement in the C's starting lineup Saturday night and he made the most of his opportunity. The third-year guard had 13 points in 19 minutes, hitting five of his six shots and going 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

The performance comes just a few days after he drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer vs. the Magic with 14.2 seconds remaining.

Could we be overreacting to a couple of meaningless preseason games? Sure. But Langford adds a new dimension to this year's Celtics team if he's able to find consistency shooting the basketball. The fact he was able to impress in that category after being thrust into a starting role should inspire some optimism heading into the new season.

Jayson Tatum shows off his playmaking ability

For the Celtics to bounce back after a less-than-stellar 2021-22 campaign, stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will need to do a better job of getting their teammates involved.

Tatum showed he's more than capable of making that happen.

The two-time All-Star finished with 20 points and nine rebounds but his seven assists are what jumped off the box score. He was in sync with his teammates throughout the game and was a huge reason why Boston was so efficient with its opportunities.

Tatum was pulled from the game in the third quarter, but not before he found his three-point stroke.

It's looking like Year 5 will be another step forward for the 23-year-old phenom.

As a team, the Celtics tallied 29 assists on 38 baskets.

Al Horford looks spry

Horford didn't look like a 35-year-old big man in Saturday's preseason tilt. As he prepares for his second stint in Boston, the veteran is moving around like he hasn't aged since he left the C's in 2019.

Horford did a little bit of everything in the win, finishing with 16 points (4-for-4 from beyond the arc) to go with three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

In related news, C's head coach Ime Udoka went with the double-big starting lineup with Horford and Robert Williams. It seemed to work well, which was an encouraging sign for the team's versatility.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

While they escaped with the victory, the Celtics have plenty to clean up before the games start to count. Turnovers were a killer, and it was a problem throughout as they went into the locker room at halftime with 11 of them.

It wasn't any prettier in the second half as Horford and Tatum had a pair of ugly turnovers to start the third quarter. As much as we just raved about Tatum's playmaking ability, he also turned the ball over six times. The team finished with a whopping 23 total.

They'll look to improve in that area Wednesday when they visit the Orlando Magic. Tip-off for Boston's third preseason game is set for 7 p.m. ET.

My comment: Click on the link to see the embedded videos.