They looked terrible in the preseason. They were banged-up with Kemba Walker out and Tristan Thompson just returning from a hamstring injury. They didn’t replace Gordon Hayward.
It seemed like a near-certainty that the Celtics would get off to a slow start this season and take some time to find their game. Expectations would have to be lowered, at least early on. Maybe just hope they could keep things respectable against Eastern Conference favorite Milwaukee on opening night.
So much for all that. On Wednesday night, the Celtics looked like a completely different team than the one that had lost by 24 to the Nets in their preseason finale five days earlier, beating the Bucks 122-121 in a thrilling season-opener that came down to a Jayson Tatum go-ahead bank-shot three over Giannis Antetokounmpo with 0.4 seconds remaining, followed by Antetokounmpo missing what would have been a game-tying free throw at the buzzer.
They looked like a team worth getting excited about, one that can compete with and beat a top team, and one that just might be OK even without Walker for potentially another month or longer.
Tatum played the role of star -- a role he is clearly fit to play now in his fourth season -- when it mattered most, hitting a few big shots down the stretch, including the game-winner. He also took over late in the third quarter, scoring seven straight points in the final 1:04 of the quarter to give the Celtics a 17-point lead heading into the fourth.
Tatum finished with 30 points and seven rebounds, but it was far from his show alone. In fact, there were several long stretches when he wasn’t at his best and was struggling to make shots, and needed his teammates to pick up the slack.
If there were concerns going in about whether this supporting cast would be able to do that, Wednesday should help ease some of them.
For most of the night, the Celtics’ best player was Tatum’s de facto No. 2 in command, Jaylen Brown. Amid rumors that he could be the centerpiece of a trade for James Harden and questions about whether he was ready to take the next step towards being that coveted second star that championship teams need, Brown made a damn good case for himself Wednesday night and offered a reminder of why you better think long and hard before trading a 24-year-old who’s already this good.
It was Brown who scored a team-high 33 points on 13-of-24 shooting to go along with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. It was Brown who scored 10 points in the final two and a half minutes of the first half to swing the lead in the Celtics’ favor. And it was Brown who scored seven straight Celtics points with Tatum on the bench in the third quarter to help Boston extend its lead before Tatum came back in and extended it even further.
Other guys stepped up and did their part as well. Veteran point guard Jeff Teague, who is apparently incapable of missing a three (he went 4-for-4 on Wednesday and is now 9-for-9 with the Celtics if you add in the preseason), scored 19 big points in 25 minutes off the bench. Fellow free agent acquisition Tristan Thompson added 12 points and eight rebounds on a 22-minute restriction and worked well with Daniel Theis in a two-big lineup.
Semi Ojeleye provided some solid play at both ends off the floor and was a plus-20 in 19 minutes while notching five points and four rebounds. Rookie Payton Pritchard knocked down a three and played some energetic defense in his first NBA game. Robert Williams had a big block late in the third quarter.
And of course there was Marcus Smart. A quick glance at the box score shows a seemingly quiet night, with just three points and three shot attempts in 38 minutes. But Smart’s game is never defined simply by points. This one should be defined by the defense he played against Antetokounmpo, as he drew three charges against the reigning two-time MVP and also forced another Giannis turnover with good hands that led to a Tatum transition basket. Getting the first look as starting point guard with Walker out, Smart also had a team-high seven assists.
“I was proud of Marcus Smart. I think he did a great job keeping us together,” Brown said after the game. “He might not get the credit for this game, but his pace that he played at and his play-calling, some of the plays that he called, was great. We obviously capitalized on it, so I’m definitely looking forward to Marcus leading this team in that role, making sure everybody’s in their spots and giving us direction, because he’s a leader nonetheless.”
It’s only one game, and Christmas Day brings another tough test against the same Nets team that dominated them last week, but Wednesday night was an impressive showing from these Celtics. Maybe it’s OK to start getting excited about this team again and stop worrying that these early days of the season might be some sort of slog.