After Jaylen Brown checked out in the fourth quarter, with Boston leading by 15 late, he made his way down the Celtics’ bench, dapping up each of his teammates. When he reached the end, just before sitting down, he let out a subtle but satisfied fist pump.
He probably wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
The Celtics haven’t wavered in their belief in the process or the plan they’ve laid out, even amid their worst start to a season in over a decade. And on Wednesday night, they saw what can happen when that plan comes together, defeating an Eastern Conference favorite in the Cavaliers, snapping Cleveland’s three-game win streak, and earning their second straight win by 20 or more points.
On paper, Cleveland was the more talented team. But when the Celtics play with that edge — defending aggressively, crashing the glass, forcing turnovers, creating and limiting second-chance opportunities, and, of course, knocking down shots — they give themselves a shot.
“There is an identity that we have to play to. There's a full understanding of what that identity is, and it's a credit to the guys,” Joe Mazzulla. “That's a commitment that it takes every single night on both ends, that this is the way we have to play. We have to leverage our strengths, and we’re starting to really see what those strengths are. It’s a credit to them for buying in and doing it. So five games in, we’ve got 77 left, we’ve got to do it every night.”
The roster has its holes, no doubt, but there is still a core of quality players. And when that talent aligns with the identity the Celtics want to play with, it gives them a real chance to compete and win.
Eight Celtics scored in double figures, led by Brown, who continued his magnificent start to the season with 30 points on an efficient 12-of-20 (60%) shooting from the field and 4-of-9 (44.4%) from three. Sam Hauser followed with 21 points, knocking down seven of his 13 (53.8%) three-point attempts. Derrick White added 19 points, and Anfernee Simons contributed 14.
Payton Pritchard (10 points, 10 assists), Josh Minott (11 points, 14 rebounds), and Neemias Queta (10 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded a double-double. Minott and Queta set career highs in rebounds, grabbing 13 apiece, including five offensive boards each. Luka Garza also had five offensive rebounds, marking the first time since 2014 that a Celtics trio recorded five offensive rebounds apiece in a game, joining Brandon Bass, Kris Humphries, and Jared Sullinger.
As a team, the Celtics outshot Cleveland 95-84, knocked down a season-high 21 threes, had a season-high 29 assists, won the rebounding battle 52-42 (18-11 on the offensive glass), forced more turnovers (14-9), scored more points off turnovers (19-14), and had more second-chance points (23-19).
“It’s just got to be connected basketball that has to carry us. We got to force turnovers. We have to rebound on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “The shooting is a plus. And I think the shooting is coming from us getting our legs underneath us, playing a different way, having bodies getting used to that. Because we're obviously playing a little bit differently. So I think it's starting to kind of catch up.”
There had been flashes throughout the first week of the season of what the Celtics can be when they put it all together. A 42-point fourth quarter, 17 of which came in the final four minutes, cost them in the season opener against the 76ers. It was a similar story in New York, where they were outscored 42-14 in the second quarter. They also gave up a 17-point first-half lead in Detroit. On paper, they could easily be .500, but it’s not that easy with a roster featuring eight new faces. To their credit, they didn’t let early adversity settle in. They stuck to their plan and trusted the process.
“Postgame, no one has been holding their head down. I mean, we’ve all been together, collectively. Understood that, like it's been a change for a lot of people on the team, and we respect that,” Minott said. “We’re not going to put our heads down and just give up on a season because we started off 0-3. I mean, the energy here is just amazing. The entire locker room is bought into the championship culture.”
The Celtics are far from a finished product. They are still in the early stages of building chemistry and learning to play together. But they are improving, moving in the right direction, and beginning to see the blueprint and identity they’ve established come to life.
“The season just started a week and a half ago. Some of these guys are starting in the NBA for the first time. Some of these guys are playing roles in the NBA for the first time, getting real minutes for the first time in their career,” Brown said. “So there is a lack of experience to some degree. But through our coaching staff preparing them for the game and having other great players around them — smart players — trying to make it easier for them, in a sense, and help them get more comfortable, more confident, so that they can be consistent throughout the year. There will be mistakes at times, and as a team, we learn and take our hits together. But we're super early in that stage. Great win tonight, but we're still, this is not our peak. We’ve got a long way to go, and I'm looking forward to getting there.”
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