The Celtics opened up the preseason Tuesday night after less than 80 days off. Boston visited the Sixers, the same team they swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs just 114 days ago. It’s been an unprecedented turnaround and knowing training camp and preseason are shorter than ever, Brad Stevens knows his team needs to improve from it’s performance what turned out to be a 108-99 loss.
“Everybody’s had the same training camp. The biggest thing is just we are down a few bodies. So we are going to need our best players to play well. And we’re gonna need everybody else to do their roles as well as they can,” Stevens said after the game.
Here’s some observations from the Celtics preseason opener:
1. Payton Pritchard -- He's fun to watch. He checked in after the timeout with three minutes to go in the first quarter and immediately made an impact. His first possession he showed good patience and took a pick & roll on the wing into a sweet baseline pull up jumper. He’s very confident as one of his attempts nearly came from the “Wells Fargo Center” logo with eight seconds left on the shot clock. His game is very mature for a rookie, as to be expected by someone older than Jayson Tatum. Pritchard plays at his own speed and his ability to get a defender on his hip and play off it was impressive. His 16 points off the bench on 6-for-10 shooting had to put a smile on Stevens’ face.
2. Aaron Nesmith -- He is also showed self-assurance. He showed confidence in having a quick trigger when the defense gave him the slightest bit of room or played him wrong coming off a screen. I loved that he exhibited a willingness to post up a smaller player in Tyrese Maxie (6-foot-6, 215 pounds vs. 6-foot3, 200 pounds). Nesmith showed flashes of being more than just a shooter.
“I thought they did a lot of good things," Brad Stevens said regarding the rookies. "There’s a lot of film they can improve off of. I thought both Aaron and Payton played well
“They are in every which way in a crash course and we are just trying to expedite it as much as we can. Part of that is simplifying their roles. I think we are going to have to do that, especially early on. There were a couple times I called a defensive coverage or offensive play and they looked at me sideways. They didn’t know what I was saying. We’ll have to work on all that and try to get them a basic set things we can play with when they’re in”
3. Jayson Tatum -- He had a below average night, and was maybe bit rusty. He couldn’t hit the shots that he had looks on, forcing some others. Reminder: It’s just preseason.
4. Jaylen Brown -- He struggled. His shot was off all night as he finished with just five points on 1-for-11 shooting, 1-for-5 from deep. Not a great night ball handling or decision making for Brown who turned it over four times. Again, it’s just preseason.
5. Jeff Teague -- the MVP of the night. Sounds silly from a preseason game but Teague could not miss on Tuesday night. He only finished with 1 assist but Stevens really liked what he saw from Teague’s first appearance with the Celtics.
“I thought the first group had some moments at the start of each half. we looked the most fluid offensively when Jeff was in the game tonight," Stevens said. "Really in the first 30 minutes I felt like that was the only time the ball was moving the way it needed to was when he was in the game. We need to improve when he’s not.”
6. Marcus Smart -- Don’t tell him these games mean nothing. Smart took a charge 90 seconds into the game. Then in the middle of the second quarter, Smart took a charge on Joel Embiid. (My God, is this guy lazy or what? We can save that for another day.) That erased a wide open 3-point attempt. Smart was diving on the floor for loose balls. Did you expect anything different? On the downside, he didn’t really give them much in terms of scoring on a team that will really need it with no Kemba Walker. But agan, it’s just preseason.
7. Javonte Green -- A Boston Celtics starter! Did you ever think you’d say that? Green made an impact in the first few minutes of the game by making a three and playing decent defense. If he can improve to a 33 percent or so shooter from deep, he actually could have a shot at the rotation. But as Kendrick Perkins would say “If 'if' was a fifth we’d all be drunk.”
8. Robert Williams -- He picked up right where he left off in the bubble. Some exciting moments followed by things he still needs to work on. We know he can catch lobs in the pick & roll. But can he consistently play defense the way Stevens wants him to? I know Embiid is a huge guy but you can not let him start his post up on the block or Embiid will dominate you. Williams had moments where he forced Embiid into jumpers. It was because he did his work early by forcing a post up further away from the basket than Embiid likes. You can’t just be “doing your work early” just sometimes. It needs to happen every time.
9. Grant Williams -- The forward continued to show his versatility. Brad played him a variety of lineups.
10. Semi Ojeleye -- He wasn't very useful. I have no confidence in Ojeleye to knock down an open shot.
11. Tacko Fall -- Flashes of good! But also flashes of “that’s why he’s unplayable in real NBA games.”
12. Tremont Waters -- He was just OK vs scrubs, and that’s not OK for a guy trying to make the rotation. He showed some playmaking and ability to score but whether he can do that against backup point guards in this league is the question.
“I thought that the little guys did a good job playing off each other at the end, Payton and Tremont," Stevens said. "But hey, if you’re gonna be small, you gotta be able to drive the ball.”
13. Carsen Edwards -- Does the Big 3 offer tryouts?
Main Takeaway: the rookies (Nesmith & Pritchard) impressed. I couldn’t help but be excited about watching Pritchard. But, last year’s preseason star was Edwards.
Boston has just seven days before we can stop saying “it’s just preseason” and these games actually mean something. “We have a lot of work to do. I’ve known that from the time we stepped on the court,” Stevens concluded.
Whether you’re concerned or excited is up to you.
