The Celtics played their penultimate game of the preseason on Sunday night at TD Garden, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 138-107. Like the Grizzlies and Raptors, the Cavs rolled out a skeleton crew, resting their top guys: Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and others.
Here are six takeaways from the win, which improved Boston to 2-1 in preseason action.
No tolerance
Joe Mazzulla has had no patience with poor defensive rebounding. If a player missed a defensive rebound, Mazzulla wasted no time pulling them from the game, just as he did Friday night.
The Celtics grabbed only 59.7% of defensive rebounds, while Cleveland finished with 21 offensive boards and 24 second-chance points, which accounted for 22.4% of their total scoring.
Boston grabbed 68.5% of defensive rebounds in Toronto and 66.1% in Memphis, averaging 64.7% through three games of preseason play. The league-low last season was 67.8%, belonging to the Philadelphia 76ers. Opponents are averaging 16.3 offensive rebounds per game. The Rockets led the NBA with 14.6 offensive rebounds per game a season ago.
Mazzulla insisted multiple times that he just needs to find five players who will go and get defensive rebounds.
“Find five guys that will rebound. I don’t see five guys rebound. So, then I go, get five, and they rebound. It’s that simple,” he said. “Doesn’t matter about wings, bigs. It doesn’t matter. Find five guys who will rebound. Rebound. Go. It’s that simple.”
Home cooking
Anfernee Simons played three games at TD Garden as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 18.7 points on 51.2% shooting from the field and 38.1% from three. In his first game at TD Garden as a Boston Celtic, Simons led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-12 (50%) shooting and 6-of-9 (66.7%) from deep.
“Every time I came to play here, I enjoyed the environment. Obviously, the fans are top-level fans. It’s always been an arena that I look forward to playing in. I always thought it was a good shooting gym for me,” Simons said. “Great shooting gym, for sure.”
Simons admitted that coming off the bench took some adjusting at first. The seven-year pro hasn’t done so since the 2021-22 season, having started every game over the last three years.
“At first, I was kind of overthinking it, but once I got out there, I felt more comfortable,” he said. “I think those early years coming off the bench really helped me trying to understand coming off the bench and the rhythm and the preparation.”
Offensively, Simons has been as advertised. The 25-year-old has shot at least 36% from three in each of the last five seasons and made a career-high 215 triples last year – one of just 20 players to hit 200 or more. He’s a dynamic scorer who fits seamlessly within this system. The defense remains a work in progress, but there’s been visible improvement.
“He’s just got to be a complete player,” Mazzulla said. “Has to understand the physicality that’s needed on every single possession, on both ends of the floor. That’s the only thing I care about. He’s got to be physical, got to box out, has to be able to defend. Everything else will take care of itself.”
Josh Minott continues his strong preseason
Josh Minott has played himself into position to earn the lion’s share of wing minutes behind Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown. The 22-year-old continued his impressive training camp on Sunday night, finishing with 16 points (5-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-5 FT), six rebounds (leading all reserves), an assist, and a steal in 23:21.
“He definitely comes in with that excitement, that joy, and [he’s] one of those guys that’s just excited for his opportunity,” said Derrick White. “He can do a lot of different things out there on the court and guard multiple positions, and just kind of be a pest out there. He’s been great for us this whole preseason: always listening and learning; wants to just keep getting better and show what he can do. And so, try to give him a lot of confidence to go out there and do what he can do, and he can do a little bit of everything out there. It’s a good tool to have.”
The 6-foot-8 forward has grabbed 19 rebounds this preseason, six of them on the offensive glass — both totals rank second on the team, trailing only Luka Garza. He’s shooting 12-of-15 (80%) from inside the arc across his three games.
Minott has created extra possessions with his five steals (tied for the team lead) and kept plays alive with his energy and effort. That relentless approach has played him into the rotation. Through three games, he’s averaging 12.3 points (53.6% FG, 23.1% 3PT), 6.3 rebounds (2.0 offensive), 1.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.
Pushing the pace
It took the Celtics just eight seconds to score after winning the opening tip. It set the tone for the Celtics and their pace, as they generated 109 possessions, their most of the preseason and well above their 96.59 average from a season ago, which ranked second-lowest in the NBA.
Pace and physicality have been the themes of training camp for the Celtics, and for the most part, that has been evident. Boston is averaging 105 possessions per game, an effort that has come on both ends of the floor.
The top guys look ready
Perhaps in the final preseason game against Toronto on Wednesday, the Celtics will finally face a team’s regulars. But against Cleveland’s end-of-the-rotation and G-League guys, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Payton Pritchard looked exactly as you’d expect.
White finished with 16 points, a team-high seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Brown added eight points, six assists, five rebounds, and a block. Pritchard chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. All three finished +23 or better.
Wendell Moore Jr. had the dunk of the preseason
With 30 seconds remaining in a 26-point game, Wendell Moore Jr. threw down the dunk of the preseason, dunking all over Norchad Omier.
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