When the news about Ime Udoka's suspension broke just five days before the start of Celtics training camp, many were concerned about a potential slow start. Rightfully so, as the team was coming off an NBA Finals run and was turning to a 34-year-old interim head coach in Joe Mazzulla.
Friday night's win over the Heat should put those worries to rest. Believe it or not, this is Boston's first 2-0 start since the 2009-2010 season. The Celtics have come out strong and defeated two contenders in the East in an impressive start to the season. While it hasn't been perfect, this Celtics team looks to be picking up where they left off.
Here are 3 takeaways from the Celtics' 111-104 win over the Miami Heat.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
Friday night was just another day at the office for the Jays. After combining for 70 points in Tuesday's win over the 76ers, the two followed it up by combining for 57 points on Friday night. The two shot a combined 22-of-40 (55%) from the field and came up big for the Celtics down the stretch. It's going to be tough to beat this team when these two play like this. They are quickly establishing themselves as the best duo in the NBA. Remember when people wanted to trade Brown this off season?
Third-quarter Celtics
If you watched the Celtics' playoff run last season, this may seem hard to believe, but the Celtics were a very good third-quarter team in the regular season a year ago. We saw a glimpse of that Friday night. After closing the first half with an eight-point lead, Miami jumped ahead 71-69 with 6:03 to go. The Celtics responded by closing out the third quarter with a 20-6 run, with eight of those points coming from Tatum. The Celtics shot a combined 7-of-16 (43.8%) from the field, out-rebounded the Heat 11-4 during that stretch, and forced three turnovers. Grant Williams, who is 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the field and 5-of-7 (71.4%) from 3 to start the season, came up big with two 3-pointers late in the third.
Turnovers and fouls
As mentioned earlier, though the two wins to start the season have been encouraging, they have not been perfect. The Celtics turned the ball over 19 times on Friday night. Combine that with their 14 turnovers on Tuesday night, and that's 33 turnovers in the first two games, which is not going to cut it. Remember, when the Celtics turned the ball over 15 or more times in the postseason a year ago, they were 0-8. The turnover number needs to come down in order for this team to have continued success.
Fouls were also a problem for the second consecutive game. The Celtics totaled 23 personal fouls on Tuesday against the 76ers, and added 23 more Friday night. Jaylen Brown had to sit some key minutes due to having five fouls and Miami was in the bonus for the final 8:11 of the third quarter. The Celtics survived, but foul trouble has been a problem now in both games to start the season.
