Last night we watched a spirited Boston performance, deserving of plaudits, particularly for those second and third quarters. Ultimately, though, away from home, Orlando handed Boston our first cup loss.
Last year I went on CelticsBlog’s very own Adam Taylor’s podcast, and we spoke about Eastern Conference contenders that could threaten Boston in the postseason. Cleveland had gotten off to an electric start, yet we dismissed their playoff viability, particularly against the C’s, because of their two-small, two-big construction. The opening night against the Knicks was still fresh in memory, and we concluded that NYC had built a pale imitation of their eastern seaboard rivals. The Pacers hadn’t yet announced themselves as serious players in the East, but I raised Orlando as my long-term threat to the Boston hegemony we were envisioning.
I tend to make my takes a little early when I analyze the NBA. It’s the excitement and the optimist in me that wants to see certain players take the leap; teams glue together. While we dispatched Orlando in the first round of the playoffs last year, I stand by my take. I wasn’t wrong; I was just early. The Orlando Magic are a future rival. I think the Magic are a contender this year. We’ll be seeing more of Orlando in the years to come as Brad reassembles a contender at TD Garden.
The most frustrating thing about watching the C’s last night was what they faced: a roster built around two big, playmaking wings; high-level complementary guards who can space, defend, and create in a balanced way; and several different frontcourt archetypes that adjust the team’s style depending on who’s on the floor.
Jeff Weltman might be the most devoted follower of Brad Stevens in the NBA. The C’s worked through the challenges of building around a young wing duo, cycling through high-scoring, high-touch guards before finding the formula that maximized Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Orlando has skipped straight to the endgame, bringing in Desmond Bane and, in doing so, assembling a team in Boston’s image. My concern is what that might suggest about the future of this team.
The best team of the “Spaced Out” era, credit to Mike Prada, has so far been the Golden State Warriors. Even before the Durant acquisition, the Warriors broke basketball by prioritizing the three-ball and integrating movement, handoffs, and split cuts at a time when almost every team except the Spurs was playing a more static style. Along with having an all-time great in Steph, supported by Draymond, Klay, and later Durant, Golden State enjoyed an innovation advantage over the rest of the league for nearly half a decade. Year by year, more teams started to realize they had to get on board with the Golden State model. Seven or eight years later, you may still have your signature style, and you might even be the best at it, but the innovation advantage fades with each passing season.
That’s my concern for the Boston Celtics. Years are precious in a copycat league, and missing Tatum this season gives others another year to build the “Boston way.” Orlando are the first to do so; others will follow. Let’s hope that Tatum and Brown remain the same roster-building cheat code by 2026–27.
#3 – Cold streak snapped?
This season, Payton Pritchard has really struggled from behind the arc. Anyone reading a “Ten Takeaways” article will know that. Thankfully, the cold front seems to be subsiding, with clear skies on the way. Pritchard went five for eight from downtown tonight, scoring a season-high twenty-seven points against Orlando.
In my previous “Ten Takeaways” piece, I did some digging to see if there was a clear reason for Pritch’s misfortunes from three and came up empty. A higher proportion of his three-point looks are assisted this season, and there’s been an increase in on-ball responsibility, but not to the degree you’d expect it to tank his shooting percentages. Watching tonight’s threes back should put a lot of Celtics fans at ease.
The first two three’s of the night were pull ups:
Difficult efforts, particularly the second make, but Pritch has actually shot better off the dribble than off the catch this season. Maybe he found his confidence early with those off-the-dribble makes, which helped the good times roll on the catch later.
His final three makes of the night came on catch-and-shoot opportunities or set plays, the kind Payton has really struggled with this year.
Note the passion after the transition make. I thought Pritchard really took a moment to set himself for the open three in transition, holding onto the ball, taking a breath before firing away, and that was the make that prompted the biggest reaction. All shooters know that off-the-dribble threes are always going to be high variance. They’re the hardest shot to take in the game, and with that comes the understanding that they aren’t always going to go in.
Looking at Payton’s reaction after that make tells me he knows he has added responsibility this year. He knows he’s one of the best shooters in the league, and maybe he’s putting even more pressure on himself to make the so-called “easy ones.” That could have something to do with the cold start to the year.
That being said, they’ve started to go in. I don’t think they’ll stop.
#4 – Derrick White: Trigger-man
I was worried before the start of the game that the Magic would swarm Boston’s handoff actions and stifle the offense down in Disneyland. Those concerns mainly came from Boston’s statement win earlier this year at the Garden against Cleveland. I thought Boston won in spite of some lax handoff action run through Queta at the elbows and at the top of the key, and tonight there was a clear change in usage.
Against Cleveland, Queta had the ball in hand for 1.4 minutes over 25 minutes of playing time. Against Orlando last night, Queta had the ball for just 0.8 minutes despite playing 30. So where were those touches redistributed?
Derrick White largely set up the offense last night as Boston ditched much of its handoff game. In its place, White took over as the trigger man from the logo while Boston ran off-ball action. He recorded a season-high 96 touches, dished out 10 assists, and turned the ball over only once against the Magic.
You can see that White is occupying the spaces that Queta was a few games ago. While these aren’t eye-popping assists, they’re actions run crisply. These are simple plays made well. Pressuring White is less effective than pressuring Queta; he’s less likely to turn the ball over and more likely to make you pay if you’re stretching your defensive shell.
I wouldn’t call this a complete revamp of Boston’s offensive strategy. Orlando isn’t blessed with gifted rim protectors at the five, so there’s less benefit to pulling their centers out of the paint than there is against teams like Cleveland or Philadelphia. But by placing White in this position, you have a better decision-maker than Queta running the floor on more possessions.
#5 – What do you mean we can’t switch anymore?
I felt a little rotten watching the first quarter of this game. The old core looms over the current one every single day, but sometimes the reminders that this is a different Celtics squad hit harder than others.
Gone are the days of Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum (for now), and Big Al Horford. The Celtics can’t switch everything anymore. Watch how Orlando started the game, targeting mismatches:
In all of these instances, one of Pritchard, White, or Simons is being taken to the cleaners, bullied by a bigger frame. Obviously, White and Pritchard would’ve been vulnerable to this type of targeting before, but the drop in matchup versatility and the lack of comparative chemistry compared to previous iterations of the C’s mean we’re more likely to see this kind of bullying as the season goes on.
#6 – Portugese physicality
We saw both the good and the bad from Neemias Queta tonight. A +7 in 30 minutes against Orlando represents a strong showing, and it’s primarily down to the physicality and athleticism he brings on the defensive end. I thought he was massive for Boston to start the night, and he made a few eye-popping plays. Anthony Black won’t be looking forward to tonight’s game.
It wasn’t Queta’s best offensive showing. Five points on twenty-five percent shooting and two assists are the kind of numbers that get you benched on MyCareer, but the fact that Queta can still be a positive for this team on an off offensive night bodes well for his future with the group. Boston looks like a more functional unit with Queta manning the block. Game after game, it’s becoming clear that Queta isn’t just a center for a purgatory seasos. He’ll be here to stay.
You know all that nice stuff I just said about Neemias Queta? It still stands, but he definitely broke Joe Mazzulla’s heart against Orlando. With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Celtics had stuck this game out. They sat four points behind when Derrick White found Queta below the basket. Goga Bitadze flailed to recover a few feet away. With a chance to close the gap to two points, Queta blew the layup and that’s not all. In a moment of frustration, he grabbed Goga as the Magic looked to go the other way, giving up the cheapest take foul you’ll see all season. Watch below if you can stomach it:
Every good horror gets a sequel. Desmond Bane made the ensuing free throw and then did this:
In the space of fifteen seconds, the game slipped away. I don’t have the heart to show you Mazzulla’s reaction after the take foul. He was absolutely gutted after watching his C’s stay in it on a tough night away from home. This team will compete, but the margin for error is Aleksej Pokuševski thin.
#8 – The way to Joe’s heart
I think there were fears at the start of the season that Jordan Walsh’s time in a Celtics jersey was running out. Hugo Gonzales is a similar player to Walsh who was struggling to earn minutes early in the year. But Walsh is starting to turn it around, and in doing so, he’s showing us the real way to Joe Mazzulla’s heart.
Walsh played 18:48 last night, following nearly 24 minutes against the Wizards, and despite a fairly bleak box score, he was a +7 in his time on the floor.
In his eighteen minutes, Walsh played with the kind of physicality you’d expect in a do-or-die Game 7 slugfest. He flew around the court, corralling rebounds he had no right to get anywhere near. His boxouts were vicious, his passing-lane play opportunistic. I thought the play below summed up Walsh’s night perfectly:
There aren’t a ton of players who can close out on a shooter like Walsh does in the clip above. He sprints out on Wagner who sells the pumpfake and 99% of defenders sit on the parquet and watch, hoping for good fortune. Walsh somehow recovers, contests the shot and grabs the rebound. He kind of moves like a cartoon character. A mess of arms moving at breakneck pace but it’s that athleticism and effort that’ll keep Walsh on the floor for a Joe Mazzula team.
If you had asked analysts or fans of the league what a Mazzula player was a couple of years ago they would not have described Jordan Walsh. They might have described….
Anfernee Simons played two, yes two, first-half minutes against the Orlando Magic. A few years ago, if you’d asked those aforementioned analysts about Mazzulla’s “type,” they might’ve described Simons: a flamethrower from three with real ability to attack closeouts and make reads out of the pick and roll. Someone who fits into the math of Mazzulla Ball.
Now, Anfernee played fifteen minutes in the second half against Orlando and actually shot Boston back into the game. He made half of his six attempts from beyond the arc and received praise from Joe in the postgame interviews:
“I thought he responded pretty well. I thought he was more aggressive in the 2nd half, and there was no message there. He just has an understanding of what we have to do on both sides of the floor. I thought he did a much better job of that in the 2nd half.”
The message is clear: a Joe Mazzulla player is aggressive and energetic first and foremost. There isn’t room for a lack of intensity, even if you can light it up from three with the best of them.
It’ll be interesting to see if Simons can carry the momentum he built in the fourth quarter into tonight’s rematch with the Magic. He has to, or we could start to see Simons more as a salary slot than a basketball player for the Boston Celtics.
The season is ten games old for the Boston Celtics. We sit at 4–6, winning at a 32.5-game pace. We’re 1–1 in the NBA Cup. This team is fighting night in and night out, and as a few others have pointed out, there’s too much talent to tank when teams like Brooklyn, Washington, and Indiana are sitting at the bottom of the conference with one win apiece. But with our record and roster, I don’t know if Boston can truly hope to make noise in the postseason.
@azad-rosay wrote about Boston stumbling into being a mid-range team for CelticsBlog this week (check it out here: How Boston Accidentally Became a Mid-Range Team). Work will have to be done to make sure the C’s don’t end up as a middle-of-the-road NBA team, one way or the other.
If Pritch put his cold spell from deep to rest tonight and Derrick White’s shooting percentages rebound with the tenacity of a Jordan Walsh, maybe a run can be made by the C’s. But as Neemias Queta showed us tonight, the margins are fine for a Boston team that’s undermanned compared to seasons past.
After the next ten games, we’ll really have an idea of what this season will look like for Boston. As things stand, I’m just hoping to see Jaylen continue to thrive as a number one. I’m hoping to see the wing depth continue to emerge in the form of Josh Minott, Hugo González, and Jordan Walsh. I’m hoping to see this team keep fighting every single night the way they have to start the season. No team-only meeting needs to be had. The effort is there. Let’s see if we can start to turn this around back against the Magic tonight.
