Wednesday’s matchup between the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies ended up in a blowout fairly quickly, Boston going up by 21 just before the end of the first half. From that point, the Celtics lead only grew, the final margin being a 36-point victory. This resulted with them scoring 131 points by the end of the night, their second-highest single-game total this season.
Their highest came against the Washington Wizards, Boston putting up 136 points on their heads. En route to that total, the Celtics tallied 31 assists, which was their season-high – that is up until the matchup with Memphis where they recorded 34 assists on the night.
The ball was flowing freely, and everyone got in on the action. Payton Pritchard accounted for 9 assists, Jaylen Brown contributed 6 of his own, Derrick White and Josh Minott had 4 apiece, and Anfernee Simons set his personal season-high at 7.
68% of the team’s made baskets came off of a pass, their second-highest mark of the season. One of the biggest reasons, and the maybe most successful part of their gameplan tonight, was the constant Neemias Queta pick-and-roll action. Queta went 6-6 on the night for 13 points, 5 of those baskets coming off of assists.
In addition to the assists, Boston also set their season-highs in margin of victory (36), three-point percentage (41.2%) and rebounds (68), while tying their season-highs in threes made (21), offensive (18) and defensive (40) rebounds, as well as blocks (8). It was by far their most dominant and complete game so far, and sets a high bar for the rest of the year.
The expectations are relatively low for this iteration of the Celtics, but even then, they have to take advantage of the game where they’re seen as the favorites. Memphis, playing this game sans Ja Morant as well as several of their other key guys who have yet to take the floor this season, has been having a rough season. It was expected that Boston would have the upper-hand, but most people didn’t see a performance this dominant coming.
So far this year, Boston ranks 29th in assists per game, 27th in three-point percentage per game, 25th in defensive rebounds per game, 18th in total rebounds per game, and 13th in blocks per game. Setting or meeting their season-highs in each of those categories all in the same night is a statement in and of itself, regardless of the opponent. It’s a testament to the gameplan of Joe Mazzulla and the rest of the coaching staff, as well as the execution of the players.
This is a big development year for Boston, so putting together performances like this are essential to building confidence and consistency. A win like this is huge for guys like Jordan Walsh who got the starting spot for just the third time in his career, taking full advantage with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a number of big defensive plays that don’t show up in the box score.
The blowout also gave time for two-way player, Ron Harper Jr. to see the floor and close out the game. In just 4 minutes, Harper put up 6 points and 1 big block, shooting 2-2 from three. He looked extremely comfortable, and although it was a short stint, he made the most of it by giving us a quick preview of what he can do on the floor.
Maybe the most impressive part of the team’s performance is that this came on the second night of a back-to-back, Boston losing their second heart-breaker against the Philadelphia 76ers less than 24 hours before.
Mazzulla had this to say after the game: “I liked the mindset that we had coming off a tough game on the road … to play the way that we did, I think that’s important … we don’t have the record that reflects it, but I think we’ve built a mindset … we got 2 practices where we can get better”
This was a massive response from the Celtics, and they get rewarded with their first multi-day break of the season, three days off before they take on the Los Angeles Clippers at home. Boston will be looking to build off of this victory in that game.
