The Celtics opened up their 77th season with a ho-hum 129-117 victory over the 76ers in Boston last night in a game that featured an awesome tribute to the late Bill Russell before tip-off. The Jay’s both scored 35, newcomer Malcolm Brogdon added 16 points and 4 assists in 24 minutes, and “interim” coach Joe Mazzulla looked calm, cool, and collected all night, even when the Celtics shots weren’t falling and the refs were doing NBA referee things.
A good first win for the NBA title favorites, but for a team with realistic title aspirations, the regular season is nothing more than a formality. Eight of the 15 teams in each conference make the playoffs and, unlike baseball and football, there are no byes to secure. Sure, there are personal accolades to achieve for individuals, like an MVP for Tatum or Jaylen Brown securing one of the 15 All-NBA spots that would allow him to sign a max contract this offseason, but this Celtics team will win 50+ games, barring an absolute onslaught of injuries or another global pandemic. The season doesn’t start for this team until the Playoffs commence.
So, with all that in mind, and accounting for the fact that the Celtics will win roughly 25% of their games simply by showing up, I think I’ll take a “weekly check-in” approach to blogging about this team, at least while things are going according to plan. Let’s call it “Wednesday Celtics Check-In” as a working title.
Welcome to the first edition of the Wednesday Celtics Check-In.
Game 1 went exactly how you draw them up. The Celtics were facing a perennial playoff team, at full strength, and ran away with it in the 4th quarter. Their stars showed up, their roll players showed up, Marcus Smart got a technical foul, and the NBA refs inserted themselves into the game in a way that’s become commonplace in this league.
The first half was high scoring with each team going in mini runs, but neither team was able to open up a double-digit lead. James Harden showed flashes of being his old self with a few step-back threes and about 400 free throws. Embiid was able to get to the rim, draw fouls, and get away with being a bully down low, but the 76ers were not able to take advantage of Horford’s early foul trouble or a slow start from Jaylen Brown.
Philly had a 55-47 lead with 3:55 left in the first half, but a mini “run” by the Celtics seized the momentum and evened things up at 63-63 heading into halftime.
The third quarter was all Celtics. Tatum scored 17 points in the quarter and looked unstoppable. Whatever wrist/shoulder injuries hampered Tatum in the playoffs last year seem to have healed and he was able to get whatever he wanted. I know Tatum was a first-team All-NBA selection last year, but, through one game (lol), it looks like he added a few pounds of muscle to his frame which let him fight through contact in the paint and finish at the rim instead of looking for a foul like he did a lot last year. He only went 2-7 from behind the arc but finished 13-20 from the field while going 7-9 from the stripe. If the Celtics get that kind of scoring from Tatum all year, they will waltz to the NBA Finals.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Celtics had a 98-88 lead, and the Embiid-Harden duo had that “not again” look plastered across their faces. Jaylen Brown went off in the fourth to put the nail in the 76ers coffin. He scored 13 of his 35 in the quarter including 3-5 from deep (4-12 from three on the night) and 5-7 from the field. With 3:32 left in the game, the Celtics had a 118-103 lead which was enough for Joe Mazzulla to call off the dogs, play the “no 3’s” defense, and just churn clock on offense. The 76ers ended up cutting the lead to 9 in the last 30-seconds of the game, but those were all garbage time points and the Celtics cruised to the finish line for a 129-117 win on opening night.
The Celtics play on Friday in Miami against a Heat team that they barely beat in game 7 of the ECF last year, then again Saturday night in Orlando, followed by a Monday night tilt in Chicago. I expect the Celtics to split in Florida, (probably losing on Friday to the Heat who will be looking at this as a revenge game, even though it’s just one of 82), then beat the Bulls on Monday. If the Celtics are 3-1 for next Wednesday’s check-in, we’ll call that a success.
