What must be done for this Boston team to lose a game? Apparently going through Atlanta doesn’t change anything. Traveling to the Hawks this Wednesday evening, and yet weakened by certain absences, the Celtics only extended their domination over the Eastern Conference: victory 126 to 101, and with style.
Everything was gathered for a little helm to take place.
All. Even the gods of the TrashTalk Curse were on board, with a special Apéro filmed on Wednesday to test the power of this group. All the indicators were on… green for Joe Mazzulla’s team to relax a bit. Why ? Because no Marcus Smart, no Malcolm Brogdon. Because Atlanta had just hit Milwaukee, and was positioning itself in front of its audience. Because of the potential slack from the Jay Brothers, and the potential fall of this monstrous offensive efficiency developed by the big green machine since the start of the season.
The answer ? No. It’s no.
Boston doesn’t want to lose, and Boston is only doing one thing: playing good basketball. In a game clearly dominated by the Celtics, it wasn’t the superstars who pulled out all the stops to crush the competition. It was not a tight money time that allowed the Boston coaching staff to deploy the ingenious system. No, not even. In Wednesday night’s game, Boston, from first to last man, won. And in the image of this group which sacrifices itself for the other, it is the unexpected who turned out to be ready, whereas the hosts of the night who had to be ready… were not.
Highlights: Celtics win their eighth straight game! #BleedGreen
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Watch the full game highlights here!Presented by: @tmobile pic.twitter.com/ippFccXVIS
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 17, 2022
You still had to see the excellent entry into play of Sam Hauser (15 points at 5/6 from afar) and Luke Kornet (15 points at 7/7 in shooting, 4 blocks) to understand which team we are talking about. It was still necessary to appreciate the sublime work of Derrick White (16 points and 10 assists), more responsible in the lead in the absence of Smart, to remember which franchise we are talking about. Let’s be clear, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have not splashed Georgia with their talent. Tatum, clumsy, was impeccable in the creation but the misses marked his fans more than anything else (6/19 in shooting). Brown was the best player on his team that night, but without having to reach Chamberlainesque heights (22 points).
No, what was really strong about this Boston team on Wednesday was that without forcing, without reinventing basketball, they totally dominated the game. By defending intelligently, turning the leather on the other side, obviously being on fire from a distance (21/46 from three-pointers against a horrible 7/32 on the Atlanta side), and without releasing the pressure on the opponent of the evening. Like this buzzer shot returned at halftime by Payton Pritchard, as soon as the Hawks wanted to get closer, the Celtics had an answer. And as soon as the third quarter, synonymous with hope, resumed? It’s a gap that was widening, with Grant Williams also at work. Boston didn’t force, Boston didn’t overplay, but Boston gave that feeling of dominance like it was first against last in their conference. And yet, this was not the case for the Hawks, authors of a solid start to the season.
Who’s gonna slow these Celtics down? You will have to tell us. Because even in a match where Jayson Tatum sends bricks to what to do, the defense adjusts well and the bench responds wonderfully present. Yes, there was indeed an Aperitif and it was titled in the right way: these Boston Celtics are the best NBA team at the start of the season. Point bar.