The Celtics beat the 76ers 114-106 in a full and longer-than-expected effort by the team’s starters, while Philadelphia sat James Harden, Joel Embiid and De’Anthony Melton. Here are 10 fast takeaways from the season-opening effort.
1. Al Horford starts next to Kristaps Porziņģis
Joe Mazzulla said not to read into the starting lineup decision, and his choice to start Derrick White over Jrue Holiday probably won’t carry into the regular season. Horford’s appearance next to Porziņģis should at least raise an eyebrow though, as Mazzulla’s choice will ultimately come down to White and Horford. Horford has only come off the bench 14 times in his NBA career, while White has done so regularly and willingly during his time in Boston. Horford shot 1-for-3 with five points, four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes, combing with Porziņģis for a block on Tobias Harris midway in the first quarter.
“We’ll see a bunch of different lineups during the year,” Mazzulla said. “That’ll be one of many, but just size, ability to defend and then on the offensive end, a ton of spacing. I think (Horford and Porziņģis) getting used to each other, and we played with the right intentions of wanting to make the extra pass. So we’ve gotta find that balance of, there’s gonna be a lot of one-on-ones, and understanding when it’s time to shoot and when it’s time to make the right pass.”
2. Porziņģis excellent in first Celtics appearance
Porziņģis won the tip-off after a warm reception from a raucous TD Garden crowd and hit a quick-fire three from the right corner on a pass from Jayson Tatum on the first possession of the game. Later in the quarter, he attacked from the right baseline, shaking Danuel House Jr. to the floor with a dribble move into a dunk.
Porziņģis hit his first four shot attempts, the two others inside and the fourth an elbow fadeaway as part of a 5-for-7 preseason debut. He also drew eight free throws, grabbed five boards and contested numerous shots around the rim, making life difficult for Sixers starter Paul Reed, who finished 1-for-8. Boston played Porziņģis in multiple defensive coverages, switching him to the perimeter and dropping him back. He dropped some offensive rebounds and missed three free throws, but his performance became the highlight of the night. Boston finished +1 across his 25 minutes.
“It came natural,” Porziņģis said. “I think it’s a big problem for the other team to guard me in pick-and-roll with those guys and pick-and-pop. or if we just play off each other, handoffs, back-door, all that kind of stuff. I think it’s just really, really hard to defend and lot of those times, they draw so much attention that it opens the game for myself. I think that’s what happened early on and I think, as I said, the more time we get together playing, the better reads we’ll make off each other.”
3. Payton Pritchard explodes on the day of his extension
Pritchard came off the bench and scored 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting, hitting six threes across 11 tries and adding four assists. He closed the game in the fourth quarter with a pair of pull-up threes, lob to Luke Kornet and three runners, the third a go-ahead three-point play through a hard foul by Terquavion Smith. Pritchard lined up Javonte Smart with a crossover step-back into a three.
“His mindset, his professionalism … guys like him, they get rewarded … we’re gonna rely on him to give us another layer,” Mazzulla said. “Another layer of toughness … physicality … playing with the right mindset.”
Oshae Brissett and Lamar Stevens provided put-backs following two of his misses, and Mazzulla praised Pritchard and the bench’s game management, Boston closing 33-26 in the fourth after entering the frame ahead 81-80. Pritchard signed a four-year, $30 million extension earlier in the day and multiple Celtics lauded Pritchard’s training camp last week.
“He controlled the game really well,” Brissett told CLNS Media after the game. “Did all the little things like pushing the ball, finding the open guys and being unselfish. He got hot, but for the most part, he was trying to find everybody and getting downhill, changing the pace of the game.”
4. Jrue Holiday comes off the bench and struggles to shoot
Holiday played 21 minutes with the second unit as part of his continued acclimation to the Celtics, Mazzulla said, only joining Boston on Wednesday for one of two full-speed practices entering Sunday’s preseason opener. Holiday finished 2-for-10, trying to shake the rust off, while splitting four three-point attempts and grabbing two steals. A second half lineup featured him with the starters, in place of Horford, flashing a zone look Boston teased for much of the summer. His defensive versatility showed, guarding on and away from the ball while bringing help-side pressure from odd angles that’ll play importantly in Boston’s smaller, switch-heavy lineups to close games. Holiday loved the experience of playing in the Garden and called the locker room a group eager to win.
“Just going out there, trying to see the ball go in, figure things out offensively and where I’m supposed to be,” Holiday said. “You do feel it from the crowd. They want it bad. Again, preseason game, it was loud, it was crazy, you see even down to the last seconds of the game how much they’re into it. It’s a good feeling.”
5. Slow start for Luke Kornet as the backup big
Mazzulla and Stevens expressed confidence in Kornet filling the backup center minutes after trading Robert Williams III and a faster, movement-based 76ers offense under Nick Nurse challenged him as he fouled three times early. Mo Bamba challenged him by playing the perimeter, shooting a three early against a Kornet contest then converting a second-chance opportunity over his head on a post-up. A pick-and-roll feed from Pritchard slipped through his hands and he missed the following look inside. He played better in the second half, recovering a loose ball diving on the ground and drawing free throws out of the scrum. His handoff feed set up Brissett for a three as Dalano Banton dove downhill. Overall, he finished with four points and three rebounds as a team-worst -12 (+/-). Wenyen Gabriel and Neemias Queta did not play.
6. Jay Scrubb tears ACL
Celtics two-way guard Jay Scrubb tore his ACL in practice this week after a standout Summer League performance and will likely miss the season. Scrubb appeared in crutches in the locker room alongside the team’s other players likely bound for Maine, Queta, J.D. Davison and D.J. Steward. The injury could allow Steward to transition to a two-way contract from his training camp deal. Unfortunately for Scrubb, two-way deals aren’t guaranteed.
“It’s painful to see him go through that,” Mazzulla said. “As I told him, these are the type of things guys have to work through. I’ve been through that (when I coached) in the G-League with a player and it’s tough to see, just because of the type of player he is and the attitude he brought every day. Hopefully he makes a great recovery and happy I’ve gotten to see him grow.”
7. Nick Nurse provides insight on Brissett and Banton
Nurse faced two of his former Toronto Raptors and Team Canada prospects who joined the Celtics over the summer in Brissett and Banton. Brissett scored seven points on 3-for-6 shooting, grabbing four boards and finishing a team-best +14. Banton shot 2-of-6, taking three tries to finish a dump-off underneath, and hit 1-of-3 from three.
“(Brissett) is a much-improved all around player,” Nurse told CLNS. “I was telling this story at lunch today, how he ended up my first Canadian national team and we played Team USA in Australia, and he started the game. I think he had somewhere between 13-15 rebounds in this game, I mean really for his size and position a great rebounder. He just kind of has a knack for the ball. He’s certainly developed an open-floor attack game. His shooting is getting there, it’s become much more of a weapon he can use, but his compete level’s been great, I think, in this league and he’s earned his way.”
“Dalano has always shown some flashes,” he continued. “He’s interesting at his 6-9 size and he’s been a point guard for most of his four years. His deal is just consistency. One night, he’s really good and like a lot of guys and young players in this league, there are nights where he really struggles. Being able to get the minutes and some opportunity to iron stuff out, that’s probably about it. He’s obviously also an improved shooter, didn’t have much of a shooting game in college from deep but he’s getting there. You can’t disrespect him anymore. Just some more opportunity and improved shooting probably.”
