The Celtics have officially closed the book on last years terrible season after opening up their season vs the Charlotte Hornets in preseason action. The Celtics have had a busy summer after losing many key players including Kyrie Irving and Al Horford. The Celtics have plenty of new rookies, a new point guard Kemba Walker, and a few returning players hoping to prove something on the court.
NEW TEAM………………..NEW YEAR
Jayson Tatum lead the way for the Celtics as they picked up a fun preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets 107-106. Jayson Tatum scored 20 points in 23 minutes of action tonight. For the Charlotte Hornets, they were lead by rookie PJ Washington as he scored 16 points in his NBA preseason debut, while Terry Rozier, who made his Charlotte Hornets debut and return to Boston, scored 9 points and dished out 9 assists. Charlotte built their lead up to 15 in the third quarter, but the Celtics rookies and second team unit brought the Celtics back in the game to pick up the victory over the Hornets.
My Impressions of the game
I was so excited for this game, last year was so rough with how everything went. Kyrie caused a lot of drama, Tatum and Brown had a down year, Hayward came back not healthy and struggled, too many selfish players, and got slapped in the face by the Bucks by losing four games in a row in the second round. I hated last year so much as it was the first time I didn’t have fun watching the Celtics. The. Celtics made lots of changes this offseason by letting go of key members of the roster. Kyrie left the Celtics to join the Nets, and Al Horford decided to pull a “Ray Allen” move and join the rival team, The Philadelphia 76ers (which I am still salty about). It looked like it was a look of rebuild, but the Celtics brought in All-Star Kemba Walker and big man Enes Kanter to fill in their shoes. With also drafting many new and fun young rookies, The Celtics were looking ready to put the past behind, and focus on a new fresh start with a new team.
The Celtics started Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and Williams. I actually love that starting lineup, I was expecting Enes Kanter to be in the starting lineup, but I think that the Celtics will be using him to bring in some energy off the bench like Marcus Smart does. This lineup I think provides lots of athleticism and lots of scoring, with a very young energized bench. The first play of the game was a Gordon Hayward lob to Robert Williams which brought the crowd to their feet, including myself…..and it was a preseason game……
The Celtics offense was really clicking in the first half, they looked good with shooting the outside shot and getting up and down the floor. The start of the second half was really shaky as they looked like last year with missing shots and no good defense, but the bench and rookies brought the game back and got the win. The bench bringing the game back was so awesome, it got me so excited watching it all unfold and it was only a preseason game.
I am impressed with many players on the team. Here is who impressed me tonight.
Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum had a very disappointing year last year, and tonight seemed like there was hope that this year will be a change. He scored 20 points tonight in 23 minutes, which was very impressive. His shots looked good tonight, knocking down 3’s and didn’t miss many shots. There was a time in the third quarter, where he was throwing up bad shots like he did last year, but he composed himself, knocked down a few shots to help start the comeback for the rookies before sitting out the rest of the night. I know it is one game, but I hope that with him getting experience playing for Team USA this summer has helped make him a better player for this season.
Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward was not pleased with his season last year. He came back not 100% healthy and could not find a groove in the season. He spent his whole summer working at the Celtics practice facility to work on getting back to his old self like his days in Utah. Hayward looked so much more confident and aggressive in the preseason opener. I remember last season that he didn’t have the explosion to drive by players, and always looked to pass out when driving to the rim. In the game, Hayward showed a lot of improvement from last season. I saw the guy that the Celtics signed back in the off season of 2017. I was really impressed of how much more confident and aggressiveness he showed compared to last year. I really like him and this is a huge year for him because if he struggles again, I don’t think the Celtics will keep him on the roster.
Kemba Walker
The new guy made his Celtics debut vs his old team, and he did very well for his first game in Celtic green and white. He scored 12 points in 21 minutes of play. He is going to be a great fit in Boston and I think Celtics fans will love him. He can really score the ball well and his presence on the floor is so much more enjoyable. He was very encouraging to his teammates and was laughing and smiling on the floor. That was something I never saw Kyrie do, Kyrie always was very demanding of teammates and never looked like he was enjoying playing basketball when he was on the floor. Kemba is going to be a good fit for the Celtics and he could have a really big year in Brad Stevens offense.
Carsen Edwards
Guys I am a new huge fan of this guy. Carson Edwards NEEDS to get a lot of minutes this year, because this guy is one of the most underrated rookies in the NBA right now. Edwards is a really good shooter as I remember watching him score 40+ points in one of the NCAA tournament games last year. He scored 11 points in 18 minutes with 3 three pointers. When he came into the game, he showed no nerves by knocking down his first 2 3’s nothing but net. I can expect him to get a lot of minutes. He is very small, but he can get hot in a hurry and is so good with creating his shot. I am really hoping to see more of this guy in the future, because he is impressive.
Tacko Fall
Everyone in the whole gym was going crazy for Tacko Fall. He did well for the very limited playing time he got. He scored 5 points in 8 minutes with like 2 or 3 blocks. I really hope the Celtics keep this guy because one he is a crowd favorite, two he is 7’6, and three if you continue to work with him, he could be something special in the league. My mom had no idea who this guy was until tonight, I think this is my mom’s new favorite Celtic player because no matter how many times a player came in the lane, Tacko would just block the shot. He really impressed me tonight.
The negatives of the game
The Defense
I thought the defense was very poor tonight, but it is the first game of the season, so I will give them time. The pick and roll defense was really bad, and they gave a lot of points in the paint. Enes Kanter I heard was not a good defender, but after seeing it, it is very true. That is what hurts about losing Al Horford. Horford was very good on defense and was always guarding the best player every night. With losing him, it hurts the Celtics big time as Kanter is not a good defender at all. I still have hope that Kanter will get better, but he is going to have to work hard at it as Joel Embiid will light him up when it comes to opening night in Philadelphia.
Turnovers
Like I said it is the first preseason game of the season, but the Celtics looked a little bit sloppy with travels and making bad passes. The Celtics are very young and new, so we might be seeing a lot of turnovers in the early going, but hopefully once when everyone gets used to each other.
I think that the Celtics had a good preseason start. Lots of things to work on, but lots of potential for the team. I realized tonight watching the Celtics, that I had joy watching them again. These young guys making the comeback made it so much fun to watch Celtics basketball again and it was only the first game of the year. I really think that this could be a sleeper team if things come together right.
One more thing, The Hornets are a decent team, but they won’t be a playoff team. They will probably finish higher than the Knicks and the Cavs, but they won’t be completely awful.
Terry Rozier will be the best player on the Hornets this year. I still think he is overpaid, but he will be the best player for the Hornets this year. He was a fun Celtic to watch when Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart went out in the 2018 Playoffs. I will never forget that Game 7 vs the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he was on fire!!!!!
4 points, 36 minutes, 2-14 shooting, 0-10 from the 3 point arc………….. 😦 (this game still hurts to the day btw)
The Hornets got a keeper! 😉
Excited for the season!
Go Celtics!
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