Jayson Tatum leads all scorers with 37 factors because the Celtics tip off their repeat marketing campaign with a 132-109 win vs. the Knicks.
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BOSTON — The primary sport of the 2024-25 NBA season did nothing to dispel the notion that the defending champion Boston Celtics are the clear favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy once more.
Sport 1 of 1,230 was an intensive domination by the champs of the staff many anticipate to be their hardest competitors within the Japanese Convention, a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks wherein the Celtics tied the NBA single-game document with 29 3-pointers.
Listed here are some notes, quotes, numbers and movie as Boston received its twentieth victory by at the very least 20 factors for the reason that begin of final season.
1. Threes aplenty
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The Celtics led the league in 3-point price final season, taking 47.1% of their photographs from past the arc. On Tuesday, they took 64% of their photographs from past the arc, and for good causes.
For one, they have been getting into. When the Celtics tied the document for 3s in a sport with 8:54 left within the fourth quarter, they have been 29-for-48 (60.4%) from deep. Jayson Tatum was on fireplace, going 8-for-11 as he tallied a game-high 37 factors.
However most of these 3-point makes an attempt have been additionally good photographs, open and in rhythm. The Celtics are a championship staff with an elite offense, they usually introduced all people again.
“I really feel like we simply type of picked up the place we left off final 12 months,” Tatum mentioned. “We play to our strengths.”
During the last 8 1/2 minutes of the sport, the Celtics had 13 tries (some not-so-good photographs included) to interrupt the document … and missed all of them. Even with all these misses on the finish, they scored extra effectively on Tuesday – 132 factors on 91 possessions (145.1 per 100) – than any staff did in opposition to the Knicks all of final season, together with the playoffs.
There will probably be a day when a staff makes 30 3-pointers in a sport. This staff is a robust candidate to do it.
2. Attacking Cities pays off
The Celtics’ offense is pretty easy. They establish the opponent’s weakest defenders and put them in entrance of Tatum or Jaylen Brown. These guys assault, and in the event that they don’t have a shot themselves, they bend the protection or then transfer the ball to discover a good shot.
On Tuesday, their main goal was new Knicks heart Karl-Anthony Cities.
Cities was guarding Al Horford, and on the primary possession of the sport, Horford set a ball display for Tatum. Cities was in “drop” protection, backing up in order that Tatum wouldn’t drive previous him. And with loads of area, Tatum simply stepped right into a pull-up 3-pointer:
After Tatum hit a number of extra 3-pointers off the dribble, Cities was pressured to play greater within the pick-and-roll. Doing so opened up higher photographs for Boston.
Halfway via the third quarter, Horford set one other display for Tatum. Cities was up excessive, whereas Mikal Bridges fought over the display to get again to his man. With the eye of two defenders, Tatum made the proper play and received the ball to Horford, who swung it to Derrick White for an open 3-pointer.
On the very subsequent possession, Horford set one other display for Tatum, placing Bridges and Cities on the ball once more. This time, OG Anunoby rotated as much as Horford, stopping the pick-and-pop cross.
So White flashed to the center of the ground, drawing Josh Hart off of Jaylen Brown in the proper nook. One cross later, Brown had one other open, in-rhythm 3-pointer:
Easy basketball. Decide a matchup to take advantage of. Acquire a bonus. Discover an open shot.
Together with his 37 factors, Tatum additionally had 10 assists. And he generated extra buckets than that.
“We work on reads each single day in follow,” Tatum mentioned, “and that’s primarily all we do. We received performs and issues, however we simply make reads. We all know the place to be, we all know when to chop, we all know when to area the ground, and we all know when to make the additional cross.”
3. Celtics unafraid to protect bigs with guards
Doing the identical in opposition to the Celtics isn’t so easy, as a result of they’ve higher defenders. If the champs have one weak spot, it’s Horford defending the pick-and-roll, and he received burned off the dribble a number of instances on Tuesday.
However the Celtics restricted that challenge by having Jrue Vacation defend Cities. That allowed them to modify the Brunson-Cities pick-and-roll and maintain a superb defender in entrance of the participant (Brunson) who generates good photographs for the Knicks.
Cities was in a position to rating vs. Vacation within the publish early on and shoot over him late within the second quarter, however that matchup didn’t yield almost as many good possessions because the Celtics received in opposition to Cities on the opposite finish of the ground.
Boston additionally doubled Cities every so often. They’re often detest to place two guys on the ball, however on Tuesday, the Knicks couldn’t take benefit.
Late within the first quarter, Cities posted Tatum, drawing a double staff. Vacation then made a spectacular play, serving to on a Cameron Payne drive, anticipating Payne’s subsequent cross, deflecting it and taking it the opposite method for a layup:
The Celtics of 2022-23 and ’23-24 are the primary groups within the 47 years for the reason that league began counting turnovers to have ranked within the high two on each ends of the ground in two straight seasons. They may definitely do it a 3rd straight time.
4. Knicks lose their rebounding benefit
The Knicks’ largest energy during the last two years has been rebounding. Two seasons in the past, they ranked second in each offensive rebounding share and complete rebounding share. Final season, they led the league in each.
However not one of the three guys who led the staff in complete offensive rebounds final season have been accessible on Tuesday. Isaiah Hartenstein now performs with the Thunder, whereas Mitchell Robinson and Treasured Achiuwa have been each out with accidents.
Cities is seven toes tall, however as a perimeter-oriented massive, he has by no means been a lot of an offensive rebounder. During the last two seasons, he’s grabbed simply 5% of accessible offensive boards. (For comparability, Robinson and Hartenstein grabbed 17% and 12.9%, respectively, final season.
As a staff, the Knicks retained simply 18.4% of accessible offensive rebounds on Tuesday, which might have been their second-lowest price final season (95 complete video games, together with playoffs). The Celtics had the benefit (16-13) in second-chance factors.
Cities’ taking pictures will make the Knicks’ preliminary offense stronger, however they most likely received’t be getting as many second possibilities as they’ve up to now.
5. Banner No. 18 is raised to the rafters
Whereas Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is a relentless competitor who appears completely targeted on shot high quality, he appreciates his position potential to work for probably the most profitable franchise in NBA historical past.
That was a subject of dialog on Tuesday because the Celtics raised their 18th championship banner to the TD Backyard ceiling and acquired their championship rings. There as visitors for the ceremony have been Celtics legends Bob Cousy (now 96 years outdated), Cedric Maxwell, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
“We’ve been entrusted with the custom of this group,” Mazzulla mentioned beforehand. “And we’ve a accountability of possession, to town and the those that got here earlier than us. This job isn’t what it’s if the individuals earlier than us didn’t put the time and the trouble into making it what it was.”
Requested afterward about his new ring, Mazzulla quipped that it was too massive and that he was by no means going to put on it.
“I used to be extra fascinated by the banner,” he mentioned. “I are available right here each afternoon and try these. They symbolize a lot.”
After he received his ring, Tatum took the microphone, thanking the Backyard crowd and town of Boston for his or her help. And he completed with a easy message.
“Let’s do it once more.”
Celtics increase championship banner No. 18; Tatum says, ‘Let’s do it once more.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You’ll be able to e-mail him right here, discover his archive right here and follow him on X.
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