Boston Celtics
The Celtics have a much-needed day off before a much-needed stretch of home games, which begin on Monday against the Trail Blazers.
Jaylen Brown and the Celtics had a crack at it, but they couldn’t pull off the win on the second night of a back-to-back and their fourth game in six nights, falling 114-111 in the closing seconds.
Here are the takeaways.
Hugo González is great (but made a costly mistake)
On the one hand, the fact that rookie Hugo González was on the floor in the closing seconds as part of what NBC Sports Boston broadcaster Drew Carter accurately called a “defensive lineup” speaks highly of the rookie’s defensive acumen — both physically and intellectually.
On the other hand, González (whose own 3-point heroics lifted the Celtics to a win over the Nets less than 24 hours before) is still a rookie, and the open triple that Kevin Huerter found and made was mostly due to González’s split-second mistake.
The Celtics started the set with Jaylen Brown in the corner guarding Coby White, who had gotten scorching hot earlier in the half before cooling off down the stretch. Nikola Vucevic screened Brown off White, and Sam Hauser took over the responsibility as White ran toward the top of the key, where Josh Giddey was dribbling. As White approached Giddey, Hauser slid into position to switch, but González seemingly didn’t get the memo, and he stayed attached to Giddey as White sprang free.
Hauser did his best to recover, but Derrick White saw it too and went running off Huerter in the corner to help. All Coby White had to do was make a simple swing pass to the corner, and Huerter had a clean look. Huerter isn’t nearly as good a 3-point shooter as one might expect (just 31.9 percent from deep this season), but he buried the triple with 0.2 seconds remaining.
That effectively ended the game, since the Celtics couldn’t even get off a catch-and-shoot with that little time left. Billy Donovan waved his players off to make sure they didn’t foul, and Payton Pritchard launched a lightning quick 3-pointer that nearly banked in, but he released it after the buzzer.
Margins in the NBA are minuscule, and one of the most impressive aspects of González’s game in his first season has been his ability to help the Celtics on the margins.
On Saturday, however, a simple defensive miscommunication — a split-second mistake by a 19-year-old who has not looked like a 19-year-old this season — cost the Celtics a chance to steal another road win.
The Celtics looked exhausted
The last few weeks have been a grind for the Celtics, and the last week in particular was a tough one — five games in eight nights, which included the double-overtime win nearly 800 miles away in Brooklyn the night before.
As a result, the Celtics looked exhausted. The shooting suffered (15-for-47 from three, 31.9 percent), and in the second half, the Celtics didn’t appear to have their usual zip, especially on the offensive end.
No NBA player ever wants to be accused of making excuses, so consider this more of an explanation for Saturday’s loss.
Amari Williams got the start
After playing an excellent overtime stint against the Nets that included a game-clinching block as well as a crucial assist that set the stage for González’s heroics, Williams got the start on Saturday.
The two-way center played 10 minutes, six of which came in the first quarter, before Joe Mazzulla went back to something resembling his usual center rotation. During a second stint in the third quarter, Williams was the recipient of a nifty pass from Derrick White, which led to a dunk — his only basket of the game — and he swatted away a shot that was very nearly a goaltending violation.
It’s difficult to entirely place what Mazzulla was doing with his center rotation, but one reasonable guess would be that he wanted to both reward Williams for gamely hopping on a flight and contributing in a win over the Nets while also getting Queta a little rest. If the latter was the case, his plan was foiled when Luka Garza rolled his ankle.
Over his last two games, Williams — who is on a two-way deal — certainly has looked like a player who warrants an extended look in the big leagues.
Jaylen Brown hit an incredible circus shot
Brown bounced back from a bad shooting night in Brooklyn with 33 points on 14-for-28 shooting, which included this absurd finish with his left hand at a monumentally important point in the game.
Brown was also responsible for the game-tying bucket right before Huerter’s 3-pointer, another quietly difficult finish on which he switched to the left in mid-air and tossed it in.
After Friday’s game, Brown admitted that his hamstring has been bothering him, and hamstrings are notoriously finicky when they don’t get enough rest, but he was a bruising presence against the Bulls — he was just 2-for-8 from deep, and the bulk of his work came either in the mid-range with his patented stepbacks, or driving to the basket. Brown is a master of both getting his shoulder around his defender to gain a step to the rim or — if the defender manages to stay in front of him — of bumping his defender back just enough to do whatever feels comfortable.
The Celtics have placed a hefty workload on Brown this season, and he continues to prove himself up for the challenge, even on nights when the Celtics can’t quite find the legs to pull out a win.
Anfernee Simons got hot too
Brown didn’t get a ton of scoring support from his star teammates (15 points on 5-for-18 shooting from Derrick White, just 10 points from Payton Pritchard), but Anfernee Simons poured in 21, which included 5-for-11 shooting from deep and a couple of massive 3-pointers in the third quarter that kept the Celtics attached.
After generating a lot of buzz about whether the Celtics should simply keep him through the trade deadline (and potentially sign him to a friendlier contract next season), Simons went cold for three consecutive games, making just one triple in each contest against the Pistons, Pacers and Nets before breaking the seal on the rim again on Saturday.
One argument for keeping Simons is that while he’s streaky, his streakiness seems to be more game-to-game dependent, which could be useful in the postseason — even if Simons is cold in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he could ignite and win you Game 3.
On Saturday, he nearly gave the Celtics enough in support of Brown to help them steal one.
Derrick White had another confusing game
White has had several contests similar to Saturday’s loss this year: He was typically excellent on defense — if he doesn’t make the All-Defense First Team this year, it will be something of a travesty — and he dished out seven assists, including four genuine gems in the second half.
His tap pass to Williams may have been the highlight, but he tucked a gorgeous pick-and-roll pass in between two defenders to Queta as well, and his high-low dish to Brown — who had his defender sealed in the post — midway through the fourth quarter was as cool and collected as you could hope to see in an assist, especially given the tiny window and the high degree of difficulty involved.
On the other hand, White shot 5-for-18 from the field. He takes a lot of good shots, but a surprising number of them don’t go in. If he was having a better offensive year, he would be an All-Star and might be making a fringe case for an All-NBA team.
What’s next
The Celtics have a much-needed day off before a much-needed stretch of home games, which begin on Monday against the Trail Blazers. They will close out the month of January against the Hawks and Kings on Wednesday and Friday respectively.
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