BOSTON — The Sacramento Kings put up a dud. No Domantas Sabonis, no Russell Westbrook, no Keegan Murray. Sure. But a dud is a dud, and the Boston Celtics made sure they had no hope of coming back at any point in the game.
Offensively, it was the Payton Pritchard show. Nobody on the Kings could guard him. Step-back threes, driving middys, and everything in between—he put his entire scoring arsenal on display.
And on the other end, Neemias Queta’s mere presence in the paint was enough to terrify Sacramento. It felt like every time they drove into the restricted area, Queta turned them away. He didn’t necessarily have the blocks to prove it, but his rim protection was awesome.
The Celtics were menaces on the offensive glass, too. Obviously, as per usual, Luka Garza led that charge. He had three offensive rebounds in the first half alone.
Sacramento found some success in transition, but most teams do against Boston. In the half-court, they didn’t have many answers to Boston’s defense.
Baylor Scheierman also put up some impressive numbers on Friday night. And he wasn’t doing anything extraordinary, just playing his role. He thrived in catch-and-shoot opportunities, but he was also one of Boston’s primary perimeter defenders.
Joe Mazzulla had him start the game on Zach LaVine (who he also Euro-stepped past in transition for a bucket in the first half).
Boston spent the entire evening playing off Pritchard, driving Sacramento’s closeouts for kick-outs or free throw opportunities, and scrambling around on defense. It worked beautifully.
Outside of an offensive slog in the second half, which was still paired with solid defense (for the most part), this was a solid game for Boston through and through.
Big winner: The Pritchard-Queta connection. (This may get its own article very soon…)
From the very beginning of the night, it was clear that the Celtics were going to exploit the Pritchard-Queta pick-and-roll. Queta created a ton of space with his screens, and Pritchard capitalized.
They have the timing of everything down. Queta knows how long to hold every screen and when to roll. Pritchard knows where to throw the lob. Queta knows when to drift into space under the rim. Pritchard knows when to wait on a pass.
Their chemistry is incredible.
Ouch, tough one: The Kings.
If you’re looking for a Celtics problem, the third quarter was a little rough. Jordan Walsh didn’t have the best night. But the most clear issue in this game was Sacramento. And it was their stars.
DeMar DeRozan is in no place to lead an offense. The bucket-getting days are over. Boston lived with his attempts to iso against Sam Hauser, and outside of an early foul, it was ugly.
Meanwhile, LaVine’s defense was a real problem. He scored in transition a few times, but for the most part, the most notable parts of his night were when Boston roasted him on the other end.
The big picture: This Kings team is bad. Really bad. But still, the Celtics got the win.
The second half (mostly the third quarter) wasn’t ideal. It looked closer to what a Jaylen Brown-less offense would usually look like. Like what the Celtics produced in their loss to the Indiana Pacers.
But the first half was awesome. Pritchard played great. Queta was incredible. Scheieman looked ready for a much larger role.
This game helped prove that the Celtics’ depth is the real deal.
