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The Celtics kept Andre Drummond and Adem Bona from causing too much trouble on the glass.
Jordan Walsh believes effort is key in winning the rebounding battle, and he and the Celtics offered plenty of that on Sunday. Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe
Although Neemias Queta and Nikola Vucevic each picked up three fouls in the first half, putting the Celtics in early foul trouble, Boston still controlled the boards during Sunday’s 123-91 win against the 76ers.
The Celtics out-rebounded the 76ers, 43-40, and kept Andre Drummond and Adem Bona from causing too much damage on the glass with Joel Embiid out recovering from an appendectomy.
Jayson Tatum led the way with 11 rebounds, and Sam Hauser grabbed seven. None of the Celtics’ big men played more than 18 minutes, but they made impactful plays that won’t show up in the stat sheet.
It was a team effort that didn’t go overlooked by coach Joe Mazzulla.
“I thought [Vucevic] was great tonight at the things we expected of him,” Mazzulla said. “He took some open shots, but he protected the rim. He kept Drummond and Bona off the glass so that the other guys were responsible for getting rebounds.
“You don’t get credit when you keep your guy from getting it and someone else comes in and gets the rebound. So, at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win using everybody that we can. He did a great job of that tonight, all the bigs did.”
Vucevic said the Celtics’ aggressiveness and ability to handle their opponents different skill-sets played a role in their success. The key is to hit first and not let Philadelphia get position to push under the basket.
“It’s somewhat tricky when you go to help and get caught in between and they get a step on you. Bona is really active on the glass, he moves around a lot. He’s bouncy,” Vucevic said. “Drummond is really strong, he uses more of his strength. [Dominick Barlow] is very active, he moves around a lot. It’s just different looks with each guy and you just have to have your antennas up to where they are so you can move them off the spot.
“Sometimes with a guy like Drummond, you kind of hold him off if you’re in a bad position. The guards did a really good job tonight of coming and helping and grabbing the ball. If you can’t grab it, just hold him off, release and they come in and help.”
Rebounding was a weakness for the Celtics at the beginning of the season, but they finished No. 3 in rebounds per game during the regular season. Reaching that level of success took an attitude adjustment.
“I honestly think it’s just a mentality and an effort thing,” guard Jordan Walsh said at practice on Saturday. “Just a ‘want to.’ That was something we were struggling with and we finished the regular-season as a much better rebounding team.
“I wouldn’t say it was a personnel change or anything, it was just a willingness and a commitment to do it over and over again consistently as hard as possible until we got the result that we wanted. I think that’s where it came from. Everybody played their part to earn minutes or earn a role and I think that’s what made the difference.”
Charged up
Hauser took the first charge of his five-year career in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Bona leapt towards the rim, taking off a step inside the free-throw line and crashing into Hauser.
Hauser said colliding with the 6-foot-10-inch, 235-pound 76ers center was not a pleasant experience.
“I was scared,” Hauser said. “That’s a big dude. Just stepping in there and trying to make a play. It wasn’t my favorite.”
Queta misses out
The NBA announced three finalists for the league’s most improved player award: Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Portland’s Deni Avidja, and Atlanta’s Nickiel Alexander-Walker.
Celtics players and Mazzulla have been saying for weeks that they believed Queta deserved to win the award.
Queta had six career starts before this season. He made 75 after Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet departed in the offseason. He averaged 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds, doubling his averages in both categories from last year. He tied Derrick White for the team lead in blocks with 1.3 per game.
The Celtics also were left out of the finalists for Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Clutch Player. Finalists for Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year were revealed later Sunday night.
