Boston Celtics
There will be far greater and far more physical tests ahead of Tatum than the Sixers on a preseason night.
Boston Celtics forward/guard Jayson Tatum drains a three over Philadelphia 76ers forward Jabari Walker during the first quarter. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
The Celtics debuted their biggest acquisitions of the summer in their second preseason game on Saturday, giving Paul George and Mitchell Robinson their first run in Celtics uniforms in a 144-106 win over the 76ers.
Here are the takeaways.
Jayson Tatum looked fully back
Before we get to George and Robinson, we should start with Jayson Tatum — the fulcrum on which the entire Celtics season hinges. If Tatum was unable to recapture his pre-injury form, the Celtics might be a good team, but their ceiling would be far below Brad Stevens’ lofty expectations.
If Tatum is healthy, however, the Celtics have a chance to win a lot of games against a lot of good teams, sometimes by nearly 40 points.
Saturday was a great first step. Hand-waving away all the “it was just preseason” disclaimers, Tatum looked terrific — confident in his movements and remarkably comfortable with his teammates en route to 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. He hit several 3-pointers, which is fine, but far more important were moments like this little explosion in transition where two quick steps created a ton of separation and allowed for an easy two-handed slam.
There will be far greater and far more physical tests ahead of Tatum than the Sixers on a preseason night when Tyrese Maxey played only the first half and the elder statesmen — LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown — all sat out for the duration.
Still, Saturday’s game was less about Tatum’s production and more about how he navigated the new landscape built for him by Brad Stevens. He’s healthy, and he no longer has to share the driver’s seat. This is now his car to drive, and by the time he sat down in the second half, the NBC Sports Boston crew was already making his MVP case.
Paul George settled in nicely
After some early struggles offensively — perfectly defensible for anyone joining a new team, even a 16-year veteran — George finally hit a 3-pointer late in the second quarter and doubled over in apparent relief.
That shot was the start of a nice groove for George, who finally sat down in the second half with a packed stat sheet: 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and an eyebrow-raising five steals.
George has always been one of the league’s best two-way wings, which is an observation that — like so many others that will be made about George this year — feels like it’s tied to Jaylen Brown, even though it isn’t meant to be. George isn’t as explosive as he was 10 years ago, but he still has the same physical profile, and he’s 10 years wiser. His last steal on Saturday may have been his best — as Jameer Nelson Jr. ran around a screen, George beat him to the spot and absorbed the contact. Off balance, Nelson could do nothing to prevent George from snaking out a long arm and picking his pocket.
George also dished out several nice passes. One of the better ones was a nifty dump-off to Mitchell Robinson after George beat his defender in the post, drawing Robinson’s defender over to help. He and Tatum also seem to have a connection already, which is both 1) encouraging given George’s comments about wanting to support Tatum’s MVP push and 2) perhaps somewhat unsurprising given both those comments and Tatum’s admiration for George.
The highest praise one can earnestly offer after a preseason game is that the team showed everything fans could want to see, and George’s performance fit that bill.
Mitchell Robinson lifts all rebounders
Mitchell Robinson is, of course, an otherworldly offensive rebounder, and in his Celtics debut, he provided the Celtics’ first points of the game by grabbing a missed layup by Tatum and smashing it hard through the rim for an easy put-back. A little while later, he batted a rebound into the air to himself and finished through contact for an and-one (Celtics fans will, perhaps, be unsurprised to hear that he missed the free throw).
However, Robinson had another fun knock-on effect for the Celtics, which will be worth watching this year: When he’s in the game, other players suddenly find crashing the glass quite a bit easier. The Celtics are poised to put a lot of emphasis on offensive rebounding, and in the same way that a shooter provides gravity for slashers, Robinson appears to provide gravity for others crashing to the rim as opposing defenses try to prevent him from doing damage.
Speaking of gravitational forces …
The secondary lineups have unreal spacing
The Celtics put Jordan Walsh in the starting lineup on Saturday, which presumably is one of the slots Coach Joe Mazzulla hasn’t yet etched in stone.
When Mazzulla started piecing together his secondary units, however, the Celtics caught fire, and it wasn’t particularly hard to see why. The Celtics went early to a lineup with Tatum, George, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Robinson. Next, they flipped George for Baylor Scheierman and Robinson for Queta.
Both lineups were a reminder that the Celtics are going to be able to absolutely shell teams, even when they go to their bench. In the first, Tatum, George and Pritchard were all able to shoot and drive, while Hauser provided off-ball spacing, and Robinson rumbled to the rim. In the second, Scheierman slotted in for George, offering his particular brand of unique-but-effective basketball.
Meanwhile, every lineup appeared completely committed to moving the ball, and the results were beautiful for lengthy stretches.
Thursday’s preseason opener was a reminder that the Celtics’ deep bench still has some real players. Saturday’s game was a reminder that those players are in the depths for a reason.
Baylor Scheierman is good
Scheierman is quickly establishing an identity for himself as a skilled player who affects winning. On Saturday, he dished out six assists before he was even credited with a field-goal attempt — a deep 3, which he promptly canned. He flew all over the court, even smashing into a couple of young fans in the front row. He made this nifty read and pass for an assist in the first half.
Scheierman’s game demands minutes — he is skilled enough to warrant playing time as a shooter, passer and ball-handler, and he’s hungry enough to nearly annihilate a couple of teenagers in pursuit of a ball during a preseason game.
Don’t be surprised if Scheierman makes himself a regular member of the rotation — and maybe even a starter — by the end of the year.
Hugo González looked really comfortable shooting
We are by no means declaring that González going 4-for-4 in a preseason blowout means he has fixed his shot entirely and is now going to be a knock-down 3-point shooter.
What we are comfortable saying here after a preseason game is that his shot looked vastly improved — compact, repeatable and completely free of hesitation.
We are simply noticing.
Jaylen Brown attended … but watched from the back
Brown was in Boston, but he (understandably) opted to watch the game from the back, thereby avoiding becoming the subject of every camera panning away from the action.
Much has been made of a clip circulating in which Brown and Tatum can be seen warming up without greeting each other, but to be fair to both players, the clip is painfully lacking in context — Brown appeared to walk out onto the court in the middle of Tatum’s workout, and we can’t be sure what was said or not said in the hallways of TD Garden before or after the game.
Still, even setting aside whether there is anything negative between Tatum and Brown, the atmosphere seemed a little odd. George and Embiid greeted each other after the game. Tacko Fall and Anfernee Simons were both on the Sixers bench. Two franchises whose fans are bitter rivals are now connected in a number of ways.
What’s next
The Celtics now have four days off before they receive a visit from the Hornets on Wednesday. They close their preseason slate in Philadelphia on Oct. 16.
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