Boston Celtics
Brown put up 41 factors within the loss.
Jaylen Brown had a monstrous sport, however the Celtics couldn’t pull themselves out of an offensive hunch in time to beat the Timberwolves on Saturday, falling 119-115 in Minnesota.
Listed below are the takeaways.
Jaylen Brown almost did it.
The Celtics can’t beat good groups with out a good sport from Jaylen Brown, and he gave them an enormous one even by his requirements on Saturday.
Brown scored 19 within the first quarter alone, getting the Celtics off to a quick begin by scoring in almost each approach possible. The Timberwolves have wing stoppers — Jaden McDaniels is a defensive stopper, Anthony Edwards is not any slouch, and Rudy Gobert in concept ought to make scoring on the rim troublesome — however Brown has proven all through this season that he has a solution for nearly something an opposing crew can throw at him. He completed Saturday’s outburst with an environment friendly 41 factors (17-for-32 from the sphere, 5-for-11 from three) to go together with six rebounds, seven assists and 5 steals together with an important one within the fourth quarter that helped the Celtics escape of an offensive funk and tie the sport within the last minutes. No Celtics participant within the franchise’s historical past has put collectively that specific statline.
The absence of Jayson Tatum has made two issues abundantly clear. First, and most vital: Jaylen Brown is an All-NBA high quality participant, full cease. Because the lone star on a roster, he can elevate a crew stuffed with strong function gamers to “good,” which is a complete lot tougher than it sounds (simply ask the opposite Georgia native taking part in in Saturday’s sport, who we’ll get to in a minute). Second: Being the lone famous person is grueling work. Brown grinded by way of almost 40 minutes on Saturday, and whereas he put up a gaudy statline, his crew nonetheless misplaced largely as a result of solely Sam Hauser made an environment friendly variety of 3-pointers as effectively (4-for-10, bolstered by a last-second window-dressing 3-pointer).
The Celtics will, after all, be a lot better when Tatum comes again, however they may profit (not less than to some extent) from his absence in that it has made clear how good Jaylen Brown may be, in addition to the restrictions on any crew pushed by one star participant — even a star as singularly good as Brown is proving himself to be.
Anthony Edwards delivered a knockout punch.
The Celtics value themselves dearly late a number of occasions.
First, the offense received fully slowed down, which allowed the Timberwolves to construct a lead as massive as 12 within the fourth quarter behind an excellent stretch by Anthony Edwards.
Then, after the Celtics went on a 12-0 run to even the rating — led by Brown and Neemias Queta, who we’ll get to in a minute — they misplaced monitor of Mike Conley within the nook, who hit a 3 that instantly put them on the again foot as soon as once more. Rallying again as soon as is troublesome, particularly within the small period of time the Celtics had (and particularly towards an offense that has the potential to be as potent because the Timberwolves). Rallying again a second time is uncommon, largely as a result of the regression to the imply that the opposite crew is prone to expertise isn’t prone to swing again in your favor a second time.
Lastly, the Celtics had been accomplished in by the truth that Edwards is a particular participant and might do issues like this.
There’s not a complete lot extra that Derrick White can do on a play like that — Edwards didn’t create quite a lot of area, he dribbled the ball off his personal foot, and he was pressured to fireplace up a extremely contested 3-pointer along with his physique dealing with the mistaken route.
None of it mattered. Edwards in some way received his shoulders sq. and buried a no-doubter straight in White’s face, a dagger from a real famous person making the type of performs {that a} famous person makes at a time within the sport when a famous person thrives.
Edwards completed with 39 factors on 12-for-24 capturing.
Neemias Queta has been persistently higher.
The Celtics survived a chaotic sport with out Queta towards the Pistons, however they wanted him again, and he returned with a staggering line — 19 factors on 7-for-8 capturing to go together with 18 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Within the first half, his offense was essential — his scoring across the basket affords a depth and dynamic that’s in any other case sorely missing. Maybe extra importantly, Queta dominated the offensive glass — eight of his 18 rebounds stored possessions alive. These offensive rebounds helped foul Jaden McDaniels out of the sport within the fourth quarter (which was useful for Brown), and his defensive boards jumpstarted the Celtics’ livid fourth-quarter rally.
One in all Queta’s largest enhancements this season, in the meantime, is his screening. Final season, Queta picked up quite a lot of pointless fouls, a lot of which had been as a consequence of his sloppy screening habits — when you need to defend bodily across the rim, you possibly can’t afford to additionally give away possessions by shifting your hips or your ft when ball-handlers are attempting to navigate their defenders round you.
It’s not completely clear how good Queta can turn out to be, and even whether or not this present run of kind is the brand new regular. However on a Celtics crew that got here into the season with out a confirmed NBA middle, Queta has been revelatory.
Derrick White wasn’t excellent (however he was good).
White’s capturing struggles are well-documented this season, however he made a number of performs that bordered on spectacular — together with one comparatively unremarked-upon play the place he blocked an alley-oop try from Edwards to Rudy Gobert (which counted for nothing within the field rating) in addition to a swat on the rim, erasing a drive by Edwards (which, after all, counted for one among his two blocks). He additionally made an enormous 3-pointer that capped off the Celtics’ 12-point run within the fourth quarter, and he drew an enormous three-shot foul that stored them within the combat even after Conley’s 3-pointer gave the Timberwolves the upper-hand.
White hasn’t been excellent (2-for-8 from three, 6-for-16 from the sphere), and Celtics followers (and members of the media who’re at present writing these takeaways) who thought he may need an All-Star caliber season had been, after all, far out over their skis.
However White makes massive performs, and he’s typically nonetheless a optimistic participant, even when he struggles along with his shot. How good the Celtics may be this season is prone to be dictated by whether or not their struggling shooters come round, and White might be one of many prime drivers.
The Celtics wanted extra from Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons.
The second half wasn’t type to the Celtics, but it surely began to slide away in earnest at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Brown on the bench — a run that continued even after he returned.
These moments are essential for Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons, neither of whom was ok offensively on Saturday.
Pritchard is commonly useful defensively — or at worst, not actively hurtful — however he was 4-for-14 from the sphere and 1-for-8 towards the Timberwolves.
Simons, in the meantime, performed simply 17 minutes. He was 2-for-4 and made his lone 3-point try, however when he was entrusted with main ball-handling roles, he appeared overwhelmed.
The Celtics had been outshot from 3.
The Celtics gained a number of of the margins — together with a formidable 14-5 exhibiting on the offensive glass — however the Timberwolves had been 21-for-48 on 3-pointers (43.8 %) whereas the Celtics had been 16-for-46 (34.5 %) after going 7-for-24 within the second half. Final season, the Celtics gained quite a lot of video games by merely overwhelming their opponent with made 3-pointers. On Saturday, the Timberwolves made 5 extra triples within the second half alone, which provides as much as an additional 15 factors.
That’s arduous to beat.
What’s subsequent
The Celtics will journey to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Sunday at 6 p.m. earlier than returning dwelling to face the Knicks and Wizards on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
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