Boston’s Jayson Tatum converts a contested layup against Knicks Center Isiah Hartenstein in the garden Tuesday night in a 123-110 win. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Boston - Taking charge of the offense, Jayson Tatum led all scorers in the game with 28 points in only 30 minutes as the Boston Celtics take down rival New York Knicks at TD Garden Tuesday night. The Celtics stars shined bright, which led to the Celtics taking a sizable lead and holding onto it for the rest of the game.
The Knicks were unable to keep the game close down the stretch despite a valiant effort from forward Quentin Grimes. The former Jayhawk and Houston Cougar showed that he is ready for a larger role by having 22 points in only 26 minutes. New Knick Dante Divenchenzo also had a productive night adding 15 points on a poor shooting night from the field.
Head Coach Tom Thibadeau was not willing to risk injury with his stars and kept Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett, Josh Hart and Immanuel Quickley all on the bench and will likely give them their first minutes in their final tune-up game against the Wizards in the DMV Wednesday night.
The Boston Celtics continue to impress during the preseason. The starting five spent their first meaningful minutes together and showed an unselfish, move-the-rock style of basketball. Jayson Tatum was getting to his spots and knocking down shots at 60% rate, going 5-8 from three as well. New Celtic Kristaps Porzingis again showed signs of consistent scoring adding 20 points with 4 three pointers. Jaylen Brown added 17 and 6 assists while Jrue Holiday had 10 points and 7 rebounds and Derrick White had 9 and 5.
Head Coach Joe Mazzulla also has seen great progression from the bench guys. Al Horford brought forth a veteran consistent 8 points and 3 rebounds while young developments Sam Hauser and Peyton Pritchard had 15 and 11 points respectively. The Celtics will lean on these young guys to step into large bench roles in order to fill and improve on the pieces that they lost in the offseason.
The Knickerbockers were a challenge for the Celtics last season and will assuredly be a problem again this season. Julius Randle will have favorable matchups against a shorter Jaylen Brown, but may struggle getting to his low post spots against Kristaps Porzingis. Jalen Brunson should struggle against defensive superstar Jrue Holiday and will not have an easier time against Derrick White. The Celtics will rely heavily on their defense.
Jaylen Brown flushes a dunk over Knicks Center Mitchell Robinson. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) The Knicks defense at times has struggled containing star scorers, which could lead to a big night from the jays. Randle will most likely match up against Tatum, which should call for the longhorn action outside the arc in order to allow Tatum to have offensive freedom against a player who is vulnerable outside the paint. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday will all be matched up against strong defensive players in Josh Hart, R.J. Barrett and Jalen Brunson. 6th man of the year candidate Immanuel Quickley will maybe struggle containing the Celtics guards on offense.
Expect the Celtics to win the bench and assists battle but potentially lose in the rebounding game. Boston will rely on its defense in order to create offense against a good interior team like the Knicks.
The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks will meet on opening night in the mecca for each team's season debuts next wednesday in New York City.
Comments