Celtics 116, Mavericks 106

When Gordon Hayward went down for 6 weeks with a broken, now-surgically-repaired hand, my immediate fear was that Jayson Tatum would see this as his opportunity too take over. Well take over he did and his teammates were able to emerge with a win despite his horrendous night. He took the most shots of anyone on the team, 18, and made just one. He also had several lapses on defense. He may someday be a great player but, for now, he needs to become a better team player and recognize the value of his teammates.

The Cs opened with a solid first quarter after which they led, 25-21. They had a poor finish to the second period and the score was knotted at 54 at the half. The Cs regained the lead in the third quarter, thanks to the shooting of Kemba Walker who had 14 points in the period, and again thanks to Walker put the game away before he was forced to the sidelines with back spasms brought on by some physical defense on the part of the Mavs.

Walker had another solid game with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists; Jaylen Brown had 25 points, 11 boards and 3 assists; Marcus Smart had his best offensive game thus far with 17 points, a rebound and 6 assists, after sustaining a thigh bruise in the last game; Daniel Theis as the starting center had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists; and Brad Wanamaker had 10 points, 4 boards and 2 assists to lead the bench scorers.

Theis has performed very competently on both ends of the floor and desevers some recognition for that. Enes Kanter was finally cleared to play and he had 3 rebounds in 6 minutes. Once again, the Cs defense was stout when it needed to be.

The next game is Wednesday night at home against the Washington Wizards, after which they embark on a West Coast road trip.

Celtics 135, Spurs 115

The Spurs jumped out to a early 7-0 lead before the Cs turned on the defense, began to steal the ball, and, before you knew it, the Cs had the lead at 39-30 at the quarter. It never got any better for the Spurs as the Cs scored 72 points in the first half to lead 72-54 at the half and their lead was never in single digits. A great win on the road for the Cs with lots of contributors. However, if Gordon Hayward didn’t have bad luck, he would have no luck at all, as he was lined up by Lamarcus Aldridge for a hard pick and came away with a left-hand fracture after starting the game with 9 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes. Marcus Smart, who had his best offensive game of the year, also left the game with a thigh injury sustained when he took a charge late in the third quarter.

The Cs were led by Jaylen Brown in his second game back from illness with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal; Kemba Walker had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists; Jayson Tatum had 19 points, 7 boards and 4 assists; Smart had 16 points, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals; and Robert Williams had 11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists and a career-high 6 blocks, with a couple of the sensational variety. Also impressive tonight was the strong play off the bench of Brad Wanamaker, Javonte Green and Grant Williams, especially on defense. Once again, Daniel Theis was solid defensively and he contributed offensively as well as in rebounding the ball.

Brown has clearly worked on aspects of his game this past off-season which make him a far more effective finisher at the rim than was the case in previous years. In many respects, this was Tatum’s best game of the year in that he recorded 4 assists and reduced his number of forced shots noticeably.

All this and we have yet to see Enes Kanter who missed his 7th game with a deep thigh bruise. This team has the potential to be very good primarily because of their ability to defend.

The next game is Monday night at home against the Dallas Mavericks and their sensational playmaker, Luca Doncic.

Celtics 108, Hornets 87

The Cs took control early and never looked back as they cruised to a comfortable win over a young Charlotte team that had a 4-3 record coming into this game. They jumped out to a 30-20 lead at the quarter, 52-43 at the half and 85-67 after three quarters with reserves playing the majority of the fourth quarter.

The Cs were led by Jayson Tatum with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist; Gordon Hayward had a double-double with 20 points, 10 boards and 6 assists; Kemba Walker had an emotional return to Charlotte but managed 14 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists; Jaylen Brown returned from illness to notch 12 points 5 boards and an assist; Javonte Green in 13 minutes had 12 points and 1 rebound; and Brad Wanamaker, in 15 minutes, had 9 points, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals.

This was billed as a match-up between Kemba and Terry Rozier but streaky Terry was 1 for 11 so not much materialized. Needless to say, we won’t miss watching Rozier continue to streak between hot and cold or Kyrie Irving failing to defend on the perimeter which wreaked havoc with the Cs interior defense.

The next game is Saturday evening at 5 against the Spurs in San Antonio.

Celtics 119, Cavaliers 113

For the first time this year, the Cs ran plays for Gordon Hayward early in the first period and he responded with 16 points on 7 for 7 shooting in the first half. Then he proceeded to score 23 points in the second half for a career-best 39 points. As if that weren’t enough, he rebounded a missed shot and scored with a put-back when the Cs porous defense, especially on treys, allowed the Cavs to make this game a lot closer than it should have been. The Cs led by 32-24 at the quarter, 61-52 at the half, and 89-83 after three quarters, before allowing the Cavs to cut the lead to 3 with a minute remaining.

Hayward made 17 of 20 shots from the field along with 7 rebounds and 8 assists to lead all scorers; Kemba Walker had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, but was plagued by four turnovers; Jayson Tatum had 18 points, 7 boards and 1 assist; and Carsen Edwards, in 15 minutes, had 13 points, including 3 of 4 on treys, overcoming his slow start in previous games. Daniel Theis did a fine job on interior defense, chipping in with 5 blocked shots in 30 minutes, as Robert Williams had 4 fouls in just 15 minutes of play and Enes Kanter logged yet another DNP because of injury. Jaylen Brown also missed another game because of illness. No official word yet on when those two players will be available to play.

This performance by Hayward should end the debate on who’s the best shooter on the team. Let’s hope we see more involvement in the offense early in the game for him and more patience on the part of Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart in jacking up treys which, when they are not hitting their shots, is really disruptive to the Cs offense.

The next game is Thursday night in Charlotte against the Hornets.

Celtics 104, Knicks 102

Old friend Marcus Morris tried his best to do his former mates in, hitting a huge trey to cap a 29-point night with 5 seconds left, but Jayson Tatum hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point line with a second left to give the Cs the win. This surely was a much closer game than their previous in New York last week but there were too many mistakes, especially with turnovers (15) and failure to box out on the boards, which made this much more of a game than it was expected to be. The Knicks led at the quarter, 23-22, and at the half, 50-49, before the Cs grabbed the lead, 75-74, after three quarters.

The Cs were led Kemba Walker with 33 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, including 14 of 14 from the line; Tatum had 24 points, 6 boards and 3 assists; Gordon Hayward had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals; and Grant Williams had 10 points, 4 boards and an assist. Tonight, they were without the services of Jaylen Brown, out with an illness, and Enes Kanter and Robert Williams, both out with injuries. Kanter and Williams ability to rebound was surely missed against these taller Knicks.

Grant did a solid job at the center position, at 6-6, but it was a struggle for him against much taller foes. Brad Wanamaker contributed some nice assists in his first entry but struggled with TOs in the fourth quarter and Carsen Edwards struggled with his shooting, just 1 for 6 in 14 minutes.

The next game is Tuesday night in Cleveland against the recently improved Cavaliers who have benefitted from the return to health of Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love. Hopefully, the bigs and Brown can return for that one because they will be needed.

Celtics 116, Bucks 105

This was a game with two entirely different halves. In the first half, the Cs could get nothing done either offensively or defensively and trailed at the half, 58-42. After starting slowly in the early part of the third quarter, the Cs caught fire on both ends of the floor, scoring 38 points in the third and 36 in the fourth to cement the win. This was particularly impressive because they were still without Enes Kanter, because of injury, and Jaylen Brown who was ill; yet they won the third quarter by 20 points to lead at 80-76 after three.

Kemba Walker didn’t have a strong game percentage-wise, 7 for 19, but he was 14 of 15 from the free throw line and he led the Cs scorers with 32 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists; Jayson Tatum, after a woeful first half, came on strongly to score 25 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists; Gordon Hayward had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists; Marcus Smart had 19 points, 4 boards and 6 assists; and Daniel Theis had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist. Smart also had a terrific defensive game as he was effective against both the Greek Freak and Khris Middleton. This was one of his best games on both ends of the floor. The Cs bench actually contributed very little offensively but both Grant Williams and Semi Ojeleye were impressive on defense.

The next game is Friday night at home against the New York Knicks.

Celtics 118, Knicks 95

After a 13-2 start by the Knicks, the Cs had to struggle for quite awhile before Kemba Walker stepped up and showed everyone why the native of the Bronx truly loves playing in Madison Square Garden. Although he started slowly, 1 for 4 from the field, his shots soon found nothing but net and the game was history as he was a key component of the 36 points the Cs scored in the fourth quarter. At the end of three quarters, the Cs held a slim lead, at 82-76.

Kemba led all scorers with 32 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists with 0 turnovers; Jaylen Brown, although logging 4 personal fouls early in the third quarter, notched 19 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists; Jayson Tatum struggled mightily once again as he was 1 for 9 from the field in the first half while finishing with 15 points, 9 boards and 4 steals; Marcus Smart had 12 points, 6 boards and 5 assists; and Carson Edwards was gifted with 21 minutes of playing time during which he scored 10 points along with 3 assists and 2 steals. Gordon Hayward, in what might have been his first back-to-back game in 3 years, looked out of sync and failed to reach double figures.

Both Robert and Grant Williams continue to impress, especially on defense, in many meaningful minutes. The Cs as a team had another weak night at the free-throw line, missing 10 of 29 attempts.

The Knicks are a weak team, lacking in talent, with a lot of new players who have never played with one another and that was painfully evident in the fourth quarter.

The next game is Wednesday night at home against the Milwaukee Bucks who struggled tonight against the visiting Miami Heat.

Celtics 112, Toronto Raptors 106

Despite having considerable difficulty in defending the 3-point shot, allowing the Raptors to shoot 50% at 18 for 36, the Cs executed down the stretch and came away with a hard-earned win. They led 22-21 at the quarter, 50-49 at the half, allowed the Raptors to win the third quarter to lead 82-76 after 3, before they closed solidly to win by 6. Perhaps more importantly, they were able to overcome some shortcomings, like Kemba Walker shooting 1 for 9 from the field in the first half, and Jayson Tatum once again forcing a number of shots in the first half while shooting 4 for 12 from the field. Actually, Walker played more defense in this game than Kyrie Irving did for most of last year and his savvy was an important ingredient in the victory.

Tatum led the scorers with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals; Jaylen Brown had 25 points, 9 boards and 4 assists; Walker had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Gordon Hayward had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, and was terrific in the closing minutes; and Marcus Smart had 10 points, a rebound and 3 assists to complement his usual tenacious defense. When this group finally decides to share the ball and reduce the number of forced shots, they could be really something to contend with.

Particularly impressive was the play of Robert Williams and Grant Williams, who each played 20 minutes. Daniel Theis limped off the floor in the first half and headed straight to the locker room; thus forcing minutes on both Williams, and they both responded well on both ends of the floor. Grant has an NBA-ready body and he really understands how to play the game. He only shot 2 for 9 from the field but he had 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal while Robert had 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot. Brad Wanamaker chipped in with a solid 10 minutes with 4 points, 3 rebounds, a steal and a block.

This was a nip and tuck affair from the gitgo and was a pleasure to watch. There is little doubt this group will be fun to watch.

The next game is tomorrow night against the New York Knicks in New York.

Philadelphia 76ers 107, Celtics 93

This truly was a game of extremes. The Cs missed 14 free throws, the margin of defeat, and, with the exception of Jayson Tatum, who was 4 for 8, shot abominably from the 3-point line. The Cs got very little help from the bench, but the tale of the game was in the starting lineup anyhow. Kemba Walker shot a disastrous 4 for 15 from the field. Enes Kanter missed 5 of his 7 free throws. Tatum was 4 for 8 on treys but was 4 for 14 on all other field goal attempts. And Jaylen Brown celebrated his huge contract extension by committing 5 fouls in 8 minutes of play, essentially rendering himself useless to his team, and basically spent the game on the bench. Only Gordon Hayward had a decent night as the team’s leading scorer with 25 points on 8 for 15 shooting. Marcus Smart had his usual shooting night, 0 for 4 on treys and 2 for 7 from the field, but he was a solid contributor in his many usual other ways.

The Cs played a solid first quarter and led 25-20 at the break. The Sixers gained the lead at half, 49-48. Celtic mistakes allowed the Sixers to completely dominate the second half. The defensive assignment on Hayward on Simmons resulted in Simmons leading his team on successful drives to the hoop all game long.

The next game will be Friday night against the Toronto Raptors. Hopefully, this shooting night, especially the free-throw shooting will prove to be just an aberration. Time will tell!

Celtics 118, Cleveland Cavaliers 95

Had a chance to watch this one on League Pass. The game was played in Cleveland and the Cs left their best 7 players in Boston, but it didn’t really matter. Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters were both sensational as they led the scorers with 30 and 24 points respectively, Waters also chipping in with 6 assists. And both play defense, too. Also impressive were Javonte Green with 16 points and 9 rebounds and Vincent Poirier who, in limited minutes had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Clearly, Waters would love to stay in Boston rather than join the REd Claws in Portland.

Brad Wanamaker and Semi Ojeleye were also both solid in limited minutes.

The first game is Wednesday night, October 23rd against the Toronto Raptors.