What needs to be done for this Boston team to lose a game? Apparently going through Atlanta doesn’t change anything. En route to the Hawks Wednesday night, yet weakened by a few absences, the Celtics have only extended their Eastern Conference dominance: a 126-101 win, and in style.
Everything had been gathered up for a small helmet to take place.
All. The Gods of TrashTalk Curse were also on board, with a special cocktail hour filmed Wednesday to test the potency of this group. All the gauges were on… green for Joe Mazzulla’s team to relax a bit. How come ? Because no Marcus Smart, no Malcolm Brogdon. Because Atlanta had just hit Milwaukee and was positioning itself in front of its crowd. Due to the potential loosening of the Jay Brothers and the potential decline of this monstrous offensive efficiency developed by the big green machine since the beginning of the season.
The answer ? No. It’s not.
Boston doesn’t want to lose, and Boston is only doing one thing: playing good basketball. In a game clearly dominated by the Celtics, it wasn’t the superstars who went out of their way to crush the competition. It wasn’t a period of tight cash that allowed Boston’s coaching staff to implement the ingenious system. No, not even. In Wednesday night’s game, Boston, first to last man, won. And in the image of this group sacrificing themselves for each other, it is the unexpected that has proved ready, while the night’s guests who were supposed to be ready… weren’t.
Highlights: Celtics Win Eighth Straight Game! #BleedGreen
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Watch highlights from the full game here!Presented by: @tmobile pic.twitter.com/ippFccXVIS
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 17, 2022
You still had to see the excellent entry into the game by Sam Hauser (15 points on 5/6 from distance) and Luke Kornet (15 points on 7/7 shooting, 4 blocks) to understand which team we’re talking about. However, it was necessary to appreciate the sublime work of Derrick White (16 points and 10 assists), more responsible in the lead in the absence of Smart, to remember which franchise we are talking about. Let’s face it, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown haven’t splashed Georgia with their talent. Tatum, clumsy, was impeccable in his creation but the misses marked his fans more than anything else (6/19 shooting). Brown was his team’s best player that night, but without having to reach Chamberlainesque heights (22 points).
No, the really cool thing about this Boston team on Wednesday was that without forcing, without reinventing basketball, they totally dominated the game. En défendant intelligemment, en faisant tourner le cuir de l’autre côté, en étant évidemment en feu à distance (21/46 à trois-points contre un horrible 7/32 côté Atlanta), et sans relâcher la pression sur l’adversaire du evening. Like this buzzer shot returned at halftime by Payton Pritchard, as soon as the Hawks wanted to get close, the Celtics had an answer. And as soon as the third quarter resumes, synonymous with hope? It is a gap that was widening, with Grant Williams also at work. Boston didn’t force, Boston didn’t play too much, but Boston gave that feeling of dominance like they were first against last in their conference. Yet, this was not the case for the Hawks, authors of a good start to the season.
Who’s gonna slow down these Celtics? You will have to tell us. Because even in a match where Jayson Tatum sends bricks on what to do, the defense adjusts well and the bench responds wonderfully present. Yes, there really was an Aperitif and it was aptly titled: These Boston Celtics are the NBA’s Best Team Going into the Season. Points bar.
