NBA
Boston Celtics Disappoint in Pre-Season Opener
The Celtics made their pre-season debut last night against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets bested the Celtics 104-97 behind efforts from Jeremy Lamb’s 15 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist double-double. The lost has to be disappointing for a team that had so much hyper around them. However, it is only the pre-season and there are some very positive takeaways from the game.
The Starters are Learning How to Play Together
The Boston Celtics starting 5 took they court together for the first time. Things like this takes time to develop chemistry. It should take until January for this team to be firing on all cylinders. So if they don’t seem like they click in September then it’s completely normal. For example, not a single starter shot over 40% from the field. A glance at the box score could be worrying, however they were working on running Brad Steven’s offense rather than taking the game over themselves.
The best thing to see of this young core, excluding Al Horford, is that they were ready and willing to run on the break. Not many teams play with that effort in the pre-season so it was refreshing to see. I would expect their numbers to improve as the pre-season moves forward
Rookies Struggle in Debut with the Green
If you didn’t know the name Brad Wanamaker before the game, then you definitely knew it after the game. Personally, I was yelling at my television while watching him give away the game in the 4th quarter. The Celtics 29 year-old rookie finished the game with 2 points and 2 turnovers while shooting a blistering 14.3 percent from the field. Absolutely awful performance that should be of some worries to the coaching staff. Wanamaker was constantly taking poor shoots, making bad passes, and looked lost on defense. Hopefully Wanamaker can bounce back Sunday.
Robert Williams III was not as bad in his debut with the club, however I was expecting more. He was titled “The Steal of The Draft” but hasn’t proved it yet. Sunday night he should get more playing time to prove what he can do on the court
Player of the Game: Gordon Hayward
10pts, 3reb, 1ast, 28/20/71
His stats don’t jump off of the computer screen, however it was very nice to see him out on the court. As he gets back into NBA shaper he can become this team’s x-factor. After the game Hayward said of his performance “Didn’t feel like I played my best basketball, but I was having fun out there and it was good to be back with the guys. Definitely had some good moments, some bad ones.” Great to see the Hayward and the Celtics back on the court, should be a great season!
Photo credit to Highlight Store via Flickr
