Boston Celtics: A Few Takeaways From Season Opener

The Boston Celtics started off their season the right way by dismantling the Philadelphia 76ers 112-95, and the team showed some great signs on both ends of the floor. Coach Brad Stevens managed to play 10 guys, who each played more than 10 minutes, and even found time to get two of the Celtics’ rookies on the floor in Jordan Mickey and Terry Rozier.

Yes, Mickey and Rozier both played garbage time minutes for the team at the end of the game, but it was still good to see them get some playing time, while R.J. Hunter and James Young were inactive and Kelly Olynyk was suspended.

The Celtics started off slow in Wednesday night’s game against the Sixers by playing very sloppy and shooting poorly, but the team got it going once the second quarter started and never looked back after they went on 20-2 run in the in the second quarter.

Boston did beat up on the Sixers pretty good, once they got it going in the after the first quarter, so what can we take away from this game?

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Defense! Defense! Defense!

The Celtics have been know to struggle on defense in the past, particularly in the frontcourt, but the addition of Amir Johnson and the relentless defensive effort from Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley makes the team a defensive threat. The team tallied seven blocks Wednesday–Johnson had two– and the team also tallied 10 steals, with Isaiah Thomas leading the pack with three.

The lineup combination with Bradley, Smart, Jae Crowder, Tyler Zeller and Johnson is a scary good defensive lineup. There would be no problems on the glass or protecting the rim because even Zeller has proven that he can protect the rim, but he must improve a little bit because he has averaged 0.7 BPG in his career (tallied one block last night).

The defense for the Celtics Wednesday night was impressive, despite getting bullied in the paint at times by Jahlil Okafor, who racked up 26 points in his rookie debut, but the team started to defend him better as the game went on.

David Lee has been known to be poor on defense, and Wednesday night Nerlens Noel and Okafor attacked Lee when he was on the floor, so it will be interesting to see if Lee gets crunch-time minutes as the season goes on because he is poor on defense, but he is a big offensive weapon.

Random: League leaders in PER right now. https://t.co/n2Wc4vCXfh Wondering if Jordan Mickey can keep it up. pic.twitter.com/jurqRHY4tN
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) October 29, 2015

Isaiah Thomas the shining star

Thomas picked up right where he left off by showing his ability to facilitate, and score in a variety of ways. Thomas came off the bench and played 29 minutes for Boston, he racked up 27 points, seven assists, and three steals. He did not shoot well right away by missing his first five shots terribly, but once he settled down, he started to catch fire.

He was in a little bit of a slump heading into this game after going 3-for-17 in the last preseason game, but he never looked back once he started hitting some shots. He hit 10 of his final 14 shots, and he led the Celtics to an opening night victory. He was a great facilitator for some of the big men as well, such as Johnson, who scored 15 points.

He is a wonderful pick and roll guard, and he is hard to predict because he can blow by anyone or outshoot anyone.

The debate over whether Thomas should start is ongoing because of his ability to put up these numbers, but if the Celtics are winning and Thomas puts up these numbers and still plays almost 30 minutes a game, then why does it matter? Boston still do not have one star, but Thomas is the closest thing the team has to a star and it is not even up for debate.

Jared Sullinger trying to earn his spot

Sullinger was one of the more intriguing storylines this offseason because the Celtics added many new frontcourt players, and Sullinger was arguably on the cusp of not playing because of the crowded frontcourt. Olynyk, who probably would have been a big part of the rotation, was out, so Sullinger got his time to show that he still deserves to be a big part of the rotation.

He did not disappoint by putting up 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and he shot an efficient 6-for-8 from the field, despite missing two three-point shots. Sullinger also got it done on defense, and he played more minutes than Johnson, Zeller, and Jonas Jerebko.

He has the ability to be a great offensive weapon and he gives the team the ability to play small because he can facilitate and stretch the floor, but he still needs to get in better basketball shape.

Oct 28, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) takes a shot while defended by Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger (7) during the second half at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 112-95. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

It will be interesting to see how much Sullinger will play once Olynyk comes back because someone has to see a decline in minutes, but if Sullinger plays like he did last night by shooting efficiently from the floor and playing formidable defense, then he will have to be a part of the rotation.

Overall

The Celtics did defeat the Sixers in impressive fashion, but it was the first game of the season and the Sixers, well … are the Sixers, which is not very good. Boston’s next nine games are going to be a tough test for the team, but it will show whether these players are ready to make a push for a high seed in the playoffs.

The team faces up against some elite squads out West like Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Houston. Boston also faces up against Toronto, Washington, Atlanta, and Milwaukee who all made the playoffs last season in the East.

These games for Boston will show whether or not their deep team with no star can handle teams with one or two stars. The team will face Kevin Durant, John Wall, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George and Indiana on this stretch.

Teams like San Antonio are still figuring things out with their new loaded roster and Houston is without Dwight Howard, so the Celtics might be able to squeak out a win in one of these games. Pay attention to Boston as they start their rough stretch Friday against the Raptors.

FiveThirtyEight projects the Celtics to be a No. 2 seed in the East, which might sound a little crazy, but Wednesday night’s game showed that this team has the depth, defense, and firepower to make some noise in the East.

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