The Celtics wasted no time making their point in Charlotte.
Boston opened its four-game road trip with a 119-80 rout of the Hornets on Friday night, a game that was effectively over before the first quarter was finished. The Celtics jumped out to a 9-2 lead about three minutes in and never let the night get uncomfortable, rolling to a 40-20 advantage after one, a 70-39 cushion at halftime and a 96-57 lead after three quarters.
The win pushed Boston to 7-2 and left it alone in the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference behind the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jayson Tatum set the tone as the clear headliner. He finished with a game-high 34 points, and nobody else on either side reached 20.
Tatum shot 9-for-16 from the field, 5-for-8 from three and was perfect at the line, knocking down all 11 of his free throws. He also added eight rebounds, nine assists, one steal and a block in 29 minutes, with four turnovers mixed in.
Derrick White also had one of his best shooting nights of the season. After some chatter about his dip from deep - he entered the game shooting 29.3% from three this year after hitting 32.7% last season - White went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting overall. It’s only one game, but it was the kind of clean perimeter performance Boston has been waiting for.
Paul George didn’t have much going offensively, even if he still left his fingerprints on the game in other ways. He scored eight points on 3-for-11 shooting, including 2-for-5 from three, and added five rebounds, one assist and three turnovers in 22 minutes. Defensively, he chipped in with two blocks, a steal and a few hustle plays that showed up even on a night when his shot didn’t.
Mitchell Robinson continued to settle in after a slow start in Boston. Coming off the bench for the second straight game, he played 15 minutes and posted six points on 3-for-5 shooting, seven rebounds, including three offensive boards, and a block. He looked more comfortable, played with more energy and even finished a couple of lobs.
Payton Pritchard gave the Celtics a useful bounceback showing as well. Questionable because of an eye abrasion and coming in after an uneven stretch, he contributed 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting, hit four of his six threes, and added six rebounds, five assists and a steal in 23 minutes. It was the kind of across-the-board effort Boston can use when the game is already under control.
Hugo Gonzalez, who had started Boston’s previous three games, barely saw the floor until the result was long settled. He played just three minutes before the fourth quarter and ultimately logged about 15 minutes, finishing with eight points on 2-for-5 shooting and one rebound. By then, the Celtics had already turned the game into garbage time.
And yes, the margin got so wide that Mike Conley played almost 11 minutes. He missed his only shot and had one assist.
The Hornets entered the night on a five-game losing streak, with their offense in rough shape, Kon Knueppel sidelined and Brandon Miller leaving early because of right groin soreness. Boston did exactly what a top team is supposed to do in that spot: show up, take control and leave no doubt.
In Other News...
Derrick Whites Slump Is Still Bugging Celtics For One Big Reason
Derrick Whites long-range touch has been one of the quieter concerns around Boston early on, even as the Celtics have kept winning and the offense has stayed productive. His three-point percentage has trended down from 38.4% in recent seasons to 29.3% this year, a dip that stands out because so much of Bostons spacing and ball movement depends on guards and wings who can punish defenses from deep.
There is a reason the Celtics have not been knocked off course by it, though. Whites overall shooting from the field has improved, and Bostons offense remains strong enough to absorb a cold stretch from one of its most important perimeter pieces. The bigger question is what happens if White finds his previous form again, because even a modest rebound there would give an already dangerous attack another layer defenses have to account for. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Concern Is Already Hanging Over Bostons Biggest Gamble
Bostons blockbuster swap of Jaylen Brown for Paul George brought instant star power, but it also brought the kind of long-view anxiety that tends to follow a veteran wing with mileage on the clock. George has been productive early, giving the Celtics the kind of two-way presence they were clearly chasing, yet the trade has already been framed around a bigger question than his opening weeks: how much can Boston ask of him before the season starts asking back?
That concern is especially pointed because the Celtics did not make this move for October alone. The real test is whether George can still look like himself when the games matter most in the spring, and some around the league are already wondering how carefully Boston will have to manage his workload to get there. For a team that pushed its chips in, the gamble is less about what George can do now than whether he can hold up long enough to make the deal look right when the playoffs arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Have A Fourth Quarter Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Celtics have done plenty right through eight games to sit at 6-2, but the closing minutes keep undercutting the bigger picture. A team that has built leads early and often has not been nearly as secure when the game tightens up late, with opponents repeatedly finding room to chip away in the fourth quarter and turn comfortable margins into uneasy finishes.
The common thread has been hard to miss for anyone tracking the rotations and the defensive possessions that follow. Bostons late-game issues have shown up most clearly on the perimeter, where opponents have been able to generate the kind of looks that fuel comeback runs, and the lineup combinations used in those stretches are starting to draw scrutiny for whether they are holding up well enough when the legs get heavy. [Read more 🡒]