With this win, the Celts notched their 6th straight W in a row.
At 32-12, no team in the league has a better overall record.
It’s not exactly all that common, seeing as how only two teams have managed to do it.
With the team playing well they entered Charlotte for a 2 game set against the 11-32 Hornets.
We’ve all seen that game before.
Guys stepped up, the team got stops, and the Celts just keep on rolling.
I’m not even going to talk about the 6MOY award.
That’s a lock at this point.
That wasn’t just a starter level performance from Malcolm last night, that was an All Star.
An aggressive Malcolm Brogdon is a completely different caliber of weapon.
The difference was he didn’t pass up his open looks so that playmake.
Since Brogdon stopped doing that shit, it’s completely changed his production and confidence.
It’s not really a complicated formula for Brogdon’s success.
If this man’s foot touches the paint, I promise good things will happen.
Either for him or for someone else.
This team is going to survive without Jaylen by doing what Jaylen is great at.
Monster game from a monster addition, no two ways about it.
Once that third quarter hit, it was like Tatum got all his powers back.
To put it into perspective, Tatum had 17 points in the 3rd quarter.
As a team, the Hornets had 19.
That those things are going to happen over the course of 82 games.
But more often than not, Al won’t look 36.
Instead, he’s going to look 26
I love this man.
Heading into this season I was basically going to consider whatever Al was able to contribute as a bonus.
I figured after finally playing a full year there would be some normal regression.
The Celts held CHA to only 40 points on 34/16% shooting with 7 TOs.
To see them finish at 106 is pretty damn good.
The Celts are now tied for 5th in the NBA in defense if you were curious.
- Do the Mazzulla Ball doubters see the light yet?
Another game with 120+ points in regulation.
Joe knows what he’s doing.
The principles of Mazzulla Ball were everywhere you looked in this game.
36 times to be exact.
You have to sacrifice your own personal gain for the chance to see your teammate thrive.
You have to love and trust.
That is Mazzulla Ball.
You have to have the confidence to take and make a shot when you’re open.
If that’s a 3PA, great.
If that’s a midrange jumper, great.
The point is to generate as clean a look as possible.
Sometimes that’s going to mean a game like this where 53 of the 99 FGA are 3PA.
When they do that, opposing teams simply don’t have the horses to keep up.
The good news is the way Smart’s passing the ball makes up for it.
This is who he’s been all season and really the last two seasons if we’re being honest.
The shooting is going to come and go, that’s nothing new.
But if that volatility is what gets me everything else that comes with Smart, sign me up.
Marcus is going to put you in hell.
- Everything about Rob is perfect.
I love that he is willing to die if it means the Celts will win.
It’s all Rob cares about.
The fact that he’s also the best OREB center in the NBA certainly helps as well.
His feel/timing is still a work in progress and look at how dominant he already is.
- It really is impressive how mentally tough Payton Pritchard must be.
Sometimes it’s a big OREB, sometimes it’s a big three, sometimes it’s his speed.
Instead, they came out with great energy, they punched first and really never looked back.
What’s that about?
No, the Hornets bullied the shit out of the Celts defense.
They lived in the paint to the point where 18 of their first 34 points came from that area.
In fact, the Hornets killed them all night from the paint finishing with 60 points.
That’s way too many for a team that had almost all their plus defenders.
- Very unfortunate that Smart/White had that freak collision.
They called it a neck sprain for Derrick and I hope he’s doing alright.
You never know with those head/neck injuries.
I’d probably sit him tomorrow and let him get a nice break before Thursday.
Especially if someone like Pritchard is playing well and deserves the minutes.
The Ugly
- Nope, winning streak is still intact.
6 in a row is nice, but you know what’s better?
7 in a row.
Respect the opponent, take the game serioiusly, and let’s keep this train rolling.
