The Celtics defeated the Nuggets, 130-104 to sweep their two-game series in Abu Dhabi that opened the preseason.
Here are some takeaways from the second exhibition…
- Al Horford sat again with the four other starters beginning the game alongside Luke Kornet. It’s likely that Boston is ramping up Horford slowly following three consecutive extended playoff runs since returning to the Celtics. Horford mentioned the shorter offseason impacting his ramp-up schedule and that he’s still working his way into the form he needs to be in for the season.
- Kornet returned to a starting role and posted five points with a rebound, assist and block, shooting 2-for-3 with an and-one finish slipping past Nikola Jokić. Between two strong showings, Kornet appeared capable of helping spell the center position behind Al Horford when he’s available, and when both Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis miss time early in the season.
- The absences in the front court, however, did lead to some trouble on the defensive boards. The Nuggets recovered 12 of their 46 misses on the offensive glass (26%) after allowing 12 offensive rebounds on 49 misses on Friday. That, overall, amounted to a 25.3% offensive rebounding rate for the Nuggets, which would’ve ranked 27th among teams last year, but beat out Boston’s 20% offensive rebounding percentage. The Celtics only recovered seven of their own misses after hauling in 17 on Friday, albeit in part because their threes fell. Boston shot 38.3% from three on Sunday after their 32.8% effort in the first game. It’s a mild concern, one Jayson Tatum could solve with more minutes, but one worth watching into next weekend.
- The two wins over Denver carried over most of the attention to details from last year: Boston won the shot margin, 98-86 and 93-80, overwhelmed the Nuggets with three-point volume, 61-32 and 47-34, while tying the offensive rebounding battle (24-24), dominating the turnover battle (24-43) and losing in free throw attempts (29-53). The movement on offense shined, with the Celtics assisting on 33-of-47 baskets on Sunday after doing so on 29-of-37 on Friday. Payton Pritchard (14 pts, 5 ast) shook off early foul trouble and Sam Hauser (3-3 3PT) made his shots after starting cold in the first game to restore the bench impact from one year ago. The Celtics’ regular contributors looked like themselves from last year.
- Tatum continued his early turnaround from three (6-14 3PT, 42.9%) with his release undoubtedly looking quicker and more to the point. His efficiency from the field (40%), overall, didn’t stack up to his standards. His ball movement, clear focus on getting threes up and good defensive moments made the trip an overall positive. Jaylen Brown shot 8-for-16 on Sunday, dished three assists and turned it over once, looking fast, strong and on another level athletically through his minutes.
- No complaints about Derrick White, who shook off a slower Friday to shoot 5-for-10 on Monday. Jrue Holiday looked good catching passes in the pocket and allowed Boston to change matchups and schemes constantly on defense by defending up positions. It was tougher to judge the defense and depth with Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook sitting out for Denver on Sunday.
- Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer returned to the second unit and closely mirrored their impact from Friday. Walsh shot worse, finishing 0-for-3 from three to go 2-for-9 between both games. The Celtics experimented with having him bring the ball up again and he scored his lone basket in four tries by screening, slipping, sealing Jalen Pickett and patiently finishing a pass from Pritchard. Later, on defense, he cut off Vlatko Čančar’s pick-and-roll feed to James Nnaji by using his length and recovering around Nnaji’s screen. He defended well on-ball and looks well-prepared to play the Celtics’ systems on both ends. Will that lead to regular season minutes? Like with Springer, who went 1-for-4 from three in the two games, their hope for playing when others in front of them miss time will depend on their sh0t-making. Preseason rotations don’t matter much, but I wonder if they’ve both avoided full-time Maine roles.
- Xavier Tillman Sr. looks good. For a moment, I worried that he succumbed to knee pain again when Neemias Queta came off the bench first for Kornet. Tillman Sr. checked in for the second quarter, later playing alongside Queta, Drew Peterson, Baylor Scheierman and JD Davison for +0 minutes (10-10) in the fourth that intrigued on offense. Tillman hit Queta on the move for a finish inside before Queta returned the favor two plays later 0n the roll. The Celtics put Tillman Sr. in the post more and he split another pair of three-point attempts. His screening off-ball has clearly improved, crucial for him to fit into the Celtics’ offensive system.
- For Queta, the defense remains his biggest hurdle to playing consistently after the preseason. It’s encouraging that Boston continues to place him in drops, switches and roaming roles, which signals they want to find the best position to get him on the court given his physicality. They also appear intrigued by his high post creation ability, which he also received opportunities to showcase. He’s not quite there yet, but avoided fouling in 17 minutes and the Celtics won his minutes by 22 points.
- Lonnie Walker IV, Anton Watson and Scheierman returned for six minutes late in the game that didn’t bode well to their regular season inclusion in the rotation. Walker IV, who shot 0-for-4 after an 0-for-2 showing on Friday, doesn’t look in sync yet with Boston’s system and appears more than likely Maine-bound considering his usage so far. Scheierman didn’t look ready either, hitting his first three after five tries in 12 minutes. He shot 1-for-9 from the field in Abu Dhabi.
- The Celtics’ bench outscored Denver’s, 135-110, combined over the two games.
