Takeaways from the Boston Celtics’ 126–115 Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers …
The Celtics are really, really good
Granted, this wasn’t pretty. Boston coughed up most of an 18-point first quarter lead by halftime and the three-point alarmists—several of which sat on ESPN’s halftime panel—were out in force after the Celtics connected on just 7-of-24 from three in the first two quarters. But in the second half Boston did as Boston does, overwhelming the Lakers with a diverse (each of the five starters had at least 18 points), clean (just eight turnovers) offense while playing enough defense against everyone not named Anthony Davis (40 points) to outscore L.A. 68–58 in the second half.
How’s this for a road trip? After dropping an overtime thriller to Golden State, the Celtics mowed down the Kings, Clippers and Lakers—Western Conference playoff contenders, all. The Clippers had won nine out of 10 before facing Boston. The Celtics beat them by 37. The Lakers were days removed from a win in Oklahoma City. Boston put 68 points on them in the second half. The Celtics have a top-five offense and defense, the best top six in the NBA and a selfless attitude that makes it all work.
Can this offense be stopped?
Criticism of the three-point shooting, at times, is justifiable. Going 15-of-47 from three in an early-season loss to Philadelphia was bad. Missing 41 threes against the Warriors last week was worse. But while the Celtics take a lot of threes (a league-high 43.3 per game) they also make a bunch of them (37.8%, seventh in the NBA). No team, in fact, makes more than the 16.4 Boston connects on.
And if they are making threes, who stops them? Boston built a 12-point lead in the first three minutes without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ MVP candidate, touching the ball. The starting five entering Monday’s game 14–1, with a net rating of nearly plus 20 points per 100 possessions.
“We have so many weapons that it’s tough to prepare for us,” said Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis is one of them. The 7’3” big man has been a picture-perfect fit in the Celtics’ system. On Monday, Porzingis scored a team-high 28 points, collected 11 rebounds and swatted away two shots. When Anthony Davis defended him, Porzingis dragged him to the perimeter. When the Lakers switched, Porzingis punished a smaller defender on the inside.
“We haven’t had a low post presence like that since I’ve been on the Celtics,” said Tatum. “It creates so many problems. Are you going to switch us? Are you in drop? I’m just happy to be on this side of it.”
Are the Lakers in trouble?
Trouble might be too strong, but this is not the start L.A. expected. The Lakers are 16–15 and while injuries have been a factor—Jarred Vanderbilt missed time early in the season and Gabe Vincent could be out for two more months with just five games under his belt—inconsistency, especially offensively, has been a bigger one. The Lakers rank in the bottom third in the NBA in offensive efficiency, thanks in part to a three-point shooting percentage that is sandwiched between San Antonio and Charlotte. Opponents are packing the paint against L.A. and the Lakers are not able to make them pay.
Said LeBron James, “We’re still trying to figure out our situation as far as how we want to continue to attack each game.”
Lakers brass prioritized continuity last summer but Rob Pelinka and Co. have six weeks to decide whether to shake things up. Zach LaVine gets connected to L.A. often—LaVine and James are both represented by Klutch Sports—and if the offensive woes continue, Pelinka may have to decide if acquiring LaVine, or a player like him, is worth shaking up the roster.
Joe Mazzulla is having an excellent season
Mazzulla is a lightning rod for criticism, whether it’s over Boston’s shot selection or his reluctance to call timeouts. Still, Mazzulla is overseeing an elite, two-way team and has everyone on the roster buying in. That’s Coach of the Year caliber stuff.
Mazzulla’s challenge these next few months is continuing to develop the second unit. Payton Pritchard was solid on Monday (10 points) and has been terrific in December, connecting on 50% of his threes. Sam Hauser has cooled off after a hot start but he remains a reliable three-point shooter. Mazzulla has been mixing and matching big men—Neemias Queta got some early minutes against the Lakers—trying to find a reliable option after Porzingis and Al Horford.
Before the game, I asked Mazzulla about his confidence in the back half of his rotation.
“I was confident in them to start the year,” Mazzulla said. “Just because I’ve seen them just work every day. They’ve done a great job. Even in some of the games, the Orlando game, the Cleveland game, they’re finding ways to just impact the game with or without the ball. Guys are out and they’re filling right in. So extremely confident. And really, all of them, because of the work that they put in and the mindset that they bring. They have an extremely professional approach to it.”
