Deprived of Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics held on until the end against Toronto on Friday night, to ensure they continued their unbeaten streak at home (120-118), bringing their record to 16 wins in 16 games played at TD Garden.
Before ending 2023, there will be one last match to play this evening in San Antonio. But whatever happens, Boston is sure to finish the year with the best record in the league, ahead of Milwaukee and Minnesota.
An impressive collective
From every point of view, the first part of the season for Joe Mazzulla's men will have been a success, his team being among the best defenses in the league, in addition to shining at 3-points (16 baskets per game) and rebounding ( 47 takes on average). Elements which will still have served as reliable benchmarks against the Raptors when the latter returned Friday evening, while two major players were missing. This is what made the other strength of this group, each major absence is punctually compensated.
“What I told the group before the game is what an extra opportunity it is. I don't care who we play against, or which major five we play with, or which bench, I have complete confidence in the character of our locker room. Because I know who they are. I think we can win every game, no matter what happens.”, confided the C’s coach.
The Celtics, however, had big adjustments to digest since the offseason, between the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis then that of Jrue Holiday, which took place at the beginning of October, a week before the start of the pre-season. For Jaylen Brown, we must congratulate the “front office” who was able to get their hands on two major players who were able to quickly integrate and Joe Mazzulla's staff for making the whole a formidable team. On arrival, the result is there.
A franchise record in sight
“It’s a different year. First of all, we have more experience, we have an additional year of experience, and that makes the difference. Then, I would say that the way the team is built, it makes things a lot easier for us, with the contributions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. So the credit goes to us, the players”, he explained. “We have progressed and the credit also goes to the front office, for having built a team that complements each other well. I also commend the staff for making sure we know where we need to be, what reads need to be made, and for really clarifying the game for us. The coaching is excellent in ensuring that we know how to approach each match.”
After San Antonio this evening and Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Boston will return to the TD Garden against Utah to aim for a 17th victory in a row at home and equal the record from the start of the 1957/58 season.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Jayson Tatum | 29 | 37.0 | 47.0 | 34.0 | 80.6 | 0.9 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 27.0 |
| Jaylen Brown | 29 | 34.0 | 48.4 | 35.1 | 73.7 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 22.9 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 22 | 30.7 | 53.9 | 34.2 | 82.3 | 1.5 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 20.3 |
| Derrick White | 28 | 32.8 | 48.6 | 41.3 | 89.2 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 17.0 |
| Jrue Holiday | 29 | 34.6 | 45.9 | 42.0 | 81.8 | 1.7 | 4.9 | 6.6 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 13.1 |
| Sam Hauser | 31 | 22.8 | 44.4 | 41.2 | 80.0 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 8.5 |
| Al Horford | 26 | 26.9 | 47.4 | 38.0 | 100.0 | 1.6 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 7.5 |
| Payton Pritchard | 31 | 20.6 | 41.0 | 38.8 | 72.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 7.4 |
| Neemias Queta | 11 | 15.3 | 55.8 | 0.0 | 73.3 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 5.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 5.4 |
| Luke Kornett | 18 | 14.1 | 75.9 | 0.0 | 85.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 5.2 |
| Oshae Brissett | 16 | 10.6 | 48.5 | 37.5 | 62.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 |
| Drew Peterson | 1 | 2.6 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Dalano Banton | 14 | 7.2 | 51.6 | 12.5 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.7 |
| Lamar Stevens | 11 | 4.8 | 52.4 | 33.3 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| Svi Mykhailiuk | 12 | 7.6 | 32.1 | 22.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| Jd Davison | 1 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
