The first win of the Al Horford era is in the books, as the Celtics used a strong second half to beat Charlotte, 107-92, in a preseason game. Horford had 13 points, eight rebounds and one monster slam; Isaiah Thomas scored 15 points; Terry Rozier and Avery Bradley had 14 apiece; and Jaylen Brown had his first double-figures outing with 12 points, including two treys.
One bad thing happened, so keep your fingers crossed:
As @tvabby just reported, Isaiah Thomas dealing with a mild left wrist sprain … should be fine … WE’RE GOING TO BE FINE pic.twitter.com/AhhYKramMJ
— The Celtics on CSN (@CelticsCSN) October 7, 2016
Until the middle of the third quarter, this game played more like a regular season contest than preseason. Brad Stevens used a normal rotation, including the five who should be the normal second unit: Marcus Smart, Tyler Zeller, Jonas Jerebko, Brown and Rozier.
Unlike the game against Philadelphia, when the starters came out on fire, the Celtics couldn’t buy a hoop for the first four minutes – but neither could the Hornets. The Celts got untracked thanks to ball movement, including one possession off a steal by Amir Johnson in which all five Cs touched the ball and Jae Crowder finished by draining a wide-open corner three.
With Boston up one, Smart and Brown were the first subs, replacing Amir and Avery. The Celts then ran off seven straight points, highlighted by Jaylen’s pretty coast-to-coast layup. After Zeller and Rozier replaced Thomas and Horford, Charlotte bounced back with nine in a row. The Celtics missed their last six shots of the quarter and Charlotte led, 23-22, at the horn.
In the second quarter, the defense fell off a bit, allowing Charlotte to put up 28 points. Ramon Sessions, who always seems to play well against Boston, had 11 in the period and Charlotte led at halftime, 51-44.
The Celtics opened the third by turning up the defense, which put them in control. They sprinted to a 29-4 run to take an 18-point advantage. Boston finished with 40 points in the quarter and led 84-70 at the break. One highlight was Jaylen missing a corner three but, off a Crowder offensive rebound, hitting the second chance (a sure sign of a confident shooter). Another was Smart making consecutive jumpers, the second a pull-up off the dribble over tight defense.
Consecutive Rozier hoops early in the fourth quarter extended the lead to 21, and the rest was basically garbage time.
The Green:
- Isaiah made his first three shots from the arc and had 11 points at halftime.
- Amir hit a three from the corner.
- James Young stood out in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, six boards (including a scrappy offensive board), and some deflections.
- Looks like this will be a regular thing:
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) October 6, 2016
The Gross:
- Ball movement still a work in progress for the bench unit. In the first half, they had zero assists and shot just 6-15.
- Jerebko fouled out in just 11 minutes.
The Greenlights:
As a reminder, Al Horford now plays for Boston
Cut to the basket by @Al_Horford pic.twitter.com/kc3Hoig89o
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 7, 2016
Ball movement galore
Smart in the low post
The Grid:
- Celtics: 45.5% FG, 43.8% 3PTFG
- Hornets: 42.5% FG, 22.2% 3PTFG
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