BOSTON – In Sport 2 towards the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night time, the Boston Celtics as soon as once more confirmed off their versatility. Defensively, this meant holding the Hawks to only 106 factors with a good looking mixture of inside dominance and forcing turnovers. Offensively, it was their capacity to combine in three-point capturing with a forceful paint assault.
However as an entire, it was about their depth.
Jayson Tatum nonetheless led the workforce in scoring, and Robert Williams nonetheless supplied an emphatic block, however the whole workforce stepped up and overwhelmed Atlanta as a bunch.
“Assured in regards to the depth. Assured in regards to the lineups and the completely different lineups we will play,” mentioned Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “After I talked about depth, I discussed the variety of gamers, however I additionally talked about the completely different ways in which we will play with the identical guys.”
In every single place the Hawks turned, one other Boston participant was there to close them down or nail a shot on the offensive finish. Every participant took on a barely completely different position, offering power the place the Celtics wanted it.
For Derrick White, that position was that of a secondary scorer. He took over for lengthy parts of the sport, significantly within the 4th quarter when he scored 14 of the the Celtics’ 29 factors, cleansing up Boston’s mess and getting wherever he needed on the offensive finish.
The Celtics guard even earned MVP chants from the TD Backyard crowd – an incidence normally saved for Tatum or Jaylen Brown.
“I used to be pleased for him,” Tatum mentioned of White’s MVP chants. “He’s been taking part in his a** off these final two video games. Clearly, a giant, large cause why we’ve gained these final two video games. We’d like him to proceed to play at this stage, and he can. So, I used to be pleased to listen to that. We talked about [the chants] after the sport. He was like, ‘that’s what it looks like?’ And I used to be like, ‘Yeah, I suppose.”
White completed the sport with 26 factors, second to solely Tatum’s 29, in addition to seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks. White shot 11-of-16 from the sector and 2-of-5 from three-point land.
The Celtics’ large males additionally performed enormous roles in Sport 2. Williams’ and Al Horford’s impression will all the time be felt on protection — they recorded two and three blocks, respectively — however additionally they introduced it on the other finish.
Williams took cost on offense within the third half, calling for the ball when he felt he had a mismatch and ending across the rim. He additionally cleaned up a miss utilizing his nice contact.
In the meantime, Horford performed his common position behind the arc, nailing large photographs when Boston wanted it most. He drained two large threes for the Celtics.
Each have taken on no matter position the workforce wants them to, and Williams, particularly, has needed to make a giant psychological shift as he’s now coming off the bench. However he hasn’t thought twice about it.
“We now have a bunch of men that don’t actually care [about whether they start],” Mazzulla mentioned earlier than the sport. “They need to win. It is a very well-connected locker room that has loads of expertise. That has seen loads of successes and failures, and we’re in a window now the place all people’s prepared to place the whole lot apart to need to win.”
Transferring down the road, Malcolm Brogdon bounced again in Sport 2 after a shaky Sport 1 efficiency. He gave Boston a bit little bit of the whole lot, piling up 13 factors, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
Even Sam Hauser gave the Celtics a small enhance. The second-year ahead solely hit one three, however he additionally corralled three boards and remained regular on the defensive finish. Trae Younger and the Hawks constantly attacked him, however he didn’t budge.
At each flip, Boston had a participant able to assault the Hawks. Tatum and Brown performed like their regular selves, and Atlanta ought to anticipate that stage of play. However with what number of gamers there on the Celtics roster able to taking on, they have been engulfed in inexperienced.
“That’s the fantastic thing about being on a fantastic workforce,” mentioned Brown. “To have the ability to have a number of threats on the market. To have the ability to play the sport in numerous methods and win in numerous methods. Tonight was an instance of that. D-White simply exploded. And on any given night time, it could possibly be anyone. So, we simply bought to encourage that.”
Heading out on the street, the Celtics will look to proceed their dominance. And primarily based on the primary two video games, one of the best ways to do this can be by using their depth.