BOSTON – The Boston Celtics had by far their lowest scoring output of the season Monday night, falling 93-90 to the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Yet, coach Brad Stevens claimed after the game that it was the best offensive effort he’s seen out of the group thus far.
Those two statements may not seem to add up on the surface, but if you really paid close attention to the rhythm and the pace that Boston played with Monday night, you’d find that Stevens has a solid point.
In terms of moving the ball, the C’s were fantastic, even brilliant at times, against the Magic. They were driving and kicking, creating open 3s and getting great looks at the basket all night long. The only problem was their inability to make those open shots consistently, which resulted in their first sub-100 scoring output of the campaign.
With that issue aside, Stevens was actually quite pleased with the offensive effort.
“Clearly you can always point to the shot-making (as the issue), but that was the best we’ve played offensively all year, as far as getting shots, and moving the ball, and working for the right ones,” said the coach. “On a good shooting night, that could’ve been a 35-assist night.”
But that type of night just wasn’t meant to be had against the Magic, as Boston connected on only 40.7 percent of their field goals, including a measly 22.5 percent from 3-point range. The only place where the C’s shot the ball decently was from the free-throw line (77.8 percent), but that was almost irrelevant considering that the team only made nine trips to the charity stripe all night long.
“We had a lot of open ones, but some days those just don’t fall,” said Gordon Hayward, who shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, but missed a potential game-tying trey as time expired. “I thought we tried to move the ball and get better looks. We’ve gotta be able to get to the line a little bit better, get some stuff at the rim. But they were giving us the 3-ball and we just didn’t have it.”
The C’s haven’t really “had it” from a shot-making perspective all throughout the preseason and the first week of the regular season. In fact, their 41.2 percent clip from the field through the first four games of the regular season is the lowest mark in the Eastern Conference.
With that being said, Monday’s game still packed plenty of promise. That’s because, as Stevens reiterated, “Tonight was the first time we were really moving it.”
And boy, were they moving the rock fast, which, according to Kyrie Irving, is something that the C's have accentuated of late. The All-Star point guard said that Stevens has been encouraging the team to pass with quicker pace this season, but that could also take some time getting used to.
Once they do get used to it, Irving believes this Celtics squad could reach great heights offensively.
“The speed of movement is a lot different than it was last year because of the emphasis that Brad’s trying to put on point-five basketball – of making quick decisions and making sure everyone’s feeling good about the offense and making hard cuts,” said Irving, who tallied team-highs of 22 points and five assists, to go along with eight rebounds. “We can always can take the tough shots. Everyone on this team can iso. Everyone can get a basket anytime they want. Anybody can go get it. But if we do the little things and we commit to that, think of how special we could be.”
For now, the C’s are still a few steps away from reaching that special spot, but they at least are making strides. Monday’s final score wasn’t the greatest indicator of improvement, but it also didn’t tell the whole story.
The fact of the matter is that Boston was moving the ball with much greater pace and precision Monday night than it had all throughout the preseason and the first week of the regular season.
Moving the ball in such a manner is bound to create an abundance of open looks, so now the C's just have to start making them.
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