The new look Boston Celtics played their first preseason game of the year and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 121-103.  It was our first look at most of the new players and the new style of play.  Here are a few observations from the game. 

Before I get into it, I have to point out that preseason games are not regular season games and everything that happens has to be taken with a grain of salt.  Much to this point is that Memphis did not play a lot of their regulars due to injuries.  They played a glorified Summer League team and the Celtics, who were short some guys as well, treated them like a Summer League team.  But it’s all we have to go on right now and as they say, we have a show to do today. 

The first thing you notice watching the team play last night is the tempo and energy with which they played.  Everyone on the team has talked about how fast they want to play and how hard training camp has been.  Well, the new style was on display in this one.  The Celtics looked to run as much as they could and played with a lot of pace on offense.   They also played very aggressively on defense, even picking up full court throughout the game.  A lot of teams, I would think most teams, talk about wanting to play faster in training camp.  The Celtics showed that they mean it.  Now the question is will they keep it up all season and all game long?  When they are in a tight game in the 4^th quarter are they going to start walking the ball up and playing slow again?  That’s the most important/best time to run.  Will they fully commit to being the team Tommy Hiensohn always dreamt they would be?  We shall see.  But last night was a good start. 

The second thing you notice is that the Celtics are going to have a hard time rebounding the basketball this season.  At least on the defensive end.  They actually did a really nice job offensive rebounding.  The team Memphis put on the floor last night was not a particularly big team and it did not have any big-time rebounders on it.  Yet the Celtics struggled to secure defensive rebounds time and time again.  This will kill them against a good team.  It’s not surprising that they will struggle in this area.  Not only did they lose their three main big men from last season but their leading rebounder, Jayson Tatum, is out.  This is something to keep an eye on not only as the preseason moves along but in the regular season as well. 

I’ll say this about the defense.  I love how aggressive they were playing and how much energy they were playing with.  This team is very athletic and can wreak havoc with their defense (and offense) by playing hard, fast, and aggressively.  However, if they are going to play that way, they all have to be on the same page and be playing with the same energy.  If one guy is lagging behind, they defense will break down and guys will be getting wide open looks.  Everyone has to be on their game for it to work well.  Hopefully they will be able to maintain their style of play without having break downs. 

The third thing that stuck out to me last night was that the Celtics don’t have any point guards aside from Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.  Pritchard did not play last night and while White started at the point, and played great, when he sat down for the night half way through the 3^rd period, the offense fell apart.  Suddenly they were turning the ball over and looked disorganized.  Now, most of the guys playing were young guys and new guys and it was the first preseason game so some of that is to be expected, but you could really tell no one was experienced at running the point.  Now, on most nights the Celtics will have White and Pritchard and one of them will be on the court at all times.  But there is an extreme lack of depth there.  It’s why I was surprised that the Celtics let JD Davidson walk.  I thought he would have been a fine 3^rd PG.  Maybe they think Simons, who did not dress for this one, can play the point.  I don’t know.  With the wealth of wings that they have I would suggest they try to move one for a PG for the bench.  That and if I were Max Shulga, I would be working my butt off to learn the position because there is an opportunity there. 

As far as individual performances go, I really liked what I saw from the new guys.  Luka Garza played really well.  Scalabrine compared him a lot to Kornet with his pick setting and offensive rebounding.  It’s a pretty good comparison.  Minott is very long and very athletic.  He crashed the offensive boards which is something I love.  Grabbing offensive boards can be a great way for this team to find the offense they are missing and Minott did a good job there.  He was also a pest on the defensive end as well.  He needs to work on his three-point shot but I thought it was a very good debut for him. 

I really liked what I saw from Hugo Gonzalez.  He does so many good things on the floor.  He looked so much more comfortable than he did in the Summer League having now had time to settle in in America and to practice with the team.  He may not start out playing for the big club but I will be surprised if he isn’t getting minutes by the end of the season. 

Walsh looked OK in his short stint before getting injured.  I don’t think it was anything big just it’s a preseason game so why play him if he’s not 100%.  He seemed under control, which is a big thing for him.  Scheierman played OK.  He was a lot better in the first half when the regulars were playing than he was in the second half where they had him running the offense.  I like his game but, especially right now, I think he is much more of a role player than a main guy.  The rest of the team I thought you saw what you expected to see. Jaylen did force things a little but he’s learning a new role as well.  The Celtics have a plethora of wings.  It’s going to be interesting to see who can play themselves into a rotation spot and who ends up riding pine (or heading to Maine). 

So that’s what I saw in game 1.  They play again on Friday night in Toronto.  You would figure they guys who sat out in this one will play and some guys who played in this one will sit out.  There are only 4 preseason games this year and the Celtics have a lot of guys they are going to want to get looks at with rotation spots open heading into the season.  Hopefully Toronto will play a better group of guys so they/we can get a better assessment of the Celtics players.  Oh, one last thing, if you thought the new style meant fewer three pointers, well, more possessions just means more three pointers. The Celtics shot 53 of them last night.