BOSTON – It would be easy and in many ways understandable for the Boston Celtics to go into 2018 being nostalgic about how things ended in 2017.
They fought off an always-competitive Brooklyn team 108-105 on New Year’s Eve to earn their 30th win of the season, the first team in the NBA to do so this season.
The victory puts Boston on pace for 60 wins this season which would be a first for fifth-year coach Brad Stevens.
But as well as the Celtics have played thus far, they know Father Time’s flipping of the calendar means they too must move on and the success thus far doesn’t guarantee the good times will keep going in 2018.
“It’s a new year so it’s a new day,” said Boston’s Jaylen Brown. “Everybody starts at 0 – 0. So, coming into the next part of the year it’s like starting the whole season over again. We’ve got to continue doing what we did to become the number one team in the East.”
Here are some other takeaways from Boston’s 108-105 win over Brooklyn.
MARCUS MORRIS
Boston Celtics
The more you see Morris play, the clearer it becomes just how important he is to this Celtics team. Being a versatile defender who can also score on the block, from 3-point range and all points in between, is what makes him such a key figure in Boston’s plans going forward. On Sundayhe had 15 points off the bench, doing so on 5-for-7 shooting in just under 17 minutes of playing time.
JAYLEN BROWN’S RETURN
You never know how a player with Brown’s level of athleticism will respond to returning to action following a knee injury. While he didn’t have any above-the-rim highlight dunks, he didn’t show any signs that the knee was an issue. Defensively he was where he needed to be most of the night, and he was both proficient and aggressive at times on offense. For the game, he had 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting which included him connecting on 3-for-5 from three-point range.
JAYSON TATUM
The year didn’t end on the best of terms statistically for Tatum who had a rare bad shooting night with nine points on 2-for-7 shooting. More concerning were the struggles he had defensively as the Nets made a conscious effort to attack him specifically over and over again. As the game wore on, Tatum’s defense returned to a more solid state of existence which was a good thing to see. But it’s becoming clearer that Tatum, like most of the Celtics, could use the upcoming slow-down in the schedule.
SECOND HALF ADJUSTMENTS
Although Boston led by as many as 13 points in the first half, for the most part it was a relatively close game. The biggest change in the second half was Boston being more aggressive offensively and in doing so, was rewarded with more frequent trips to the free throw line. In the first half, Boston was just 1-for-3 from the free throw line. In the second half, they were 15-for-22.
ARON BAYNES
While his minutes have been all over the map lately, the same can not be said for his impact when he’s in the game. There were so many different Celtics who stepped up on Sunday, it was easy to overlook what was one of Baynes’ better games. He is an elite defender first and foremost, which we saw throughout his 23 minutes of court time on Sunday. But his strength and physicality allow him to at times rebound the ball really well which was indeed the case on Sunday with him grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds which was only the third time this season he reached double digits in rebounds for Boston.