Despite the loss of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers matchup — which served as the season opener for both teams — on Oct. 23 was still a heavyweight slugger that saw a seesaw game tilt in the Sixers favor as their gangly defense flustered the Celtics’ perimeter players, forcing them into errant and ill-advised jumpers.
Boston did themselves no favors, shooting an atrocious 26.9 percent from three and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line, getting outmatched on the glass 62-41.
However, every loss can be a lesson, and the Celtics learned a few things about themselves and what they need to do to play at an optimal level on Wednesday.
Here are three things we learned from Boston’s loss to Philadelphia:
Gordon Hayward is looking like his old self
Who would have thought that Gordon Hayward would be Boston’s best player on Wednesday?
The 29-year-old forward dropped a team-high 25 points while chipping in five rebounds and two assists, shooting an efficient 53.3 percent from the field and getting to the line 11 times as his teammates struggled with both their efficiency and their ability to generate fouls.
He was aggressive when teammates settled and for a player two years removed from a serious injury, Hayward more than impressed.
As it turns out, he’s as ready for the 2019-20 season as he says he is.
Jayson Tatum needs to actively focus on getting to the rim
Out of Jayson Tatum’s team-high 22 shot attempts, 14 of them came outside the paint. To put that in perspective, Hayward had a total of 15 shot attempts on the night; imagine if all but one of those came outside the paint.
If Jayson Tatum was Jayson Redick or Jayson Korver, that would be acceptable.
However, Tatum isn’t supposed to be a three-point specialist, he needs to diversify his game.
That means a better mixing of his shot attempts; less midrange attempts or settling for threes and more drives to the rim. Generating more fouls, as Tatum only had three total free-throw attempts on the night.
Less focusing on getting his numbers and a greater focus on what the team needs from him in order to reach their potential.
The Celtics need Tatum to play like an All-Star wing. For that to happen, he needs to be more physical and not settle for jumpers; he needs to take it to the defense.
Brad Stevens isn’t set against starting Enes Kanter
Throughout training camp and the preseason, how the Celtics were going to manage their center rotation was a major topic of discussion, with Boston having four centers worthy of playing time and at least three worthy of consideration as the last member of the starting five.
A job that looked like it belonged to Robert Williams III in the preseason opener looked like it was Daniel Theis’ to lose by the preseason finale.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens seemed content to bring Enes Kanter off the bench, both to maximize the defensive potential of the starting unit and to have Kanter’s scoring and rebounding — his energy — aid his youthful second unit.
However, having alluded to matchup-based starting lineups that would see him alternating centers, it seemed likely that Stevens would start one of Williams or Vincent Poirier against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in Wednesday’s season opener, as Theis only checks in a 6-foot-8 and would have plenty of trouble with Embiid’s size and strength on the block.
For that matter, Williams would have issues too, as he’s been listed as 6-foot-9 and skimmed down over the offseason. Furthermore, he had just worked his way back from concussion protocol and a matchup against the Sixers was sure to be physical, especially inside the paint.
Poirier, an athletic big man at 7-foot-0 and 255 pounds, may have been under consideration for the starting spot but as a rookie, Stevens may not have believed he was up to speed enough on the defensive scheme. As Poirier was the only active player not to take the floor on Wednesday, it’s not hard to believe that Stevens wants Poirier to have a greater understanding of the team defense.
That may have left Kanter, 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds (like Embiid), as the team’s starter by default but Stevens not only trusted the laterally-challenged big man to guard Embiid but he was also pleased by how Kanter defended.
Kanter obviously didn’t stop Embiid but the All-Star center only scored 15 points on 5-14 shooting from the field. Fine defense indeed.
It’ll be interesting to see just how long Kanter remains in the starting lineup, or how often Stevens has him start.
