At The End Of The Day, All Is Fair In Love And War
Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.All day yesterday, my chest was tight. Feelings that are usually reserved for playoff series had somehow taken over my life and body for a game being played on November 10th, just 10 games into the Celts season. Normal? Definitely not. Understandable? Absolutely.
It was billed as the Game Of The Century. The entire basketball world was grabbing their popcorn to tune into the first Tatum vs Brown matchup of their careers
It was the leading story in the NBA. It was hyped like few regular season games have been hyped before. After taking shot after shot after shot at Jayson Tatum, this was the chance for Jaylen Brown and the Sixers to get their "revenge". Again, this was hyped to us as Jaylen Brown preparing for war
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that really he himself seems to be the only one interested in having. Then, when it came time to back everything up and the light got bright, both Jaylen and the Sixers were absolutely massacred. A classic case of talking the talk and then, in no way shape or form, being able to walk the walk. Throwing out corny lines to the media trying to force a beef, creating an entire shitstorm of drama, all for what? NBA Twitter points?
As someone who spent 10 years rooting for Jaylen Brown and has experienced the highest of highs one can have while watching basketball, in part due to things Jaylen Brown did as a Celtic, I won't lie, it broke my heart in some ways. Seeing them warm up on opposite sides for the first time fucked me up. The awkwardness of their interaction before the tip broke my heart. I know the entire world loves this drama, but I'll always prefer Tatum/Brown as teammates compared to whatever the hell this is with Tatum/Brown as supposed enemies.
But here's the thing. It's about the name on the front and not the back. So when there's a player on a longstanding division rival who is throwing endless shots at the Celtics' best player for something he could not even control, those positive feelings and great memories start to get replaced. I don't want to hate Jaylen Brown. I will always be appreciative of what he did in Boston, he's one of the greatest Celtics of my lifetime and will have his number raised to the rafters. They simply do not win Banner 18 without him. That's all true.
It's also true that all of this drama seems to be completely one-sided. Jaylen Brown's own actions are why we are here today. It's why watching last night's ass whooping felt a lot like this
Giphy Images.But what choice do we have? As he said, he's on that side, we're on this side. What we learned, was that one side is more about the talk, and the other side is more about the walk. There's no need to be loud in the media when you can instead be loud on the court. As they say, actions speak louder than words.
So what did the Celts actions say? Let's dive in.
The Good
- I have to admit, it's pretty damn funny that with the entire sports world tuned in to see Tatum vs Brown I that what we actually got was a Paul George masterclass. I mean you couldn't make that shit up if you tried. The Basketball Gods do work in mysterious ways, so the fact that they decided to unleash Indiana Paul George in this game specifically was very funny
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The Paul George Experience as a Celtic was already off to a homerun start. You legit could not ask for a better combination of fit and execution on both ends of the floor than what George has given this team to start the year. He's not just playing at a bonafide All Star and All NBA Defensive level, we're going to have to start entertaining the idea that we're seeing an All NBA caliber season as hell.
When George had 38 against the Pistons, everyone said that was a fluke and wouldn't happen again. Well, I would argue this performance was even better. George's run in the 3rd/4th quarter was some NBA Jam shit. Remember, we were told that the Sixers defense was actually legit, yet nobody could guard Paul George? Watching him blow by Embiid with ease, I mean it was like we turned back the clock to 2017 or something.
And here's the thing. We all know there will be regression! He's 36! But what we're learning is that now that George is healthy, there is clearly still a lot of juice left in the tank. In this system and in this role, he's thriving. To have that type of revenge game AND outplay Jaylen the way he did, it doesn't get much better than that. Then after the game, the quotes we got only enhanced things even more
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. Paul George has been so beyond the best case scenario so far this season it's not even funny. Even if you were someone that loved the trade from Day 1, he's been even better than you could have imagined. It's almost as if the one person who knew this version of George was in there was Brad Stevens, and he got 2 very valuable picks to go along with it. It's still early, but man what a start.
- You have to understand, Jayson Tatum has caused a deep level of trauma for Sixers fans that dates back to the summer of 2017. In the 80s, the Sixers had Andrew Toney, aka "The Boston Strangler". He fucking owned the Celtics whenever they played. He was very much a problem for the Celts in that 1982 ECFs, and it was a well earned knickname because, at that time, the Cs had no answer for him.
That's essentially what Jayson Tatum is to the Sixers. He owns them. Every time they are excited about a new version of the Process, Jayson Tatum destroys it. It happened with the early Process Sixers, it happened in 2023 during Embiid's MVP season, and hell it would have continued last year had he not been shut down for Game 7. This year, the Sixers threw out a new superteam with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, a fancy new toy and just like always, Jayson Tatum destroyed them
I think what we saw in this game when it comes to Tatum and Brown was what happened when one side tries to make things bigger than they are, and the other side plays with focus and the mindset of this is just another game on the schedule. Tatum was in complete control, never forced things, created for others, and finished with a solid 21/6/4 in his 32 minutes. It was Tatum who established things early and wasted no time completely dominating the Jaylen matchup, and it's not lost on me how different their approaches to this game were and what the results ended up being.
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Tatum gets shit on for not playing the media game and all that bullshit. It's billed as him "not caring" or not "being an alpha" or whatever the fuck fanfiction people want to write.
You know what I saw? A leader. Someone who will play the right way at all times, put his teammates in a position to succeed and then be happy when they do. He gave the game exactly what it needed and while he wasn't perfect, I thought his play did all the talking it needed to.
It's not lost on me which side the Basketball Gods rewarded in this game, and I do not think it was an accident. Jaylen and Sixers fans can have the quotes and the NBA Twitter dopamine rush. That's fine. I'll take on the court production and wins every day of the week instead. So while others may be focused on the drama, it was great to see Tatum be focused on what actually matters, which is the basketball.
- I just want to say, I am in love with this new variant of Mazzulla Ball. One of the dumbest things you will ever hear someone say is that the Boston Celtics only play one way and that all they do is just shoot 3s. It just shows a complete lack of an ability to identify what they are watching.
Every year of the Mazzulla Era, there has been a tweak to their approach in some ways given their roster. The 2022-23 team did not play like the 2024-25 teams, and the 2024-25 teams did not play like the 2026 Celts, and the 2027 Celts do not play like last year's team.
This year? The tweak has been screens. Both on and off ball. FINALLY, we're seeing elite off ball movement and the results have been fantastic. You will not find a single Celtics offensive possession that does not include some sort of off ball screen. It can be a back screen or a flare screen, but no more are we seeing the Celts just stand around and watch. They are finding ways to create advantages, which is the key to everything in Mazzulla Ball
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Giphy Images.Through 10 games, the Celts are t-3rd in off screen offense frequency. They're averaging 1.21 ppp and rank in the 96th percentile. The only team better than them at this in the entire NBA are the Warriors (1.34 ppp, 100th percentile) and they employ Steph goddamn Curry.
It seems like something so basic, and that's because it kind of is. This isn't rocket science. It's just an adjustment in their approach to continuously force the opposing defense to make decisions. If you do that, eventually they'll have a miscommunication. For years, we as fans were begging for ANY sort of off ball activity, and now that we have it I don't think I can ever go back. Of all the Mazzulla Ball variants, this is the one that needs to stick moving forward.
- Look, I am not someone who subscribes to the theory that Payton Pritchard only plays well against bad teams. I have eyes and a memory, and we've seen him perform well in plenty of matchups against good teams.
Having said that, it was true that in a game like this, Payton needed to show up. He needed to make sure he did his part in the non-Tatum minutes, which his role requires.
I'd say he did just that
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2nd leading scorer in the 2nd half (12), huge bucket after huge bucket in the 4th quarter while Tatum sat, I thought Payton was the perfect mix of aggressive (15 FGA) while also dominating the margins (6 rebounds, 5 assists) all while not turning the ball over a single time in his 29 minutes.
It was the exact performance the Celts needed from the main supporting cast, especially since Derrick was mostly quiet offensively (5 points on 2-6, 1-4).
I would exactly say it's a secret that Payton is in a way a barometer of this team. When he plays and performs like this, the Celts become REALLY FUCKING HARD to beat. When he's not aggressive and lays an egg, they tend to struggle. It's why he was such a wild card in this game because he was pretty damn good in the playoff series last year, and we saw more of that in this win.
- Same with Sam Hauser. Honestly, outside of Tatum and George, I really do think Hauser has been the 3rd best Celtic this season. He's been wonderful
Did you know Sam Hauser is shooting 43% from deep this year on over 5 attempts a game? It's easily the best shooting start of his career, and this is a lifetime 40% 3P shooter. I'll never understand why there are some Celts fans that want Hauser traded or don't think he's that good. What are you people watching?
Not only is the shooting ELITE, but his defense and rebounding are solid and he NEVER turns the ball over. I'm not saying he's untouchable, but it has to be a blue chip piece for me to even consider it removing Hauser from this roster.
You could feel the reaction after every one of Hauser's bombs. It was like a shotgun blast to the chest of that entire crowd, and that's something I do not think you should remove from your roster. When both Hauser and Pritchard aren't missing every shot they take, belt to ass ensues.
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- Make no mistake, that's exactly what this was. A generational belt. I'm sure Sixers fans thought the tide was turning when it was 76-76 and momentum was starting to turn.
Nope! Instead, the Celts responded with 24-6 run to blow the doors off this game
God damn does that shit hit like crack. Granted, I've never tried crack but I imagine it's probably something close to that video above. If that's the case, I can see why people get addicted. That shit rules. I'll sell everything in my life to experience that type of run every time the Celts play and I think I'm not alone in that.
- 123 points, 22 3PM, 28 AST and only 8 TOs. Mazzulla Ball works, who knew! Me. I knew. You knew. A lot of people who aren't broken brained about Joe Mazzulla knew.
The thing is, this still isn't what I would consider the Celtics ceiling. There were plenty of ways for them to improve and areas to get better in. But what this did give us was an example of what things look like when they're playing to their standard. When they dominate the margins, actually play defense, and respect their opponent.
I'm sure there will be some who once again cry about the 3P volume and say this doesn't matter because it was a game when the shots dropped and blah blah blah. Let those losers do what they do, there's no saving them.
If you can't appreciate and understand what we just watched offensively from this team, then there's no saving you.
- Shoutout Hugo. Love me some Hugo.
The Bad
- I know every time you play the Sixers you have to be ready to accept the FT bullshit, but last night was another level. Adam Silver tried his best to keep the Sixers in it with one of the most disgusting FTA differences you'll ever see.
A 28-5 advantage is insane. Especially when the Celtics took 8 more shots in the paint. Possession after possession of Tatum driving to the rim for a no call only for Embiid to be rewarded with FTs on the other end for the same contact. It was as clear as day what was happening, and frankly it's why people are so turned off by the NBA's product. Just call it even! Why is that so hard?
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The fact that they had THAT type of advantage and still got blown the fuck out, I mean woof. That's pretty embarrassing. Not even Adam Silver and his corrupt officiating could save the Sixers. You know how hard that is? Joel Embiid himself took nearlt 3x the FTA as the entire Celtics team….and it just didn't matter.
- Jordan Walsh got the start for the Maxey assignment, and I wouldn't exactly say his minutes were "good". Maxey still got his shit off whenever he wanted, Walsh struggled to convert his open looks, and at the end of the day was a -6 in a blowout win. Not great.
I am not selling my Jordan Walsh stock, but I will say he needs to be better if he wants to continue to see the floor. Especially when you look at the impact that both Baylor and Hugo made in their minutes. That 5th staring spot is still up for grabs as far as I'm concerned, and once they figure that out they should be off to the races.
- A bit of a stepback game from Mitch as well in a matchup I expected him to dominate. The Sixers frontcourt is horrendous. Embiid can't jump and they literally do not have a backup center. That should be an opportunity for Mitch to feast in his minutes.
He wasn't awful, he did have 4 OREBs and was a +8 in his minutes, but he's in this section because I mostly felt underwhelmed with his play. Not that it was terrible, but I thought he left some meat on the bone. He did a decent job on Embiid which was nice, but I was just expecting a little more given how bad the Sixers frontcourt situation is. I would also say the same for Neemy.
The Ugly
- It was pretty weak for Jaylen to act how he did before the tip, play like shit, and then when asked about it he gave perhaps the worst lie in the history of lies
Come on man. Who believes this? We all saw it. You intentionally ignored him because you're trying to beef for some reason. To do everything he's done and then not own up to it is lame as hell. These are all his own actions! This entire situation is his own doing!
You weren't paying attention? I'm sorry, but that's pathetic.
- God does it still feel great to beat LeBron. I don't care if he's 41. He was awful and got exposed in pretty much every facet of the game. A -17 for LeBron and a -27 for Jaylen? Woof. That's tough for them.
Now that this whole thing is over with, hopefully we can just move on. The Celts are right back at it again tonight against TOR, and as big as last night's win was, you have to keep building on it tonight. B2Bs are tough, but if there's one team I trust in this spot its the one who has the most B2B wins since 2022-23 in the entire NBA. The same way last night was 1 of 82, tonight is also 1 of 82. The final game of a long roadtrip on a B2B is often times a trap game, so let's see how they handle it.