NEW ORLEANS – The Boston Celtics’ 124-107 win against the New Orleans Pelicans was a good one, but don’t think for a minute they were ready to hit the town and celebrate on Bourbon Street.
As they had stated from the outset, this was a three-game business trip for them.
But it wasn’t until Monday night that Boston seemed to be locked into playing like they were one of the better teams in the NBA.
“Probably one of the better games we’ve played all season,” Boston’s Al Horford said after the win.
Here are five observations from Boston’s big victory over the Pelicans on Monday.
‘SMART’ LINEUP CHANGE
Marcus Smart supporters are having a puff-the-chest-out time right about now with his insertion into the starting lineup and how it played a major role in Boston playing arguably the team’s most complete game this season.
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Not only were they effective scoring the ball pretty much all game, but that scoring was fueled by what in past years has been the driving force of their success – defense.
And Smart’s presence had a lot to do with that.
“Marcus is a tough player. He’s definitely a tone-setter; we all know that,” said Celtics forward Marcus Morris. “He’s playing the right way. He’s a guy that brings that energy we need at the beginning of the game.”
But what stood out more than anything else about Smart’s play on Monday was his versatility as a defender.
For the game, Smart wound up defending 10 different New Orleans players who combined to shoot 6-for-15 from the field.
Just as telling was the fact that Smart was the lone Celtic to play every single second of the fourth quarter.
“I just try to come in and do what I do,” Smart said. “Bring the energy from the get-go instead of coming off the bench and waiting.”
TURN ‘EM OVER, TURN IT UP
Boston’s defense has been strong statistically all season. But the games in which the Celtics D has left an indelible imprint on the game have been few and far between. That was not the case on Monday, with Boston delivering a defensive gem on so many levels with the most notable being turnovers.
Boston and its pesky band of defenders forced New Orleans into turning the ball over 22 times, leading to a whopping 32 points for the Celtics.
It was the kind of game defensively that Boston has shown the potential for having, but for a host of reasons failed to deliver on.
“I just liked the fact that our group defensively was as connected as we’ve been throughout these 21 games,” Horford said. “That was very encouraging to me. I hope now that we saw it, now we can build on it.”
BWA 2.0
The insertion of Marcus Smart into the starting lineup along with Marcus Morris gives the bench – better known as BWA (Bench With Attitude) – a different look and with that, identity.
We don’t know how long Brad Stevens will stick with the two Marcuses in the first unit. But as long as they’re starting, Boston's BWA 2.0 will look to Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier and Aron Baynes to lead the way.
The trio combined for 26 of Boston’s 31 bench points on Monday, led by Rozier’s 14 on 6-for-12 shooting. Hayward continues to expand his niche as a playmaker, scoring five points to go with four rebounds and four assists. And then there’s Baynes, who chipped in seven points and five rebounds. His greatest impact remains on the defensive end of the floor. He was exceptional against the Pelicans, forcing a missed shot on seven of the eight field goal attempts against him. The only guy who scored on Baynes was Anthony Davis, who missed four of his five shot attempts against him.
TATUM’S BALANCING ACT
We have seen Jayson Tatum get it going offensively, but this was one of those games where he kept the opponent off-balance most of the night due to his ability to shoot from the perimeter or attack – and finish – at the rim. For the night, Tatum had 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting. And of the seven shots he made, four were either dunks or lay-ups while the other three were either 3-pointers or long jumpers set up by New Orleans’ concerns about his dribble penetration into the lane.
TAKING SHOTS … FROM FOES
The final score may look as though Boston had an easy go of things, but the Pelicans never stopped fighting in this one. There were so many moments throughout the game when the Pelicans would seemingly have momentum in their favor. More times than not, Boston came up with a deflating play to thwart the Pelicans' comeback hopes.
A 5-0 Pelicans spurt cut Boston’s lead to 93-87 with 8:49 to play, only for Al Horford to drain a 3-pointer to give the Celtics some much-needed cushion. The Pelicans soon made it a seven-point game, only for Kyrie Irving to drill a 3-ball that pushed Boston’s lead back to double figures (99-89).
Again, New Orleans responded and made it a single-digit game, only for Horford to drill a clutch 3-pointer that put the Celtics ahead 102-91.
It was that kind of fourth quarter for the Celtics, taking every shot New Orleans delivered only to respond with a salvo of their own before closing the game with an impressive 17-5 run.
“When they made runs, we answered it time and again,” Stevens said. “It’s hard to maintain a lead in this league. I don’t think it ever got any lower than seven, maybe six (points). But we always answered.”
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