BOSTON - The old saying goes, "play to your strengths."
The Jazz? They're a big bunch. The C's? They're quick.
So how can the Celtics avoid meeting guys like Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, and Trey Lyles at the rim?
Easy. Beat them there.
The Celtics knew going into this game that the Jazz had an advantage at the rim. The Jazz took it to them down low back in Utah ten days ago, outscoring them in the paint 44-30 and outrebounding them 51-34. The Jazz won, 111-93. It wasn't pretty.
In that game, the C's scored 14 fast break points to the Jazz' eight.
But in Monday night's 100-95 win, the Celtics made a point to get out on the break. They outscored the Jazz on fast break points, 25-4. That also helped Boston's paint point total, as the Jazz only outscored them in the paint by two points, 46-44.
"They’re pretty big, and we know that once we get it off the glass we get the rebound secured, we can get out and run, especially when we’re smaller with me at the four," Jae Crowder said. "Then we can run on anybody. The wings are running pretty hard and making the guards stay true, and even Tyler Zeller had a few rim runs and put pressure on the bigs. We knew that would be a pivotal point in this game."
By getting out on the fast break, the Celtics made up for the 23 second chance points they allowed to the Jazz.
Here are the stars, studs, and duds from the game.
STARS
Avery Bradley
This is a no-brainer. Avery Bradley came through for Boston in one of the two biggest moments of the game (we'll get to the other one in a second). With the Celtics up one point with under 30 seconds to go in the game, Gordon Hayward chose to back down Bradley in hopes for a turnaround jumper. But Bradley stuck with him and blocked the shot. He then ended up with the ball and hit three of his final four free throws to seal Boston's win.
Jae Crowder
What a difference one year makes. Jae Crowder has ice in his veins folks, and the Celtics are benefitting from it. Crowder led the Celtics in points with 22, but the three biggest ones came when they were down two points in the final minute. Isaiah Thomas found Crowder at the three-point line with about 30 seconds remaining, and Crowder buried the shot to put Boston back up one point. He finished 3-for-5 from deep. With that shot, look out.
STUDS
Trey Lyles
Give it up for the rookie, who looks like the real deal for the Jazz. Lyles finished 8-for-18 for 18 points and 10 rebounds, and scored seven straight points in the second quarter. He's got an inside and outside presence to him and will be a really good player for years to come. The Jazz frontcourt is stacked with young talent.
Celtics blocks
Brad Stevens played 10 players on Monday night, and nine of them had at least one block on the night. We already talked about one of them. In total, the C's had 13 blocks - and again, this is against a big Jazz team (which only finished with four blocks). Amir Johnson, Tyler Zeller, Jonas Jerebko, and Jordan Mickey(!) each had two blocks. Isaiah Thomas was the only player without a block in the game. He was told the news after.
"The thing is, look, I got a block at the end of the second quarter, but you probably couldn't see it," Thomas said with a grin. "The guy threw it from full court. I got a hand on it. I tried to look at the stat guy to make sure he got my block, but he wasn't trying to pay me no mind.
DUDS
Rudy Gobert
Does Gobert really deserve a "dud" title? It might be a bit harsh, but this was a really well played game by both teams and I had to come up with one dud. Gobert finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds - not quite dud material. But there is a big fat zero under "blocks", and for that reason Gobert is getting the dud tonight. He's gotta get his hands on some basketballs down there, even though Isaiah Thomas is a magician driving to the hoop.