Boston picked up two straight wins against the Cavaliers and Bulls after getting swept by the Sixers. The Celtics also had Jayson Tatum return to action last night against the Bulls. He was solid and provided a big boost for the Celtics, but there was definitely some rust.
The Celtics played with much more fire and energy on both ends of the floor against the Cavaliers. As far as the game against the Bulls, that energy and fire translated the Celtics shot 55.9% from the field and exactly 50% from 3. Those numbers carried over in the game against the Bulls. As the Celtics shot 50.6% from the field, and 51.7% from beyond the arc against in Chicago.
In both games the Celtics continued to play team basketball as six guys scored in double figures in the game against the Cavaliers. Jaylen brown lead the way with 33 followed by 21 by Walker. Marcus Smart chipped in by scoring 12, as a breakout performance by Carsen Edwards with a career high 18 points. Aaron Nesmith with a solid performance as well with 11 points.
The same story continued against the Bulls Monday Night with four guys scoring double figures. Jayson Tatum with 24, followed by Jaylen brown with 26, Daniel Theis continues to impress by scoring 19. While Marcus smart had 19 as well.
Final Thoughts:
The Celtics really found themselves in this two game winning streak by playing team defense and scoring with ease with great ball movement on the offensive side of the ball. As far as on the defensive side we all knew Brad Stevens would make defense a priority by giving up well over 100 points to a not great 3 point shooting Sixers. In the Bulls game you can tell Jayson Tatum’s presence was felt despite a rusty performance and a rough shooting night for Tatum. The offense definitely moved the ball better with Tatum in the lineup. The Celtics look to continue their winning ways against the Spurs on Wednesday night.