Roadtrip to Florida
The Celtics capped off a 2-0 roadtrip to Florida with a 126-120 win over the Orlando Magic on the 2nd night of a back to back after beating the Miami Heat 111-104.
Led by Jayson Tatum who put up 40 points against the Magic and 29 against the Heat, the Celtics offense was firing on all cylinders on the of the trip, scoring 126 and 120 on 48/41/82 and 52/42/100 shooting splits respectively. https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1583994900290621441
Offense has been the bright spot
The offense was the bright spot of the trip, and has been for the Celtics on the young season.
Having guys at every position, with starters and guys off the bench that can create for themselves, or others is a luxury few teams have.
The roster versatility combined with the off ball movement, drive and kick offense and the unselfishness of the players leading to better shots, has propelled the Celtics to a 3-0 start while sitting fifth in the league in points per game with 121. https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1583616709667102720
Early season defensive struggles
Defensively the Celtics struggled on the 2 game trip, allowing both opponents to score over 100 points and shoot over 45%, but stats aside, the team looked out of sync on that end.
"If we're trying to get back to where we want to be, we got to be way better than this."
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 23, 2022
Jayson Tatum caught up with @tvabby after 126-120 win over #Magic #bleedgreen💚 pic.twitter.com/ya9SyjehOd
Coming off a season where the Celtics were one of the best defenses in the last 10 years, it’s not ideal to come out early in the season and look lost at points, but it’s not something to worry about quite yet.
The Celtics are without Rob Williams, who was 2nd team all defense a year ago and a contender to win DPOY before being sidelined with a knee injury. In his 61 games before injury last season, Williams was third in total blocks with 134 and fourth in blocks per game with 2.2, and was the most impactful Celtic on that end. With Rob out and some new additions in, this could just be a learning curve for the team.
Three and Zero
Altogether the trip was a success bringing the Celtics to a 3-0 start, and an early number one seed in the Eastern Conference on the young season.