01/11/2024

Boston had picked up their first loss of the season against the Pacers in Indiana last time out and were looking to get back to winning ways. They faced a Charlotte team which looked a lot more promising than seasons gone by, LaMelo Ball was healthy, and Tre Mann had started the season on an absolute tear. It would not matter here as the Celtics dominated from opening tip, the Hornets did put up a fight though and former Celtics coach Charles Lee can certainly be proud of his new teams’ efforts.

The best first quarter offense in the NBA was on show once again, putting up 40 in the opening period. It was Jayson Tatum once again who had 14 points in the first, he leads the entire NBA in first quarter points and looks like an early favourite for MVP. The second quarter, however, did not go as the Celtics would have wanted it to as they allowed Charlotte to put up 42 points. It was Ball and Mann who put on an offensive clinic combining for 54 points in the game.

Boston quickly got back on track out of the half time break, as they held the Hornets to just 19 points. Although their own offense struggled and were only able to put up 21. The fourth quarter was a very lively affair, Boston led by just six with a couple of minutes to play, then Grant Williams committed a horrific foul on his former teammate (Jayson Tatum). The play was reviewed, and Williams was ejected from the game, seconds later Ball fouled out and Miles Bridges was ejected for spiking a ball into the crowd. The downfall led to a lot of free throws and subsequently a comfortable win for the Celtics 124-109.

02/11/2024

The champions returned to Spectrum Center the following night looking to emulate the success of the previous match. They were without finals MVP Jaylen Brown who had been playing through a hip flexor injury the last few games and Al Horford returned from his night off after the back-to-back. Nick Richards had got injured midway through the previous game, so Grant Williams was inserted into the starting lineup, as was Luke Kornet for Boston. However, there would be little change to the outcome as Boston ran rampant once again.

It was another superb opening half for the Celtics, without Jaylen Brown the responsibility of running the offense fell solely to Tatum and he did excellently. He invited the double teams and found the open man, but also scored the ball at his usual elite level. But it was Payton Pritchard off the bench who took over for extended periods, 22 points and led the Celtics bench unit perfectly.

Unfortunately, Boston’s offense ground to a halt to begin the second half, but the Celtics’ defence kept them in it. It would only take a couple of superb offensive plays from Tatum and Boston came away with yet another convincing victory.

By Will C