Jaylen Brown puts on a show in career-night: The swingman only needed two and a half quarters to post a new career-high, as he hit 42 points in just 29 minutes in what was easily the best performance of his career during Boston's 19-point win. Brown shot the lights out from all over the floor, knocking down 15-of-21 shots from the field, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc to pace Boston’s offense in a dominant blowout win against the Grizzlies. Brown also added five rebounds and a team-high four assists in the victory, giving the C’s an extra cushion early that was much needed after a tough front half of the back-to-back in Indiana on Tuesday night.
Celtics dominate from start-to-finish: The Celtics have had their hands full in the first four games of the season with playoff opponents but they caught a shorthanded Memphis team at the right time with three of their top players (Morant, Jackson, Winslow) all sidelined. The Celtics built up a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter and did not look back, pushing up to advantage to as many as 30 in the second half behind some far improved defense and Brown’s career night. Four different Celtics starters scored in double figures despite the abbreviated night for everyone (no one played over 29 minutes). The extra rest should come in handy with the C’s playing their busiest stretch of the season with five games in seven nights through next Monday.
Tristan Thompson gets a night off: The veteran big man rested his hamstring on the second half of a back-to-back, allowing Jeff Teague to slide into the starting five and give the C’s a smaller look with that group. The inferior competition makes it tough to judge the new look too much but the offense seemed to find a different level with the starters using small ball.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics comfortably built a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter but quickly turned this game into a rout in the second quarter, pushing the lead up to 27 with a 17-0 run keyed by red-hot shooting from Tatum and Brown.
THREE UP
Jaylen Brown: The swingman has been the most consistent Celtic all year long but he took his play to a different level in the second quarter, scoring 18 of his 26 first half points in the frame, with both of those numbers serving as career-highs.
Jayson Tatum: The All-Star showed no signs of dealing with a sprained thumb after a red-hot first half in which he scored 14 points and was a team-high +25 in only 14 minutes.
Daniel Theis: Despite dealing with a jammed thumb in the opening minutes of the game, the big man was a force on both ends of the floor early, delivering his best performance of the year with 10 points on the break along with contributions all across the box score.
ONE DOWN
The Grizzlies without Ja Morant: They are down arguably three of their best players when you include Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow but this might be the worst roster in the league without them. Minimal shot creation and defense is going to lead to lots of losses over the next month.
TOP PLAY
Yikkesssss ? pic.twitter.com/gdatUxDn6B
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 31, 2020
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Payton Pritchard?
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Daniel Theis
- Tristan Thompson will miss the second half of the C's back-to-back in order to manage the hamstring injury that sidelined him for the preseason. The team will also be without reserve guard Javonte Green due to COVID protocols (likely contract tracing). Jayson Tatum is a game-time decision with a sprained thumb.
- The Grizzlies will be down four key rotation players on Wednesday night with Ja Morant (sprained ankle), De'Anthony Melton (contact tracing) and Jaren Jackson (knee) all sidelined. Justise Winslow is also out as he recovers from a hip injury.
- With Thompson out, we will get our first look at a new starting lineup this year for the C's. Going smaller is a distinct possibility (Pritchard? Nesmith?) given the Grizzlies' desire to play three guards together and play fast, but it's possible Grant Williams gets inserted in as starting power forward to try to create some stability in the frontcourt. It would be a good team to see how Pritchard holds up defensively and meshes with the starters.
- This game will be a good measuring stick to see what kind of shape the Celtics defense is in. The Grizzlies are down their best two players so if the C's can't