Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics' preseason loss to the Orlando Magic with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
This was about as sloppy as you’d expect: The JV Celtics kicked, fumbled, and headbutted the ball around the floor at times, which is not surprising for a group of guys who have barely played together. It was, at times, more hilarious than summer league. Amazingly, Boston only committed 13 turnovers.
Orlando wanted to win this: They had two of their starters in the game down the stretch, but I understand why they went this route. Franz Wagner, a rookie, and Cole Anthony, a second year player were the two starters, so coach Jamahl Mosley obviously wanted to see what his two young guys could do together down the stretch.
Aaron Nesmith was impressive: I’ll get more into it later, but he made the strongest case for himself in this game. He was good.
Payton Pritchard may have broken his nose: He’s flying to Boston to get evaluated, so no Pritchard against Miami for the preseason finale.
I’m not sure we got any real answers: No one else really separated himself. If anything, the end of bench decisions might have gotten more convoluted.
TURNING POINT
Franz Wagner keyed the comeback with a layup to start an 11-3 run over about two and a half minutes to erase an 8-point Celtics lead. The teams went back and forth after that.
FOUR UP
Aaron Nesmith: Nesmith caught fire in the third quarter, where he scored 12 of his 23 points. Nesmith had it going on drives and from deep. How deep in his bag was he? Check out tonight’s top play and you tell me.
“He was extremely aggressive (in summer league) and carried that into open gym and training camp,” Ime Udoka said of Nesmith. “And he gets an opportunity with those guys sitting out tonight and plays very well. Very good complimentary piece.”
Romeo Langford: I'm going to be generous here and overlook the tough shooting night and say Langford did a good job moving without the ball and keeping the ball moving.
Sam Hauser: He did a good job coming into the game and hitting shots. He played 13 minutes and was 2-3 from deep. This is a critical skill, and one that Boston had hoped they could get from Carsen Edwards. Edwards’ inability to come in and hit shots right away has him out of the league right now. Hauser doesn't want to suffer the same fate.
“It’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment,” Hauser said. “When you get to this level, you kind of have to expect that as a rookie. But really just staying ready on the sidelines, staying mentally locked in, and then jumping at my opportunity when it’s there.”
Theo Pinson: A late addition to this list! He hit some big shots, made some nice passes, had a nice drive to draw a foul, and hit the free throws. I don’t know if he’s done enough to stick around in some capacity, but Pinson has been fun and he really seems to be enjoying himself.
TWO DOWN
Ryan Arcidiacono: He’s seen limited time and it has not gone well. In 16 minutes tonight he missed all five of his shots and turned it over twice. He did have a few assists but I can’t see Arcidiacono surviving the next round of cuts.
Juancho Hernangomez: He only played an uneventful 7:32, during which he missed three 3-pointers. This is not ideal. To be fair, though, I only see him being good when he’s playing off the best players on the team. He needs to be out there with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Marcus Smart or Dennis Schröder. In a way, I understand Udoka pulling him and not subjecting him to even more of a tough night. They need to build his confidence, not destroy it in a crap game like this.
THREE SO/SO
Jabari Parker: He was 4-5 in the first half and the Twitter chatter was about how he’d solidified his spot. Then he went 0-4 in the second half and everyone was reminded that this is the Parker experience. He was the second overall pick because he has talent. He’s now a journeyman at 26 because he’s wildly inconsistent and he doesn't play defense.
He might still hold onto his spot, but I don’t think he should.
Grant Williams: He had some rough moments defensively, and then got elbowed in the nose on top of it, but he also did little things that mattered, like 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Grant is a small-dose player, and the more responsibility you put on him, the tougher it can get.
Robert Williams: He worked hard, but I’m really starting to wonder if he’s in good enough shape right now. He added muscle in the offseason, but did he run enough? He was 4-5 in the game and two of those shots were long jumpers. He had 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, but I wanted to see more. Maybe I’ve set my expectations too high.
TOP PLAY
Nesmith with a Jaylen Brown impression:
AARON NESMITH IS IN HIS BAG WITH THIS MOVE 😲🙌☘️ pic.twitter.com/rIlkYysYNj
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 14, 2021
ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The Celtics have to find regular minutes for Nesmith and Pritchard: I’ve been harping on the minutes issue for a little while now and my feeling has been that minutes for Nesmith and Pritchard might be tough.
However, the more I see of them, the more I feel like those guys need to get on the floor a meaningful amount.
I don’t know where those minutes come from. My prime candidate right now is Josh Richardson, but it’s absolutely not fair to make that assessment after two preseason games. There’s no way I can go there this soon, especially when one of those games was a clusterf ... well, you know ... of wild offense from a team trying too hard for a new coach and the other didn’t even include one of the stars he’s supposed to play off of.
Maybe some of the minutes come from shaving a few off Brown and Jayson Tatum to ease them into the season. Maybe a few other guys play a little less.
Whatever Udoka needs to do, it feels as obvious as ever that Nesmith and Pritchard are ready to contribute right away.