Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Washington Wizards in their final regular season home game, with BSJ insight and analysis.
IN A NUTSHELL
The Celtics got off to a good start behind another hot Jaylen Brown first quarter, but the Wizards kept hanging around thanks to a hot-shooting second quarter (and more Ish Smith just haunting Celtics fans’ dreams). But the Celtics started pulling away in the third quarter and then suddenly blew the doors off Washington to create nearly a full fourth quarter of garbage time.
HEADLINES
Jaylen Brown keeps rolling: His 3-point shooting is trending in a great direction (even though it’s unsustainable). He’s shooting 36% this season, but 40.7% over his last 20 games, 40.9% over his last 15, 47.5% in his last 10, and 56.7% in his last 5. The best part of this recent stretch is not just the nearly 30 points per game he’s scoring in the last 5, it’s the 5 assists.
“He’s capable of scoring in so many ways, so it’s not just Jaylen, it’s us learning how to use him as well and putting him in certain positions,” Ime Udoka said after the game. “I think his growth has been big, not only the scoring standpoint but getting his assists up. He’s understanding as well it’s not just Jayson that’s doubled. He’s going to see crowds every night. When you’re scoring 24, 25 points a game, teams are going to load up on you as well and so he’s improved in that area vastly.”
Bench shows up in a big way: The combination of Grant Williams, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard hit 11-15 3-pointers in this game, but it was 11-12 before garbage time. The 47 points they scored is the difference between a tight game against a feisty opponent and a blowout.
Standings watch: Milwaukee lost to Dallas at home, so the Celtics have now moved into second in the East, a half game ahead of the Bucks and 1.5 behind Miami for first. The Sixers play later, and a win there would move them into a tie for third with Milwaukee.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics opened the third quarter on a 13-3 run to turn an 11 point game into a 21 point game. They poured it on from there, outscoring the Wizards 74-43 in the second half.
FOUR UP
Jaylen Brown: He started out hot, as usual, with 13 points in the first quarter, but he carried that throughout the rest of the game as well. He finished with 32 points on 12-17 shooting (4-5 3pt) including some really tough finishes.
Jayson Tatum: He was on early triple-double watch, but finished with 22 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. He was drawing double teams as usual, and his passes were on point. He’s really grown into an adept passer, and one that I particularly like is his one-handed off-the-dribble pass to a shooter in the corner.
Al Horford: He was slinging dimes in this one, with his best stretch being a pair of possessions in the first half that led to a Tatum dunk and a Brown layup. He brought the ball up both times, giving the Celtics that added element of drawing the opposing team’s center up to have to deal with Horford barreling down the middle of the floor with the ball. His ability to do that opens things up for the Celtics.
Grant Williams: He shot 6-7 on the night, 4-5 from deep, regaining a lost touch that dropped him to 31% shooting in the month of March.
“One of those things where, as a shooter, as a guy that this is my first time really going through it as much as I have this year, so it’s just a matter of keep being confident, letting those things fly,” Williams said. “Just playing the game the right way. You know? Can’t force it. Can’t expect anything else. A lot of the misses were in and outs, maybe short rims. I knew it was going to fall eventually so now it’s just a matter of staying consistent and letting this kind of carry over.”
ZERO DOWN
Not when you win by 40.
TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
- Get ready for a tough playoff run.
Milwaukee and Philadelphia seemed poised to engineer their way into the third and fourth seeds. We’ll know more later this week when the Celtics take on the Bucks because that game will likely be the determining factor between third and fourth.
It’s a TNT game, so both teams will basically be forced to play their marquee stars, but who knows for how long.
If the Bucks and Sixers stay where they are and Boston lands in second, the Celtics have the potential to have the toughest road to the finals. It’s possible Brooklyn can win the first play-in game to catch the seventh seed for round 1, then Boston would likely host Milwaukee in round 2, and then whichever team awaits in the conference finals should they advance.
It would be a rough go of things, and one hell of a reward for fighting all the way back to the top. The third and fourth seeds are the most coveted in the East for a reason.
The competitor in me says ‘bring on all comers.’ I actually don’t fear Brooklyn like many others, but the Bucks in round 2 would be a tough matchup. The Celtics can certainly win, but this is now shaping up to be a rough road out of the East.