Al Horford makes preseason debut, but Celtics stumble and lose in Toronto

The Celtics wrapped up their preseason with a loss in Toronto, falling behind early, coming all the way back, but then falling apart again. The bench guys, led by JD Davison, took a late lead, but Davison’s foul in the bonus gave the Raptors two free throws to ultimately win the game.

Joe Mazzulla went big minutes with Jayson Tatum (33:45) and Derrick White (31:04) while keeping Jaylen Brown (25:16) at the preseason level. Al Horford played and started, going 23:08 in his only preseason action. Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser sat this one out. 

The Raptors were carried by Scottie Barnes, who finished with 26 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. Grady Dick went ballistic in his 32 minutes, going for 27 points and six rebounds. 

Here are some thoughts as we officially put the preseason in the rear view: 

- The Celtics started Horford. Yes, I’ve been advocating for Luke Kornet to start so Horford’s minutes can be managed better, but it’s not like they can’t do that while starting Horford. I think this game is a strong indicator of what the plan will be. If Luke was going to be the opening night starter, he probably would have started. 

I’m not going to argue with the decision if that's where Mazzulla goes with it. What kind of idiot would be against starting Horford? I just thought it would be a good way to keep some consistency until Kristaps Porzingis comes back and keep Horford in a well-managed, regular role. 

As for Al’s performance … he was rusty, shooting 1-6 overall and 0-4 from 3. He had a couple of nice defensive plays but nothing stood out outside of tough shooting. 

- Mazzulla experimented with a bunch of double-big lineups. There was a fair amount of Xavier Tillman at the four, which will be an interesting look for the Celtics. I’m not sure about those lineups, honestly. I think Tillman’s strengths are maximized at center. He was 0-3 from 3 tonight, so it's a little damper on the "wow X found his shot!" exuberance. 

Kornet was solid. He finished with 10 points and five rebounds, doing all the solid little things he’s been doing. I feel like there isn’t much more to say about Kornet. He was really good most of last season and he’s carried that through to this preseason. I trust him to perform when he’s asked.

- Tatum was in full control, especially in the first half. He hit a bunch of tough pull-ups … the kinds that he missed a lot of last season … to finish the first half with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He cooled off in the second half, but we saw a real glimpse of what MVP-level Tatum would look like. The shots he was hitting, the looks he got his teammates, the aggressive drives, the rebounding and defense… If he can capture that kind of magic for any extended stretch in the regular season, he’ll be in the running without taking away from anything he did last season. 

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— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 16, 2024

- Jaylen Brown is still a beast. He had 17 at half and the Celtics ran a few actions to get him the ball down low, including a nice out-of-bounds play where he got a deep seal to score and draw the foul. He did get a little sloppy with the ball later, which was a team-wide thing. 

I really feel like the Celtics were done with the preseason at this point. This was their third game in four nights, which should be illegal in the preseason. I don’t think they were entirely focused every minute they were out there. 

- To that end, the Celtics got blown out of the first quarter because the Raptors shot 10-14 from 3 and Boston was 2-12. Then, in the second, Boston was 8-15 while Toronto missed all eight they took. Talk about water finding its level. 

But then Boston lost the third 31-19, so it’s obvious they weren’t focused. They gave up a ton of clean looks and then didn’t clear away rebounds when the Raptors cooled off. Toronto finished with 24 second-chance points to Boston’s five. The Celtics did make it up on points off turnovers, winning that 26-5. 

- Here's my mandatory acknowledgment that Payton Pritchard (15/2/3) is good. 

- Here’s the final play, a block on a Jordan Walsh drive to save the game for Toronto: 

You have to play off two feet in these spots. Just trying to turn the corner and committing to the one-footed jump just lets the defender time the contest. Walsh needed to do one of two things in that spot: either come to a jump stop and power through Brandon Carlson or change directions to give himself a clean look. 

He has to understand how to use a defender’s momentum against him. He has to learn where his man is and where he’s going. He has to understand that he’s always going to have a half second because he knows what he’s going to do and the defender is always going to have to react. Use all of that information to get that sliver of space you need instead of teeing it up like this 

- Walsh was fine in this game, but unremarkable other than a great drive to give Boston a chance earlier on a previous possession. Jaden Springer and Lonnie Walker didn’t play, which confirms everything I wrote earlier today. Walsh will get the opportunity to contribute and Boston will have to figure out what to do with Springer and Walker. 

- Davison was really good in the clutch … except for that foul that led to Toronto’s game-winning free throws. He hit a huge 3-pointer and played under control, scoring 12 points in the final 5:11 of the fourth quarter. 

I still don’t think he has a future in this organization, but he could still find some work in the league after his time in Boston presumably ends. 

Of course, I could be wrong. He’s back for a reason and the team likes him. I guess we’ll see how it goes. 

And that's a wrap on the preseason. I'll digest it all and have more as the week goes on. Boston gets back to practice on Friday and the next time we see them in a game, they will be getting championship rings and raising a banner.