Every week, I've gathered some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dumped them here. Because it's something unpredictable, but in the end was right. I hope you had the time of your life.
- Miami’s biggest lead Thursday night was 19, which they hit at the 5:11 mark of the first quarter. Boston answered with a 14-5 run to make it a 10-point game at the 1:59 mark, and from that point to the end of the third quarter, the teams played even, ending it at 93-83.
When you look at it that way, it doesn’t seem so bad, does it? Big Miami run, Boston answered to keep it close, and they took that 10-point game all the way into the fourth quarter. Then the Celtics got hot, Miami went cold, and Boston won the game.
It’s like watching a boxer get flattened early in the first round and eventually realizing that he’s kept up on points, and suddenly it’s the final round of a close fight. They held their own pretty well, all things considered, until Anfernee Simons could throw the knockout punch.
- Joe Mazzulla will NEVER praise Anfernee Simons without including his defense.
“I thought he was great,” Mazzulla said. “The scoring is what he's done most of his career, but to me, it's just the way he defended. He had a blindside block, had a couple in traffic rebounds, was physical at the point of attack, just a complete game.”
Positive reinforcement works, and the message is clear. If you want to hear your coach praise you, it’s going to be for these specific things.
- You KNOW you’re doing something special when you look over at your teammates on the bench and this is the reaction:
Jayson Tatum cannot believe this Anfernee Simons heater pic.twitter.com/NU6q3KhYvy
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) January 16, 2026
- There have been 525 members of the Boston Celtics so far. You could have given me 500 guesses to answer the question, “Who held the record for most points off the bench,” and I wouldn’t have come up with Billy Knight. Probably because he only played 40 games in Boston as part of his 11-year career.
- RIP Derrick White’s 77-game streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer.
- If the Celtics got partial credit for all the shots that were halfway down in this game, they might have had the lead at the end of the third quarter.
- Hugo Gonzalez is a smooth finisher.
Hugo Gonzalez cuts the Celtics' deficit to 6 pic.twitter.com/3dORLxI4xz
— Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) January 16, 2026
He leads ALL rookies in plus/minus.
- Jaylen Brown on getting fined $35,000 for criticizing officials: “Ask and you shall receive.”
- Brown expanded on his officiating rant at the team’s practice at the University of Miami on Wednesday.
