Anthony Edwards shines in Overtime, hand Celtics first loss of the season
(Photo courtesy:vnexplorer.net)
The Boston Celtics lost their first game of the season on Monday night, after starting off the season with a record of 5-0, routing the Indiana Pacers 155-104 last Wednesday night, all be it, without their star player, Tyrese Haliburton, for the Pacers. On Saturday, the Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets, in a close battle, 124-114. It was close for most of the game, until the Celtics offense took over late in the 4th, winning it by ten. But on Monday night, the Celtics visiting the Timberwolves, and winning the previous 12 of 13, had to face the leagues best defense.
Minnesota had come off a big win a few nights prior at home, to the Denver Nuggets, routing them 88-110. Being the defending champs the Nuggets, this was a big win for Minnesota. The Celtics took this one to overtime in a thriller. Anthony Edwards had 38 points, and Naz Reid got a welcoming from the crowd everytime he checked into the game. For stats, Jayson Tatum had his 32 points, and Jaylen Brown had 26, missing a shot that would have put the Celtics up by three with less than a second remaining. Joe Mazzulla was criticized for not calling a timeout, when the game was tied with 11 seconds to go, and the Celtics getting the rebound. There was a time when the Celtics were down by 7 late in the 4th quarter, and tied it immediately after.
For more player stats, Al Horford had three points going 1-5 from distance, and turned the ball over with 30 seconds to go, in what could have been the game had he got a shot off, or made a shot. Minnesota had an opportunity to win the game, missing their shot, which lead to the Celtics missing a three to prevent overtime. The shooting wasn’t there for the Celtics tonight, and it seemed as if everyone had at least 3+ fouls late. Jrue Holiday was 4-16, and 0-4 from three, but put in 11 rebounds and six assists. No one fouled out, but to be exact, Porzingis and Brown had five fouls each, and Horford had four. Sam Hauser had a decent shooting night, going 3-8 from distance. The one thing that the Celtics didn’t have was Derrick White, who was out because of the birth of his 2nd child. Congrats Derrick. He is expected to play Wednesday night against the 76ers. In total, the Celtics went 11-39 from beyond the arc, but your not going to shoot above 40% every game, and in an 82 game season, your not going to win every single one of them. They went 36-92 shooting in total, and Minnesota went 44-85 (above 50%), but 13-37 from three. Edwards shooting numbers were at 15-25, and 2-8 from distance, but still put up the same amount of points as the Celtics in overtime.
So, what can we learn from this loss. Well first, this loss can serve as a notice or a wake up call for the team to focus on communication and defensive efforts. They couldn’t find any rhythm on offense and their ball movement wasn’t there, with the team relying on Jayson Tatum to make a lot of plays. Another thing they did was settle for shots that were contested unlike the shots they have been able to create in previous games. One thing that could have changed the game is the fouling. Sure there were some questionable calls, but this isn’t a red flag loss. You lost to a team that had beaten the Denver Nuggets by 22 at home, who had been undefeated at home, and took them to overtime without Derrick White. They were one good timeout call and one good shot away from winning this game, and respect to Anthony Edwards who some say “turned into prime MJ, or Game 4 of the first round Jimmy Butler (vs Milkwalkee)” in overtime. This is a good learning lesson for a team that had just acquired new players in the offseason, and they will be looking forward to their rematch on January 10th, 2024 at the Garden.
For the next few games, the Celtics will have Derrick White back in the rotation, playing the 76ers twice, and the Raptors on Friday night. With Joel Embiid playing well without his star James Harden, who got traded to the Clippers, and Tyrese Maxey having a good start to the season, this will be a good test to see how good the Boston Celtics are, and maybe even how good their bench is, or their starting 5.
Come back next Wednesday to the Dean Daily to find out how they do in these games, what happened, and some analyzation on them. Remember to tune in to the Wes Cal Midday rush, next Saturday from 2-3pm, as we break down some of these upcoming games and more.
Written by: Wesley Callery
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