Carsen Edwards Shook His Dick All Over The Cavs As The Celtics Finish The Preseason Undefeated

All things considered, the Celtics completed a nearly flawless preseason last night with another blowout win. Aside from that poor start from the starters against CHA and Romeo Langford’s scary fall, everything I wanted to see this team accomplish in these four fake games they achieved. The defense was legit as hell (factoring in it was against terrible teams), Tatum’s approach looks to be for real changed, Jaylen showed improvement as a playmaker and was very decisive, Hayward looked quicker and more confident, the young kids can fucking PLAY, the chemistry was off the damn charts, all in all it was a huge success. Now whether or not any of this translates to the regular season who knows, but at this stage you’re just looking for good habits and if you look at how the Celts really dominated their last three games it’s hard to not be excited as we approach next week.

Given that all the regulars had the night off last night in their finale in CLE, it was a chance for the kids to step up and show us that they are NBA ready and boy did they ever deliver. I guess unless you’re a Knicks or Sixers fan you walked away pretty impressed, and the good news is this is only the beginning. Let’s dive in.

The Good

– It would be a crime to start anywhere else. I think once we learned that the starters and regular rotation players were getting the night off we all couldn’t wait to see what Carsen Edwards would do with a ton of minutes and the ultimate green light. Well, he most definitely did not disappoint

30 points, 9 3PM, 16 FGA and 15 of them from deep, 1 TO in 20 minutes. Just absolutely ridiculous shooting and a quarter for the ages in the third where he made four 3s from 30+ feet. The beauty of it was they were all different in a sense that some were just pull up threes off the dribble in the defenders eyeball, some were off flare screens where he utilized his quick release in catch and shoot situations, and others came off down screens where they ran him off and he found his way to the corner. This is what gives me confidence he can be a legit scorer in the regular season because not only is his release super quick, but he can sore through a variety of different ways. He could very well find himself with 20 minutes a night once the season starts, and even if you can’t expect him to drop 30 every time, he’s clearly someone who defenses are going to have to worry about. Then on the other end he more than held his own with a 91 Drtg. What a steal this kid is going to end up being, a true walking bucket.

– But he wasn’t alone! For those who think Ainge can’t draft, this may be the best draft he’s ever had. Take Tremont Waters for example. Is there any doubt he only fell in the draft because he’s 5’11? Because make no mistake, this kid can play

his 24/7 on 10-16 is just as impressive and when you watch him play you see a guy who just figures it out. He processes things so quickly he always seems to find the right play. Not to mention the more we see him the more he looks just like Isaiah. The hesitation, the dribble drives, the finishing at the rim, you could make the case that he should have the 15th roster spot. Brad loves him, his hands are so damn quick he surprisingly can hold his own defensively at this level and you’re reminded that he was the SEC DPOY, and they got him in the 50s.

– And then there’s Grant. If you want to talk about someone who could be an impact rookie, if I’m Semi I am sweating buckets right now because Grant looks fantastic. His outside shot seems to be legit after two more threes in this one, his defense is way ahead of where I thought it might be, and his playmaking and passing is what sets him apart. As of now, he brings a little more to the table than Semi does and the fact that he was a +20 last night isn’t even remotely surprising. He’s a +/- God, and he’s another guy who may not go nuts offensively, but he can definitely be a consistent glue guy, and it’s not fair to him but who knows maybe he can be their Draymond. Not nearly the same defender (yet), but in terms of that 6’8 big who can stretch the floor, someone you can run the offense through while using him in small ball lineups.

– Once again, the formula proves true. You want to win? You better defend and rebound and the Celts won the rebounding battle 41-32 and held CLE to 42/28% splits with 18 TOs. The most surprising thing about this preseason is the rebounding actually hasn’t been a complete disaster, and this is against some legit front lines that have serious length.

– I can understand the appeal of Max Strus and his lights out shooting, but there’s now way you can keep Javonte Green off this roster. He’s been consistent and productive in every opportunity, last night included

– Fuck it Carsen ruled so much last night let’s watch it again

– Tacko went 3/4 from the line last night and if he’s going to be able to actually make FTs at a somewhat respectable level then nobody in Maine is going to be able to stop him.

– Really strong minutes from Vincent Poirier, giving them pretty much exactly what you want in his 19 minutes. He rebounded well, he scored around the basket and he protected the rim on the defensive end. At first I thought he may have had the inside track to start because he was one of the only bigs to actually show the ability to defend, but I’m now thinking that’s Theis and Poirier will be the second big off the bench. If he’s able to give you like 8/6 with 2 blocks consistently like last night, he’ll be an impactful reserve big.

The Bad

– It really sucked that Robert Williams got nailed in the head and had a concussion like 3 minutes into the game. Especially considering this was going to be a game where we could have gotten real Timelord minutes. He showed flashes in their game the other night, and I feel like any sort of run he gets can only help. Stinks that it was cut short.

– Good to see the Celts are already in midseason form by starting games unable to make a god damn shot. That was the case in their last game, and then last night it was a 34/23% start in the first quarter. I’m not saying this is a concern, but when it’s now been the regular starters and the kids both struggling to start games, it’s something to note.

– I think it’s OK to admit that Sexton and Garland gave the Celts some problems. 36 points on 13-27 shooting between the two of them, they were definitely the ones the Celts had the most trouble staying in front of.

– Again with the missed FTs. This time 21-32, and frankly they’ve shot like shit from the line all preseason. I’m trying to ignore it, but its coming from guys who are supposed to be legit shooters. Tacko misses some OK it’s whatever, but you can’t fuck around and miss this many FTs once the real games start.

The Ugly

– Turnovers. Mainly the second unit, and while it didn’t impact the result it was still too many. Tacko had 4, Waters 3, Strus 3, it was really the only thing that kept this from being a perfect outing. The good news is the starters only had 1 combined TO, but once Brad went to the bench things got a little more sloppy.

Now that the preseason is over and the Celts are walking away playing great basketball and are mostly healthy, it’s hard to not view these four games as a step in the right direction. Things will be 10000000000x harder on Opening Night against the Sixers, but based on what we’ve seen from this group over the last few weeks they should be ready for the challenge. This team is fun as hell to watch again, and that should not be overlooked.

Bring me the regular season. I am ready.