The Celtics Are Back And Pick Up Right Where They Left Off By Asserting Their Dominance Over The Nuggets In Abu Dhabi

I'm not sure about anyone else, but pretty much every aspect of my life got better today. It had been 109 days since we'd last seen the NBA Champions on the hardwood, and while this may have been a fake game that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, at the same time it means everything. Lord knows what the internet/talking heads/trolls would have done had the Celts lost this game, and I don't even care that the Celts didn't even play that well and the starters only played the first half.

I'm of the belief that every single time the Celts take the floor, it matters. Every dribble, every possession, from Summer League to the NBA Finals. I will not apologize for my deranged brain preferring that if the Celtics are going to play a basketball game, that they win it. It could be a fake preseason game, a regular season game, a playoff game, a Finals game, whatever. 

And while it certainly wasn't pretty at times, that's exactly what we got today. After all that debating over the summer as to who would win in a hypothetical 2024 NBA Finals matchup between the Nuggets and Celtics, it looks like we have our answer. What, isn't that what you're supposed to do right now? We all know damn sure that would be the narrative had the Nuggets won, so it must be true the other way around no?

Anyways, given that this was a fake game with limited participation on both sides from the guys who matter, let's just run through some things quickly that stood out

- Jayson Tatum's jumper looked fine. More than fine if we're being honest. He finished 42.8% from three with 3PM in his 19 minutes to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, so for now it looks like all that freaking out because he missed some jumpers at the Olympics was a little much. What I liked to see was that he made a couple of contested 3PA, because if you remember this was the area he was completely horrific in during the playoffs.

- Demon Jaylen Brown is every bit as awesome as we hoped. His outside shot wasn't all that great (1-5), but his aggressiveness on both ends was fantastic. As we know, everything this team does starts with Tatum/Brown, and for Jaylen to show up extremely engaged defensively right after everything he just did in the Finals was awesome to see and helps set the tone moving forward.

The FTs don't look any better which was annoying, and the ball security wasn't all that great, but it's pretty clear Jaylen came into the season pissed off.

- Pro Am Payton Pritchard (21 points on 6-12 from deep) was probably the best player on the floor in a game that included Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum. Go argue a wall. While we know Pritchard can shoot, what I found to be an interesting development was how much more comfortable he looked initiating in P&R. Patient, didn't force things, and found ways to manipulate the defense, these are all things we saw signs of last year that look like they've become second nature.

- Weirdly careless with the basketball game from DWhite. I can't ever remember him having 3 TOs.

- Mazzulla Ball once again showed the world why it's the greatest system in basketball history

Do people see the light yet? The math is the math. While 61 3PA may seem like an insane number to some, not to me. I honestly didn't think too many of them were the types of 3PA we want to see this team avoid, and as we know if you're open Joe demands you shoot the ball. It was staying consistent with this approach in the second half that basically won the game for the Celts, and at some point people will finally accept that Joe's system is revolutionary. The evidence keeps speaking for itself.

- While young prospects like Jaden Springer and Baylor Scheierman didn't exactly look NBA ready, that was not the case with Jordan Walsh. In fact, I would argue his stock has never been higher Make no mistake, he was horrific in Vegas, but that's because he was playing in a way that wasn't going to exist with the real club. Off the dribble pullup 3PA, stepbacks etc. That's not his game.

Today, we saw an improvement in his decision making, passing up opportunities to force up shots and instead create for teammates. He made a couple of C&S 3PA and his defense was more than solid. That's ALL he needs to do. Don't turn the ball over, defend at a high level, and make your open looks. If this is the Walsh we can get moving forward, there's 8-10 minutes out there for him for sure.

- Xavier Tillman's corner 3 is real. Just remember that.

Overall, I'd give the starters like a C-/C at best with their performance. I thought their defense in the first half was mostly dogshit and they were way too careless with the basketball. The reserves? Much more of a B-/B type of performance. Despite the win, this wasn't even close to the Celts playing to their potential/ceiling, which is always fun. It's great to know that you can win and still play so much better, which I think we all hope to see on Sunday.

But for now? The good times keep rolling on. Sure most will ignore this game because it's fake and doesn't count, but those people are losers. They all matter, and last time I checked the Celts are now 81-21 in their last 102 games. Not bad!