Halftime Sizzling Takes: The Celtics appear to care about this sport towards Brooklyn simply as a lot as the remainder of us

By way of two quarters, the primary Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets assembly of the season hasn’t panned out the way in which many would’ve anticipated. The Nets led for the complete half however Boston managed to chop it down to simply two earlier than the halftime buzzer.

Now, prepare for some Halftime Sizzling Takes, buddy.

Photograph by Streeter Lecka/Getty Photographs

I’ve seen higher begins

Pay attention, I perceive that it isn’t fairly as simple to rise up for a sport towards the Nets in comparison with one towards the Golden State Warriors. However falling behind 12-0 to a workforce that, earlier than the season, was a high contender to land Cooper Flagg (who I hear truly isn’t that good, it will be a attain if anybody picked him earlier than, let’s say, choose 30), is unacceptable.

Brooklyn is a workforce that’s constructed an id for itself by taking part in gritty basketball. Giving them confidence proper off the rip isn’t going to make the evening a simple one.

If I needed to pinpoint the difficulty, I might say it has one thing to do with sporting “assertion version” black jerseys at house, as a substitute of conventional house whites.

I’ve to present credit score the place credit score is due, although. The Celtics minimize the Nets’ result in simply 4 by the top of the primary quarter. That’s a championship stage response.

Jayson Tatum might need Corridor-of-Fame “Nook Specialist”

A big a part of Boston’s first-quarter push was Jayson Tatum’s 11 early factors. Of these 11 factors, 9 got here off of catch-and-shoot threes from the left nook. All three of the makes have been tremendous clear appears, and JT didn’t even need to work for them.

The extra threes we see Tatum take off of the catch, the higher (although the numbers this 12 months would let you know in any other case). These are photographs that sometimes will come inside the movement of an offensive possession, reasonably than having to be created by the person himself.

Nearly anybody who has watched the Cs will let you know that they’re at their greatest when the ball is popping round, reasonably than when it’s sticking.

Final season, it was fairly uncommon to see Tatum getting appears from deep until it was off of the dribble. This 12 months, it looks like Joe Mazzulla has made it an emphasis to have him taking part in with out the ball on some possessions.

The Nets are usually not a tanking workforce

This is not essentially a take that’s particular to this single half of basketball, but it surely’s clear that the Nets are usually not a workforce in tank mode. They got here into Friday’s sport with a report of 4-4 and it’s not a thriller to why.

Have they got a ton of top-end expertise?

No.

However these guys play exhausting.

They’ve placed on one of many higher defensive shows towards the Cs thus far this season, holding them to simply 49 factors on the break.

On high of that, they brought on a number of tie-ups, after diving on the ground after free balls.

This was a big-time “earn my respect” half from them, for certain.