The Boston Celtics opened up their preseason slate with a 107-103 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday afternoon, their first of two games in Abu Dhabi against the 2023 champs. It was a rough showing early on, as it was fairly obvious that both sides hadn’t played a competitive basketball game together in a few months. But by the end of the contest, it turned into a thriller.
Al Horford did not play for Boston. Instead, Luke Kornet got the start. And for Denver, Christian Braun started in place of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed with the Orlando Magic this past summer. When the end of the contest rolled around, it was a one-possession game. JD Davison went to the line with 7.9 seconds left after an untelevised Nuggets foul. The scoreboard showed the Nuggets up one, but in reality, they were down one, so Davison was intentionally fouled, and he sank both free throws to put Boston up by three.
After a Celtics foul sent the Nuggets to the line, chaos ensued. Jahmir Young missed his second free throw on purpose, but the Celtics held on to win.
Here are three studs and three duds from the contest.
Stud - Jayson Tatum’s three-point shot
During the Celtics’ 2024 postseason run, Jayson Tatum was ice cold from beyond the three-point arc. The issue carried over into the summer, as Tatum didn’t make a single jump shot during Team USA’s run in the Paris Olympics.
However, he adjusted his shot over the summer, and in Boston’s first preseason game, it looked pretty good. He shot 3-of-7 from distance, and the form looked good.
Obviously, Tatum has a long way to go before there’s any guarantee that his new form is going to stick, but this was a great first sign.
Tatum was a solid shooter during the regular season last year, but if the Celtics want to repeat as champions, they’ll likely need him to be a bit better from deep during the playoffs.
Dud - Basketball
Let’s drag the Denver Nuggets into this dud as well, because yikes. Both teams looked super rough in the first quarter. It was painfully clear that neither had played a game together in months.
Everything from turnovers to air-balls to questionable decisions was popping up as both sides struggled to find a rhythm for the first few minutes of the contest.
In the first quarter alone, the Celtics shot just 3-of-14 from three-point range and turned the ball over five times. And while the Nuggets shot a bit better from deep (4-of-10), they also committed five turnovers.
Both starting groups settled into a bit of a rhythm as the game went on, especially once Nikola Jokic saw a few buckets go down in the paint.
But once the backups took over again, the game went back to a pretty rough style of hoops. There were some fun moments mixed in, including DeAndre Jordan turning back the clock, but it looked a bit more like a Summer League game than NBA action.
Preseason games are never going to be played at the same level as regular season games, but this one was particularly rough for a few stints throughout the game.
Stud - Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet
As noted, Al Horford didn’t get the start in this game, and he didn’t end up playing any minutes at all. That left plenty of opportunities for Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman to step up.
And that’s exactly what they did.
Kornet got the start, and he immediately made an impact. His screening created a ton of open space for his teammates, and he stayed pretty active on the glass as well.
He also made some very impressive reads out of the short roll. If the Celtics can depend on him as a playmaker in the middle of the floor, it will open up a ton of opportunities.
As for Tillman, his three-point shot looked great. As Horford needs more and more rest, he could be a guy the Celtics look at to space the floor at the four and five spot.
Like Kornet, Tillman’s screening looked good, and his defensive versatility popped up as one of his more impressive skills as well.
Both bigs struggled to contain Jokic, but there aren’t many players in the league who can do that. In fact, there aren’t really any players on the planet who can do that.
Regardless, this game was a great sign for Tillman and Kornet. (Neemias Queta wasn’t quite as impactful in this game.)
Dud - Jaden Springer
It’s tough to draw judgment on a player in so few minutes, but Jaden Springer looked pretty rough in the playing time they got in this one.
Springer was amazing in the one Summer League game he appeared in. He played so well that the Celtics shut him down for the rest of the event. But he wasn’t great in this one, and to make matters worse, he seemingly upset Joe Mazzulla at one point during the game.
After taking (and missing) a contested layup at the rim, Springer was clearly frustrated. He immediately fouled the Nuggets ball-handler, and Mazzulla didn’t look too pleased on the sidelines.
Mazzulla put his hands out with his palms up as almost to say, ‘What are you doing?’ It’s one thing to take a bad shot, and it’s another to compound that mistake with a dumb foul.
Again, one preseason game only means so much. Springer’s still a great defender and showed some offensive potential in Summer League, but this wasn’t an amazing start.
And on top of all of that, Springer failed to convert a shot in this game. He missed the one three he took, and all of his looks inside the arc didn’t fall, either.
Stud - Payton Pritchard
Anyone who looks at the box score for this game could tell you how well Payton Pritchard played because he absolutely filled up the stat sheet.
By the time he checked out for good, Pritchard tallied 21 points, four rebounds, and six assists while shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 6-of-12 from behind the three-point line.
The Celtics guard picked up right where he left off in the Finals and was an absolute laser from beyond the arc. That’s exactly what the Celtics will need from him next season.
Jrue Holiday and Derrick White played basketball all summer with Team USA, so if Pritchard can pick up some slack during the regular season, they could sneak in some extra rest.
Pritchard has always been a great scorer, but it feels as though the Celtics could utilize him a bit more. This preseason game was great evidence for that fact.
If he gets enough touches, there’s no reason Pritchard couldn’t find himself in Sixth Man of the Year conversations next year. That’s how efficient he is with the basketball in his hand.
Whenever the ball found him in this one, it was almost automatic. He even nailed a shot to end a quarter, because of course he did.
Dud - Depth three-point shooting
Jordan Walsh looked good overall. Baylor Scheierman looks to be in great shape. But the Celtics’ depth could not find a three-point basket to save themselves.
The Celtics' bench (minus Payton Pritchard) combined to shoot just 7-of-26 from behind the arc. Led by Drew Peterson, they found a rhythm toward the end of the game, but the start was ugly.
Scheierman’s first two three-point attempts went off the top of the backboard and then completely air-balled. He took both with confidence, but the result wasn’t what he wanted.
Boston’s success if heavily built on having elite three-point shooters all throughout the rotation. Outside of Luke Kornet, everyone in their top eight is money from behind the arc.
Guys like Scheierman and Peterson are billed as great three-point shooters, and they still can be, but this wasn’t an ideal start for them in the preseason.
They did other things well. Scheierman pushed the pace and snagged a nice steal, Peterson was able to put the ball on the floor and make plays, and Walsh was an energy machine for stints. But the three-ball just wasn’t there.
Again, some shots started to fall toward the end of the game, but more consistency should be the goal. And they’ll have a chance to accomplish that throughout the rest of the preseason.
