1. Poole Party

Regardless of your personal feelings about Jordan Poole, he can fill that points column quickly. Watching him practice threes off the dribble will probably always sting a little after the 2022 Finals, but less so when you see the Celtics raising a banner of their own.

In this game the Poole party started with a splash.

JP was a big reason the Celtics found themselves in an early hole. He hit a ton of 3s and finished the first half going 6/9 from behind the arc on his way to 20 points. There were some tough looks that Boston couldn’t have defended much better, but Poole knocked them down anyway.

But even with that big start, the Celtics easily clawed their way out of an early deficit. For all of Poole’s success, he was the only Wizard to hit a 3 in the first half. Patrick Baldwin Jr. hit the only non-Poole 3 in this game with five minutes left in the 4th quarter. That’s not a recommended strategy against Boston.

2. Double vision (magnification).

in the absence of Sam Hauser – while playing against an inferior opponent – ​​Mazzulla leaned on double major pairs over other options.

Boston cycled through various combinations including Kornet/Tillman, Horford/Tillman, Horford/Queta & Tillman/Queta. In the early stages of the season against a team with no hope of making the play-offs, this match was the perfect opportunity to test things out.

For the most part, each of these combinations together was effective. All four centers bring unique skills, and it’s a great idea to get an idea of ​​how they can complement each other.

It also feels like Mazzulla wants to push the limits of their scheme, seeing if the team can continue to generate good offense with two non-spacers on the floor.

3. Tatum is playing like an MVP.

Washington made an effort to limit Boston’s effectiveness to three, and instead of forcing shots, Tatum worked himself into a rhythm.

He started the play by taking advantage and shooting over the top of smaller defenders.

A reliable return to the basket game has been an extremely useful tool for Tatum. It felt like last season was an introduction to this version of JT who is both comfortable and effective playing a more physical style when necessary.

His 3-ball never really came into its own in this game, but he had some impressive performances. That included this devastating welcome to the league moment for rookie Alex Sarr.

Tatum’s recurring and versatile contributions seem to get glossed over in discussions about his impact, but it’s one of the big differences between him and many of the players he’s compared to. In just 28 minutes, Tatum scored 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Not that he would mind, but the Celtics’ greatness might be enough to actually hurt his MVP case, in terms of them ending games in the third quarter.

4. Derrick White, the stabilizer.

The term connector has surfaced in recent years as a way to describe a player who does the little things that tie a lineup together. Derrick White is one of the best connectors the league has to offer.

Offensively, he has become a consistent offensive weapon who can add value in every conceivable way. White is clearly a dynamic shooter off the ball, but his ability to screen on reverse pick-and-rolls is a wrinkle that most offenses desperately try to emulate.

These days, the Celtics rarely need to settle down. When they do, Derrick is often the guy who stabilizes things. It’s usually not his voice, but rather his ability to make the right play/line every time. His defense and IQ helped Boston in this game.

5. Jrue is a veterinarian.

This wasn’t a big Jrue Holiday game by any means, in fact it was probably one of the least involved performances we’ve seen from him in quite some time.

Despite the relative lack of production, Holiday’s veteran knowledge stood out on a pair of possessions in the second quarter. On both occasions he takes advantage of Alex Sarr’s youth.

On this first possession, Holiday is faced with a low clock and limited options. He can try to get Sarr to the rim quickly, or shoot over the 7-footer. Instead, Jrue manages to pry open door number 3.

He didn’t have the upper hand here, so his intelligence had to be the advantage. He clearly noticed the empty shot clock, but his decision to fake pump makes it clear that he realized Sarr was probably aware of the limited time as well. He played the man in this scenario, knowing it would necessitate a more aggressive closeout and give him the best chance to make something out of nothing.

Less than a minute later, Jrue found himself on an island again with Sarr:

Jrue immediately tests him with a fake pump at the 3PT line to see if he would bite again. Sarr temporarily learned from his mistake and stayed down this time. Jrue gets the opportunity to drive to his dominant hand, but chooses to attack Sarr’s top foot, forcing him to turn his hips. With the young wizard firmly in recovery mode, Jrue creates space with a slight bump and sends him into the air again with the fake.

This kind of insight into the game comes with time, and it’s something Holiday brought to the team immediately upon his arrival. He didn’t score a single goal here, but managed to turn a 3-point deficit into a 2-point lead.

6. Jaylen Brown’s emotional intelligence

Jaylen had a rough start to the game, finishing the first quarter 1/5 of the field. He took some hard shots off the dribble that were out of the flow of the offense. That’s not entirely unusual or disappointing, but the quality of the look was low and the percentages reflected that.

However, Jaylen wasn’t deterred by the bad shooting. He dialed it in and was more targeted in his approach. In the second quarter, all five of his shot attempts came at the rim.

Brown is terrifying in transition and as a half-court driver. That he was able to recognize so quickly that his shot diet needed an adjustment says a lot about how he feels about the game at this stage of his career.

Another sign of that was this pick & roll rep with Neemias Queta:

His patience here to manipulate and hold the big ones, while also keeping his own defender in jail, is extremely advanced. Brown plays this perfectly and finds Queta on top for the easy lob.

After successfully playing himself into a flow, JB allowed himself another pull-up 3 as a treat.

7. Is there any reason to worry about Horford?

The answer is a resounding no.

Horford finished the match with zero points and only two FGA. He wasn’t involved offensively in a meaningful way, but still managed to be useful. This is highlighted by the fact that he finished the game as +17. In many cases, +/- doesn’t tell the whole story, but for Horford it’s an accurate representation of contributions in ways that don’t always show up in the box score.

For example, take an asset like this:

Horford sets up an excellent screen that completely wipes Pritchard’s defender out of the play. He isn’t credited with an assist, but you could argue his screen deserves one as it leads straight to a wide open look.

He chipped in with a pair of rebounds to finish off the ball and had his moments defensively.

In his 18th season, making sure Horford’s workload is manageable is as important as ever. If there are nights like this during the regular season where very little output is required from him, that can only be seen as a positive. The fact that he has three capable centers behind him should remain a big boost for him as well.

8. Flashes of Queta

As previously mentioned, Boston being able to trot out four quality giants while keeping their borderline all-star center standing is a big plus. Queta played just under 14 minutes in this game, but it was filled with glimpses of the type of contributor the Celtics hope to help mold him.

Queta makes a lot of energy and has a high motor when it comes to chasing down offensive rebounds. Getting extra possessions on the glass is something any team would appreciate.

I find it helpful to take note of possessions like this where he is paired with a legitimate NBA center and can make the most of it. The defense is a work in progress and more playing time should help him grow, but there were still a few occasions where he stalled Valančiūnas.

Now that he’s in Boston full-time, his role will only increase if he can pile up performances like this.

9. Sam Hauser impression of Payton Pritchard

After an inefficient game one, Payton Pritchard returned to his usual sharpshooting self.

There was a Sam Hauser-sized hole in the rotation, and Pritchard filled it. 3PT shots aren’t exclusive to Hauser, but the kind of looks Payton got tonight was reminiscent of Sam’s typical shooting types.

It was a heavy dose of motion shooting and fencing on his way to five made 3s for Pritchard. One of the best looks of the night was a stagger screen from Holiday and Kornet to free him.

10. Scheierman’s first NBA points

With the departures of Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk, garbage time needs a new hero. Right now, it looks like this could be Baylor Scheierman’s chance to shine.

He was off with a pair of 3s, but secured his first NBA bucket on a transition layup that was enough to give him the game ball.

Rotation minutes are scarce, but with Boston consistently taking more than 20-point leads, Baylor has a chance to play longer than normal. Since he is on a standard contract, there is no limit to the number of games he can play for Boston this season, but making the most of those minutes and ultimately spending time in Maine will be best for his development in the long run.