SEASON OPENER – Celtics @ Knicks – Wed. 7:00PM, Oct. 25, 2023

[ddb]

Okay, a lot to unpack here. First of all, a wins a win. Here's my breakdown below:

Celts went into a ruckus environment at MSG and knocked off a solid Knicks team. Even though Boston is clearly the more talented team with higher expectations, let's not discount the continuity the Knicks have with their roster essentially being the same as it was last season.

Tatum & Zinger were awesome. Two best players on the court last night. For as incredible as Tatum has been, in year 7 he looks poised to put up a legitimate MVP campaign this year. He was DOMINATE. Got what he wanted, when he wanted it. His chemistry with KP was on display as well. I'll be praying every single day that KP stays healthy. With a healthy KP the sky is the limit for this group.

I'm not sweating JB and Jrue struggling (offensively). Defensively, they were really good. With the star power Boston has, we better get used to certain guys having off nights offensively from time to time. There's only 1 ball. It'll be a little more challenging to find your rhythm with less shots. Again, I'm not worried. JB will have a great season. As will Jrue.

DWhite and Al were good. Our connective tissue guys. PP didn't do much, but it also wasn't the best matchup for him.

From a bench perspective I'd imagine Joe Mazz & staff will tinker with the backend of the rotation quite a bit for the first month or so. Maybe even longer. Guys like Svi, Banton, Lamar, OB, and Queta will get opportunities. Even Walshy will see time. I think internal competition is really healthy for 8-10th man minutes. Hopefully, a couple guys seize the opportunity and lock in roles to solidify the rotation.

Last thing I'll mention. I'm not worried about the big man depth right now. I'm very confident Brad will add a solid 3rd big to the team via trade by the December/January timeline. No reason to rush it. Kornet/Queta can fill that void for now. I wouldn't be shocked if Queta impresses. There's also plenty of teams playing small. In those situations, we may see someone like Stevens or OB playing small-ball 5.

[pac213up]

Got a chance to rewatch this one.

Thing that stuck out the most was lack of overall ball movement on offense. Tatum was dominate individually but really held the ball too long on doubles. At this point, with this roster he should AVG 6 assists with his eyes closed. He will need to sacrifice more shots for this team to win a title. On the flipside of that is his bag of tricks scoring continues to impress and his rebounding will be a factor.

The other issue was offensively they did not attack. Way too much settling and finesse.

[KillahGhostface]

Got a chance to rewatch this one.

Thing that stuck out the most was lack of overall ball movement on offense. Tatum was dominate individually but really held the ball too long on doubles. At this point, with this roster he should AVG 6 assists with his eyes closed. He will need to sacrifice more shots for this team to win a title. On the flipside of that is his bag of tricks scoring continues to impress and his rebounding will be a factor.

The other issue was offensively they did not attack. Way too much settling and finesse.

Seconds per touch for the game
Pritchard 5.91
White 4.77
Jaylen 4.30
Tatum 4.25
Holiday 3.96

Dribbles per touch for the game
Pritchard 6.2
White 4.6
Jaylen 4
Holiday 3.6
Tatum 2.9

Make cleaner passes out of the traps? Sure, but he was super quick in his decisions as far as moving the ball.

[BK_2020]

Got a chance to rewatch this one.

Thing that stuck out the most was lack of overall ball movement on offense. Tatum was dominate individually but really held the ball too long on doubles. At this point, with this roster he should AVG 6 assists with his eyes closed. He will need to sacrifice more shots for this team to win a title. On the flipside of that is his bag of tricks scoring continues to impress and his rebounding will be a factor.

The other issue was offensively they did not attack. Way too much settling and finesse.

Seconds per touch for the game
Pritchard 5.91
White 4.77
Jaylen 4.30
Tatum 4.25
Holiday 3.96

Dribbles per touch for the game
Pritchard 6.2
White 4.6
Jaylen 4
Holiday 3.6
Tatum 2.9

Make cleaner passes out of the traps? Sure, but he was super quick in his decisions as far as moving the ball.

Tatum's passes were really bad though. He floated them out there like he's playing QB for the Bears. Although in one of his turnovers he was definitely fouled.

[KillahGhostface]

Got a chance to rewatch this one.

Thing that stuck out the most was lack of overall ball movement on offense. Tatum was dominate individually but really held the ball too long on doubles. At this point, with this roster he should AVG 6 assists with his eyes closed. He will need to sacrifice more shots for this team to win a title. On the flipside of that is his bag of tricks scoring continues to impress and his rebounding will be a factor.

The other issue was offensively they did not attack. Way too much settling and finesse.

Seconds per touch for the game
Pritchard 5.91
White 4.77
Jaylen 4.30
Tatum 4.25
Holiday 3.96

Dribbles per touch for the game
Pritchard 6.2
White 4.6
Jaylen 4
Holiday 3.6
Tatum 2.9

Make cleaner passes out of the traps? Sure, but he was super quick in his decisions as far as moving the ball.

Tatum's passes were really bad though. He floated them out there like he's playing QB for the Bears. Although in one of his turnovers he was definitely fouled.

Teams know he’s going to use KP as an escape valve, so he can’t throw soft passes there. It got better late in the game, so hopefully he learned his lesson.

[Hal14]

Got a chance to rewatch this one.

Thing that stuck out the most was lack of overall ball movement on offense. Tatum was dominate individually but really held the ball too long on doubles. At this point, with this roster he should AVG 6 assists with his eyes closed. He will need to sacrifice more shots for this team to win a title. On the flipside of that is his bag of tricks scoring continues to impress and his rebounding will be a factor.

The other issue was offensively they did not attack. Way too much settling and finesse.

Seconds per touch for the game
Pritchard 5.91
White 4.77
Jaylen 4.30
Tatum 4.25
Holiday 3.96

Dribbles per touch for the game
Pritchard 6.2
White 4.6
Jaylen 4
Holiday 3.6
Tatum 2.9

Make cleaner passes out of the traps? Sure, but he was super quick in his decisions as far as moving the ball.

Oh, Pritchard

To be fair, Brogdon held onto the ball and dribbled too much as well - and Pritchard is a fraction of the cost (not to mention much less injury prone and less of a malcontent).