The Boston Celtics couldn’t get it done against the visiting Magic Friday night, losing 117-109 and posting just the third home loss of the season for the club. The crowd was buzzing early with anticipation as Robert Williams III returned from injury, but unfortunately the Celtics simply couldn’t get into gear.
Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, but he disappeared for long stretches of the game. Overall Boston’s offense was clunky, and the defense uncharacteristically sloppy.
Williams’ return was the headline, and despite the loss there were a few key takeaways from the game. Boston will get a chance for revenge soon enough with another game against Orlando this Sunday at TD Garden. Here’s what you might have missed from Boston’s loss Friday night.
Robert Williams is finally back from injury
Robert Williams III saw his first action of the ’22-23 campaign Friday night after missing the beginning of the season recovering from a knee procedure in September. Before the game Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said Williams’ return was a big deal, saying “he just makes us better.”
Though Williams played in limited bursts, he did indeed make an obvious impact. He slammed home a few monster dunks and clearly had the Magic re-thinking things in the paint. Williams finished the night with 9 points and 6 rebounds.
Williams will take time to full ramp up to his old form. He came off the bench against the Magic and logged 18 minutes, a perfectly acceptable first game back. Mazzulla explained that while Williams isn’t on a minutes restriction, the team will be cautious in allocating his playing time for the foreseeable future.
3-point shooting continues to be a tricky vixen
This year Boston is shooting 41.6 3-pointers per game, the second highest mark in the NBA. Over-reliance on the 3-point shot invites high levels of variability in a team’s offense. That high variance was on full display against the Magic.
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At one point the Celtics were 6-for-10 from distance before missing11 consecutive 3-point shots. Boston never really found its shooting touch from there — at…
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