Ten takeaways from the Celtics 60th win

The buzz is back in Boston

If you look back at our CelticsBlog roundtable before the start of another championship campaign, many of us predicted that the defending champs would win around 60 games this year. In what was effectively the final (“meaningful”) game of the regular season, the Celtics crushed the JV Hornets 130-94 before the playoff rotation rests up before the postseason.

The Red Auerbach Award: Jrue Holiday

Before the game, the two-time champ was given the end-of-year honor for “having exemplified passion, determination, and leadership.”

“Jrue has been key to the success of our team,” said Wyc Grousbeck. “His commitment to excellence, both in his play and leadership, sets a standard for everyone around him. He always does the right thing in the right way. He is a perfect embodiment of what it means to be a Boston Celtic—dedicated, selfless, and relentless in his pursuit of success.”

Jayson Tatum near triple-double

The last time I did the Takeaways, I failed to mention that Tatum nearly recorded a triple-double with 29 points, ten rebounds, and eight assists against the Spurs. I’m not making that mistake again. Against Charlotte, JT poured in 23-8-8 without playing a single second in the fourth quarter. Stand down, commentors.

But that’s the thing, right? This has been routine for the MVP candidate. Since the All-Star break, he’s averaged nearly 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists a night. He’s shooting may be down (44.5 FG%, 30.5 3FG%) over his last twenty games, but he’s finding ways to impact winning all over the floor, including this wardrobe flip with Derrick White:

Baylor Showman

The rookie has been on the rise over the last two months (6-2-2 in 17 minutes per game in March and April) and with Jaylen Brown out last night, Scheierman saw some run in the fourth quarter and finished the game with five points and two assists.

He most likely won’t see significant minutes in the playoffs with the rotation most likely ending with Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet as the 8th and 9th man, but his strong showing over the last two months at least makes you think that he might be the next member of the Stay Ready group to make the leap.

My only question is, is Scheierman a play finisher in the mold of Hauser or will he be able to create a little off the dribble? The former football player and point forward definitely has a nose as a playmaker and a flashy one at that.

You get an assist and you get an assist and you get an assist

The Celtics tallied 35 assists on 49 made field goals, tying their season record. For what it’s worth, they’re 22-1 when they dish out 30 or more helpers in a game. Two came on Tatum-to-Kornet alley-oops naturally.

The many faces of Joe Mazzulla

Just before halftime, the Celtics head coach had to be held back by security as he argued with referee Rodney Mott about a foul on Tatum late in the quarter:

Leave it to Psycho Joe to lay it all out there in a game that means nothing.

After the buzzer, Mazzulla talked about how one of the highlights of his time with the organization has been the opportunity to invite the coaches’ and players kids to the games and have them on the sidelines.

“One of the highlights of my small tenure here is the culture that we have with the kids in the locker room and being on the bench,” Mazzulla said. “This is Braylon’s (Torrey Craig’s son) first time in Boston. He addressed the team today and he had some strong words for the guys…just to have those memories, to have your son being around is the most important thing.”

Sharpshooters

Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard combined for 10-for-15 from behind the arc and chipped in 20 and 22 respectively in the blowout.

I just had to include this triple because 1) one of my favorite opposing TV announcers is the Hornets’ Eric Collins and I love the “GOOD GOLLY” button he puts on this Pritchard 35-footer and 2) this was a heat check three in transition — only Pritchard hits these kind of shots.

At one point, Hauser was 4-for-4 from distance, continuing a positive trend that started back in December. He’s been over 42% every month since and seems to have (knock on parquet) shed the nagging back injury that plagued him earlier in the season

It’s a treat watching Hauser’s footwork. He’s always so perfectly square to the room. Even after relocating of Neemias Queta’s screen, his feet are shoulder’s width apart and he’s got that beautiful gooseneck release.

NSFW Kornography

What are the Ten Takeaways without a Luke Kornet highlight? This may seem boring and self-evident to some, but let’s geek out a little bit here.

Last month, CelticsBlog’s Azad Rosay covered Kornet’s ability to create space on the floor without shooting threes. Here’s a great example of that. With Jusuf Nurkic backing far into the paint and conceding a Kornet jumper (and of late, an awkward lefty floater), Kornet goes into his progression. His first look is to Derrick White who can’t free himself from his defender, so Kornet looks right. A flare screen doesn’t create enough space for Tatum but as soon as Kornet recognizes that two defenders are covering JT’s cut, he immediately goes into a hand-off with Hauser for a wide-open 3 and sequently takes out the help defense with a screen. That may seem routine and maybe it is, but Kornet has mastered all those intricate reads and made an interesting case for Most Improved Player.

Glue guy

It would be inappropriate to call Craig the glue of the team. He’s only been with the Celtics since February 8th, but already, he’s earning rave reviews from his head coach.

“He was sick, man. I love that guy.”

Mazzulla compared him to Blake Griffin, another short-lived, but beloved teammates of this core, for “his professionalism, being in the league a long time, and doing what it takes.”

The 34-year-old vet scored only two points, but set the tone with his defense (three steals) and four assists. He played all twelve minutes in the final frame and started the fourth forcing a turnover on the in-bounds play.

Unicorn sighting

After playing just over 18 minutes in the first half, Kristaps Porzingis didn’t return for the second half. He finished with eleven points, hitting just two of his eleven shots. Mazzulla said, “he’s good. He’s perfectly fine.”

One of his two triples was this 35-footer and he had this sweet dime to DWhite:

Back-to-back 60-win seasons

With the win over the Hornets, the Celtics officially complete back-to-back seasons with sixty or more wins. It’s the 14th of the franchise with half of them resulting in a Finals win. They’ll wrap up the season on Sunday hosting the Hornets again at 1 pm EST.

Their first-round opponent will either be Atlanta or Orlando. The Magic host the Hawks on April 15th in the first game of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament and the winner will become the #7 seed in the East.