NEW Boston Celtics Rumours Following 2024’s First Loss…
This season, two Eastern Conference contenders hope to add to their squad, but it appears that they won’t do it until after the 2024 trade deadline.
The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are anticipated to be active in the buyout market, but Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported on Wednesday that they are unlikely to make any big transactions.
It was mentioned that because of second tax apron regulations, neither club is allowed to sign a player whose base salary was more than $12.4 million.
The Celtics are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves with the best record in the league at 17-5. Windhorst reported that Boston is likely to be seeking a quality rotation player to improve its depth behind its vaunted starting lineup.
“The Celtics have six premium starters and it makes them one of the NBA’s best teams. But after that, coach Joe Mazzulla has less experienced/proven players on his bench,” Windhorst stated. “Getting one more quality rotation player, at any position, would give Boston options.”
The Bucks and Orlando Magic are tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference with a 16–7 record. Windhorst observed that they “lack size and quickness on the outside, which constantly applies pressure to their second line of defence in the paint,” suggesting that perimeter defence is their greatest need.
Since both Boston and Milwaukee have payrolls that exceed the luxury tax by more than $17.5 million, they are regarded as second-tier teams. In order to preserve balance in the NBA, teams in the second apron are prohibited from making additional purchases.
Naturally, it’s still unclear which players that end up in the buyout market will be game-changers who can affect the Bucks’ or Celtics’ chances of winning an NBA title.
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Celtic’s blistering defense rocks the Jazz
Boston’s elite defense was on full display as they blew out the Utah Jazz by 29 points.
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Prior to Friday’s matchup with the Utah Jazz, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t seem to think his team was elite yet. After a 126-97 blowout, It’s safe to say Boston belongs in the upper echelon category of superior defensive teams in the NBA.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown set the tone with early explosive back-to-back blocks. Missing their first nine shots of the game, the Jazz scored just 15 points in the first quarter, on 5-27 (18.5 percent) field goal shooting, and 1-12 (8.3 percent) from downtown. According to NBC Sports Boston statistician Dick Lipe, it’s the third time since December 12 that all five Celtics starters blocked at least one shot in a game since 1991.
Boston pushed the pace tonight and forced the Jazz into uncomfortable shots. While they had some clean looks, Utah looked flat and disheveled. Unable to take care of the ball, the C’s capitalized, scoring 26 fast break points off 18 turnovers. What continues to impress is the way Jrue Holiday and Derrick White switch on screens around the perimeter, while defending in the post.
Speaking of Jrue Holiday, his ability to pick up in transition, and read plays defensively in the low post is remarkable. Guarding Collin Sexton is not an easy task, and having the ability to strip him on the baseline showcased his full awareness.
Up 64-33, Boston kept their foot on the gas, playing stalwart defense. Even Tatum was able to stop Sexton, who’s an extremely fast and athletic guard. Forcing Sexton out of bounds while staying in front of him up thirty points spoke volumes.
Overall, the Jazz were held to an underwhelming 17.6 percent from deep, and 36.2 percent from the floor. Utah’s starters combined for 20-50 shooting from the field, and 2-17 from deep.
Ahead of tipoff, Jazz head coach Will Hardy predicted how suffocating Mazzulla’s defensive scheme would be. Ranked third in defensive rating (110.9), Boston leads the league in defensive rebounds per game (36) and are currently tied with the Indiana Pacers for the most blocks per game (6.5).
“They can play with a lot of variety on the defensive end because of the matchup,” Hardy told the media pregame. “Their individual defense is probably as good as anybody in the league, top to bottom.”
Hardy has familiarity with the Celtics system, serving as an assistant during the 2021-2022 season. Mazzulla also an assistant at the time and both learned defensive schemes under former head coach Ime Udoka.
“The team had a system when Brad [Stevens] was here. It was a rules-based system. There was an answer for everything. You guard everything the exact same way,” Mazzulla said. “Very fortunate to see that system. When Will [Hardy] and Ime [Udoka] were here, it was a little bit more switching.”
Under the defensive principles set by Brad Stevens, Mazzulla’s been able to evolve these systems into his own.
“Because of that foundation, we were able to recreate with our switching,” said Mazzulla. “I still think we can grow and get better.”
The Celtics held their opponent to under 100 points for the sixth time this season. After last night’s performance, the Celtics defense is, in fact, ELITE.
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Boston Celtics crush Utah Jazz to remain unbeaten at home
NEW YORK – The Boston Celtics knew what the sharp-shooting Utah Jazz were all about, and they used suffocating defence and 17 three-pointers to clinch a 126-97 win on Jan 5, maintaining their perfect home record with a bounce-back National Basketball Association (NBA) win.
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points – his 14th 30-point game of the season. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 and Jrue Holiday chipped in 14 in the wire-to-wire victory over a Jazz team who had won nine of their previous 12 games.
Eastern Conference leaders Boston, whose six-game winning streak was snapped in Oklahoma City on Jan 2, set the tone early with Tatum’s block of a Kris Dunn lay-up attempt and Jaylen Brown’s rejection of Lauri Markkanen at the rim.
The Celtics jumped to a 10-0 lead and after Porzingis drilled a three-pointer to make it 18-8 midway through the first quarter, the Jazz did not get the deficit to single digits again.
Boston’s win was their seventh in eight games as they improved to 27-7, ahead of 2021 NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks (25-10).
“Tonight’s game was about taking away their speed with our physicality and off-ball defence, and I thought we did that,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after Boston stymied a Jazz team that put up 154 points in an overtime win over the Detroit Pistons on Jan 3.
The Celtics also notched their ninth straight game of 120 points or more. “It’s just the talent, honestly,” Porzingis added of his team’s good form. “Us settling in a little bit to our roles and into our ways of playing. And we’re just that talented to be honest.
“Tonight they were doubling JT (Tatum) and he was willing to make the right pass and the right play. That’s an automatic, huge advantage for us.”
Elsewhere, Western Conference leaders Minnesota snapped their first two-game skid of the season with a 122-95 victory over the Rockets in Houston.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 with eight rebounds and six assists. Rudy Gobert added 13 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots for the Timberwolves, who led by as many as 33 points.
Minnesota improved to 25-9, ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (23-11), who lost 124-115 as the Nets halted their five-game losing streak in Brooklyn.
Spencer Dinwiddie and Nic Claxton scored 23 points apiece and Cam Thomas broke out of his shooting slump with 19 points for the Nets, who led by as many as 32 in the third quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points, nine rebounds and six assists but Oklahoma City have now lost two straight since beating Boston 127-123.
In Los Angeles, Jaren Jackson Jr. poured in 31 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Lakers 127-113. AFP
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