BOSTON CELTICS
January 9th, 2023 v. CHI
STARTERS
Derrick White • converted transition lay off J. Tatum feed (mid-2Q); soft float on the break (mid-2Q); difficult hanging J off glass to end 2Q; block on Ayo! (mid-4Q); found J. Tatum for leak out dunk +1 to SEAL game; solid outing: finished w/ 8, 5 & 4 dimes
Jaylen Brown • tough float over Ayo (early 1Q); going right to the basket, not settling for Js); tough and-1 lay (early 2Q); nice transition, lefty finish (mid-2Q); off to nice, 13-3-3 start; HIGHLIGHT: behind the back dribble, left lay (late 2Q); hard, driving lay on DJJ - created TO on LaVine next play…then scored on next play w/ driving lay (mid-4Q); final line: 19, 5 & 3 dimes
Jayson Tatum • knocked down 1st 3 jumpers, in nice rhythm; step back corner midrange (10 pts) over P. Williams; driving lefty lay down the middle (5th field goal of the quarter); 13-4-3 (mid-2Q); strong on the glass; toughhh turnaround J over LaVine + the foul; contested pull-up trey over LaVine (24 pts) - hit open elbow three on very next possession (27 pts); drew “swing-thru” foul on PWill (late 4Q); found A. Horford for clutch triple after being double-teamed (late 4Q); leak out slam +1! to SEAL game; great night: 32, 8 & 7 dimes!
Al Horford • lob to Rob Will III (early 1Q); open elbow trey to push lead to 5 (2Q: 53-48); block on LaVine in transition (3Q); hit Grant Will on backdoor feed +1 (mid-4Q); cashed clutch corner triple w/ 24 seconds left to put BOS up 5!; more impactful than final stats: 8, 7 & 5 dimes
Robert Williams III • converted lob off feed from Horford (early 1Q); contesting shots, making it difficult on CHI’s shooters & at the rim (1Q; 4, 2 & 1 block in 4 minutes); dive cut for 2 (off J. Tatum feed, early 3Q); played 22 minutes, scored 6 pts, grabbed 7 boards & blocked 2 shots
***
BENCH
Malcolm Brogdon • 1st sub of bench (early 1Q for D. White); great find to JB for and-1 (early 2Q); hit triple right after CHI converted from deep (late 3Q); flying tip-in off scramble play (early 4Q); solid, all-around game: 11, 7 & 3 dimes (21 min. off bench)
Grant Williams • difficult driving lay (late 1Q); HARD driving, lefty lay (from the three-point line) + the foul (late 1Q); turnaround hook on the baseline!? (early 2Q); “Johnny on the spot lay” (3Q); confident corner three (mid-3Q); elbow triple (early 4Q); stuffed Drummond at the rim (mid-4Q); backdoor cut + 1! (mid-4Q); ANOTHER corner trey (late 4Q); HUGE X-Factor in BOS’s victory: finished w/ a very impressive line of 20!, 8 boards & 2 blocks! (36 min. off bench)
Sam Hauser • start of 2Q check-in: pulled & cashed first trey; 3 pts in 12 min.
Payton Pritchard • check-in: 7-min. mark 1Q; played only 3:38 minutes
Luke Kornet • check-in (early 2Q for Rob Will III); played only 3:08 minutes
Blake Griffin • DNP
Justin Jackson • DNP
JD Davison • DNP
Marcus Smart • OUT
Danilo Gallinari • OUT
***
TEAM NOTES:
-14-7 start, good execution on both ends
-up 28-25 after 1
-15-5 run late in the 2nd quarter
-up 59-50 after 2
-Tatum & Brown combined for 31 in 1st half
-16 assists v. 6 TOs (1H)
-up 77-63 (mid-3Q)
-up 84-73 after 3
CELTICS WIN 107-99,
improved to 29-12
***
BARO NOTES:
-Watched BOS’s broadcast for 1st half; Scal continues to note how tough Bulls play C’s
-Rob Will III COMPLETELY changes BOS’s defensive activity/identity
-C’s playing like they’ve lost to CHI multiple times this season; more sense of urgency at the outset of the game
-2Q Lineup: Brogdon-Tatum-Hauser-Grant-Horford
-Challenging CHI’s interior scorers at every opportunity
-Broadcast highlighted Michael Jordan’s debut v. Celtics (1/9/85): dropped 36 points!
-great W to even season series w/ Bulls at 2 apiece; Tatum & Brown led the charge + Grant Will, D. White, Horford & Brogdon made huge plays
CHICAGO BULLS
January 9th, 2023 @ BOS
STARTERS
Ayo Dosunmu • toughhh driving scoop lay (early 1Q); check back-in: mid-2Q; quiet 1st half; cutting lay off DeRozan feed (early 3Q); driving layup off screen (mid-3Q); strong D v. JB jumper (late 4Q); nice entry feed to Vuc for lay (late 4Q); low-key night by his standards, though came on late w/ nice defensive stops in the 4th; finished w/ 6 pts in 28 minutes
Zach LaVine • angle triple, strong corner drive for a deuce (1Q); passing very well (3 first-half dimes); clean up bucket for 2 (early 3Q); tough shooting start (3/12); PUTBACK SLAM OFF DRUMMOND FT MISS! (late 3Q); TOUGH step back 3 (early 4Q); downhill euro lay (early 4Q); driving lay on Horford, cut lead to 5 (89-84); DEEP angle trey over JB (late 4Q); “T-MAC” pull-up TRIPLE over Horford - 15! 4Q points; tremendous fight down the stretch, hit tough bucket after tough bucket to keep CHI alive; final line: 27, 7 & 6 dimes
DeMar DeRozan • 3-point play off mid fadeaway (early 1Q); mid fader off side screen (late 1Q); TOUGH fader over Grant Will (start 2Q); aggressive between the lines (11 points, 5/6 start); niiice turnaround J off glass (early 3Q); exited game w/ injury (mid-3Q) - later diagnosed as right quad strain (out for rest of game); had a nice flow going offensively prior to his injury: 13, 3 & 3 dimes on the night (hopefully he doesn’t miss much/any time)
Patrick Williams • missed first few, open looks; cashed corner trey (early 2Q); stripped Tatum, hit transition trey a couple plays later; got strip, ignited break (early 3Q), led to LaVine put back lay; hit elbow trey off nice ball movement; could have been more aggressive considering DeRozan’s injury in the second half, though performed well in spots; final stats: 10 & 3 steals
Nikola Vucevic • 2 missed post-ups v. Horford (1Q); mid-2Q check back-in: scratched on short midrange J off LaVine feed; nice feed for Ayo lay (mid-2Q); hook over Grant Will on deep post up (late 2Q); got 1st touch of 2H (converted off feed from LaVine); elbow trey off DeRozan kick back (mid-3Q); 11 boards (mid-3Q); triple off hop (late 3Q); seal lay v. J. Tatum (late 4Q); came on big time in the second half w/ 15 pts, was active on the boards all night long; dropped 21 & 13 rebounds in 34 minutes
***
BENCH
Coby White • mid-1Q check-in; tough reverse, scoop lay (2Q); matched up w/ Malcolm Brogdon on D (Brogdon attack-minded); 10 1H minutes; not as active looking for shot v. C’s defenders; missed b2b, wide open treys (late 3Q); had a couple solid moments defensively (great pursuit of the ball as a rebounder) but had a rough game overall: 4 & 3 boards on 1/7 shooting
Alex Caruso • elbow trip (late 1Q); look-off feed to Drummond dunk (late 1Q); splash corner triple off LaVine feed (late 2Q); drew assignment of guarding Tatum (late 1H, 3Q); pretty decent work in just under 20 minutes: 6 pts, 4 dimes & 1 block
Andre Drummond • 3 boards & a dunk (1Q); 3RD foul (early 2Q); rebounding well, having trouble finishing off plays on the interior - creating great activity, drawing fouls on the inside; did his job on the glass: finished w/ 6 points & 9 boards
Derrick Jones Jr. • light float over Rob Will III (late 1Q); forced TO v. Brogdon (late 3Q); strong defense, came up w/ nice contests on JB 3s, though CHI couldn’t secure the possession (early 4Q); played pretty well, especially on D; final line: 4 pts, 1 board, 1 dime (14 minutes)
Goran Dragic • 3rd guard off bench, hit mid fader in stint (2Q); came back in (for Ayo) before C. White (late 2Q); finished w/ 2 points & 2 boards in 15 minutes
Dalen Terry • DNP
Malcolm Hill • DNP
Carlik Jones • DNP
Tony Bradley • OUT
Javonte Green • OUT
Lonzo Ball • OUT
***
TEAM NOTES:
-down 28-25 after 1
-down 59-50 after 2
-shot 6 FTs v. BOS’s 12; 11 dimes, 5 made triples (1H)
-struggling from long range
-down 73-84 after 3
BULLS FALL to C’s, 107-99,
drop to 19-22 on the season
***
BARO NOTES:
-2Q Lineup: Dragic-White-DeRozan-DJJ-Drummond
-Mid-2Q Lineup: Ayo-Dragic-LaVine-PWill-Vuc
-Ball movement lacking, Vuc needs to be more involved offensively (2Q)
-CHI struggling to limit easy looks at the rim
-All starters back in (5-minute mark, 2Q), Caruso then promptly checks back in for PWill
-Watched 2nd half on CHI’s broadcast
-Stacey King noted how Vuc is looking to score in the lane; Bulls (now) making a point to give him touches
-Adjustment: doubling J. Tatum whenever he has the ball for more than a second (late 3Q)
-Early 4Q lineup: Ayo-Dragic-LaVine-DJJ-Drummond
-Strong effort w/o DeRozan for most of the second half; Zach had a HUGE 4Q, remains in a nice rhythm w/ his shot
(Game Notes) Takeaway: Bulls-C’s is a very fun 1st round matchup if it happens