10 takeaways from Celtics/Pacers: Jaylen Brown shines, Tyrese Haliburton gets hurt

The Celtics dropped a winnable sport final night time. They shot nicely from the sphere, received 13 offensive boards, and had an opportunity to seal the cope with just a few seconds left.

It didn’t work out, and Boston is now tied 2-2 on the season with Indiana. They may face off once more on January thirtieth to determine the season collection.

Shoutout to Adam Taylor for letting me sub in for this piece. I, like many others studying, anxiously await his takeaways after every sport, and I’m excited to share mine with you all as we speak. Let’s get it:

#1 Jaylen Brown is him

Brown is absolutely, actually good at basketball. He dropped a season-high 40 factors on this loss, and may have had an opportunity to get two extra to win it on the finish (we’ll get to that later).

Brown was aggressive from the soar, going at former Celtic Aaron Nesmith on his first bucket of the sport.

Brown preferred the Nesmith matchup all sport, and scored on him with loads of success all through the night time. Saturday night time, it was Tyrese Haliburton who received that remedy — however the less-than-stellar defender left the sport within the second quarter.

Right here’s a clip of these two defenders (Nesmith and Haliburton) getting combined up on a Brown dunk, courtesy of the same old architect of the ten takeaways, Adam Taylor.

I’m undecided anybody within the league matches Brown’s expertise as a cutter. He has so many choices at his disposal when he will get the ball off a slash, and he’s gotten so a lot better off-ball this season. Plus, his reference to Kristaps Porzingis, who is a wonderful put up passer, is barely getting stronger. That’s scary for the league.

Brown ended up with 17 makes on 26 photographs, a extremely nice mark to hit in a sport with out Jayson Tatum. For many of the sport, he facilitated nicely, too. I want Boston had pulled out the win, so Brown’s greatest efficiency of the season wouldn’t get misplaced.

#2 Level god Porzingis

Talking of Porzingis’ passing…

For the second sport in a row, a Celtics heart has led each groups in assists. Porzingis had seven tonight, and Al Horford had eight on Saturday.

Porzingis received his dimes in a bunch of various methods. To start out, he’s nice at drawing a number of defenders and allotting of the put up.

Have a look at how he patiently prods — with six seconds left — till McConnell goes over to assist and leaves Pritchard vast open for 3. Not many guys within the league are making that move.

Subsequent, Porzingis did some dribble-hand-off work as nicely.

Joe Mazzulla could possibly be somewhat extra artistic with Boston’s DHO units, and Porzingis might commit somewhat more durable to his screens, however this type of play is absolutely efficient with mid-range expertise like Jaylen Brown.

Lastly, he can drive and kick. His dimension calls for a lot consideration inside, so kick outs from Porzingis make Boston’s offense extremely potent.

Discover how Vacation calls for Turner’s consideration on the three-point line, and Porzingis takes benefit. Figuring out that their seven footer has been beat, two pacers should rotate and contest, so Horford is vast open for 3.

If Porzingis could make all of those reads successfully and persistently, this staff is unstoppable. This sport was additional proof that the Celtics ought to run extra offense via their seven-foot, three-point-shooting, sweet-passing freak of nature.

#3 Seeing double

Go take a gander on the box score for this sport. Discover how each quantity within the Celtics’ totals is inside 4 of the equal Pacers quantity? Factors 131-133, turnovers 15-13, rebounds 42-39, area purpose proportion 52.2-52.7, three-point proportion 48.6-47.5…

The checklist goes on. Boston received just a few extra offensive boards (13-9), and the Pacers received just a few extra steals (6-3), however in any other case the stats are in tandem.

Not solely that, the stats are all fairly good. each groups shot virtually 50% from three, had greater than 26 assists, and scored 130+.

There may be one notable exception to the mirrored statistics: free throws. The Celtics proceed to shoot terribly from the charity stripe regardless of solely actually enjoying guys who’re fairly nice shooters. Boston shot 20-29 from the road, for a proportion of 69. That’s terrible, and they’d have gained the sport if it was simply unhealthy. However no, it was terrible, they usually shot simply 53% from the stripe final sport. It’s a major problem, and it’ll proceed to lose the Celtics video games.

#4 Wishing Tyrese Haliburton a speedy restoration

With three minutes left within the second quarter, Haliburton slipped on a drive, did a break up, and was carried off the ground by teammates with a towel over his head.

That is each franchise’s nightmare: The very best younger participant to grace your staff in lots of, a few years goes down in a daily season matchup with a critical damage. It was scary to observe.

Excellent news: Haliburton is believed to have prevented critical damage, and shall be reevaluated in two weeks, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Thank goodness.

Haliburton is placing collectively an unbelievable season. He’s averaging 23.6 factors and 12.5 assists on 50/40/87 capturing splits — simply bonkers stuff from the 23-year-old. If this was a standard scoring yr, he may even be in MVP rivalry. I’m excited to see him out on the ground once more, hopefully when Boston performs the Pacers once more on Jan. 30.

#5 Derrick, are you okay, pricey?

You’ll by no means catch me slandering Derrick White, however we should always examine in on him after he scored simply 20 factors over his final two video games.

In Saturday’s matchup, he simply didn’t shoot that a lot. White was 3-6 from the sphere, and ended with 7 factors.

He had extra alternative to make his all-star case final night time, taking 16 photographs and making solely 4.

In fact, he affected the sport in different methods, together with this candy fourth-quarter block (the second of two consecutive performs with Derrick White blocks) on Myles Turner…

However he didn’t make his offensive presence felt, for the second sport in a row.

White ought to completely be an all-star in Indianapolis this season, however placing up two tough performances — within the area the place the all-star sport will happen in just some weeks — gained’t assist his odds. That’s our job, so go vote him in.

#6 Season excessive for Vacation

Jrue Vacation has been nice this yr, quarterbacking one of many league’s greatest defenses whereas placing up 13 factors per sport on 46% capturing from the sphere and 42% from deep.

This sport was most likely his greatest sport of the season, although the matchup with Sacramento from final month may take the cake.

Final night time Vacation tied his season-high 21 factors, changing 9 of his 16 photographs. He added in six rebounds and 6 assists. This can be a welcome growth from Vacation, who doesn’t at all times put his fingerprint on a sport the best way he did in Milwaukee the previous couple of seasons.

What makes me optimistic about his match on the staff is passes like this:

I do know, it’s a nasty move to Oshae Brissett, who barely performs, and may not have even been Vacation’s fault anyway. However I like that he’s getting extra aggressive transferring the ball and creating for guys, particularly bench gamers like Brissett. He’s going to get higher at that when he is aware of the staff higher. Certain, it’s been half a season already, however there’s nonetheless a lot he can get higher at by way of match and facilitation.

Mark my phrases: We’re going to get a Jrue Vacation sport within the playoffs. He’s going to be a major creator and carry the staff to a W when it issues most.

Till then, I like what he brings on the defensive finish.

Have a look at what he does as a roamer on this defensive play. Cuts off the entry to Turner within the put up (Turner is nearly a foot taller, by the best way), then goes for the steal when Jalen Smith tries to drive. You’ll be able to’t make a mistake close to this man — he’ll make you pay.

This 2-1-2 defensive scheme didn’t work on a regular basis down the stretch, however what an fascinating wrinkle to throw at groups, that enables Vacation to be as particular a defender as he pleases.

#7 What a halftime present!

Shouts to Xpogo, who did the halftime present on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse final night time. Their high-flying flips and methods are at all times a deal with to see.

I’m at all times pleasantly stunned to see Xpogo athletes Nic Patino and Henry Cabelus on TV — I went to highschool with them each, they usually’re each word-class pogo-stickers, with world data and every little thing!

The halftime present ought to match the extent of basketball on the courtroom, and these guys handed the take a look at. Each the stickers and the gamers have been placing on some critical shows.

#8 Sacrifice

After the sport Vacation and Brown every talked about what it means to be on a staff just like the Celtics, with 5 all-star stage guys.

Porzingis stated just lately that Vacation sacrifices greater than anybody else on the staff, since he was the second possibility final season in Milwaukee. Vacation received an opportunity to reply final night time.

“For the majority of my profession, I’ve had the ball fairly a bit, however — once more — we’ve a extremely good staff,” Vacation stated within the presser. “I’m not mad at my scenario, I’m not mad on the sacrfices I’ve to make as a result of… all people makes them.”

Jaylen Brown additionally talked about Vacation’s contributions to the squad, courtesy of CelticsBlog’s personal Noa Dalzell.

The way in which this staff lifts one another up is uncommon on this NBA, and Celtics followers ought to admire how a lot the fellows appear to belief and respect one another.

Earlier than I get emotional, again to basketball:

#9 Is that this actually the way it ends?

Hear, Jaylen Brown is an superior basketball participant. That doesn’t imply he has to take this shot to shut the sport.

He attracts three defenders on the drive on this play, as a result of they know he isn’t going to move the ball. He places up a fairly unhealthy shot, with Derrick White vast open on the three-point line and some different comparatively straightforward passes open as nicely.

Is that shot one of the best we will do? Completely not, and it occurs far too usually with both Tatum or Brown. With just a few exceptions that type of shot doesn’t go in.

The very best closing shot I can bear in mind the Celtics making was within the sport one of many first spherical of the 2022 playoffs, towards the Nets. Brown has the ball, kicks it out to Marcus Sensible on the wing, who feeds it to Tatum to attain on the rim. What occurred to that ball motion?

#10 Officiating was formally terrible

I don’t love speaking about officiating, however we should always discuss this one.

On the aforementioned second-to-last possession, Brown was looking a bucket with the rating tied at 131. He rises up, will get plunked within the head, after which misses the shot. It was a nasty shot, however that’s inappropriate.

The officers name the foul to ship Brown to the road with simply three seconds left on the clock. However the Pacers problem, and regardless of very apparent contact to the top, the decision is overturned. Jaylen Brown stated after the sport that the official advised him that he was not struck within the head. That’s such an embarrassing miss for the referees, and price the Celtics the sport.

The one protection for the overturn that makes an oz. of sense is that the officers didn’t desire a weak foul name to determine the sport for the Celtics.

So as a substitute, they let a weak foul name determine the sport for the Pacers. When Benedict Mathurin goes to shoot from three, he flails and jumps into Porzingis, who’s straight up and in authorized place, to attract a foul. That was his major motivation, and the officers ate it up. He shot three to win the sport.

If it have been the second quarter, then name the foul. It’s shut, it’s contact, so name it. However you may’t name one thing like that on the final play of the sport, particularly after a rubbish overturn name. Nobody needs to be glad about that type of officiating.