The Boston Celtics walked out of Madison Square Garden with a 108-104 win over the New York Knicks. The Knicks were looking ready to win this game after a sensational start to the fourth quarter, but the Celtics stayed organized and took over late in the fourth led by Kristaps Porzingis.
Fans went crazy after seeing Boston have such a strong win to open the season, with Porzingis getting a lot of love for becoming the first Celtic to drop 30 points in his debut.
https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1717360486683955428
Porzingis was being tipped for an All-NBA selection by fans, while Tatum is having MVP hopes put on his shoulders already.
Tatum MVP & Porzingis All-NBA/All-Star💯☘️ https://t.co/9mdqrGwEHb
— Randan (@Randan808) October 26, 2023
Some fans referred to Porzingis on the Celtics as ‘scary hours’.
Kristaps Porzingis in his Celtics debut:
30 points
8 rebounds
5 threes
4 blocks
53% FG
Scary hours. 👀 pic.twitter.com/LN8bL9h0Bj
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 26, 2023
Fans are already comparing Porzingis on a win-now Celtics team compared to how we saw him play alongside Luka Doncic on the Mavericks.
Life with Jayson Tatum vs Life with Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/wd11GMsU0H
— Mike (@MikeAdxx) October 26, 2023
With Tatum leading the team in scoring with 34 points, fans compared the Tatum-Porzingis duo to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in their prime.
tatum and porzingis pic.twitter.com/fbnXVuLpTQ
— ☘️ – Jays Enthusiast (@gReenbean_26) October 26, 2023
Tatum’s shot-making was sensational and fans recognized him for that.
Tatum stepback 3’s are still alive in 2023 we’re actually winning it all pic.twitter.com/rz4f4UZGyy
— TatumsWrld (@wrldoftatum) October 25, 2023
Jaylen Brown, on the other hand, was already being called a bust compared to the $300 million contract extension he signed in the summer.
Jaylen Brown got $300 million pic.twitter.com/RSKgFTEv9i
— 500 🏎 (@Kameron_Hay) October 26, 2023
Even Jrue Holiday struggled on offense, which led to fans mocking him and Brown for their minimal offensive contribution in the game.
Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday CTE flair ups are the only way to stop this Celtics offense
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) October 26, 2023
Jayson Tatum ended the night with 34 points and 11 rebounds, while Porzingis notched 30 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks as a dominant rim protector. Holiday’s defense was solid, but his shot was inconsistent in a nine-point debut. Jaylen Brown showed he can still be inconsistent offensively with an 11-point performance, letting Tatum and KP cook for most of the game.
The Knicks should be proud of the battle they gave the Celtics given how poorly they had also played until the fourth quarter. RJ Barrett led the squad with 24 points while Jalen Brunson managed only 15 points on 28.6% shooting. Julius Randle wasn’t having a good time either, scoring 14 points on 22.7% shooting.
The Celtics Will Be Hard To Stop
This wasn’t a good game for either the Celtics or the Knicks, but the Celtics’ talent ultimately won out. Even with Brown and Holiday having very bad offensive games, the Celtics have enough star power where Tatu and Porzingis can be the ones to carry the team on that night. When either Tatum or Porzingis will have an off-night, the starting backcourt could step up and carry them that night.
To ensure that all four Celtics stars will have a bad night on the same night will be a defensive challenge that not many teams will be up for. There is no simple strategy to stopping them given the variations they can play with. We just saw Porzingis ice the game for the Celtics by being a seven-footer who was letting three-pointers fly.
The best case for any opposition will be to cut off driving lanes for Tatum and Brown while hoping the team is struggling with their shot. Otherwise, even the Bucks may have a hard time over a seven-game series in stopping the Celtics.
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