The Celtics unveiled a new starting five on Wednesday night which helped them cruise to a 131-95 blowout win over the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies.
Jordan Walsh got his first start of the year in place of Josh Minott and helped set the tone for a stellar Celtics defensive effort. Memphis shot just 33.7 percent from the field, the second-lowest number by a Boston opponent this season.
Boston used the poor shooting to help build a double-digit lead in the first half and then blew the game open early in the third quarter with a 35-9 run that put the game away.
Payton Pritchard led five different Celtics in double figures with 24 points and seven assists. Derrick White also added his best shooting game of the year with 20 points, while Jaylen Brown chipped in with 19 points. No starter played more than 29 minutes in the win as Boston improved to 6-7 on the season.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had a team-high 18 points for the Grizzlies in the setback for a Memphis team that has lost three straight and seven of their last eight overall.
The Celtics now have three days off before hosting the LA Clippers on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ blowout win on Wednesday night:
Derrick White is snapping out of his slump: The Celtics guard started showing signs of progress over the past week with three straight games of 16 or more points for the first time all year. He put it all together on Wednesday night in his most efficient performance of the season. He mixed in a strong night from 3-point range with aggressive attacks in the paint on his way to 20 points on 54 percent shooting (6-of-11 from the field). The stellar play helped Boston put the game away early as White scored 15 of his points in the first half on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
Celtics 3-point shooting starts to regress to the mean: The Celtics entered Wednesday night having shot just 32.8 percent from 3-point range on the season, the fourth-worst mark in the NBA. Those struggles had largely occurred due to the struggles of White and Payton Pritchard from beyond the arc but that backcourt duo had their best shooting nights of the season collectively from 3-point range, knocking down 8-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc, including five from Pritchard. The stellar outings led to one of Boston’s best 3-point shooting games of the season as a team, hitting 41.2 percent of their 3s.
A new look for the starting five: Just over one week ago, Jordan Walsh was out of the Celtics rotation. After four strong games consecutively, he found himself taking Josh Minott’s spot in the starting five at forward. Walsh held his own defensively against Jaren Jackson Jr. in his stints despite dealing with some foul trouble in the first half that limited his minutes. He also continues to be a plus on the defensive glass, making him a nice fit next to Jaylen Brown. He likely earned himself at least one more start with seven points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.
Celtics outworked an undermanned Grizzlies roster: Memphis was playing the tail end of a back-to-back without five rotation players, including star Ja Morant, making this a talent mismatch on paper. The Celtics did not let their guard down though, opting to outwork the Grizzlies all night in hustle areas. They crushed Memphis on the offensive glass, piling up a 34-12 advantage in second chance points with Luka Garza feasting off the glass. Joe Mazzulla has demanded this group win the effort battle this season, and they did so successfully in this one, closing out an extremely busy start to the season on an impressive note.
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