BOSTON — The Celtics have started their season with two impressive wins thanks to a strong finishing kick in crunch time of both games. On opening night, it was Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis leading the way while Jaylen Brown and Derrick White took the baton on Friday night against Miami.
However, a new approach this year has helped the Celtics secure a victory on Friday night, something Boston’s players are taking to heart.
“I’ve liked our offensive rebounding,” Joe Mazzulla said earlier in October. “I think we’ve made a conscious effort to become better at that and our guys have bought into that. And defensively, I think we have a lot of good possessions of physical block-outs and the other guy coming back to get it, so”.
FanDuel Sportsbook BET $5, WIN $150 BONUS BETS & 3 MONTHS NBA LEAGUE PASS
21+ and present in participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
While the Celtics didn’t make much of a dent on the glass in the opener against the Knicks, the equation changed against a smaller Heat squad. A window of opportunity was open for second chances on the glass all night and the Celtics took advantage to the tune of 16 offensive rebounds. Those extra chances produced 23 second chance points which helped Boston pull off a win despite facing a Heat squad that shot 48.5 percent from 3-point range. When all was said and done, Boston grabbed over 36 percent of all available offensive rebounds, one of the best marks during this NBA season.
“I still think that’s the area we can get better,” Mazzulla said of the rebounding. “We still gave up some timely ones, right? But, we got timely ones. and so we’re never gonna play perfect, but I thought Oshae’s timely offensive rebounds in the first half, were tremendous. I thought, Jaylen, Jrue came back and got one. Jayson got one, like we got some timely physical rebounds. So it’s important that we fight to do that. as many possessions as we can.”
With Boston playing with good size at nearly every position now, they will have ample opportunities to make their presence felt on the glass. An improved mentality on that front should give the team other ways to win when the 3-point shot isn’t falling.
Ultimately, the Celtics got hot enough in the fourth quarter offensively to secure a win over the Heat. Still, that opportunity would not have presented itself without a big effort on the glass in the opening three frames.
- Highly anticipated sportsbooks like BetMGM Massachusetts, along with Caesars Sportsbook Massachusetts have been live since Spring of 2023. New players can use promo codes like the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo.
