After a loud, media-filled offseason for the Boston Celtics, they are proving they are still the NBA champions in the beginning games of the preseason. Through the Abu Dhabi games against the Denver Nuggets, the Celtics are undefeated.
While it's common knowledge that preseason games are pretty meaningless and don’t show how a team will perform in an 82 game season. But, you can see what players have improved parts of their game, which a lot of Celtics have.
Both the superstar Jays, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have improved immensely. Tatum was criticized for his shooting percentage from deep this offseason and in the Finals, and he seems to have fixed it like he said he did.
In the past two games, Tatum has gone 6-14 from deep, a 43% 3pt percentage. Brown, on the other hand, became an inside force after his offseason controversy.
In the past two games, Brown has combined for 29 points, 21 of them from the second game. In the first half of the second game, Brown had 16 points and three assists.
The bench has also improved, especially Payton Pritchard. In the first game, Pritchard had 27 points. In the second game, Pritchard was one of three bench players with 10+ points.
If there is anything to pull from these games, it’s the Celtics are still the same dominant team, and are ready to try to go back-to-back.
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