Payton Pritchard hit five 3-pointers, scored 24 points and had nine assists and the Boston Celtics used a big second half to run past the Memphis Grizzlies 131-95 on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies played without Ja Morant, the star guard who sat out because of a right ankle injury sustained Tuesday night in a loss at New York. Derrick White added 20 points for the Celtics, and Jaylen Brown had 19.
The Celtics were a combination of unlucky and inattentive in the final minutes, which is not a good combination for a team that can no longer get by on talent alone. First, some unlucky: With 2:20 remaining, Sixers rookie V.J. Edgecombe fired up a 3-pointer that bounded high off the back rim and seemed to scrape the rafters before falling back through, which gave Philadelphia a crucial two-possession advantage at 100-96.
Boston drafted Scheierman with the 30th overall pick in 2024 out of Creighton, where he averaged 18.5 points per game as a senior on his way to being named a third-team All-American. But Scheierman has only played a small role for the Celtics so far, averaging 8.5 minutes per game and scoring just three points this season. However, he has shown potential for how he can impact this team for the better with his passing and hustle in Summer League.
Jaylen Brown admitted that he isn't fully up to date on the details in the illegal gambling scandal that led to the arrests of three NBA figures, but he isn't a fan of the betting culture that's made its way into sports. The Celtics star called for more player support from the NBA on sports gambling, believing players have been made vulnerable to social media attacks due to wagers placed on them.
Wednesday's game provided us with our first look at a new era of Celtics basketball, and in a very encouraging turn of events, their first game sans Jayson Tatum (temporarily) as well as Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet (permanently), the Celtics offered fans some much needed catharsis. The last time we saw the Celtics, they were run off the floor in
The Boston Celtics significantly altered their roster this offseason - shedding a hefty amount of payroll by trading away two lineup regulars in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Boston also wasn't able to retain other key players in free agency, as Al Horford and Luke Kornet signed with the Warriors and Spurs, respectively, out on the open market. The writing was on the wall that