The Boston Celtics achieved their 20th victory of the season by sending the Houston Rockets Sunday night after their 16th consecutive loss.
The way the Cs won was impressive. They shot 55.4 percent from the field and in their 134-107 victory pulled so far ahead that they were able to rest their beginners throughout the fourth quarter.
Their effort was also rounded off because their beginners played well, but it was really the bench that motivated them to a victory. In particular, there were two standouts off the bench, and their respective performances are a big part of the reason the Celtics came out of the fight with an easy win.
Highlights: C’s Speed to Win Rockets in a Finished Attempt
Here are the takeaways from Boston’s win over Houston, including another big game for Robert Williams.
1. Robert Williams is on alert for historic shooting numbers
Williams again hosted an excellent outing on Sunday with 16 points, 13 boards and three thunders against the Rockets. During the game, he shot 7-for-7 from the floor, and this underscores a tendency for him.
The Time Lord has played in 31 games for the Celtics this season. In eight of those games, he was perfectly off the field. And among all NBA players, Williams ranks sixth in the shooting percentage this season with a score of 70.6 percent.
Clearly, Williams rarely shoots the ball from a distance, and mostly only goes for lineups and dunks near the ring. It’s his game. The way he does it is impressive and has been suppressed by big times like the one below.
Even still, Williams’ shooting is going to be historic.
During his three NBA seasons, Williams has never scored worse than a shooting percentage of 70.6 off the field. Granted, he recorded the number while taking just 1.6 shots per game as a rookie, but it’s still impressive.
For his career, Williams shoots 71.3 percent off the floor. If he continues like this, he will be more than four percentage points ahead of the current NBA leader in field goal percentage, DeAndre Jordan.
Of course, Williams has to record 400 professional matches before he can qualify for the all-time classic rankings – he has only played 92 so far – but the point remains. If Williams can continue at a high rate to finish on the edge, he will be one of the most effective players in NBA history.
2. Marcus Smart quietly helped spark Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown
The Celtics got a much-needed performance from Tatum and Brown in this one. The two scored a combined 47 points on 58 percent shooting and helped the Cs build an insurmountable lead.
Achieving these impressive stats, the duo reached a milestone they had not reached since January 30 against the Los Angeles Clippers, as indicated by Jared Weiss van The Athletics. They both shot better than 50 percent in the same game.
The date on January 30 is important because it is the game that Smart first suffered the calf tear that knocked him out for 20 games. And it’s clear he’s had an impact on Tatum and Brown’s ability to get a good, open look.
Smart scored a modest statline of five points and three assistants during this game. However, he did two critical things to help Tatum and Brown.
In the first place, he made the ball move on the court. In the second place, he was coordinating the offense and kept the C constantly moving away from the ball. This gave the lanes of Tatum and Brown to the basket that they successfully attacked.
Did Tatum and Brown hit some hard shots during this match? Yes, and this one from Tatum was particularly impressive.
But overall, the duo were able to get an open look during the game, and that was mainly due to Smart’s presence and willingness to move the ball.
3. There’s a reason the Rockets have lost 16 games in a row
This win was obviously a fun one for the Celtics, but it’s important to remember that they lost themselves against the worst team in the NBA.
The Rockets have lost 16 consecutive games. They do have some talented players on their rankings, but the Cs have only encountered one proven player in this game, Victor Oladipo. Boston did well from his task against Oladipo, limiting him to 9-of-23 shooting, although he scored 26 points.
Outside of Oladipo, however, the Rockets were considerably cut short. The team was without an almighty six players on Sunday night, including John Wall, Christian Wood, Danuel House and PJ Tucker. This partly explained why the Cs could bump the Rockets so easily.
Just as victorious as it was, the Celtics could not let themselves be too cranky ahead of an important game with the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. The Jazz have the NBA’s best record at 28-10, so they will give the Cs a much tougher test than the exhausted Rockets.