Three things from Boston Celtics vs Charlotte Hornets

A Monday night in Charlotte, an easy victory for the Boston Celtics. The Charlotte Hornets game out the gates hot, making a ton of shots, but Boston remained steadfast, allowing the game to come to them and trusting their defense.

The end result was a 118-104 win for the Celtics, bringing them to 59 on the season. Charlotte has been one of the worst teams in the league this year, so Boston was simply doing what they needed to to get a win on Monday. Nothing more.

That said, they produced some fun plays on the night. Let’s take a look.

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1. Celtics gravity

The Hornets are one of the worst defenses in the league. They made some bad mistakes. But it doesn’t take away from the natural gravity that Boston’s stars created.

Jayson Tatum was cooking Charlotte, and Kristaps Porzingis was getting whatever he wanted in the post. Their offensive success created a ton of space for the rest of the team.

Part bad defense, part overthinking. One of Miles Bridges or Brandon Miller should have gotten back to Porzingis on this play, but both were far too worried about Tatum.

Marques Bolden was in the paint here, but Porzingis stretched out to the three-point line. He had to inch out, and then Tre Mann had to rotate to cover Payton Pritchard on the drive. Because of the space, Oshae Brissett got an open run to the rim, and he almost threw down a monster alley-oop.

Tatum chucked up the shot, but the Hornets threw two bodies at him because he was hot. Since two guys went to Tatum, Aleksej Pokusevski reacted to Pritchard above the wing, leaving Davis Bertans to box out two guys. Spoiler alert: He failed.

Again, these were equal parts bad Hornets defense and good Celtics gravity, but the point stands nonetheless: Boston has talent, and teams have to react to that.

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2. Beautiful offense

This is elite Celtics offense, and they executed it to perfection.

Tatum sets a screen for Derrick White, but rather than simply rolling or popping, he gets Mann on his back and takes inside position. White dumps the ball into him, and Vasa Micic is forced to help off of Jrue Holiday, who is occupying the dunker spot.

Tatum then dishes the ball to Holiday, who immediately fires it to a cutting Porzingis, who gets an easy layup at the rim.

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3. Porzingis help defense

In Boston’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Porzingis was amazing as a help defender. He was a big reason they shut down Zion Williamson after the first quarter.

This is a pretty standard play, but it shows just how effective Porzingis can be as a helper.

Pokusevski cuts behind Sam Hauser, but before he has a chance to even think about going up for a shot, Porzingis is there. The Hornets big man stalls out, and Porzingis completely shuts him down at the rim.