On Thursday night, Kemba Walker returned to Charlotte, NC, where he spent the first eight seasons of his career. The Celtics won this one in a runaway, 108-87. The young and inexperienced Hornets fell to a Celtics team who is on now a roll. While Walker did not shine, his fourteen points and six assists helped the Celtics secure the win.
This game started rather competitively in the first half; the Hornets stayed within ten points of Boston. A third quarter run was where the Celtics took complete control of the game.
Jaylen Brown made his return from an infection that held him out of the last three games. He did not make a spectacular return, but he turned in twelve points on nine shots.
The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward., two guys who both have something to prove this season. Hayward has been playing the best basketball of his career recently. He is showing the aggression and physicality he had before he injured his leg.
For Tatum, he is now in his third NBA season. As a top three pick in the draft, there are expectations you will be a star in the league. Tatum has shown flashes of stardom but is looking to make his case to be an all-star this year. He is trying to get to the hoop more and take more threes. He hit four three pointers last night and got to the free throw line four times.
The Celtics may be (6-1) but they still have some issues to figure out such as how they lack scoring off the bench. Their leading bench scorer was Javonte Green with twelve points, even though he only played in the game once it was over.
It was a struggle for the two point guards facing their former teams. Kemba Walker and Terry Rozier both had shooting woes last night. Rozier finished the game with three points on eleven shots and Walker scored fourteen points but did not hit his first bucket until the early third quarter.
The Celtics play again on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs in Texas. The Spurs are no longer the powerhouse they once were, but they still remain a solid basketball team. This will not be a cakewalk for Boston, but they should be able to pull out a win.
