/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70558086/usa_today_17781709.0.jpg)
The Boston Celtics (51-23) appeared to look like they’re back to being the best team in the eastern conference Saturday night after a win over the (33-41) Indiana Pacers 120-95.
The win was a blowout win and extends their streak to two-games. As we’re two weeks away from the end of the regular season, these last few games will become even more important. There were a ton of takeaways from their latest game.
Robert Williams was the missing piece
Time Lord is back and looked amazing Saturday night in his 15 minutes on the court. Rob Williams finished with 4 points and 8 rebounds, however, he looked to be close to 100%. His athleticism was shown as he caught a monstrous alley-oop from Derrick White. He also cleaned up the glass and ran the floor well. With Williams on the floor the ball moves more and he adds another inside presence on both sides of the floor.
Derrick White deserves starting spot
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Celtics at a full roster, and boy they looked efficient. They shot 42% from deep while the Pacers shot a poor 15%. Most of that is due to the C’s defense. But the way Derrick White has stepped up in Williams’ absence has been huge. White finished wth 22 points and 9 assists.
The past two games show that even though Williams is back in the rotation and coming off the bench, White can hold his own. If Al Horford can keep up his play, he can stick to that starting spot as the C’s only big man in the lineup.
Jaylen Brown is focused
After Brown’s comments on The Ringer, there’s been some murmurs going on around whether he’d stay with the C’s for the long haul. Although nothing is for certain, it’s clear that Brown is focused on getting back to the finals. He finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and shot 50% from deep.
Brown played hard alongside Jayson Tatum who led in scoring with 34 points. And now that we’ve seen how lethal the Celtics’ full roster is, it allows Brown to really get better looks because the floor is more spread out.