The Boston Celtics were back in action on Sunday afternoon and it was a glorious sight to see as the C’s defeated the Hornets 134-93. There was a lot to be excited about for a preseason game and it was everything we all needed after the dreadful ending to a promising offseason.

The Celtics defeated the Hornets by 41 points while producing 41 assists as a team, led by Malcolm Brogdon who dished out nine dimes and added 11 points in his Celtics debut. 

Having a utility player like Brogdon on the court that has earned the right to be respected when he’s out there is already proving to make a big difference for this team.

Jaylen Brown, who scored a team high 24 points in 24 minutes, said this about Brogdon after their first game together.

“Makes it easier for me, because he’s a threat out there. He’s able to score the ball, he’s able to get down to his right hand, he’s able to make the right read, so you gotta definitely respect him each and every night.”

Something I noticed early on in the game was that Mazzulla didn’t use many subs. In fact, with 6:00 to go in the first quarter there still weren’t any substitutions and there were only two in the first quarter in all. 

I thought we would’ve seen more minutes go to the five players competing for roster spots for further evaluation throughout the game, not just in the fourth quarter for what was essentially “garbage time” in the game. 

It should be noted that they all played, but not more than 13 minutes, which went to Noah Vonleh who took a jab at playing the center position. He had a few good moments but picked up fouls quickly and struggled a bit along the way.

I think it’s too small of a sample size to evaluate what there is in these players, not to mention not being put in the right position during the game to really show their skills. I would expect to see more in the second game on Wednesday, however there’s a possibility the Celtics have already seen enough out of some of them.

Other Notes:

– Mfiondu Kabengele should be converted to the 15-man roster. He’s active in all aspects of the game when he’s on the floor and is a high energy guy.

– Sam Hauser is a sniper and we’ve known that, but we needed to see if he could keep up on defense and he did well for the most part.

– The chemistry formed quickly between Grant and Brogdon.

– We need to see what Luka Samanic can truly bring to the table.

– We’re going to see a variety of different lineups and player pairings.

– The Celtics play again on Wednesday against the Raptors at the TD Garden.

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