The Boston Celtics absolutely walloped the Philadelphia 76ers in their first preseason game, dropping a massive 38-point rout on ’em. What a way to kick things off! And right from the jump, we got our first look at most of Boston’s top dogs hitting the court. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, and most importantly, Paul George, all made their preseason debuts. PG’s performance, man, that was the standout.
PG Just Walks Into Five Steals Like It’s Nothing
Joe Mazzulla has always been about getting those extra possessions, right? It’s a core belief in his basketball playbook, and it comes down to two things: hitting the offensive glass hard and playing active defense. Well, on Saturday, they found those extra possessions in spades. A good chunk of that? All thanks to Paul George. The dude snagged a team-high five steals, tying with Baylor Scheierman. And it wasn’t just the numbers. From the moment the ball tipped, you could see how locked in PG was on defense. And for a preseason game? That’s just wild. His defense looked completely effortless, too. He wasn’t sprinting up and down the court like a madman or hounding defenders the whole 94 feet. Nah, he kept it simple, relying on perfect positioning and all those years of being one of the league’s top defenders. Three of those steals came from him just perfectly reading passing lanes, hands always active. He also led the team with six deflections. And get this: every deflection that led to Boston getting the ball back? It sparked a fastbreak. The Celtics converted two of those into easy buckets. That’s just smart basketball, folks.
He’s Turning Defense Into Easy Buckets, And That’s a Problem For Everyone Else
Here’s the sneaky part about Paul George’s defense: his offense. Seriously. The ability to flip a defensive stop into a transition bucket, just by reading the floor and pushing the rock? That’s gonna be invaluable for the Celtics. Last season, Boston was dead-last in both fastbreak points and overall pace. They were also near the bottom of the league, 26th to be exact, in turnovers forced per game, averaging just 12.9. That’s a stat they’re definitely looking to fix this year. And PG? He’s the guy to do it. He wasn’t just an off-ball wizard on Saturday, either. He had this wild Jrue Holiday-esque strip that led straight to his own dunk. Even when he wasn’t the one getting the steal, he was constantly influencing defensive possessions, just wreaking havoc out there. He was so connected with his teammates, always active. Whether a play resulted in a steal or not, his defensive tenacity is going to be a game-changer.
This was just the first of two preseason matchups, but what an absolute preview of what Paul George is bringing to this Celtics squad. If he keeps turning defense into offense this easily, Boston is going to be a nightmare to play against this season. Get ready for some serious two-way tenacity from PG.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
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