Boston’s roster brags about having ‘so many weapons’ after 155-point victory vs. Pacers

Believe it or not, the last time that the Celtics dropped 155 points in a regular-season match, there was only one championship banner hanging at the top of the old Boston Garden and the Lakers were still in Minneapolis. This Wednesday, Jayson Tatum led the team back to franchise heights with an impressive 30-point performance. 

However, he wasn’t alone, as the Boston roster had eight players score in double figures in last night’s 155-104 victory against Indiana. “I think it’s more about not being bored,” said new guard Jrue Holiday, who hit 15 points. “It’s not getting complacent and locking into every game, and each opponent.”

155 is a special number, as it is also the most amount of points ever scored by the Massachusetts squad since their 1958/59 campaign that had a young Bill Russell in the roster. Almost 64 years later, the star who led them back to the top was 25-year-old Tatum.

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The power forward, who also added 12 rebounds to his stat line, went on a point-rampage and secured the win by the third quarter. Coach Joe Mazzulla decided to let him rest the last quarter and use his other weapons.

“We’ve got so many weapons,” guard Derrick White expressed postgame. “You’ve got so much talent around you, it makes the game easy.”

After beating the Wizards by 19 points at the start of the week, they returned home this Wednesday to treat their crowd. Here are the other players who dropped double figures against the Pacers: White (18 points), Jaylen Brown (16), Holiday (15) and Kristaps Porzingis (13).

From the bench came the rest: Sam Hauser (17) and Payton Pritchard (15), who contributed to Boston owning an outstanding lead as high as 53 points in the fourth.

“We’ve got everything, right? We’re in the paint. There’s a mid-range, and you have the 3. I feel like that threat makes us even harder to guard,” Holiday added. “I feel like we have a lot of bases covered.”

Teammates and coaching staff praised Tatum for his impressive start of the season, leading potent offenses in their unbeaten run

Not only are the Celtics outscoring opponents by 76 points when Jayson is on the floor, but he also possesses his team’s third-best defensive rating of 104.8 this campaign.

“He has everything. He’s just a complete player,” Jrue Holiday said after Tatum’s recent double-double. “I think that there were times where there was this misconception about going against him on defense, but I think we’ve seen that he plays defense. He can lock up. He’s athletic, he has length.”

“Just slowing down. Taking what the defense gives him,” coach Mazzulla shared about his forward’s offensive growth. “Whether it’s a layup, whether it’s a paint shot, or whether it’s a catch and shoot three. He’s getting to his spot faster, he’s getting to his move faster, and when he sees the defense, he’s slowing down and making the right read.”

Even though it’s only been four matches so far this season, Tatum is already fitting the profile to contend for the league’s MVP this 2023/24 campaign.