Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet catch up

Anfernee Simons was scoreless at halftme but he exploded for 27 in the 2nd half as the Celtics held off the Bulls in an ugly win at home. Pritchard lit the fuse in the 3rd & Boston's defense and offensive rebounding helped them build the early lead. Here's my initial reaction. Full podcast later

A perfectly on-brand game for Jaylen Brown, who dropped a career-high 50 in a statement game after missing out on East Player of the Month. He overshadowed some other really nice performances, too. Here's my initial reaction. Podcast coming up later.

Slow start but great finish, especially for Derrick White who woke up in the fourth quarter to carry the Celtics across the finish line in a weird game, but a nice win in Sacramento. Here's my initial reaction, postgame podcast coming up later.

All seven of Derrick White's blocked shots vs. Utah

Slow start, but strong finish for the C's, especially Derrick White who put up a monster 27p/7r/6a .. 7 BLOCK line. Simons was great & the bench carried the C's for a while. Garza was great again & his screening got guys going. Here's my initial reaction. Full podcast coming up later.

Who wanted it less? The Celtics, who turned it over FOUR times in the final 1:08. It was mistakes, miscommunications, and missed opportunities that killed Boston. John Karalis has his initial reaction here, full podcast coming up later.

The Pacers started out hot and went up 11, but the Celtics ran away from the Pacers in the 2nd quarter. They did it mostly with mid-range shots in the second, but then Sam Hauser crushed the Pacers from 3 in the 3rd. Here's my initial reaction, and a full podcast coming up later.

Josh Minott with a little spice to end the pregame warmup

Some days the C's iso, some days they're spraying it. Some days small ball works, some days it doesn't. The Celtics can't just be one thing. They have to be the Cheesecake Factory. Here's a taste of what I mean .... here's the full Locked On Celtics episode: https://youtu.be/o6hnwwgAiWA

The Celtics looked just fine halfway through the 2nd quarter, but the Bucks made a run behind Kyle Kuzma, then Bobby Portis got into the Celtics heads as the Bucks took off and left the cold-shooting C's in the dust. Here's my initial reaction. More coming up later on the Locked On Celtics podcast.

Jordan Walsh's next step? Learn some point guard skills for when you're out on the break. Check out that and more in a new mailbag episode of Locked On Celtics: https://youtu.be/7wiZl3NDWwM