#1 - Celtics got punked
10 takeaways from the Celtics getting punked by the Rockets
Posted November 2, 2025
After the game, Abby Chin asked Payton Pritchard if there was any takeaway from the loss. The Celtics guard told the media, “I don’t even know if there is a takeaway from this game. I think you just kind of turn the page. They just punked us, and you gotta get ready for the next one.”
Well, Payton, I have a few takeaways for you, if you allow me. But yes, the Rockets punked you — starting with the offensive glass.
#2 - Bullied by the bigger team
At first glance, the box score might suggest that the Celtics did a decent job rebounding the ball with 14 offensive boards. The Rockets grabbed only 12, so technically, the Celtics were better on the glass last night? Well, no.
The Rockets “only” had 12 offensive rebounds, but they missed just 35 shots. Meanwhile, the Celtics grabbed 14 offensive boards but missed 63 field-goal attempts. The box score numbers might look flattering at first, but the reality was quite different. Led by Steven Adams, the Rockets dominated the Celtics with more size and grit on the few possessions they actually missed a shot.
Per CleaningTheGlass.com, on half-court possessions only, the Rockets rebounded 57% of their misses — the highest mark for any team this season across the league. Of course, size is an issue, but the Celtics aren’t the only small team. This rebounding dilemma needs to be addressed if Boston wants a chance to compete — especially in games where opponents are on fire.
#3 - The Rockets launching from deep
Yes, the Celtics got bullied, but it’s also fair to say the Rockets got lucky. Josh Okogie went 3-for-5 from downtown, Reed Sheppard 4-for-5, Tari Eason 4-for-7, and even Amen Thompson hit a three.
Most of these three-pointers were open — not because the Celtics messed up, but because they chose to collapse the paint to slow down drives and post-ups, leaving Houston’s shooters open. The Rockets overachieved from deep, hitting
66% of their threes on 29 attempts.
Despite the shooting luck, that approach made sense — the Rockets don’t have many elite shooters. The bigger issue was that, even while protecting the rim, the Celtics still got dominated inside:
81% efficiency at the rim and 35 free throws allowed. So how did that happen?
#4 - Outrun by Houston
I don’t have metrics to evaluate the Celtics’ willingness to run back in transition, so I’ll just share a few plays from a stretch in the second and third quarters where it felt like the Rockets simply decided to run a little harder. Some Celtics hustled back — others, not so much. I’ll let you make your own analysis with these clips from last night’s game.
And-one for Amen Thompson in transition:
And-one for Jabari Smith in transition:
A shooting foul on Alperen Sengun in transition:
The Celtics will sometimes be the underdog this season, like against the Rockets last night. And when that happens, they can’t afford to be outrun like this and expect a different outcome.
#5 - Transition offense
The Celtics quickly understood they wouldn’t have the spacing to beat Houston in the half-court. The numbers confirmed it: 1.27 points per possession for the Rockets in half-court play versus just
0.8 for Boston. The only way to close that gap — even a little — was through transition offense.
So, the Celtics were ultra-aggressive on the ball, trying to force the Rockets into tight spaces and rushed passes.
Baylor Scheierman also forced three offensive fouls to stop Houston, showing his basketball IQ and willingness to put his body on the line.
But once again, the Celtics’ transition spark came from their new number 8,
Josh Minott.
#6 - Minott led by example
While most of the Celtics were outmuscled and outworked, Josh Minott led the way — showing his explosiveness and effort by jumping over bigger bodies for offensive rebounds. Between his steals and offensive boards, Minott generated five extra chances for Boston.
As mentioned above, the Celtics will need those extra possessions all season because the half-court creation and spacing from last year are gone. Boston’s ability to get to the rim in half-court situations might be among the league’s worst:
30th in rim frequency, 17th in rim efficiency, and 30th in free-throw rate.
The coaching staff clearly understood that. The Celtics went from 24th to 3rd in forced turnovers and
18th to 7th in offensive rebounds. Minott might be the player who best embodies this new identity. In this play again, as soon as he gets the defensive rebound, he runs and finds Chris Boucher cutting to the rim.
They talked about it all summer — the Celtics need to run. Minott is a runner, and the rest of the roster needs to follow.
#7 - Jaylen Brown’s half-court troubles
One of the players who could benefit most from better spacing is Jaylen Brown. The Rockets’ defense completely swallowed Boston’s spacing and forced Brown into poor decisions. Ime Udoka knows him well and crafted a defensive game plan that funneled him into tough possessions.
The goal was simple: once Brown got the ball, take away his spacing and force him to either drive into traffic or settle for contested pull-ups against long defenders like Jabari Smith Jr. or Kevin Durant.
It worked. Brown made only a couple of layups in half-court possessions but took seven pull-ups and made just one. On top of that, he didn’t draw a single free throw and committed
Defensively, too, Brown had lapses — forgetting to run back in transition or losing his man off-ball. Against a team like Houston, with Sengun orchestrating cuts from the post, off-ball awareness must be sharp.
Last night, the Rockets managed to bait Jaylen Brown into being the worst version of himself. Now it’s time for him — and the team — to turn the page before facing the Utah Jazz.
#8 - Boston trying the zone
Last year’s Playoffs showed that the Rockets could be bothered by a zone defense — especially the Golden State Warriors’ 2-3 tandem zone, like in the example below:
However, things are a bit different now. First, the Celtics don’t have the defensive masterminds of Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler to cause that kind of disruption. Boston’s zone structure last night was softer, and the Rockets repeatedly managed to get touches in the middle of the zone, collapsing the entire setup.
Also, the Rockets spacing is now way better with Kevin Durant. Plus, the young core, lead by Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr., aren’t afraid to pull-up from deep or the mid-range anymore.
#9 - Pritchard and White usage-increase impact
Derrick White is among the players with the biggest usage increase from last season to this year (+6.1% in usage rate per CleaningTheGlass.com). Pritchard isn’t far behind, with a +4% bump.
It’s normal to see a slight drop in efficiency with a higher load, but the decline for both has been dizzying.
- Derrick White’s points per attempt dropped from 1.21 (86th percentile among combos) to 0.84 (8th percentile).
- Payton Pritchard’s points per attempt fell from 1.28 (100th percentile among points) to 0.99 (17th percentile).
While poor shooting luck plays a part, there’s more to it. White hasn’t been able to generate the same quality looks with less spacing. His rim efficiency dropped from 71% to 42%, and from 56% to 25% in the floater zone. Shooting variance explains part of it, but those rim numbers point to a bigger problem.
As for Pritchard, the same combination of bad luck and expanded role applies. With more creation responsibility, he’s taking many more mid-range shots — three times as often as last season. It shows versatility but also hurts his efficiency. Still, he’s been solid from that area, which creates gravity and opens lanes for teammates.
Both are learning on the fly to handle bigger roles, and despite the rough start, there’s reason for optimism. However, defenses will adjust quickly, and that scouting report is coming. Last night, Houston’s elite defense held White to five points and Pritchard to 14.
#10 - The Celtics are at their best with Queta on the court
I don’t like to dive into minutes or lineup debates too early in the season, but the eye test suggests the Celtics look their best when Neemias Queta is on the floor — even though he’s averaging just 22 minutes per game.
The space he creates with his screens, his vertical threat, and his rim protection give this undersized team a real chance to compete.
The season is still young, but so far, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 12.5 points per 100 possessions with Queta on the court (156 minutes, excluding garbage time). The defense in particular has been elite during those minutes. Of course, the sample is small, and part of that is due to the lack of a true backup center, but Queta’s situation will be worth tracking as the season unfolds.
‘Madness’: Inside the Bears’ mind-blowing, roller-coaster victory in Cincinnati
When the Chicago Bears’ final possession began Sunday, at their own 28-yard line and after a calamity-filled 23 minutes of real time had taken their 14-point fourth-quarter lead and turned it into a one-point deficit, the dizziness across Paycor Stadium felt palpable.
It was difficult to fathom all that had unraveled and all that was happening, with apparently no one capable of stopping the madness.
Less than 30 minutes earlier, the Bears seemed to take a 47-27 lead on Tremaine Edmunds’ 96-yard interception return touchdown with 2:29 remaining. The stands began emptying. A wild afternoon was seemingly transforming into a Bears blowout. The final few minutes felt like a mere formality.
And yet … Buckle in.
As quarterback Caleb Williams broke his huddle for that final Bears drive in the final minute of this frenetic circus, his team was shaken, suddenly behind and needing some kind of Queen City miracle.
“S—,” Bears receiver Olamide Zaccheaus said. “It’s hard to even explain all that happened. Your mind is going everywhere.”
Added veteran safety Kevin Byard: “Taking years off my life, it feels like.”
We’ll circle back soon on all the improbable bounces and surprise twists that thrust the Bears into such a nerve-jangling predicament. But it’s mandatory to first document Williams’ final pass, a heroic 58-yard touchdown strike to rookie tight end Colston Loveland with 17 seconds remaining that saved the Bears’ Sunday and, truth be told, may have rescued their season.
A stunning 47-42 victory felt as exhilarating as it was relieving.
Naturally, on a day when the Paycor Stadium scoreboard was lighting up like an old-fashioned Bally machine, Loveland turned into a human pinball on that game-winning catch, grabbing Williams’ pass 21 yards downfield after gaining separation from cornerback Josh Newton, then bouncing off safeties Jordan Battle and Geno Stone and finding a runway of field turf.
“I was like, ‘Man, I’m still up. I better go score this thing,’” Loveland said.
“At that moment,” Williams added, “I’m an emotional roller coaster.”
The Bears were out of timeouts and in field goal range. So the most significant sprint of Loveland’s football career had high stakes. Had he been caught, it would have been challenging for the Bears to stop the clock. But Loveland’s final burst also had purpose.
“Madness. Craziness. A thrill,” receiver DJ Moore said. “It felt like a roller coaster, up and down. So glad we found a way to pull it off.”
Forget the traditional Monday film review at team headquarters in Lake Forest. After this kind of stimulating, jaw-dropping, anxiety-producing, adrenaline-spiking spectacle, the rewatch of Bears-Bengals belongs at the AMC Hawthorn 12 just down the road from Halas Hall.
Phones silenced. Free popcorn and unlimited soda refills for everybody. Showtimes all day long.
The most reasonable critics, though, might reach a similar conclusion. Too far-fetched of a plotline. Way too many twists to be considered realistic.
In a game that featured seven lead changes and 31 points in the fourth quarter alone, the log of Sunday’s zaniness was lengthy.
• With a flurry of Ben Johnson-inspired gadget plays, the Bears had a tight end throwing to a receiver; a receiver throwing a touchdown pass to a quarterback; and, later, the backup quarterback registering his third completion of the season for 20 yards … to the starting quarterback. Why not? For the first time since 2002, four Bears players attempted a pass in a game.
• Williams’ 2-yard TD catch to finish the Bears’ opening drive came from Moore on a play called “Hot Potato” with the football changing hands four times in five seconds. From center Drew Dalman to Williams to Rome Odunze to Moore and back to Williams. The Bears’ starting quarterback had more receptions (two) in Sunday’s game than the team’s leading receiver for the season, Odunze (zero).
• A Bengals-requested replay review that coach Zac Taylor hoped would reverse a 16-yard Moore run into a fumble and a touchback for Cincinnati instead concluded that Moore scored a touchdown before he lost the football. Talk about a cruel backfire on the launch of a red flag.
• Forty-year-old Joe Flacco, who missed two practices during the week because of a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, passed for 470 yards and four touchdowns.
• On a 283-yard rushing day for the Bears, rookie Kyle Monangai went for 176, and Brittain Brown, activated from the practice squad on Saturday, added a 22-yard touchdown.
“If you came here today, you got your money’s worth,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said.
Sunday’s game began, naturally, with a return touchdown on the opening kickoff. Why not? Bengals receiver Charlie Jones, with a peak speed of 21.78 mph, went 98 yards. A perfect tone-setter for a high-octane afternoon.
And the game ended, fittingly enough, with the Bears defending a 52-yard Hail Mary attempt, 371 days after their 2024 season went up in flames under similar circumstances on the road in a devastating loss at Washington.
Only this time, they defended the entire sequence much better. Coordinator Dennis Allen sent a six-man rush at Flacco, and Montez Sweat hurried Flacco into an off-balance throw. The quarterback’s fluttering duck fell harmlessly into the waiting arms of cornerback Nahshon Wright at the Bears’ 20-yard line.
“Practice makes perfect,” defensive tackle Andrew Billings said with a smile. “I’ll just say that.”
Game over. Disaster averted.
“When he threw it, I saw it was wobbling and that it was going to come up short,” Wright said. “Just ran to make a play.”
When Zaccheaus was asked about other games in his seven-season career with four teams that rivaled Sunday’s wackiness, his eyes grew wide. He was, of course, with the Commanders last season when they stunned, yes, these Bears with their 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown as time expired.
“This?” he said. “I think this tops that. Might be the wildest game I’ve ever been a part of. Pure elation. Just a lot of joy.”
The Bears, understandably, spent much of Sunday’s postgame propping up their resilience and belief, two qualities they needed to survive a game as wild and disorienting as this was.
“We handled this tremendously,” defensive tackle Andrew Billings said. “Poise. We showed poise.”
Added Williams: “That’s what we are. When adversity hits, we find ways to win for each other. That’s what it has been this year.”
But let’s be honest. With their own unraveling in Sunday’s final stages, the Bears put themselves in position to experience one of the most improbable, gut-wrenching, building-shaking losses in franchise history. Only to stop their skid off the cliff at the last possible second, prying their fingernails into the rock and pulling themselves to safety.
That aforementioned Edmunds’ pick six? Overturned on replay review, with officials ruling the left shoe of Bengals running back Chase Brown sent Edmunds to the ground as he caught his interception. That ruling came two snaps after a Byard interception and 90-yard return was negated by a pass-interference penalty against cornerback Nick McCloud.
Suddenly, the door of chaos swung back open at Paycor Stadium, sending the Bears careening through a mind-bending sequence.
The offense went three-and-out on a series that ended with Brittain Brown sliding down 5 yards short of a first down to keep the clock running.
The Bengals then sandwiched an onside kick recovery between two touchdown drives – 55 and 57 yards – that each took less than a minute, the latter finishing with Flacco’s 9-yard dart to Andre Iosivas in the final minute.
“You play until the clock says 0:00,” Wright said. “Simple as that. You keep the understanding that the game is not over.”
The Bears are rarely in these kinds of shootouts. In fact, this marked just the third time in 106 seasons that the team was involved in a game in which both teams topped 40 points.
The Bears certainly never win these kinds of games either, improving Sunday to 2-80 in the Super Bowl era in games in which they allowed at least 35 points.
The Bengals, meanwhile, became the first team to score 38 points in consecutive games – and lose both.
“I just can’t believe it,” Taylor said. “Can’t believe it. The game was right there. And we just don’t find a way to get it done. The game was right there. All we have to do is make one play. Just one play.”
Instead, the Bears made the last big play. Williams to Loveland. Legendary.
“Caleb is made for the spotlight,” Moore said. “He loves it when the lights come on at their brightest.”
Zaccheaus may have had the best view of Loveland’s score, in the tight end’s wake on the joyride to the end zone.
“I’m thinking, ‘Bro, you have to score or get down right now,’” Zaccheaus said. “And he kept trucking, trucking, trucking. As he was getting closer to the end zone, it seemed like his legs were getting heavier and heavier. Just madness.”
On a day full of such madness, the Bears found the last sprinkle of magic.
