Here are some takeaways from the Nets third win in three preseason games, a 97-96 victory over the Celtics that saw the Nets sit their entire starting lineup:
— Andray Blatche continues to impress this preseason. He finished Tuesday night’s game with 23 points and nine rebounds, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor and also grabbing five offensive rebounds. But in addition to coming into camp in much better shape, Blatche has also made a significant change in his game from his time in Washington: He’s no longer settling for jumpers.
Blatche was well known for floating around the perimeter and shooting jump shots as a Wizard, despite being big, long and capable to put the ball on the floor and create. But that’s something that hasn’t been an issue so far as a Net, as he’s taken every opportunity to attack the rim on offense and has been especially effective on the offensive glass.
It’s still very, very early, but Blatche has looked very good so far.
— Tyshawn Taylor had to wait a long time to make his debut, but he played very well. Taylor, who missed the first two weeks of camp with a strained right quad, finished with six points and five assists, and couldn’t have been happier after the game.
“Great,” he said after the game with a huge smile when I asked him how he felt. “Absolutely great.”
Taylor scored his first NBA points on a runner over Kevin Garnett, and later stole the ball from Rajon Rondo – who he called one of his favorite players – and dished to Mirza Teletovic for another score. He came in, was aggressive and changed the tempo of the game, particularly in his first quarter stint.
He also felt healthy enough, returning from a strained right quad, to play an extra few minutes from what Nets coach Avery Johnson had been planning when the game started, going 18 minutes instead of the projected 12-to-14. All in all, a good night for him.
— People have been waiting for Teletovic to start hitting some shots after a pair of off nights. Well, they don’t have to wait any longer.
Teletovic showed what he’s capable of in Boston, draining four 3-pointers and finishing with 18 points and four boards – including a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw and then hitting the game-winning foul shot with four seconds left.
It doesn’t take seeing much of him to know that Teletovic’s reputation as a shooter and scorer from Europe was well-earned. And even his misses in the first couple games all looked almost identical to one another — they almost all were a hair short.
Once he gets used to the 3-point line being a half-meter farther back than it is in international play, I expect him to start hitting about 40 percent of his 3-pointers, like he did Tuesday night. Especially when he’s out there with some of the Nets starters, he’s going to be so wide open that it will be disappointing if he does anything less.
— Nets fans finally got a chance to see Tornike Shengelia for the first time this season, and he had his moments. It was a bit of a rough start for him, but he came on strong down the stretch, including a thunderous and-one drive and dunk over Fab Melo with 40 seconds left that put the Nets ahead by one.
Shengelia finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and showed off why the Nets thought enough of him to get him on the roster this season after a strong showing in summer league. Despite being 6-foot-8, he has a pretty good handle, and is able to dribble past a lot of guys and get to the rim, where he has a knack of creating enough space to finish effectively.
One thing he’s going to have to do, though, is improve his shot. Once teams realize he can get past a lot of defenders, they’ll back off of him and force him to shoot jumpers. That’s when Shengelia will have to make them pay for doing so.
But overall it was a good debut for the rookie. Now we’ll just have to see if he gets another chance sometime soon.
— Wins don’t matter in the preseason, nor does it mean anything that the Nets beat the Celtics without their starters. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good thing to see the Nets reserves in late in the game storm back and pick up the victory. Just don’t take it to mean the Celtics aren’t going to be good this year. For one thing, coach Doc Rivers didn’t even come out to the bench in the second half.
Still, another encouraging performance from the Nets, who face Boston again back in Brooklyn on Thursday night.
tbontemps@nypost.com