Great win & without Porzingus & Al
In fact we were without our entire center rotation - KP, Al and Luke, against a team with a lot of bigs in Orlando. These are the type of wins shorthanded that not all fans remember, especially when we start losing some games and people are calling for heads.
Mazzulla was asked about the team's depth concerns after the game and this is what he had to say.
After the game, a reporter started to ask Joe Mazzulla about the team’s depth, which was a question mark coming into the season.
“For you guys,” Mazzulla corrected him. “Not for me. I wasn’t worried.”
Fair enough. The bench has been excellent and was particularly good on Friday, led by Payton Pritchard who poured in 21 points and shot 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from behind the arc. Pritchard is now one of the Celtics’ best on/off players, and lineups with him outscore opponents by 10.1 points per 100 possessions (in 105 possessions, Pritchard’s most frequent group — which includes Tatum, Holiday, Horford, and Sam Hauser — has outscored opponents by 33.3 points per 100 possessions).
Pritchard wasn’t alone. Hauser shot 3-for-6 from deep, scored 11 points and picked off four steals.
“Payton and Sam being able to find confidence and be able to just continue to excel, we’re going to need that going down the line further,” Jaylen Brown said. “Games like today are big for those guys’ confidence and we got to continue to emphasize when we can and play through Sam, play through Payton when they’re playing well. I think that’s going to be more important to the long-term than playing through me right now or playing through JT.”
And he said he trusts the guys that have to step in if needed.
Meanwhile, Neemias Queta swatted away three shots and scored six points, and Oshae Brissett shot 4-for-4 from the field and scored 11 points. Mazzulla praised Brissett in particular for his professionalism and said the two speak almost daily.
“He’s been in this league. He’s played on good teams. He’s been coached,” Mazzulla said. “Like, he’s just a professional. So it goes back to just the work that he puts in every day. I have no hesitation going with any of those guys on any day because I see what they do daily.
“You almost want opportunities like this to affirm their work ethic and their professionalism.”
Brissett said it felt “great, oh my God” to play extended minutes.
“I strongly believe our second unit is better than a lot of teams’ first unit, and I can say that confidently,” he said.
While concerns about our bench are definitely understandable, we also have to remember that our top six is basically All-Star level, and most teams don't have that level of depth in their starting unit, let alone their top 6. So even if someone like Lamar has to come in and start he has high quality players next to him.
The Celtics are now 13-0 at TD Garden and 19-5 for the season. This is impressive basketball and a good reminder that the Celtics are a monstrous roster if they stay healthy, but still really good even if key members of their rotation miss a game or two. Sure, playing without Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet could be a problem … but Lamar Stevens is still a competent NBA player, and just about any competent NBA player would be in a position to succeed next to Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2023/12/16/celtics-crush-magic-back-to-back-10-takeaways/?p1=hp_primary
We definitely want them all healthy, and yes having another rotation big/wing/ballhander (depending on who you ask) would be nice but I think this is as solid a team as we've had in years. There's definitely going to be nights where they muff their lines but I think they all know their roles, there's no disharmony.
Topic: Magic (16-7) at Celtics (18-5) Game #24 12/15/23 (Read 14725 times)