On Friday night, the Boston Celtics’ bench unit hung on to beat the Sacramento Kings by a single point. Two nights later, on Sunday, they took over the fourth quarter, wrapping up a game that the Portland Trail Blazers had kept within striking distance for most of the evening.
Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Xavier Tillman played the entire fourth quarter, while Oshae Brissett (8:53) and Luke Kornet (3:07) split the other minutes.
When that group took over, the Celtics were up by five points. By the end of the game, their lead peaked at 19.
“Everybody on that team has either started a game, finished a game at some point, or has been in significant, significant minutes,” Joe Mazzulla said. “So, at this point, it’s just continuing to just work on those things, and I think they all know that that’s the standard because they work at it.”
All year, the “stay ready” group has worked behind the scenes, played small roles when they’ve needed to, and waited for their name to be called.
With the Celtics having clinched the best record in the NBA, the rest of the regular season means nothing. In turn, these guys who have worked so hard behind the scenes will have a chance to play significant minutes regardless of the in-game situation.
Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
Xavier Tillman’s game-winner put him in the spotlight on Friday. Pritchard’s 10-point fourth quarter and a pair of Oshae Brissett slams headlined Sunday night.
Mazzulla holds everyone on the roster to the same standard, regardless of role, playing time, or time of year. Because of that, the Celtics are one singular perfect unit of destruction.
“It just shows that we’re well coached, that we’re well organized, and we got a lot of talent. But we all flow with a continuity about ourselves,” said Jaylen Brown. “We get organized. We get the guy shots, where they are in their strengths and their strong suits. And we kind of play to that.
“And I think that is a testament to how much our guys work, but also our coaching staff. Making sure we’re organized and making sure we’re playing [to] our strengths, and making sure we’re getting good shots every time down. So it’s a combination of all of that.”
Earlier this season, Pritchard spoke out against the notion of “garbage time” minutes. He just likes to hoop. Now, he and the rest of Boston’s bench unit will get its chance to shine.
“It starts with them. I think Payton leads a charge on that mindset,” Mazzulla said. “But like, Oshae just loves competing at a high level. All those guys, too. And I think when those guys are in the game, there’s no drop-off from the execution and the effort that we’re trying to play with. So, it’s a credit to them.”
