Jaden Springer gets rare clutch-time opportunity in Atlanta

Since getting traded to Boston on February 8th, Jaden Springer has mostly watched from the bench as the Celtics annihilated opposing teams, winning 18 of their first 20 games since his acquisition.

In blowouts, he’s gotten some limited run, but since joining the Celtics, Springer has averaged just 5.5 minutes in 13 appearances. Yet, after a Celtics blew a 30-point lead to the Hawks, the 21-year-old defensive specialist was on the court to start the quarter, a rare opportunity to put his skillset to the test in a meaningful moment.

“I can definitely help with some toughness and physicality,” Springer told CelticsBlog last month. “I feel like I can bring that. Defensively, I feel I can help my teammates guard whoever they need.”

Part of the decision to play Springer was likely a product of Boston being without its two primary point guards – Derrick White, who had the night off with a right hand sprain, and Jrue Holiday, who missed his fifth consecutive game with a shoulder injury. But regardless of that, with the Celtics clinching the top seed in the East, Joe Mazzulla had the opportunity to experiment with line-ups and give some of the end-of-bench players a chance.

So, Jaden Springer took the court. He ended up playing 8 fourth-quarter minutes – second-most on the team after Jayson Tatum’s 12. During that span, he grabbed an offensive rebound, drew an offensive foul, and finished a tough transition lay-up over multiple defenders. His assignment was primarily guarding Dejounte Murray, the former All-Star who had just put up 8 points and dished out 3 assists in the third quarter to help the Hawks make their comeback.

It wasn’t a perfect showing – he got called for two fouls and missed an open corner three – but Springer showed flashes of defensive brilliance while navigating screeners and taking the most difficult match-up of the night head-on. Perhaps most impressive, all of that came after he spent the first 36 minutes of the game on the bench, likely not expecting to see the court at all.

“Just making an impact, picking up 94 feet, getting into guys on the defensive ends, making it tough, fighting through screens,” Jayson Tatum said when asked what he saw from Springer in the fourth. “Guys in that Stay Ready group, they do a hell of a job whenever their number is called and they get an opportunity.”

Last month, Springer said that joining such a historic franchise has only provided him with more motivation.

“It’s crazy. You walk into the practice facility, the arena, anywhere you go, you can just feel the greatness,” Springer said. “You can look up, [and] see all the legends that paved the way. It’s definitely a great feeling. It makes me want to go even harder.”

Mazzulla acknowledged this loss was a good chance for a young guy to get critical minutes. Springer wasn’t the only Stay Ready guy to see the floor – Svi Mykhailiuk, who’s been out of the rotation most of the year, but played 11 minutes last night, was also in that initial fourth quarter lineup. He hit both of his three-point attempt on the night, including a big one in fourth.

If the Celtics were battling for playoff positioning like the rest of the league, it’s very likely they wouldn’t have thrown together a Mykhailiuk – Springer – Hauser – Kornet – Tatum lineup to start the final period of a close game. But, with standings solidified, why not give those players a chance to impact the game?

“He brings great physicality,” Mazzulla said of Jaden Springer. “His ball pressure, he got an illegal screen, he almost got a steal at half-court, got a layup in transition. Just an opportunity for him to grow.”