Mazzulla’s runaway train: Boston demonstrates versatility once again in win over Hawks
What more is there to say? Sean Grande on the NBC Sports Boston broadcast summed it up the best, “They are not a team right now, the Boston Celtics are a show.” Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks had a massive opportunity in front of them against an 11-3 Celtics team without the player that carried Boston to a win in its previous matchup. Keeping on trend with the season, the Celtics were able to pick each other up from the losses they were experiencing due to injuries. With Jayson Tatum shooting 31.5 percent from the floor, and Jaylen Brown only shooting just above 16 percent from beyond the arc, Boston had to rely a lot on the bench unit to pick up the scoring load.
Without their two best point guards, the Boston Celtics continued to play the way they have been in every game this season. Derrick White has had the lowest usage rate of his career this season, and when Boston needed it the most, White dished out a game-high 10 assists, finding his teammates in the correct moments. Sam Hauser emerging this season is a game-changer for the Celtics, not only knocking down deep threes but setting countless screens to set up his teammates.
For several years, critics continued to nail down the point that Boston needed an elite shooter to help complement what one of the best duos in the NBA can do night in and night out. Aaron Nesmith, Semi Ojeleye, and even Carsen Edwards tried to fill that role, but Grant Williams, Hauser, and Payton Pritchard have all elevated their games to overflow Boston with shooters all over the floor. Seven players reached double figures even without three players that will no doubt be in their closing lineup in the postseason.
After the result was final, Mazzulla gave his take on the performance as a whole, stating:
"“A credit to the guys for their humility, to step up when people aren’t playing and for when it’s not their turn, to be ready for when it is…Our depth allows us to play a lot of different ways, guys have fun doing it and they work hard together and we have to fight to keep it that way. It’s all about the guys and their ability to adapt and adjust and find different ways to play hard and play together.”"
The Boston Celtics may have figured out their depth problem
Injuries for Boston in the previous seasons would have damaged its chances of being as consistent as it has been in the win column. Without Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown playing to the best of their ability, there was a meager chance of the Celtics of old being able to come out on top.
What Boston lacked during its postseason run last season, it has gained in ways some would have not even imagined. The Celtics scored under 100 points in four of the six games in the NBA Finals, and now through the simple addition of Malcolm Brogdon, and the belief in two of its fringe players, this team is off and running with the best record in the NBA.
From the luxury of having Pritchard to believing in someone like Luke Kornet when nobody else would, Brad Stevens needs to receive the credit for an exceptional roster construction. Brad Stevens even put his complete faith in Joe Mazzulla when the world was shocked by the series of events that transpired with Ime Udoka just before training camp. He found a team to deal two of the worst fits to this Boston Celtics team last season before the trade deadline. Not every path to that final goal is a straight line and at the center of the trail that this team is moving on is Stevens. When Danny Ainge left, Stevens had massive shoes to fill as he attempted to do what Ainge could not: bring the 18th banner to Boston.
The Celtics are far from the postseason and have plenty of obstacles still to overcome ahead of the postseason, but Stevens has equipped Mazzulla and this team with all the tools it needs to be as successful as possible. From losing the top two coaches on the staff from last season to enduring the injury to arguably the best defender in the NBA today, Stevens’ is always thinking one step ahead, always having a plan even when things may have gone wrong on the surface.
Over the next few weeks, Boston meets a multitude of quality competition in both conferences, but with injuries to four of its top rotational players during the past two contests and have still found a way to get a result, it is going to take one next level effort to beat this team in a 48-minute basketball game.