Interesting playing time trend continues in Boston Celtics win over Trail Blazers

On March 8, Jayson Tatum 30-point game leads the Boston Celtics to a victory over the Trail Blazers 115-93. The Celtics desperately needed a win, as they were on a three-game losing streak.

Celtics big man Robert Williams misses his third straight game as he is recovering from a left hamstring strain. Head coach Joe Mazzulla did tell reporters Williams will be traveling with the team on the West coast trip.

Al Horford was off to a hot start in the first quarter as he scored 10 points, and he made both of the threes he attempted. Damian Lillard played well in the first quarter as he scored 11 points, but it still wasn’t enough as the Celtics were up 35-28.

After sitting out the Cavaliers game on March 6 due to knee soreness, Tatum made his return against the Trail Blazers. Tatum needed that rest as he came out strong in the first half scoring 16 points and shooting 3/6 from behind the arch. In the third quarter, Tatum scored another 14 points which help extend the Celtics lead 94-72. With a 22-point lead, Tatum sat out the fourth quarter ending the night with 30 points, and he also shot 6/10 from beyond the arc.

With a 22-point lead heading into the fourth quarter the Celtics sat most of the starters, and the reserves came out to play. We got to see JD Davison play for a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter. Davison scored two points, after he scored a put back from his own missed shot.

It was a strange night for sixth man Malcolm Brogdon as he only scored five points. Brogdon went 2-13 from the field and he also went 1-7 from three. Brogdon missed both pairs of free throws as well. It was a bad shooting night for him, but he was active on the boards as he grabbed eight total rebounds.

Grant Williams almost gets DNP-CD

Almost the second time in the past week Grant Williams was almost DNP. Grant who didn’t play in the first three quarters came in the fourth quarter for the garbage time minutes. Grant played the entire fourth quarter and he only scored eight points.

Williams went 3/8 from the floor and 2/7 from the 3-point line, but one positive thing was he wasn’t hesitating to shoot the ball. In his first possession Williams made a 3, and later on, in the quarter he made an and-one but he missed the free throw.

Williams has a long way to go to earn his regular minutes again, but it is a positive sign he is regaining confidence in his shot again.

The Boston Celtics held on to a lead

In the last three games, the Celtics had a 28-point lead, a 14-point lead, and a 15-point lead and they blew it in the second half. Going into the second half the Celtics had a 15-point lead against the Blazers, and they made sure to finish them off.

The Celtics can’t afford another loss, as they are only 2 games behind the Bucks for the first seed. A loss here and the dreams for the first seed would have been up in smokes, and the Joe Mazzulla doubters will question if he is even right for the job.

Derrick White has been phenomenal

For the month of February, Derrick White averaged 19 points while shooting 41% from the 3-point line. White continue his hot hand as he scored 21 points while shooting 8/12 from the field.

White has been phenomenal, but he needs more minutes to play. The problem has become there not enough minutes to go around. The Boston Celtics could take Williams’ minutes and give them to White, but where does that leave the 24-year-old impending free agent?

Williams has been struggling, but he needs the minutes to play to regain confidence in his shot. While White has been projecting upwards, and at times he has looked like he’s the third-best player on the team. Against the Knicks, White didn’t play in the double overtime even though he was the better option over Williams.

The Boston Celtics are in an interesting dilemma here do they look at their short-term success option in White or do they view the long-term success of the team with Williams?