Yesterday held absolutely no stakes for the Boston Celtics. They had the No. 2 seed, and their top rotation players were held out to prevent any disastrously timed injury with the postseason on the horizon. However, yesterday meant everything to the Orlando Magic, as beating the Celtics would have given them the No. 6 seed in the East, so the outcome should have been predetermined.
Except it wasn't. After one of their most impressive seasons in recent memory, the Celtics somehow managed to beat a playoff hopeful, fielding their second- and third-stringers exclusively, in a game the Magic needed to win. At the forefront were the contributions of Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr. (and a little bit of Luka Garza).
If this was a throwaway game against a Magic team that had nothing to lose or gain, then those numbers would be the epitome of empty calories, but in case it wasn't clear, this game had stakes for Orlando, thus proving that Scheierman and Harper (and Garza) can hold their own against teams as good as they are, even if they're not considered the best of the best.
This was a game that featured Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Desmond Bane (who, for some reason, was benched for over two quarters), and yet Scheierman and Harper were perhaps the biggest standouts in a game Orlando did not want to lose.
This is a pretty telling sign of the kind of futures they will have in Boston. The sample size is small, but the returns are beyond promising. Celtics fans know how good both players are by now, but there's a chance they might be more than role players in the not-too-distant future.
No one's saying they're future stars, but no one's saying they're not future stars
We've seen glimpses of fantastic play from Scheierman and Harper when they've gotten the chances to prove themselves. Games like yesterday show that perhaps what's limiting them is their roles. Boston's not asking them to play like stars every game, but in a game where they were counted on to be the team's best players, they did it.
Not only that, but they looked pretty comfortable leading the charge against a team that, on paper, should have been way out of their depth for the duo yesterday. Now, the Celtics definitely won't compromise the roles of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to make room for Harper and Scheierman, but don't be surprised if this is the first glimpse of their highly promising futures in Boston.
Typically, there's not much worth reading into when it comes to the last game of the regular season. In Scheierman's and Harper's case, their play yesterday may have been the exception to the rule.
And if they only start building off of yesterday from here immediately, Boston's title chances suddenly get a lot scarier.