The Boston Celtics just had their most annoying win of the season. When it really looked like it was going to be a repeat of their infuriating defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics pulled out a win in overtime against the LA Clippers. And it wouldn't have happened without Jaden Springer.
Springer had one of his finest performances. In fact, it was arguably the finest performance of his young career, period. When Kevin Porter Jr. started lighting up the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla turned to Springer to take Porter out of the game, and that's exactly what he did.
JADEN SPRINGER!!! 4 steals on the night! pic.twitter.com/P9wbpESEd9
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) January 23, 2025
The 22-year-old guard's individual ISO defense changed everything for the Celtics, proving that Mazzulla's gamble paid off. With Porter as a non-factor, the Clippers no longer had a sturdy scoring option. In a game where the Celtics needed a jolt of energy off the bench, Springer was their guy.
That's not too surprising, though, because Springer came to the Celtics with a reputation for being a stout defender. That part of his game was never in question before tonight.
The real shocker was seeing Springer hit clutch shots to keep the Clippers' at an arm's length away. Twice.
Jaden Springer BOOOOM pic.twitter.com/j7pUElWZgS
— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) January 23, 2025
After the game, check out what Al Horford did during Springer's postgame interview with Abby Chin.
Al Horford gave Jaden Springer some barks during his postgame interview 🐶 pic.twitter.com/S3Ni321Q9E
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 23, 2025
When the undermanned Celtics called on Springer's name, he delivered. In other words, he played the role of 'The Next Man Up.' That should be music to their ears.
Next Man Up factored into why Celtics won the title
To be fair, the notion of Next Man Up existed before the Celtics' last title win. The season before that, the Celtics turned to some of their guys on the deep bench when they entered games without a full roster. The typical candidates were Payton Pritchard and Blake Griffin (man, that feels forever ago).
Last season, Oshae Brissett, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Neemias Queta filled that role. The Celtics didn't always call on them, but when they did, those guys did their part in helping Boston win or, at the very least, keep things competitive.
Springer's tenure with Boston has been mostly non-existent. Although they have called on him in the past, he never really made himself stand out when he played in significant games. He's not the first Celtic to step up when they had guys out - hello, Drew Peterson! - but his performance signified that the lights weren't too bright for him.
This isn't the first game the Celtics went in with a lot of their rotation this season, and it won't be the last. Tonight, they not only got the win, but they got a fun development with Springer showing they could actually count on him to give them valuable minutes.
Prior to the start of their current road trip, the Celtics had been struggling mightily. Effort waned, execution varied, and they were .500 in their last 16 games. But Springer just may have given them the juice they've been missing this season. The very juice that helped them win a title last year.