The Boston Celtics lost on Sunday night. A rarity for the guys in green. The past two years have been a blur, with the green of Ws in the win column slowly meshing with the green that sits across their jerseys every day. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the hottest team in basketball this year, and Donovan Mitchell got the best of them.
But Monday marked an even more noteworthy rarity. The Celtics were hurt. Significantly so. Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser were all out for the second leg of Boston’s back-to-back. Even Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White weren’t at full strength.
Tatum had just played 38 minutes the night before, Brown missed the Cavs game while battling an illness, and White was out in Cleveland due to a foot sprain. Yet all three played against the Miami Heat. Not because they were told to do so but because they wanted to.
“They like to play,” Joe Mazzulla said. “No, I wouldn't want them to feel . No, they just enjoy competing. So, I think it's a strength of those guys.
White poured in an efficient, effective performance, but Tatum and Brown didn’t look like their typical selves. They combined to shoot a woeful 15-of-42 from the floor, and Tatum turned the ball over six times.
Boston’s two biggest stars weren’t efficient in a game without their usual supporting cast. But it didn’t matter.
The Celtics have built a reputation that stems throughout the entire roster
Mazzulla reached deep into his bag of tricks, playing 10 guys real rotation minutes, most of whom guys who have been stacking up DNPs this season.
“It was mostly because we had three, four guys out, but that happens over the course of the season, and the guys got to be ready,” Mazzulla said. “So, our staff, in Maine and in Boston, does a great job keeping the locker room ready, and everybody that played over the last two games, I thought played a part in the process of winning, and that's what you look for over the course of the season.”
Drew Peterson broke his career-high of minutes played in a game with 26:04—a record he set the game prior when he played 24:58 in Cleveland. Jordan Walsh got the start. Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta, and Xavier Tillman all played 10+ minutes off the pine.
Everyone chipped in, and their collective efforts aided the Celtics in smothering the Heat, who were also without one of their top stars, Jimmy Butler.
“I thought it was great,” said Brown. “It's a journey, man. We need each and every guy. We need the whole chain to be working together. So, shout out to those guys being ready, and shout out to Joe for giving them those opportunities throughout the year to be able to showcase and add to winning.
“It takes a complete group, and I thought those guys stepped in. I thought Drew was great. I thought even Baylor came in, made plays, and each and every night, you never know when your name is gonna get called. You just gotta be ready. And those guys have been professionals, and that's what we need going forward.”
Stepping into a game without having played in weeks is not an easy task. Guys like Peterson and Scheiermran get some warm-up opportunities in Maine, but the likes of Walsh and Tillman often have to keep themselves prepared.
And it’s not like they can prepare the night before. Mazzulla makes it a point not to let his players know if they’re going to be playing on any given day. “By not telling them, it allows them to just treat every single day as if it's the most important day, and they do a great job of embracing that.”
For the past few seasons, Boston’s Bus One Boys and Stay-Ready Groups have taken on different names, but the concept remains ironclad—if your name is called, you need to be prepared.
“I think it's just been really an identity team,” said Luke Kornet, a former stay-ready guy who notched a career-high six blocks against the Heat. “The NBA season is long, and I think just having that identity of just going out to win every single game. [It's almost just kind of what the standard is for us, and I feel like what it means to us to be Celtic.”
Kornet, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Blake Griffin were the pioneers of the Bus One Boys. Not knowing if they would play on a night-to-night basis, they made it their identities to stay ready and embrace the role they were slotted into.
Now, Kornet makes sure to pass down that mentality to the guys who are next in line to take on the role.
“Just in general, the relationships that you have, and kind of having an openness and understanding of just meeting the guy for who he is, especially a lot of times those are younger guys,” Kornet said. “Just kind of welcoming them into the locker room, into the team, and just kind of having open dialog and communication.
“And I feel like we have a good balance of, when it comes to the court, it's very serious and business, but at the same time, just trying to live as authentically as possible. Whether it's on the court or off the court so that there’s not really a turning on, so to speak, as much as it's like, 'This is what it's like to be here, and we're competitive, and we're gonna be together.’ And you're just now welcomed to the group and a part of it.”
Boston has meticulously built a reputation for winning. For the past decade, they’ve been one of the best teams in the NBA, and last year, they finally got over the hump and won a championship.
The stars may have led the way, but the Celtics were special because of their depth. And they don’t get to that point without the entire roster being on the same page.
“There's a bunch of state-ready groups that go on behind the scenes with guys who don't play as many minutes,” Brown said. “Always just getting reps, just staying ready, going over reads, and just always, constantly staying involved in how the game and how the season is going. And to be ready whenever their name is to be called.
“So, it's tough to do as a professional. Sometimes in January, back-to-back, sometimes guys can, throughout the year, check out. But when you have guys that are hungry and come in and add to winning, it just shows where you're at as a team and where you're at as an organization. I think we develop guys really well, and tonight was an example of that. I thought we had some guys step in and make some good contributions.”
Playing in the NBA is a dream come true for every player who gets there, but not everyone gets to be Tatum or Brown or even Pritchard. But just because they don’t have the luxury of knowing when their first sub-in will take place doesn’t mean they get to act any differently.
That’s what makes the Celtics the Celtics.
“Some of those guys are flying from a Maine game to Delaware to the NBA to back,” said Kornet. “It's just kind of having the mentality of, 'To be in this organization, it's just all about winning.' And so, whatever team you're playing for that night, or whatever your role and opportunity is, it's to do that.”