The Boston Celtics moved into second place in the Eastern Conference with an absolutely disgusting, ugly win over the Chicago Bulls. This rock fight started, well, as a rock fight. Neither team could get anything going early on, and by the time of the first substitutions, Boston was up just two points.
Then, Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, and Anfernee Simons all checked into the game. The trio has played some tremendous basketball as of late. They’ve logged a net rating of 34.7 in 72 minutes over the last nine games for Boston.
Simply put, they’re playing off of one another quite well.
Monday was no different.
By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics had ballooned their lead all the way to 17 points, partly thanks to these three and Jordan Walsh.
We come in knowing that we got to do whatever it takes to, you know, get ourselves back in the game, keep the lead, extend the lead, or get back into the game,” Simons explained after his 27-point outing against Chicago. “Each game is different.”
The challenge in Monday’s homecoming game was to find a way to win without shots falling. The Celtics made just 35.7% of their field goals in the first half. Yet, they were up 21 points on the visitors after Payton Pritchard’s second-quarter buzzer-beater found the bottom of the net.
Celtics' bench brought the energy once again
How?
Well, they took complete control of the margins. Boston attempted 15 more shots than the Bulls did in the first 24 minutes, and wound up with an 18-shot advantage when it was all said and done.
As ugly as this game was, it was probably the blueprint Joe Mazzulla dreams about. If there’s anyone who loves winning the margins, it’s him. He raves about it all the time.
Simons, Garza, Gonzalez, and Walsh all played a role in that in Boston’s fourth consecutive win. The group combined for 10 of the team’s 20 offensive rebounds, earning them plenty of added opportunities to score the ball.
Mazzulla pointed to the universal understanding of responsibilities that runs from the top down on this team.
“I mean, I think it's just role definition,” Mazzulla explained. “Guys have an understanding of what they're supposed to do top to bottom. So I think when you have that, you just have another level of connectivity, when you're able to just do your job and execute what needs to be executed.”
As for the bench’s strong production as of late, he credited the pride they take in playing hard, regardless of who they’re out there with.
“I mean, multiple guys have been in and out of that starting lineup. Having an understanding of who you are as a team. Have an understanding of what the game plan is, executing that regardless of who you're out there on the floor with, and making sure you play hard so those guys take pride in doing that.”
It may sound minute, but the impact Boston’s bench has made over the last several games is real. It raises the team’s ceiling because they’ve got a pack of wolves that they can rely on to bring the energy every single night, even when things aren’t going well.