Through four games of their five-game road trip, the Boston Celtics now have three victories. They fought off a hot first half from the Sacramento Kings, and walked away with a 120-106 win.
Here's what stood out:
Whatever this Jordan Walsh trend is, it's so bizarre
Jordan Walsh put together one of the most impressive Celtics stretches of the season last month when he bursted onto the scene. Each night he was making winning palys and proving exactly why he was moved into the starting lineup.
He came down with an illness, missed some time last week, and hasn’t been the same since.
Neither have his minutes.
Joe Mazzulla hasn’t moved Walsh out of the starting lineup just yet, but his opening stint has made for the majority of his playing time as of late.
On Thursday, it was his only playing time.
The 21-year-old went scoreless in five minutes, while Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman inherited the remainder of his typical shift.
Mazzulla has been known for his unique approach to coaching, whether it be playing different arena sounds or noises at practice, or secretly hoping he can get Jayson Tatum to fight him.
Maybe he thinks that treating Walsh like a starting pitcher in baseball will do something for his character.
Derrick White will be there in the fourth quarter, no matter what
Derrick White literally could not put the ball in the basket for the first three quarters of this game. As soon as the Cs took the floor for the fourth, it was like a switch flipped.
White carried himself with a confidence that would've made you think he'd tallied 35 points through the first 36 minutes of this one. He put together an incredible outburst in the final frame, pouring in 14 of his 16 points.
His poise and ability to shrug off his cold start to this game is a reminder of how special White is as a player.
West Coast start times are a problem
Sure, it may be East Coast bias, but the NBA, and sports in general, should account for the Eastern time zone when scheduling games on the West Coast. Fans of a team that heads West simply shouldn’t have to be up until 1 a.m. to watch their team play.
This Celtics game could’ve started at 8 p.m. ET, especially since it’s on New Year’s Day, and the people in Sacramento would’ve been able to tune in all the same. They would’ve even been able to enjoy a nice evening out on the town had tip-off been slated for 5 p.m. local time.
Also, Kings fans should have to earn the bags under my eyes. Your 8-25 team shouldn’t be able to put my sleep schedule in the blender.
Staying up late is even more annoying when the opposing team doesn’t miss
The header here is pretty straightforward. Sacramento, one of the NBA’s worst three-point-shooting teams, averages just over 10 makes from distance per game.
They sank 12 of their first 21 attempts against the Celtics in this one. They went on the miss their final 13, which I simply consider compensation for the time difference.
Luka Garza continues to be awesome
It sure feels like I’m beating the dead horse at this point, but the Celtics have found something with Luka Garza. The guy was glued to the bench for a month only to deliver to the fullest extent when his number was finally called.
Garza continued his stretch of inspired play in Sacramento with another momentum-shifting night off the bench. The big man had one of his best defensive games in a Celtics uniform. Right from his opening stint, you could see how active he was. There were multiple possessions where he knocked the ball away from Kings players, in addition to his two steals, and he held his own inside for the most part.
Offensively, his consistent presence as a screener opens up scoring opportunities for both his teammates and himself.
The big man finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 25 minutes off Boston's bench. He also played the majority of the fourth quarter and was part of the lineup that helped the Cs pull away in this one.