WASHINGTON -- Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ overtime win over the Wizards in quickie form.
Box Score
HEADLINES
Greg Monroe plays big minutes in debut: Brad Stevens said before the game that he wasn’t sure whether Greg Monroe would play after being signed Thursday afternoon. The head coach then proceeded to roll with the big man for 10-straight minutes in the first half in a big frontcourt with Daniel Theis. The 6-foot-11 center looked rusty to start (he missed his first two shots) but showed plenty of hustle in his debut, diving for loose balls all over the floor on multiple occasions. He finished with five points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. Not a bad start for a guy who had not practiced with the team.
Celtics survived ugly finish to regulation:
Marcus Morris
Kyrie Irving
Bradley Beal
Jaylen Brown
TURNING POINT
TWO UP
Terry Rozier:
The 23-year-old continues to be on fire with his outside shot. Rozier made his first two 3-pointers in the first half and went 4-of-5 from the field overall to score a team-high 10 points before intermission. He’s now shooting over 55 percent from the field in the month of February (13-of-22).
Daniel Theis:
The German got some extended run alongside Monroe and took advantage of playing power forward next to another big man. He crashed the offensive glass for two nice putbacks and drilled an open 3-point shot from the wing as the Wizards played him with a smaller forward (Mike Scott). His defensive versatility worked nicely as well, as he anchored the defense while Al Horford got extended rest.
TWO DOWN
Marcus Morris in the first half:
Much like the first half against the Wizards on Christmas, Morris had a bit of a nightmare performance before the break. He missed seven of his eight shots over 15 minutes, taking a team-high number of shots from the field while tallying zero assists. His isolation focused offensive attack continues to backfire when he’s not knocking down shots. Luckily for him and the Celtics, he turned things around after intermission
Jaylen Brown’s finishing:
The athletic guard was pushing the ball tremendously in transition against the Wizards but he missed countless looks at the rim in the face of Wizards defenders as moved at a borderline out of control speed. Brown needs to control himself better in those situations rather than tossing up prayers at the basket.
TOP PLAY
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Brad Stevens can finally rest his stars in a tight game:
The Celtics second unit has been without legitimate scoring options for much of the season. With the addition of Monroe and the emergence of Rozier as a shooter in the past few weeks, things are starting to shift on that front. Boston held their own for six-plus minutes in the first half with both Al Horford (12 first-half minutes) and Kyrie Irving (13 first-half minutes). The shot selection needs to improve (I’m looking at you Marcus Morris) but that group with Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown will take the onus off Stevens from playing his veteran studs too much to simply steady the offensive ship.
Say goodbye to regular playing time for the fringe rookies: Brad Stevens
hasn't been blessed with a deep backcourt much during his Celtics tenure, but he finally has just that in Aron Baynes, Al Horford, Monroe and Theis. The head coach likes the look of pairing two of those bigs up front which means there is going to be less of a need for guys like Semi Ojeleye and Abdel Nader on any given night. They’ll get their opportunities here and there (especially Ojeleye) for defensive purposes, but the days of counting on those rookies for meaningful production on any given night is over.
