Semi Ojeleye is not a player one might expect to see on the floor when the Celtics have the ball on the game’s final possession. Ojeleye is a rookie that is shooting just over 30 percent from the field and 3-point range this season. Those numbers don’t exactly strike fear into an opposing defense.
Yet, Brad Stevens found himself in a unique situation on Wednesday night in Utah. In a tie game, the Celtics could hold the ball for the final possession and a chance for the win. He had four easy choices for his closing five, (Shane Larkin/Terry Rozier/Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum) but he needed a fifth man to spread the floor. Aron Baynes and Greg Monroe don’t have 3-point range, so neither were ideal. Nearly everyone else on the Celtics roster was hurt. That left Stevens with the choice of Ojeleye or Abdel Nader (among players that had seen minutes on Wednesday night). Nader is the better shooter, but the head coach went with Ojeleye.
The rookie may be a hesitant shooter, but that wasn’t a bad thing in the waning seconds of a 97-94 win over the Jazz. Stevens figured a big man like Rudy Gobert would be tempted to abandon Ojeleye in a critical moment, and that’s exactly what happened on the game-winner.
Here’s the full Jaylen Brown game-winner including Shane Larkin’s ? hockey assist to set it all up
The Celtics just do not die ever wtf pic.twitter.com/n9zXiQPuI5
— Jaywob Brown (@World_Wide_Wob) March 29, 2018