Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 116-110 win over the Wizards with BSJ insight and analysis
HEADLINES
Deep reserves shine in the regular-season finale: The Celtics rested their top seven regulars in this one but that did not prevent them from putting together one of their biggest rallies of the season, coming back from 21 down in the first half to pull away late with a 116-110 win over the Wizards. Terry Rozier had a team-high 21 points, but it was the play of R.J. Hunter, Semi Ojeleye and Brad Wanamaker (17 points each) in the fourth quarter that helped the Celtics take command against a Washington squad that also benched most of their starters down the stretch. Seven different C's scored in double figures while Wanamaker, Ojeleye and Guerschon Yabusele (13 points) all had career-highs as they all took advantage of the additional playing time.
Bring on the postseason: The Celtics finish the regular season with a 49-33 mark, a six-game decline in wins from last year. They will open up the first round of the postseason at the TD Garden on Sunday and take on the fifth-seeded Pacers. The status of Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum remains unclear for that opener after both suffered injuries on Sunday, but Brad Stevens told reporters in Washington that he was encouraged by the progress they had made over the past couple of days.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run, turning a six-point deficit into plenty of momentum down the stretch for Boston’s deep reserves. They rode that wave to a 27-15 fourth quarter.
TWO UP
R.J. Hunter: The promise the Celtics saw in him as a first-round pick in the summer of 2015 was on display in Washington. He came two points short of his career-high with 17 and was a team-high plus-28 in his first extended action as a Celtic this year.
Brad Wanamaker: After a rough defensive first half against the Wizards backcourt, the 29-year-old rookie helped settled the Boston offense down and erase a 21-point first half deficit. He finished with a career-high 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists, earning the crunch time nod over Terry Rozier in the fourth quarter.
ONE DOWN
Draft positioning: A Wizards win would have increased the odds that the Grizzlies pick would not convey to Boston until next season. However, Brad Stevens had no interest in losing this one, riding the guys that were playing well (Ojeleye, Wanamaker, Hunter) to the finish line against a hapless Wizards team in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, karma ends up working out well for Boston here but the win here could have some long-term implications
TOP PLAY
R.J. Hunter made his first appearance of the campaign in our regular-season finale. And he made sure that we closed it out on a high note.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 10, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
This was a fun group to watch despite the low stakes: Stevens stayed away from the deep bench all year long but despite the talent discrepancy with other members of this roster, it was clear that this group had the dirt dog mentality that previous Stevens teams had been known for. Hunter, Ojeleye and Wanamaker all got the ball moving, worked to get each other good shots and it's no coincidence that this group succeeded when they were on the floor. It was perhaps even a little bit telling that Wanamaker got the nod over Rozier at point guard to close this one out, a nod to the unselfish way this group was playing with. Hunter won't be on the postseason roster, but Wanamaker did nothing but add to his reputation as an offensive stabilizer this postseason. Rozier is going to get the first crack at bench minutes but it will be interesting to see how long Stevens is willing to stick with him if he does not play the 'right' way in the postseason.
The Wizards should probably trade Bradley Beal: Watching the shooting guard tear apart the Celtics defense in the first quarter was fun to watch, but it's also sad to see such talent waste away on a lottery team with little hope of improving next year with John Wall sidelined. It's going to take a while for the new general manager in Washington to build this talent back up based on their poor cap situation and the lack of young chips in place but a good place to hit the reset button would be dealing Beal. He's on a great value contract for the next two years and could command the kind of haul that this team needs if they want to start over. Given the fact that it's hard to see him staying beyond two more years when he hits free agency anyway (barring a sharp change in success), this is as high as his value is going to get. The Celtics (if they miss on AD) or other potential contenders will likely bring their best assets to the table for him, so it's time for the Wizards to start listening.