Everything you need to know about the Wizards' 96-90 win over the Celtics with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Wizards hold off Celtics reserves late: It didn’t come easy for the Wizards about Boston’s deep reserves but Washington managed to come away with their first win of the Orlando bubble on Thursday, snapping Boston’s four-game winning streak. Javonte Green had a team-high 23 points for the C’s who rested all of their starters and Marcus Smart in the seeding games finale. Thomas Bryant had a game-high 26 points for the Wizards who snapped a seven-game losing streak in the bubble by holding the C’s to 13 points in an ugly fourth quarter for both teams. Semi Ojeleye (13 points) was the only other Celtic in double figures as Boston’s offense sputtered without their main shot creators, making just 40 percent of their attempts from the field. The Celtics finish their seeding game slate with a 5-3 record.
Romeo Langford suffers sprained right wrist: The rookie forward tallied 6 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists over 30 minutes but was clearly bothered by his right wrist after taking a hard fall in the second half. He played through it for a few minutes but was pulled by the team during crunch time and ruled out. Langford was probably not set to be in the rotation anywhere when the postseason began but with the C’s wing depth very limited behind their stars, this is an injury the C’s will hope is of the minor variety.
TURNING POINT
The Wizards took advantage of Brad Stevens going with the twin tower lineup of Tacko Fall and Vincent Poirier halfway through a meaningless fourth quarter and put together a 9-0 run that broke a tie and helped give Washington enough of a lead to deliver their first win in the bubble.
TWO UP
Javonte Green: The rookie topped his previous career-high of 12 points by the third quarter as he provided a main source of offense for Boston’s unique starting unit for the team. He hit 8 of his first 13 shots, piling up 21 points in the first three quarters including a career-high three 3-point makes on his way to 23 points.
Rob Williams: The big man continued his red-hot play in Orlando by knocking down all three of his shots in his one stint of the afternoon. He’s now shooting 84.6 percent from the field during the six games he’s played in Orlando.
TWO DOWN
Tremont Waters shot selection: The rookie point guard has a sensational day on the defensive end with a career-high five steals (most by a Celtic this year). His shooting remains a work in progress however as he missed 12 of his first 14 shots, with a number of those being ill-advised attempts.
3-point shooting: This is the biggest question mark for the second unit heading into the postseason and it was easy to see why on Thursday afternoon. Boston shot 22.9 percent from 3-point range.
TOP PLAY
t-o-u-g-h-n-e-s-s ? pic.twitter.com/0ul1hWbU2w
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 13, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Rob Williams was wisely protected in this one: The second-year center played the fewest minutes out of anyone (6) in this meaningless contest and that was a signal of just how important he’s become to the C’s rotation in my mind. He’s been arguably the best Celtics center over the past week and while his role will be limited coming off the bench against the Sixers and other playoff opponents, Stevens wanted to make sure he minimized any chance of him getting nicked up. The smart money for the Sixers series is Enes Kanter getting the lion’s share of backup minutes at center to match up with Joel Embiid but Williams has played well enough now to the point that he’s earned a shot every night. That’s a far cry from the guy who started the bubble out of the rotation for Boston’s first three games.
The Celtics are going to make some tough choices at the end of the roster next year: The Celtics are likely to have 13 players under contract heading into next season and that doesn’t even include a useful bench piece like Brad Wanamaker, who the team will likely try to re-sign. That roster glut plus three potential upcoming first-round draft picks should put some players at the end of Boston’s roster making cheap money in danger for next year. However, Thursday's performance from Green is a reminder that a lot of Boston’s fringe talent still belongs in this league. While some cuts (Vincent Poirier) will be easy to make, the battle for the final guard on the 15-man roster between Carsen Edwards, Green and Tremont Waters will be one to keep an eye on this winter.