Karalis: Celtics already getting much-needed infusion of energy from deadline additions

With all due respect to Moe Wagner and Luke Kornet, this isn't about their particular NBA skills.

When it comes to basketball, the Boston Celtics can really use upgrades at every position. But when it comes to adding some energy to a moribund team, the actual positions those players play are meaningless. After two games, we are already seeing the biggest benefits of these trade deadline additions.

They're not gassed.

"They have fresh legs," Marcus Smart said after beating the OKC Thunder. "We got guys that's coming in that's eager to make a stand for themselves and prove themselves, coming out here and contribute. Each of those guys brings something unique to the table for our team."

Kornet splashed two 3-pointers that finally helped a lethargic Celtics team break through against Oklahoma City. When Kornet caught the pass leading to his second trey, the Celtics bench was already in celebration mode. When he rose it above his head, Tacko Fall was already starting to step over a Gatorade bucket so he could rush the floor. When the ball started its decent toward the rim, Payton Pritchard and Wagner were bent at the waist, arms locked, waiting for the sound of leather meeting nylon. When it flew through the net and the Thunder called a timeout, half the team was already at halfcourt offering chest bumps and high fives.

They were alive.

"It was great to be on the court," Kornet said. "The last couple of days have been pretty eventful. Just got a little couple hour period of just realizing what was going on, and honestly, once I got over that whole part of it, I was just really excited to come here. Like Boston is an awesome place and a franchise that I’ve always appreciated through watching, so it’s really cool to be here to be able to play with these guys. They’re super talented and good dudes."

More than anything, the Celtics need guys who have full tanks of gas. Kornett played 94 minutes his season before heading to Boston. Jaylen Brown has played 94 minutes in his last three games, counting Saturday night. Wagner played 375 minutes for the Wizards this season. Jayson Tatum has played 388 minutes this month.

It's a different story for Evan Fournier, but his Orlando Magic were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, so his time the bubble was limited. His turnaround wasn't quite as short.

This infusion of fresh legs is just what the Celtics needed. They were able to flip a switch late in a game for the first time in forever. They were able to get a good win against a great team. They come back to Boston on a winning streak, and two whole weeks of games before having to get on a plane again.

“This was a big win for us in a way because of everything that’s been going on with us and how we’ve been playing," Smart said. "For us to come out here and catch two wins against two good teams that we knew were going to come out and play as hard as they could, it’s something we needed to go through and face. And I’m glad we did. And I’m glad we got the win.”

It's hard to say if this will be enough to change this team's trajectory. This very well could end up being like the SpaceX rocket that "successfully" touched down but then exploded. These guys could "successfully" get Boston a few wins before the season officially blows up and people rush to the comments section so they can say "this aged poorly."

But right now, it's very obvious how much some fresh legs are already helping. As hard as it is to lose teammates in this business of NBA basketball, new faces and attitudes can add enough light to the room for these guys to see where they're going instead of tripping over themselves.

Leaving the long-term concerns aside for a moment, these two wins are important. If Boston can build off them, then maybe, possibly, they can live up to some of the promise coming into the season.

"We feel good. We don't feel great. We don't feel like, you know, we're not complacent," Smart said. "We're not done. We're not satisfied. This is just the start for us. We gotta continue to keep rolling. For us, the big thing is not trying to go backwards; taking a step forward and two steps backward. It's a great win, these two, way to finish off the road trip. Now it's time to go home. We have our fans coming in and it's time to guard that place up and play Celtics basketball and make this run."