The Celtics are on an eight-game winning streak.
It started with a 10-point win over Phoenix. Kristaps Porzingis missed that game.
They then beat Portland by 22. Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were out for that one.
Next was a 16-point win in Utah. They were without Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford.
The fourth win was over Phoenix again, by 15. Porzingis missed that one, too.
The fifth win was a 26-point drubbing of the Wizards. Boston was missing Porzingis, Brown, and Derrick White.
Their sixth win was a 25-point win over the Pistons. Jayson Tatum sat this one out, joined by Holiday and Horford. So did Sam Hauser, by the way.
Win number seven was a two-point win over Milwaukee. Holiday and Hauser missed that game.
The Celtics just won their eighth in a row, by 27 in Detroit. Tatum, Holiday, and Horford sat out.
Eight wins. By an average scoring margin of just under 18 points. None of which featured their normal starting lineup or full bench rotation.
Okay, let’s be fair here. Utah, Portland, Washington, and Detroit twice is a lineup of opponents so weak, Jake Paul is trying to sign them up for fights. Phoenix is theoretically good, but they have a losing record against teams above .500. Milwaukee is good, but they are like me in college: cramming like hell late in the semester hoping to ace the final exam. They were also missing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who I’m told he’s pretty good at basketball.
That all provided Boston with a very soft landing spot for their big leap of resting guys with ailments of varying severity. The Celtics felt pretty good about navigating this part of the schedule without their full squad.
But they didn’t just get through it. They didn't just squeak out a few wins, explain away a tough loss or two, and rationalize the need for rest over results. They ripped through it like a thresher harvesting wheat. They were less Shockmaster and more Kool Aid man.
And it’s because their bench is so damn good.
Let’s all be honest with each other. No one thought this bench would be this strong. I certainly came into the season with questions about the non-Horford second unit. And it wasn’t always smooth to start the season. But they have come through in a huge way.
Let’s start with Payton Pritchard, who has been incredible lately. Over the eight-game streak, Pritchard has started three times, averaging 18 points on 52.5% shooting (45.5% from 3), eight assists, and just one turnover. He’s a +11.1 during the streak, +15.3 as a starter.
“Everybody always talks about his shooting, but I think this year, in particular, he’s been impacted by his rebounding, he’s been impacted by his defense, his pace, getting down the floor and getting us into our actions quick in the shot clock,” Joe Mazzulla said after Pritchard’s huge game against Milwaukee. “Getting into the paint and finding guys. He’s just becoming a really well-rounded player who knows he can have a positive impact on the game in many different ways, and it’s a huge asset for us.”
Pritchard is a B12 shot for the Celtics. Basketball players talk about the court being a sanctuary, but Pritchard goes beyond that. It’s as if Pritchard is from Krypton and the court is a yellow sun. He lives to be between the lines.
Hauser has been his usual sniper self during the streak (and the season), hitting two or more 3-pointers in all but one of the games he played … and the two only happened once. He had games of six, four, 10, and four 3-pointers over this stretch.
But beyond that, he has had a steal in every game but one. He blocked shots against Phoenix, Portland, and twice against Utah. He’s averaging nearly four rebounds per game. He has been +10, +20, +14, +1, +18, and +15 over the course of this streak.
And Luke Kornet has chipped in with games of 14, 12, and 14 points during the streak. He has started twice, not only grabbing 19 rebounds in those starts, 10 of them were offensive rebounds resulting in either putbacks or tipouts to extend possessions. He also had six assists in those starts, and 14 overall during these eight games.
Beyond these three guys, Boston has seen meaningful contributions from Svi Mykhailiuk, Xavier Tillman, and Oshae Brissett during the streak.
And because of it all, Boston has been afforded a massive luxury. They aren’t just able to get Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown off their feet for a game or two, they're able to let guys take an extra few games to completely heal from injuries.
Porzingis admitted that he wanted to play through some of the hamstring issue he was dealing with, but he didn’t have to. The Celtics were able to get him back to 100% without any issues. Holiday is dealing with a shoulder injury and, reportedly, a “dead arm” after getting slammed with a pick a few games ago. He says he wants to play, but the Celtics bench has been so effective in his absence that they can take an approach so conservative that it meets Mike Pence’s approval.
It’s entirely possible a lot of these guys won’t play in the playoffs. It’s possible that we see playoff games where none of these bench guys play. And if that happens, it’s because they were so good during this stretch of the regular season that they allowed the top six to be fresh for the most important two months of the schedule.
It’s funny to think that if they were worse, the Celtics would need them more in the playoffs, but that's the weird part of how sports work sometimes. Worker bees defend the hive so the whole colony can thrive. That's how it goes.
So don’t let anyone tell you in May or June, when the rotation shrinks to six or seven, that Boston’s bench didn’t do anything to help them win a championship. Their playoff contributions are coming right now. They're letting the best starting lineup in the game get right by stepping up right now.
This is when the depth matters most, and Boston’s depth is doing its job better than anyone expected.