Celtics bench builds big lead, holds on against Raptors for fourth preseason win

The lower case c’s took on the JV Raptors at the TD Garden and held on for a 115-111 win. The regular preseason starting five of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman all sat this one out. So did Al Horford, but Joe Mazzulla said he’s going to play Tuesday in Toronto. RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, and Garrett Temple all sat for the Raptors. 

Boston led by 34 at one point but the hodgepodge of soon-to-be cut and soon-to-be-Maine residents gave most of it back before hanging on. 

Here are some thoughts from the Garden. 

- Lonnie Walker IV got the start tonight and he made the most of it. He looked comfortable on offense, doing the thing he does best: put the ball in the hole. He moved the ball well and was solid again on defense. 

I just can't shake the feeling that Walker should be on this roster. If it wasn’t for his first two games with almost no minutes and nothing falling when he did get out there, I’d say he was a no-brainer to make the roster and compete for minutes …

- … which brings me to Jordan Walsh who has gotten consistent opportunities this preseason and cashed in pretty nicely. His biggest problem in summer league was playing too fast, but he seems to have fixed that issue this preseason. He’s not just hitting shots, he’s playing under control and it’s leading to some nice finishes. 

“(He understands) what his job is: defend at a high level, defend multiple positions, rebound, and then make reads on the offensive end," Mazzulla said. "So he's doing a great job. Just really proud of his growth. Him, his player development team, the work they put in with him, he works hard at it, but starting to carve out a role and just a really good attitude towards it. So it's been fun to watch him grow.”

- And all of this leaves Jaden Springer, of course, my original choice to win this derby, on the outside looking in. He did not look good in this one, leaving Mazzulla visibly frustrated a few different times. There was one play where it looked like Springer had good position to take a charge but instead jumped to challenge the shot and allowed a layup. Mazzulla called timeout and barked “take the charge” at Springer as he walked to the bench. 

Springer hasn’t yet looked comfortable offensively and his shot isn’t where it needs to be. Contrast that with Walsh, whose shot looks noticeably better since an abysmal summer league, and it seems like Springer has slid to the back of the pack. 

I don’t want to overreact, but there is a scenario where instead of cutting Walker to take advantage of his Exhibit 10 deal, the Celtics trade Springer into someone’s cap space and pay Walker instead … a scenario first laid out by Eric Pincus on Bleacher Report:

“The goal may be more of a simple cost-cutting move, like trading Jaden Springer without any salary in return. That could enable the team to keep Lonnie Walker IV as the 14th player while reducing its tax bill by $7.2 million.”

- They led by 21 after 1, thanks to 16 points, five assists and four rebounds from Payton Pritchard. He finished with 19/9/5 in 23:37 of play. There's not much more to say about Pritchard. He always thrives in these preseason situations when the regulars aren’t out there. 

"Injuries happen and opportunities can arise. And I take advantage of times like this so when a moment like that does come – not saying I hope it does – but if it does I hope to not take a step back," Pritchard said. "Like, our team doesn’t take a step back. Some of us can carry the torch with that. Obviously we’re a very deep team and that’s what makes us very good. So I think all of us need to take advantage of these situations just because this is how you keep growing your game and showing the world that a lot of us are capable of taking that next step and doing that. But also accepting the role that our team needs and doing the best with that to help us.”

- Sam Hauser had a bad shooting night but not a bad game. He’s an interesting case because part of what makes him so deadly is how open he generally gets in the C’s offense. Without all the regular Celtics and their gravity on the floor, it’s tougher for Hauser to get a ton of clean looks. 

That said, I’ve been touting his ability to create more opportunities for himself and those didn’t pan out in this one. It’s not a big deal or anything, just proof that sometimes the shots aren’t going to fall for him. The good news is that he was still creating some of those shots. 

- Neemias Queta got the start and was good. He finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds (six offensive), and five assists. The Celtics can turn to him during the season, especially on back-to-backs when Horford isn't playing early in the season. 

"It's tough for them, because they got to play different roles every night or throughout a season," Mazzulla said. "But Neemie’s defensive awareness and execution has grown, and his offensive effectiveness, his screening his spacing. So he's another guy that takes his role serious, and it's fun to watch him.”

- Let’s give Drew Peterson some love here. He had a nice game shooting it, scoring 23 points on 6-9 shooting, 3-5 from 3, and 8-10 from the line. He also finished with three rebounds and three assists.

He’s not going to contribute to this year’s team, but it’s something to file away for when other roster decisions have to be made in the future. This could be more of a competing “down the line” kind of thing. 

- The Toronto Raptors are going to be bad this season.