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The Celtics bench has been a weak point for Brad Stevens in recent years when it comes to attacking. Whether that’s due to a very hefty roster with the starting five or a short leash for some of Boston’s young talents with better offensive potential, Boston’s second unit has consistently rounded up the bottom five in the league in what concerns production.
Amid Boston’s freefall in the standings over the past month, this problem has become a glaring problem, as some beginner struggles revealed a lack of consistent firepower off the bench (30.1 points per bench game ranked 27th in the NBA in February). Big surprise contributions early in the season from Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams began to fade as the two promising youngsters began to rely a little too much on the Boston stars in offensive games. That, combined with a decline in play from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum over the past few weeks, quickly left the offense outsmarted for big chunks of games.
As Brown and Tatum fought against the Pacers on Friday night, the Celtics were in danger of losing their fourth straight game if no one else in their supporting cast rose to the challenge beyond Kemba Walker (32 points). Instead, an aggressive Boston second unit led by Pritchard and Williams looked more like the group that was instrumental in leaving Boston at 8-3, combining for 39 points en route to a 118-112 victory.
Williams played a minute shorter than his season record in the win with 22 minutes and filled the box score (14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists 3 blocks) while gaining a few minutes of crunch-time in the process.
“Obviously that’s a big plus for me knowing that they trust me and believe in me,” said Williams. “Most of all, they let me know that they need me in these situations. It further strengthens my confidence.
There has been a lot of growing pains for the third-year center, especially on the defensive side many nights in recent weeks. However, Boston’s formula for success this year comes with Williams attacking and reserves most nights. The more defensive Celtics just aren’t good enough to slow down teams this year (Grant Williams, Javonte Green etc), which makes Brad Stevens worth looking into attacking more. Williams is a big part of this successful strategy as he expands his game.
“I feel like I’ve been really, really comfortable and I feel like it comes with learning from my teammates,” Williams said of his offense. “Learning if Kemba is driving under the basket, how to go around and give it an outlet, know when they need help or know when I can take those pictures, so it all plays a role.”
In addition to riding Williams, Brad Stevens helped unlock the best version of Payton Pritchard on Friday night (9 points, 4 rebounds, +13 team record in 30 minutes) by pairing him up with his start-of-season teammate at Jeff Teague. . . The duo have a clear odds in the team’s top three (+11.5) among the rosters with over 100 minutes together largely based on the high powered offense they create together.
As Pritchard struggled (39% of shots in February), having another creator by his side with Jayson Tatum helped the rookie return to providing a burst of energy for the bench with cuts to the back, attacks and timely offensive rebounds.
“I’m really happy with him,” Teague said. “And, you know, he was kinda broken down and all because he said he missed a few three lately, but you know, he’s a great shooter.” And he comes to work every day and I’m happy for them, to be honest.
The Teague / Pritchard combo doesn’t appear to be going anywhere in the next three games before Boston’s backcourt gets reinforcements. The connection this pair made during the preseason was still intact, even after Teague fell out of the rotation for a while.
“I think we all know he’s a talented player, he’s a good player,” Teague said of Pritchard. “And I think we play well on each other. I think we had a connection at the start of the season, being in the second team in training. This is my guy, man. We talk all the time. He will talk to me if I play or if I don’t. We continue to maintain our close relationship and I think that plays on the floor.
As Stevens tries to stabilize the ship for the Celtics 16-17 ahead of All-Star Break, he’s just going to have to ride with the guys who provide high-level skills and a track record of success. Williams and Pritchard have consistently done that more than anyone off the bench this year and the aggression they’ve shown.
“It’s really important,” Stevens admitted of the push off the bench. “Teague and Payton both played really well in that second game in Indiana that we won, and led this comeback late in the third start of the fourth. Teague was probably our most encouraging performance on Wednesday, he didn’t play as much and played rather well offensively. I thought he was great tonight. Payton was really good, really committed, and Robert certainly gave us what he was able to give. We don’t need that score every night, but we need the way they played every night.
Ultimately, more reinforcements will come with healthy corps and trades next month. Until that happens though, Pritchard and Williams getting an extended run is probably Stevens’ best chance of keeping the fort going for that second unit night and night.
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