Joe Mazzulla isn’t big on narratives.
“I don’t get caught up in that at all,” Mazzulla said prior to Wednesday night’s 130-120 win over the Detroit Pistons. “What I do focus on is the responsibility of being a Celtic – and the responsibility, the ownership, and the expectation that you have in being a Celtic. That, to me, is the most important thing. The narratives will come and go, but what doesn’t come and go is what it takes to try and move this organization forward.”
That sense of pride and responsibility runs throughout the team. With a roster full of stars, everyone is focused on one goal: winning together.
In today’s NBA, getting a roster of stars – plus impactful reserves who could start elsewhere – to buy in, put the personal accolades aside, and stay on the same page is easier said than done, and that selflessness and commitment to a collective goal haven’t gone unnoticed.
“They’re a team. All the individual guys that they have, as elite as they are — when you watch them and when you study them, they play team basketball,” Detroit head coach JB Bickerstaff said.
“They’re willing to make the selfless play over and over again. And it’s not just a mix of talented players. They mix and match well together. Guys are assuming a role, and they’ve accepted that role and want to be the best at it, and on any given night, their roles can shift because they are so capable of getting it going. But the most impressive about them, to me, is how they play team basketball on both ends of the floor.”
The Celtics have done plenty of mixing and matching this season. With Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday both sidelined in Wednesday night’s win, Boston deployed its 11th different starting lineup this season – meaning they’ve used a different starting five essentially every other game, and for the most part, it’s been the same old Celtics.
No matter the situation or who’s on the floor, they’re ready to adjust. This week has underscored that fact.
On Monday night against the Heat, it was Boston’s “Stay-Ready Group” that lived up to its name, stepping up when the team was down four of its top eight players. Then, on Wednesday night against Detroit, they showed it once again.
With Tatum out, Jaylen Brown took over as the “1A,” finishing with 28 points and dishing out a season-high nine assists while controlling the offense and getting teammates involved.
“I’ve improved on things,” Brown said on his playmaking. “A lot of my weaknesses in the past I’ve attacked. Being able to run a team and an offense is something that I look forward to in those moments.”
Sam Hauser made a spot start, finishing with season-highs in points (20) and made threes (five).
Luke Kornet (nine points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks) and Payton Pritchard, despite a slow shooting start (19 points, four offensive rebounds, four assists, and a steal), contributed off the bench in a shortened rotation as Mazzulla only played seven players more than eight minutes.
And, of course, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White stepped up and did their thing, seamlessly adapting to adjusted roles with guys out.
“I think the cool thing about our team is that even if on certain nights – Let’s say Payton or Sam have a smaller role because we have everybody playing, they still play the same way,” Porzingis said. “The minutes might go up and down, but everybody is professional, everybody is so locked in, and so ready for the moment, that when people are in and out it doesn’t really matter — That speaks to the character of the guys. That’s why we’re so good.”
It was a strength of the team last year, and it has continued over. The Celtics were 13-2 when missing two or more of their top six players a season ago. This season, they are 9-2 under those circumstances.
“We did a lot of this last year,” Hauser said. “Guys are just ready to step up whenever their number is called. You’ve seen it in the last two or three games now – Drew Peterson has played a lot of minutes, Jordan [Walsh] has played a lot of minutes, and Baylor [Scheierman] got some tick the other game. I credit our player development team for that. They always keep us sharp and ready. It’s pretty easy for our coaching staff to throw a player in there when they know they are putting in the work every single day.”
It’s a unique skill that most teams don’t have. Beyond just the depth, which is impressive in itself, having players who are both physically and mentally capable of adjusting their roles and fitting into any lineup to deliver what’s needed is one of the most overlooked traits that makes this team so dominant.
Is it always perfect? No. The Celtics allowed three 30-point quarters to a Pistons team that entered the night ranked 24th in offense. Detroit hit a season-high 20 three-pointers on 51.3% shooting – a feat only achieved nine times in franchise history. (Crazy note: The Celtics have hit 20+ threes nine times this season alone.)
Furthermore, Detroit won two of the four quarters and shot 51.2% overall. But, as they often do, the Celtics found a way to win, once again by double digits, regardless of who was on the floor.
The reigning champions are sticking to their business-like approach. Winning is all that matters, and they’ll keep finding different ways and contributors every night — honoring the responsibility that comes with being a Celtic.
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