The Celtics opened Saturday night’s win over the Raptors with a bit of a scramble, as it was revealed shortly before the game tipped off in Toronto that star guard Jaylen Brown would not be suiting up, knocked out by a non-Covid illness. The gave the Celtics the odd starting five of Payton Pritchard and Derrick White in the backcourt, Jordan Walsh and Sam Hauser at the forwards and Neemias Queta in the middle.
It was the second time that Joe Mazzulla has used the lineup this season. But, oddly, it was not the lineup that Celtics used in the second half.
After playing 12:44 in the first half with no points and four rebounds, Walsh did not appear in the second half, raising questions about an injury or whether he had run afoul of Mazzulla. Josh Minott picked up in his place.
A sigh of relief, though: It was neither.
Jordan Walsh had an Illness
Mazzulla explained that Walsh, who was a minus-15 in the first half, was trying to play through an illness.
Said Mazzulla: “Jordan was sick today. He wasnât supposed to play but we pushed him to and wanted to see what he could give us. He just, he gave us what he could, so thatâs kind of what it was. Just an illness. He came in today sick, but we wanted him to play so he did. He obviously wasnât at his best so we just kind of went there in the second half. Thatâs why he didnât play.”
Walsh has been one of the bright spots of this season for the Celtics, which has been packed with experiments and tinkering. He played in 24 games and averaged 7.3 points, shooting 58.4% from the field and 44.4% from the 3-point line this season.
Celtics Get Big Showing From Luka Garza
Mazzulla had high praise for one underused Celtic, center Luka Garza, who played a season-high 25:43 on Saturday and put up a 10-point, 10-rebounds double-double, with a block and two steals. Garza was a plus-22 on the night.
“I got a lot of respect for Luka I think he changed the game for us,” Mazzulla said. “Itâs really a credit to the player development staff and to Luka, to just staying ready and trusting our process of winning. He came out and I thought he changed the game in the stretch that he played with his physicality, his offensive rebounds and I thought he helped us come out as the more physical team.”
GettyBoston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla
Celtics’ Schedule Gets Very Soft Now
The Celtics have Sunday off but will be back on the floor Monday against the Pacers before getting most of the rest of the week off in what will be a strange stretch–the Celtics typically play on Christmas, at least in recent years. But they will not play again until December 26, when they go on the road to face the Pacers again, the start of a critical five-game road trip.
Boston has won two straight, and stands at 17-11, third in the East. They should be able to fatten up the record as we get into early January, though, as none of the next seven opponents is over .500, and their combined record is 59-135.
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