Joe Mazzulla boasts Celtics' top weapon for NBA Playoffs, it's not the Jays
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Joe Mazzulla boasts Celtics' top weapon for NBA Playoffs, it's not the Jays originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Boston Celtics have completed their return to form. Jayson Tatum is playing like his All-NBA self while Jaylen Brown improved to becoming a top MVP candidate. A lot of things changed for Coach Joe Mazzulla's squad but this also meant that more things stayed the same. As the NBA Playoffs enter, they have one thing that most squads cannot fully claim. The head coach unveiled what it was.
Celtics' player development remains as top NBA Playoffs weapon
The irony of the situation is that the Celtics were expected to be at most in the NBA Play-In Tournament race because they lacked perceived depth. Little did most analysts and fans know that Coach Joe Mazzulla had something in store. He was developing a lot of guys in the roster that would effectively replace the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Xavier Tillman.
These moves led to the rise of a great Celtics bench mob which consisted of Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, and Ron Harper Jr. among others. All of these players were on display when the Celtics chose to sit out their starters including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown against the Orlando Magic. Unexpectedly, most fans were proving wrong once again because the Celtics bench mob demolished the complete NBA Playoffs eighth-seed roster led by Paolo Banchero.
Coach Mazzulla obviously thanked the inspired bench unit for taking care of business. He did have more praise for the Celtics' player development team, via Jay King of The Athletic.
“It’s a validation of what we’ve been talking about. One, our player development staff does a great job of putting guys in position and helping them stick to the process. And the most important thing is our guys, it’s very easy if you’re constantly in an optional shoot or playing in a stay-ready game, you could see it as if your job is meaningless, but they have to stay ready, because at any moment, as soon as they step on the floor, you’re held to the same standard," the Celtics head coach said.
Make no mistake, the Celtics still utilize their starters and a seven-man rotation more than other squads. But, this 113-108 win over the Magic was clearly not going to be an outlier. Scheierman, Garza, and Harper combined for 81 points. Moreover, these three did not score less than 27 points individually too.
"I think that’s what guys who are on the court today are looking for. So it’s more of a validation to the staff, but really to the locker room, that they care about winning, and they care about playing," Mazzulla added.
This puts the Celtics bench mob's 36.8 points per game into perspective. If Coach Mazzulla really tried, he could win games in the NBA Playoffs with just these insane players because of their development unit.