Questions in reserve
Bench quartet adapts to unreliable minutes
NEW YORK — Someone can ask what they do for a living, and they can honestly reply, “It depends on the night.”
Sometimes Celtics like Gerald Green, Tyler Zeller, Jonas Jerebko and Terry Rozier play basketball. Sometimes they watch.
“It’s hard,” said Brad Stevens. “The hardest position to be in is when you don’t know if you’re going to get consistent time.”
Zeller looked to be getting back into the rotation, and Stevens even said he had to get the big man more minutes down the stretch because, from the look of who the C’s might be playing in the postseason, he’d have to play a larger role. Then he sat out last Sunday’s win over Miami, played 71⁄2 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee and was back on the pine all game Friday as the C’s came back to down Orlando, 117-116.
Green went 8:38 against the Magic, hitting 3-of-4 shots and scoring six points, but that was after he’d sat and watched three of the previous five outings.
Rozier stepped in off the bench Friday when Avery Bradley missed another game with a stomach bug. Moving up a rung in the rotation when Jaylen Brown started, he had nine points in 19 minutes — and that rotation could be in play again today against the Knicks as Bradley’s illness kept him off the flight here yesterday.
This came three games after Rozier picked up his sixth DNP of the season by coach’s decision.
Jerebko played in the first 68 games for which he was healthy and active before sitting out home games against Washington and Indiana.
As the Celts head into Madison Square Garden this afternoon, the day’s rotation will be at least somewhat of a mystery to the hosts — and to the C’s.
Sometimes Stevens can go into a game with a plan, but foul trouble or a hunch that begins to bear fruit could change things.
It’s both difficult and a benefit for the coach. He doesn’t have eight or nine players who’ve separated themselves with their superiority, but he does have more than capable people who allow him to react better to what gets thrown at his club.
“It’s matchups,” said Stevens. “It’s just where we are as a team right now.”
And it’s fortunate that the team has the type of people who can handle the situation without it becoming a problem.
“It’s one of the things I respect most are the guys that might play 18 minutes or might not play,” Stevens said. “But, you know, every good team has them. That’s part of the team, and when they get in, I believe in them.”
No doubt all of them would rather know what to expect in their role each time the Celts take the floor, but they get it.
“That’s just the way it is,” said Jerebko. “We’re winning games, and that’s what matters.
“Everybody in this locker room’s got to accept their role. I’ve been through this before. I’ve been in all kinds of situations, so I’m just happy we’re winning games.
“You know, the playoffs are coming up, so we’ve just got to be ready for anything.”
It’s good, too, that none of the aforementioned four is alone in this situation.
“Of course,” Jerebko said. “We’re all in the same boat. It might be your night one game, and then the next game it might not be your night. We’re just trying to keep it positive and help out each other.
“Like I said, I’ve been in this role before. (Green) has, too. We’ve got a lot of guys who have been in that role, so we’re just trying to help the young guys also, and they’re trying to help us at the same time.”