‘They did their job’
Reserves make an impact on defense
Romeo Langford, though many have forgotten, was a strong defensive contributor back in the Orlando bubble, before injuries truncated his postseason.
But there he was Sunday, back from COVID isolation, drawing a charge on JaMychal Green, and on the next possession pressuring the Denver backup center into a travel. Grant Williams rotated onto Nikola Jokic and managed to irritate the Nuggets star with the physical nature of his play.
The Celtics’ plight considered, Brad Stevens expects his lower rotation players to make these plays.
“I think Grant and Romeo played well, but they did their job,” Stevens said after the Celtics’ 105-87 runaway win over Denver. “We needed them to do their job and they did. One was a travel, one was a charge, obviously we got carried by those scoring spurts with those others. But everyone that checks in has to do their job and they did that.”
As usual, according to Williams, it’s a matter of readiness.
“You just have to stay mentally prepared,” he said. “I have a lot of great outlets here, whether it’s through communication or … even just understanding what’s going on. And that’s what was really, really helpful because I think, for any situation, for any role player in this league or a guy that’s supporting the stars that are around them, you have to be prepared for whatever is thrown at you that night. So I just try to do my best whenever my name is called, or whenever my teammates name is called, to be there for them or hope they’re there for me as well.”
Movin’ on up
The Celtics are starting to help themselves in the chase for seeding position. The Nuggets win moved them into a tie with Charlotte (a loser to Atlanta on Sunday) and Miami for the fifth seed in the East. They are a game behind fourth-place Atlanta.
“Yeah, I do. I like where we’re headed,” said Kemba Walker. “But like I always say, it’s on guys like myself and Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen (Brown ) and ( Marcus) Smart. We’ve got to hold each other accountable, hold the other guys accountable, just set the tone. That’s on us.
“It feels good, of course. That’s a great team over there, with great players. And to do it obviously out here in Denver, which is a tough place to play. Hopefully we can trend upward from here and just keep it rolling.”
Litmus tests
With road games in Denver, Portland and Los Angeles against the Lakers on tap, Stevens will have a lot of opportunity to see just where, exactly, his team stands — especially against competition better than his own.
“Well this is a really hard road trip, obviously. We’re playing really good teams. Nobody’s hotter than Denver right now,” said the Celtics coach. “But I’m looking at it more objectively of how we respond in the middle of games, the way that we’ve stayed with it. Those types of things have been better of late.
“And I think that we’re not perfect. We have some things that we have to manage. We’ve talked about that all year, and hopefully we’re getting a little bit better at that. I just think when you have Tristan (Thompson)’s presence back has really helped. I think because then you’ve got Rob (Williams) can play as many minutes as he can, and Tristan can fill in the rest. I thought that that was a really – his presence in the New York game and the other night, the physicality made a difference for us. And then I think the guys have been conscious of things we haven’t done well and focused on doing them better.
The Joker is wild
The Celtics faced the league’s MVP favorite du jour, and from what Stevens can see, there isn’t a more unique player in the league than Nikola Jokic.
“I would say that he is one of the most unique players I’ve ever coached against,” said Stevens. “His size, his passing, his vision — he basically doubles as their center and point guard depending on what they want to do.
“Their uniqueness of their actions is that a lot of their actions are inverted; you’ve got Jokic with the ball and you’ve got (Jamal) Murray setting screens. You’ve got
Jokic coming off a pindown, you’ve got Murray setting the down screen,” said Stevens.
“They’re doing some of that stuff with (Aaron) Gordon as well with Murray setting back screens for Gordon and then him picking on the opponent if they switch it, Murray slipping it if they don’t with Jokic as a ball handler. It’s such a weapon to have Jokic and his decision making at the 5, and they utilize it terrifically. They really have a good way about them and he’s the hub of it all.”