Making the most of garbage time
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has insisted this year’s bench, with a handful of players who have vastly improved from last season, are good enough to supplement the best starting lineup in the NBA.
These last six games for the Celtics will be interesting for Mazzulla to navigate. He wants to experiment with new strategies and defenses that may be helpful in the playoffs. He wants to give his regulars some time to remain sharp, and he also wants to reward his bench with increased minutes and give them opportunities to play in more meaningful roles.
On the flip side, the Celtics are playing teams with something to play for — such as Friday’s opponent, the Sacramento Kings, who are trying to avoid the Western Conference play-in tournament. The Kings entered TD Garden Friday as the eighth seed, meaning they would play on the road in the play-in game against the seventh seed.
No playoff contender — especially the Kings, who were the third seed last year — wants any part of the play-in. Yet, the Celtics led for 40-plus minutes without Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, and with Jayson Tatum picking and choosing his moments to engage.
With the Celtics having built a 19point lead with six minutes left, Mazzulla relied on that bench to finish the game. The road to victory was treacherous as the bench, or “stay ready crew,” wasted the lead and then needed a goahead bucket from Xavier Tillman with 7.4 seconds left.
But the experience could serve as invaluable. The Celtics’ 101-100 win was one of the more interesting games of the season because of the lineup that finished and the lessons learned.
Something that Mazzulla has established that’s different from most NBA teams is his bench use. He has thrown little-used reserves such as Svi Mykhailiuk into games in the opening quarter, or put Oshae Brissett into a situation where the Celtics need a key defensive stop.
Mykhailiuk has played in 36 of the Celtics’ 77 games this season, the fewest of any Celtic on the roster besides Neemias Queta. Yet, the opportunity for those brief first-half minutes keeps him working in practice. Mazzulla has shown he isn’t afraid to play anyone on the roster. It’s up to them to produce and prove they’re capable of a bigger role.
“I feel like he’s doing a great job of keeping everybody involved,” Mykhailiuk said. “That makes everybody stay ready because you might get that call at any time. You’ve got to be prepared, make sure you do your work and buy into whatever we’re doing.
“You’ve got to understand we’ve got one of the best teams in the league, five, six All-Stars on the team and just seeing the big picture. I think tonight showed that we’re a really deep team and coach really believes in us.”
The general rule is for coaches to develop eight- or nine-man rotations while the other five or six players play in garbage time or in case of injury. That makes it difficult to report to the arena daily knowing playing time is likely out of the question barring a blowout.
What Mazzulla has done is keep those players motivated and invested because they realize their moment is waiting. While Friday’s game was meaningless in the grand scheme for the Celtics, the Garden was still packed and Mazzulla wanted victory.
“This is fun and you couldn’t simulate a better environment, stress, pressure, perfect environment to execute,” he said. “I thought they did a great job just making plays. I thought it was a perfect environment for practice.”
The Kings didn’t see it as such. They actually outscored the Celtics, 21-3, in the final 5 minutes, 49 seconds, only to lose when Tillman’s jumper fell through.
Mazzulla was asked how he approaches games when the other team is playing for playoff seeding. The Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks are on the docket next week, and have much more at stake than the Celtics. He said the main goal was victory.
“We have an opportunity to win [Friday], so that’s the most important thing,” he said. “I told [the players] at shootaround. Nothing else matters except taking advantage of an opportunity to win.
“You should always want to win. Everything you do, any time, is go through the process of winning. Doesn’t mean we will. Doesn’t mean we won’t balance what’s best for the players, what’s best for the team. But regardless of who’s out there, you gotta win.”
Mazzulla tested that theory Friday. Lakers coach Darvin Ham couldn’t have been thrilled to see the lineup of Mykhailiuk, Payton Pritchard, Tillman, Brissett, and Sam Hauser with Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis cooling out on the bench.
Yet, they were able to finish the game out. Barely.
“I enjoyed it,” Pritchard said after his big 21-point night, with five 3-pointers. “They had something they were fighting for. Every game we have, every opportunity we have, I don’t like losing and I don’t think anybody likes to lose. We were working on things but winning is the biggest priority.”
This finishing lineup may never see another meaningful minute again this season, but that doesn’t mean their stint together was meaningless. Mazzulla is ensuring that his roster is completely engaged and prepared for their moment, however brief it may be.