On Friday night, before facing the LA Clippers at STAPLES Center, Celtics coach Brad Stevens mentioned to the media how important the next game series would be for his bank to “try to create some real reliability” with some of the major Boston players away.
Later that night, with Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart absent from the lineup and Daniel Theis leaving mid-game with knee pains, the second unit moved forward and delivered the way Stevens expected.
Carsen Edwards burst to 16 points, Rob Williams added 10 in the scoring column, Payton Pritchard scored eight in his first game back from a right MCL twist, Semi Ojeleye passed with some clutch defense and Jeff Teague distributed a team – four assists. high draw. In all, those five members of the second unit helped the top five to deliver a 119-115 victory on the road over the star-studded Clippers.
“They arrived ready, focused and stuck to the game plan,” said Kemba Walker of Boston’s performance on the bench. “Carsen was incredible. It really brought us back to the game. Payton, his first game back, he hit some big shots. Rob was great off the bench and, guys, the energy was great everywhere. It was a great team victory. ”
The victory would not have been possible had it not been for the appearance of Edwards during the second quarter. LA rose to 16 points during that period, but the sophomore shooter kept Boston in the game by scoring 10 points in a period of six and a half minutes before the break.
Stevens loved seeing such a performance by Edwards, noting how persistent the young guard has been for the past two seasons, despite having an inconsistent role.
“Last year, it was difficult to get minutes on that team,” said Stevens. “We were so sunk in the wing and so interchangeable with that group that when there were minutes available you didn’t want to play small, you wanted to play more versatile. But he stayed with him. He had a good couple of months, and his opportunity appeared a few weeks ago in a game (when he scored 18 points against Cleveland).
“Even when he’s not playing, he doesn’t come down, he’s ready. So you thought he was going to play a role tonight (with Brown and Smart out). We didn’t win this game tonight without it changing the look of the game. This is very encouraging. ”
For Edwards, this game provided another big boost of confidence after watching his first three attempts at 3 points fall across the net. He ended up shooting 3 out of 5 from the bottom, increasing his 3-point clip to an impressive 40 percent last season, after hitting just 31.6 percent from the bottom last season.
“It doesn’t matter if you play a lot or don’t play a lot or if you’re a consistent guy, seeing the first shot is always a good feeling,” said the 1.5-meter guard. “I feel like I’m trying to learn how to get into the rhythm in other ways, making stops, trying to catch a rebound or something. But being able to see a shot come in helps a lot.
“I’m just trying to be consistent. it’s a good game for me and it was good to play, but I just want to keep trying to build from that. ”
Although Edwards’ game received a lot of attention, Ojeleye’s effort flew just beyond the radar. His five points and four rebounds didn’t fill the stats sheet alone, but the way he defended one of the NBA’s best players was worthy of praise.
“He doesn’t get much attention for what he does,” said Stevens of the veteran wing who works hard. “But it is not the easiest function in the world to be replaced 32 seconds from the end and guard Kawhi Leonard one-on-one. In a week, he will be in LeBron (James) at the end of the game and Kawhi at the end of the game. ”
All in all, it was a stellar effort by the entire Boston bank unit. And they made their coach proud to help bring down one of the best teams in the league.
“We don’t need everyone to put on a cover,” said Stevens. “We just need everyone to do their job well. These guys did that. ”