BOSTON — There have been many perplexing aspects of the Celtics struggles over the past month but perhaps none more than Boston’s starting five woes. The grouping entered the Magic game with a -11.8 net rating on the year in 147 minutes, the third worst mark in the NBA for five man units that had played 140 minutes together or more.
That was a troubling statistic for a group that was widely considered the best starting five in the NBA last season. The unit had only been whole for 10 games together this year but the only thing consistent about them before Friday night had been the slow starts.
The equation changed in a hurry against the Magic on the heels of the team’s worst loss of the season in Toronto. Boston showed urgency out of the gate and played smarter offensively, getting the ball to mismatches down low with Kristaps Porzingis and Jayson Tatum. The momentum continued throughout the contest as Joe Mazzulla leaned into using the group heavily on a night they finally showed some chemistry together.
Ultimately, the five-man unit played 20 minutes together and outscored the Magic by 15 points in those minutes. That was good enough for a +41 net rating in the 121-94 win.
Tatum didn’t want to focus on those numbers after the win but liked what he saw from an energy standpoint with the group.
“I mean, results can vary with plus/minus and things like that,” Tatum said. “But I think just how connected we were on both ends of the floor, especially on defense. Everybody was on the same page, we were connected, helping each other out. So regardless of the plus/minus, the way we went about it was a lot better today.”
Mazzulla said it wasn’t an emphasis to give the starters more time on the floor together in the victory. Instead, he insisted it was just what the game dictated.
“I thought they got off to a good start,” Mazzulla said. “They had their great rhythm, and that was kind of the pattern that went there, and I thought they did a good job really getting off to a good start and playing consistently throughout.”
The performance boosted the grouping’s net rating on the season by five points, bumping it up to -6.0 over 167 minutes on the season. Terrific offense from Tatum and Porzingis led the way but the entire grouping had their moments on both ends. Jaylen Brown (nine free throw attempts) got aggressive in the second half. Derrick White knocked down a few jumpers and Jrue Holiday knocked down three 3s for the first time since Jan. 7.
It was just one game but a big step in the right direction for this group. The challenge now is building some consistency after a very uneven past month.
“For me it’s not a big relief because tomorrow we have another one and we have to again perform at that level,” Porzingis explained. “So that’s the cool thing also when you have those batches of not playing good basketball, the next game is in two days or the next day and you have another chance to bring it back. And now it’s just for us as I said to just keep building on top of this win.”
- BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
