Neemias Queta has played a bigger role this season, but Celtics trainer Joe Mazzulla wrote, turned to two other big men after a sluggish first half in Washington on Friday night MassLive's Brian Robb. The first was Luke Kornetwho replaced Queta in the starting line-up in the second half. He responded with a 3-on-3 shooting night and some heated plays that had his teammates buzzing after the game.
“Energy, energy. Luke is just a ball of energy.” Jrue holiday said. “He makes plays that don't show up in the stats, but when you're out there and playing with him, it's like he's just trying to run through a wall and that's what you want to do with him.”
Mazzulla later added Xavier Tillmanwho hasn't been in the squad for several weeks. Tillman played nine minutes in the second half, including a rare crunch-time appearance.
“I just thought (Xavier) worked hard and I felt like the game needed something different.” said Mazzulla. “These guys are always ready and we wanted to switch it up a little bit more and the last time we played them we played him and Luke together and he did some great things defensively, especially defensively (Jonas) Valanciunas. I just wanted to win those minutes in the fourth quarter. I have to thank him for working hard and being ready and I thought he gave us some good things.”
There's more from Boston:
- Mazzulla explained Friday that he was “manipulating the environment” when he was whistled for a technical fault for angrily confronting the referee Ed Malloy for a piece he believed in Jaylen Brown was submitted loudly MassLive's Souichi Terada. Mazzulla admitted it was a deliberate tactic and his players noticed it. “I think it was smart to just know that he had our back no matter what.” Holiday said. “He was disrespectful in a respectful way, so I think it was great that the technician just showed us that I will fight for you and that the crowd was behind us even in that situation.”
- wizard guard Malcolm Brogdon admits to being angry after the Celtics traded him to Portland last summer, but he's come to terms with the situation, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. After winning Sixth Man of the Year honors and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in his only season with Boston, Brogdon moved on to two rebuilding franchises. “You play with the cards you’re dealt at any given time.” he said. “At some point in your career, things change. For me, this has changed a few times in the last few years. It's about accepting the situation you find yourself in. I've been given the task of leading these young people and this growing team and, frankly, I'm enjoying it. The Wizards are building right.”
- After being surprised by Atlanta in the opening game of the NBA Cup, the Celtics have rattled off back-to-back wins against Cleveland and Washington that put them in a good position for promotion, notes Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. They will win East Group C if they can beat the Bulls in Chicago and Cleveland beats the Hawks. If Boston and Atlanta end up tied 3-1, the Celtics will have to rely on their point differential, which is currently +14.