Each Derrick White and Sam Hauser missed Monday’s 114-112 Celtics loss to the Houston Rockets. Two minutes earlier than the sport, the Celtics additionally discovered Al Horford wouldn’t play both.
Joe Mazzulla stated Al Horford simply wasn’t capable of play tonight. Mazzulla stated the Celtics discovered two minutes earlier than the sport.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) January 28, 2025
This led to some wacky lineups.
The beginning 5 of Jrue Vacation, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet was one I preferred. In actual fact, the Kornet/Porzingis minutes have been superb this season. It was a few of the substitution patterns afterwards that have been odd.
The primary substitutions noticed Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman enter the sport collectively. Queta was anticipated — he has performed loads when both Horford or Porzingis have missed a sport. Tillman, then again, was a shock. He simply has not been an element this season, taking part in simply 184 minutes getting into the night time. Monday made it evident why that was the case.
Everybody has wished to show Tillman right into a shooter, nevertheless it’s simply not going to occur. If he can’t take and make threes, he can’t be on the courtroom, particularly with one other large. Tillman additionally shouldn’t be sufficiently big to not be a three-point menace on the skin as a result of he isn’t a lob menace, so groups haven’t got to fret about him on the within.
Now, lots of these points are highlighted as a result of he’s taking part in with one other non-shooting large, however he simply hasn’t performed effectively this season, interval.
Then Mazzulla despatched Jordan Walsh into the sport with a lineup of Payton Pritchard, Tatum, Walsh, Tillman and Queta, actually placing the ‘Tatum can thrive with anybody on the courtroom’ notion to the take a look at.
They struggled to attain, Boston did not rating from the 5:04 within the first quarter to 1:04 within the first quarter, precisely 4 minutes.
In actual fact, Pritchard needed to bail them out with a tricky pull up three.
That is a particularly powerful shot with restricted house, however the swap gave him simply sufficient room to get the shot over an elite defender in Tari Eason.
Tillman didn’t play after the first quarter and Walsh solely performed 2 minutes and 25 seconds after the primary quarter, all within the 2nd quarter.
Within the 2nd quarter, we noticed Mazzulla insert Jaden Springer, who has been taking part in extra just lately. He didn’t make a lot of an impression within the interval.
Within the third, we noticed Mazzulla go deep into his bench once more, placing Springer and Drew Peterson into the sport. Peterson has not performed a related minute since December twelfth. Should you keep in mind initially of December, Peterson performed large minutes in back-to-back video games towards the Cavaliers and Warmth.
On this sport, Peterson solely performed 3 minutes and 14 seconds, lacking his solely shot and being held scoreless.
Springer, in the meantime, hit a 3 within the third.
If you end up lacking 3 of your prime 8 gamers towards the 2nd greatest workforce within the Western Convention, it’ll be powerful to win, particularly when the fellows who get some minutes due to it present little or no.
Jayson Tatum performed your entire 2nd half as a result of Mazzulla knew that if the Celtics have been going to win this sport, they wanted to have Tatum on the courtroom (don’t be shocked if Tatum misses Wednesday’s sport towards the Bulls).
This loss was irritating, however Dillon Brooks hit 10 threes, his earlier profession excessive had been 6, and the Celtics have been down a number of guys, resulting in some wacky lineups towards a very good workforce.
