Boston Celtics were the real winners against the Washington Wizards
Despite having almost half of their team injured against the Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics were still able to make things interesting and almost come away with a win.
The Boston Celtics have accumulated arguably the most injuries in the NBA over the season. Wednesday night, they were without Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart. You could argue those players are the team’s four most important players, yet they were still able to almost beat a playoff team in the Washington Wizards.
Despite losing in double-overtime, the Celtics showed us that they were the true winners of the game.
Jayson Tatum is having a good rookie season and having him in the lineup was very valuable. He was one of the main reasons the team was able to go to double-OT after he hit a clutch and-1 to tie the game. Even though he missed the possible game-winning free throw, he still forced the extra period.
Even if someone in the lineup didn’t have incredible statistic numbers, they still influenced the game in a way. Marcus Morris was a key player in last night’s game – scoring 31 points on 50 percent shooting from the field.
Morris is very off and on when it comes to his play, but Wednesday night he showed out in a major way. Was it the expanded role? Or even playing against his brother? We don’t know for sure, but it’s likely that those two reasons really helped him come alive. If he can continue to put on an offensive clinic, then the Celtics should continue to stay in games.
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Another player that had a big night was point guard Terry Rozier. The former Louisville Cardinal showed out, hitting clutch shots like he always seems to do when the team needs it most.
Rozier isn’t known for being a good 3-point shooter, but on the season he converts 38.6 percent of his looks from deep. That number is higher than you expect because of the recent success he’s had this season. It wasn’t until February and March has his percentage increased to the middle 40s. Against Washington, he hit four 3s on nine attempts.
A surprise start was given to Guerschon Yabusele. He didn’t show out like you’d expect, but he still played good minutes. Only logging 18 minutes (the least amount out of anyone playing on the Celtics), Yabusele didn’t take many shots, but affected the game through his size, rebounding and assists.
The Celtics hang their hat on their defensive abilities. For the most part, they were able to slow down the Wizards, except for one player. That man is All-Star Bradley Beal. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or upset about; he’s just a really good player, coming away with a game-high 34 points. He almost came away with a triple-double as well, but fell three rebounds and one assist short.
One other weird statistic is the fact that Boston almost won every team statistic. It depends on what type of shot is attempted or free throws, but to win the game in that many categories is still a major positive. They led in field goals made/attempted, field goal and 3-point percentage, assists and points in the paint, while also accumulating fewer turnovers and personal fouls.
That doesn’t mean as much because they didn’t win, but again, they remained competitive and made the Washington Wizards earn it. That is a good team, even without their best player in John Wall. Washington is now 39-30 and fifth in the Eastern Conference.
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Even though the Celtics were not able to come away with a win, looking at their situation and the way they played against a playoff team was impressive. I don’t think anyone ever thought that the game would have been that close, so credit them for that.