How rest helped the Celtics solve one of their biggest weaknesses

The Boston Celtics are a team with few weaknesses, and a lot of success. Individually, and as a collective, they excel on both sides of the ball, and they’re usually ready for war against each conferences top seeds. However, Boston has been strangely vulnerable to understaffed and overlooked opponents.

Losses to the Mavericks, Magic and Hawks come to mind, with the Celtics getting lit up by several players performing above their averages. They gave up career scoring nights to guys that aren’t paid for their offensive prowess. It’s a combination of playing down to their opponent, having a target on their forehead, and maybe a splash of boredom.

The truth is, the league is incredibly talented. If you tell the 12th man that he’ll be playing 25 minutes with no leash, you might be surprised how well they perform. If they’re matched up with the defending champs, it’s even more likely they’ll be motivated to step up.

A seven-game playoff series provides plenty of time for scouting, but the regular season moves far too fast to give each matchup flawless preparation. When there’s rest or last minute injuries, someone can get thrust into the rotation that they’re not ready for. In Boston’s December loss to the Orlando, Trevelin Queen was named a starter for the first time in his four seasons as a pro. He responded to this with a career-high 17 points to help lift the Magic over the Celtics.

Boston may have found a way to combat this trend though, by stealing a page from the injury book for themselves.

Over the last two games, against the Trail Blazers and 76ers, both teams were down multiple starters. Normally, this would open the door for someone unlikely to come in and swing the game. Instead, the Celtics played their reverse Uno card, resulting in intriguing, and even historic results.

Against the Trailblazers, Boston was down Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. In their absence, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White took on substantially larger roles and became the first Celtics teammates to score 40 apiece in the same game. They are not unusual options to step up, but Portland looked unprepared for the level of control they had on the game.

Their combined performance was enough to offset Jabari Walker’s near perfect night, where he knocked down 6 triples, despite shooting 26% from deep prior to that. His game could’ve been another example of shorthanded teams bothering the Celtics, but Boston’s backcourt had other plans.

In the second night of the back-to-back, Jayson Tatum was swapped in for Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, as Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis remained on the sidelines. While Tatum’s fingerprints were all over this game, help came in unfamiliar places.

Rookie Baylor Scheierman had an eye-opening performance, pouring in 15 points while logging just under 30 minutes. He looked confident and played more freely than he had in any pervious appearance, understanding that this was a real opportunity. He displayed the exact type of edge and shotmaking that Boston has been hurt by from other unhealthy teams.

There is only so much film to work with, that it’s hard to handle a relative unknown coming in ready to impact the game like this. There was no guarantee of who it would be to step up either, considering Drew Peterson was named the starter with Jordan Walsh and Torrey Craig being more likely options to soak up minutes. To that point, Craig put together a strong game in his own right adding 12 points in 20 minutes.

Boston was dealing with illness and injury, but it’s hard to imagine their decision-making wasn’t strategic. Swapping rest nights for Brown and Tatum felt intentional, and it’s likely that Porzingis and Holiday would’ve played through their issues if it were the postseason.

It’s important to get in a rhythm for the playoffs, but it’s just as crucial to make it there in one piece. It would be wise for the Celtics to continue leaning on their reserves as the regular season nears its conclusion, especially when they’re playing lesser opponents.

They managed to steal multiple nights off for their best players, without losing a beat in terms of actual on-court production. Averaging 126 points over those two games is extremely impressive, and a sign of the well-oiled machine this team has become.

Even when they’re down a few pieces, things still run smoothly.

While other teams have managed to surprise the Celtics when missing key players, Boston may have found the answer to regular season complacency by leaning into their own depth. Instead of playing down to inferior opponents, they can rely on their bench to match the energy, excitement, and desperation that comes from players fighting for minutes and future contracts. Through purposeful rest and giving their reserves more freedom and responsibility, the Celtics can not only avoid the pitfalls of shorthanded losses but also build confidence in their second (and even third) units. This balance could be the key to keeping the team fresh, maintaining their elite level of play, and giving young players the chance to develop.