Bench boost: Four players who are turbo-charging Celtics’ second unit

Bench boost: Four players who are turbo-charging Celtics’ second unit originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Considering all the consternation about the Boston Celtics’ depth following their summer roster overhaul, maybe the most surprising aspect of their climb to No. 2 in the Eastern Conference has been how much they’ve been able to lean on their depth pieces.

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The Celtics, winners of four straight and eight of their last nine overall, have routinely leaned on a 10-man rotation in recent weeks, and that’s with early season starter Josh Minott struggling to break free from the land of DNPs.

The C’s are now 17-3 whenever their bench generates 35+ points this season (and 6-9 when they don’t). What’s more, Boston is 18-2 when the bench makes at least seven 3-pointers (and 5-10 when they don’t).

Over the last eight games, Boston’s bench production is up to 41.9 points per game, with bench players shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 42.6 percent beyond the 3-point arc. Celtics reserves are averaging 7.9 3-point makes per game over that span.

Boston’s bench players are a combined +80 in that span. The next-closest bench unit is Detroit’s at +44.

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Boston’s recent bench boost coincidences with the resurgence of Luka Garza, who overcame his own DNP stretch to reenergize the Celtics’ reserve groups. Offseason addition Anfernee Simons looks more comfortable in his bench role and shoulders the offensive burden, while Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh fly around injecting a little bit of chaos into every possession.

Given Boston’s bench success, here’s one notable way each of the four primary bench players have impacted winning:

Simons says… defense?

Simons’ offensive credentials are well-established. He erupted for 27 points in the second half against the Bulls to ensure the Celtics got to the finish line of a win on a night where Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were struggling with their offensive efficiency.

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But Joe Mazzulla keeps making it a point to highlight Simons’ defensive efforts.

The NBA’s defensive tracking data suggests that opponents…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bench-boost-four-players-turbo-114957067.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-07 11:49:00

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