MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Joe Mazzulla shared one theory Monday night about why the Boston Celtics have excelled on the road this season.
“I would venture to say that our guys are good everywhere,” Mazzulla said.
The head coach wasn’t necessarily off base. But after completing a perfect 6-0 road trip with a 117-103 win against the Grizzlies on Monday, the Celtics are within two road wins of tying the Golden State Warriors for the most ever in a single season.
Boston would need to win each remaining road game in New York and Orlando to tie the record. At 32-7 on the road, the Celtics have already matched the 1974-75 team and the 1972-73 team for the most road wins in franchise history. This season, Boston has eight more wins away from TD Garden than on its home court.
“I don’t know (why),” Mazzulla said. “I think every year just takes on a different identity and (presents) different challenges. I think this year, we never talk about it; it just kind of became what it is. … It’s more about just playing consistent basketball, but I think each year you develop different kinds of strengths, especially with the same team. And this year it just happened to be our road mentality.”
While racking up the first 6-0 road trip in franchise history, the Celtics won each game by double digits with an average margin of victory of 16.8 points. Here are six key takeaways from the trip — one for each win.
Draymond Green changed Derrick White’s life
The Celtics are well aware of the late-season competition for the single-season franchise 3-point record. White, Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard are all on track to best Isaiah Thomas’ previous record of 245 3-point makes.
“We talked about it on the plane,” White said. “It’s cool that there’s three of us so close to doing something special.”
During Tatum’s news conference Monday, Sam Hauser piped up with a joke about making history — apparently because it was White, not Tatum, who broke the record first.
White, who did it while going 3 of 11 from deep against the Grizzlies, now has 247 3-point makes this season. Tatum (240) and Pritchard (238) would need to catch their teammate over the final seven games of the regular season to steal the record from him.
“I’ll hold it for now until one of them breaks my record,” White said.
White added that he couldn’t have envisioned himself in such a position earlier in his career. Why not?
“Did you watch me earlier in my career?” White said, referring to his iffy 3-point shooting back then. “I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.”
Over the years, White has worked hard to develop as a shooter. In fixing his jump shot, he has also transformed the Celtics. Even if his new record could be temporary, it gave him a reason to think about the genesis of his significant improvement behind the arc.
He said the 2022 NBA Finals loss to the Warriors forced him to reexamine his jump shot over the following summer. Later, White would let Draymond Green know how that series made an impact.
“What happened in the finals and how I was being guarded, on that stage, it was one of my lowest points,” White said. “As I told Draymond after the Olympics, he kind of changed my life. Because they weren’t guarding me. So I had to go into that summer and me and my trainer, Marcus Mason, just focused on being consistent. And I think from that point on, I’ve just been able to get better and better.”
Jrue Holiday is heating up
In early December, the Grizzlies unveiled a new strategy for defending Holiday. Essentially, they decided not to do it. They left him open enough to attempt 17 3-pointers. With Holiday slumping from the perimeter at the time, the gimmick worked. He made just four of the outside shots as the Celtics lost 127-121.
On Monday night, before meeting Memphis again, Mazzulla said he hoped more teams would defend the Celtics that way.
“Open shots,” Mazzulla said. “It’s a great opportunity. Jrue has been shooting (well) since the All-Star break, so I hope that teams continue to do it. When he plays well, we’re a different team. He’s been great for us, and we need him to continue to be that way.”
Holiday, whose scoring went quiet for much of the season, has leveled up lately with the playoffs approaching.
After netting 18 points against the Grizzlies on Monday, he has now scored in double figures in six of his last eight games. Three of his eight highest-scoring games of the season have come since March 14. On the road trip, he averaged 13.6 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the field, including 50 percent on 3-point attempts. Over the six games, the Celtics outscored their opponents by 85 points during Holiday’s 150 minutes.
He even had a dunk against Phoenix — his first of the regular season.
“That means a lot,” Holiday said. “I’m not sure I’ll get another one, but I’m feeling pretty good.”
Jaylen Brown’s knee is a concern
After beating the Suns, Brown said a right knee issue has left him on a minutes restriction. Since it is not a concern he expects to go away any time soon, he said he is searching for a routine that will help him feel “prepared and ready to go every night.” He said the injury has challenged him mentally, as well as physically.
That doesn’t sound great for the Celtics with the postseason approaching. Several times during Saturday’s win against San Antonio, Brown could be seen wincing and/or grabbing at his knees. After the third quarter, he briefly did some dynamic stretches on the court to prepare for returning to the game. He sat out during crunchtime of that game after reaching his minutes allotment and then missed the win against Memphis two days later.
Brown believes he gains an advantage by playing through injuries. He learns about how to succeed when not at his best. The Celtics will still need to balance how much he plays with the apparent need to get his body some rest.
“He takes care of that,” Mazzulla said. “To me, it’s more about just supporting him, whatever he wants, putting him in the position. I think he always finds an opportunity in a situation. In both things, we need him to be at his absolute best. At the same time, God willing, (in) a long playoff run, you’re not always going to feel at your best.
“So can you be at your best even when you don’t feel like it? He does a great job taking care of himself and putting himself in position. He also does a good job working through things and finding ways to be impactful. We just have to continue to have that balance.”
Complicating the situation, Brown needs to play at least six more games to become eligible for NBA awards. He didn’t make an All-NBA team last season but did the previous season and could have a chance again — as long as he reaches the minimum number of games played.
Starting lineup is still not in rhythm
A couple of weeks ago, Tatum downplayed the need to see the starting lineup round into form down the stretch of the regular season.
“We know what we can do when everybody’s out there,” Tatum said.
Sure. But it’s strange that with two weeks left in the regular season, the Celtics’ usual first unit still owns a negative net rating this season. They have been outscored by 2.2 points per 100 possessions over 332 minutes.
Maybe, as Tatum suggested, that’s nothing to worry about. Just a statistical oddity caused by a long list of factors that won’t matter when the playoffs start next month. But even recently, long after Kristaps Porziņģis worked himself back into shape and White pulled himself out of an uncharacteristic shooting slump, the Celtics’ first unit has been inconsistent at best.
The usual starters were outscored 65-61 over 25 minutes during the road trip. Of course, that’s a tiny sample size. By itself, it’s not necessarily anything to be alarmed about, especially because the lineup leaves occasional reminders of its powers. During the first quarter against San Antonio, that group dominated while producing an early 27-19 lead. Porziņģis controlled both ends of the court. Holiday tickled the nets from outside. The Celtics flowed, as they should with the starters on the court.
That lineup should be one of the team’s greatest strengths. Loaded with All-Star caliber players. Packed with shooting across the court. But the issues for that group have been persistent. After halftime of the win in San Antonio, the starters gave up a 6-0 run before Porziņģis picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench.
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if that group still flourishes in the playoffs. But with key players likely to rest at times late in the regular season, the time is running out for that lineup to put together a good stretch of hoops before the real tests arrive.
Celtics’ depth is shining
Brown missed three games on the trip; the Celtics won them by 49 combined points. Tatum missed a game against Phoenix; Boston beat the Suns 132-102. Among the starters, only White played in each of the six games on the road swing. The absences didn’t hold back Boston, which has gotten key minutes from bench players all season.
The Celtics had eight players average at least 13 points per game on the road trip. That total didn’t include Luke Kornet, who has starred in his role, or Baylor Scheierman, who has emerged as a viable rotation option late in his rookie season. Kornet’s ability to play alongside Boston’s other centers has given the team a new look. Scheierman’s improved play recently has offered hope that he could become a regular one day, if not already.
When the Celtics have been healthy or close to it, their bench has been a major strength. On the road trip, they were plus-86 over Kornet’s 111 minutes, outscoring opponents by 40.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the court.
“I think he just continues to get better and better,” Mazzulla said on Kornet. “He carried us through a tough stretch (when Porziņģis was hurt) in the beginning of the season and he continues to make big-time plays for us. So we’re grateful to have him.”
Tillman’s surprise start a window into Mazzulla’s beliefs
Before walking out for the opening tipoff Monday night, Xavier Tillman smiled and looked into the crowd. He had started one game all season and hadn’t appeared in a game since March 6. But in Memphis, where Tillman played the first three-plus seasons of his career, Mazzulla gave the big man the starting nod.
The gesture touched Tillman.
“I was surprised,” Tillman said. “I’m thankful that he gave me the opportunity to do that, especially (in) my first time back here for sure. So that’s pretty awesome.”
This season has been a challenging one for Tillman, who has dealt with persistent knee issues and fallen out of the rotation. While other big men like Kornet and Neemias Queta have seized minutes, Tillman has become an afterthought on the Boston bench. Mazzulla still wanted to reward the well-respected veteran against his former team.
“I just appreciate X,” Mazzulla said. “And the entire roster is important for a season. X can still impact winning.”
Though Tillman shot 0 of 5 from the field, all on 3-point attempts, his lack of scoring seemed beside the point. He heard nice ovations during the starting lineup introductions and each time he subbed out.
“Yeah, he was 0 for 5, but he got two big rebounds,” Mazzulla said. “He got (Zach) Edey two fouls to start the game, which affected their rim protection. He got a deflection steal in the third quarter on a live-ball turnover. He can still impact winning, and I just appreciate who he is as a person.
“I think you’ve gotta validate the roster at times. And I know that he can still help us, and there may be an opportunity where he does. So I was grateful that we were able to give him that opportunity to be able to do that.”
Tillman’s teammates also enjoyed his opportunity to start. He said he told them they needed to beat the Grizzlies after falling to them in Boston earlier this season. In a long season, teams need to find different sources of joy and motivation.
“For Xavier, this was special,” said Al Horford, who scored 26 points in the Memphis win. “The team that drafted him, him being here. It was good for him. More importantly, we all understood that we wanted to win this game, wanted to go 6-0, but also wanted to do it for Xavier. (Against his) former team, we wanted to get this for him.”
(Top photo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Wells: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
