Never Saw it coming: Boston Celtics RB Announces An Unexpected departure

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The Boston Celtics are used to not being at full strength and having to come up with inventive methods to win games, but none have been as remarkable as Friday night’s win over the Toronto Raptors.

With Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford all ruled out, depth once again played in Boston’s favor. To win for the fifth time in a row and maintain the Celtics’ perfect home record through 16 games, head coach Joe Mazzulla needed to reshuffle the lineup. As a result, Boston used Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet, who was returning from a multi-week adductor strain injury.

Kornet, who hadn’t played since Dec. 12, took over as the starting center and scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked three shots. With Boston without three of its top six players, including two senior centers, he helped made getting points at the rim much simpler than one might expect.

“Luke is the ideal teammate.” “Just a great locker room guy,” Brown said after the game, according to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “He gets along with everyone.” He’s humorous, so he cheers us up when we don’t want to laugh.”

Brown, as expected, led the charge, scoring 24 points and making five 3-pointers in a dominant first half performance. Brown, like Tatum during Boston’s hot streak, made it his job to find offensive contributions elsewhere, throwing out six assists to go along with a 31-point, 10-rebound double-double.

The ball movement was contagious, as Boston finished with 29 assists, extending the Celtics’ perfect record in games with at least 29 assists to 10-0. The reserve unit contributed nine points and 24 points of offense, stepping up with the Celtics in need of baskets wherever they can get them.

White blossomed in the clutch after building a 20-point lead over the Raptors, then coughing it up and creating a nail-biting race in the fourth quarter, fuelling his ongoing All-Star quest. With 3:09 minutes remaining in regulation, he hit a courageous, disputed 3-pointer.

White also had two blocks and three thefts for the sixth straight game, cementing his reputation as the NBA’s most efficient two-way guard.

Regardless of who the Celtics have put on the court, even when the biggest names aren’t given the go-ahead to play, Boston has managed to sustain a high level of scoring.

So far, it has kept the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference, with a game in hand.