Joe Mazzulla did not have a lot of options on his bench Tuesday night in a win against the Raptors with four rotation players sidelined before even the opening tip. Things got tougher early in the third quarter when Jaylen Brown pulled himself out of the game after he came up limping with a knee injury.
With Torrey Craig and Sam Hauser already a part of the starting five and Payton Pritchard getting the starting nod at halftime, Mazzulla had to look deep down the bench for some reserve minutes in the third quarter. Two-way guard JD Davison was the beneficiary of the opportunity alongside some other wings (Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh) throughout the game.
Davidson had appeared in five games for the Celtics this year prior to Tuesday night but all of those chances came in garbage time minutes. The Raptors game was a different story as Davison played alongside Jayson Tatum in the third quarter in what was his first real shot at rotation minutes this year. Joe Mazzulla spoke about what led to him turning to Davison in the victory.
“You have to come in every day to do your job and be ready to impact winning,” Mazzulla told reporters in Toronto. “Those guys do a great job of always staying ready. [JD] didn’t know he was going to play but at the same time he treats every day like it’s the most important day for him. He was ready to go and everyone who got out there today impacted winning.”
Davison, 22, finished was scoreless in his four minutes, missing one shot attempt while tallying a rebound, assist and a steal. He is in the midst of his third and final year of eligibility as a two-way player with the Celtics so opportunities like these are critical for Davison when assessing his future. He’s put up terrific numbers in Maine all year long and throughout his career but questions remain whether he’s development will lead to a 15-man NBA roster spot.
There were a couple defensive bright spots in his performance but offensively, he did not handle Toronto’s ball pressure particularly well. He missed his one shot attempt on a floater in the lane but to his credit, didn’t try to do too much in a lineup without much firepower beyond Tatum.
Ultimately, it’s unclear when or if Davison will get another opportunity like this. Boston’s backcourt is tremendously deep and usually healthy, making the need for Davison even less than another two-way player like Drew Peterson on any given night. It was fun to see him rewarded for a great G-League season for one night even if the results didn’t help his cause for a future in Boston.
