Bench Mob Buckets
The Boston Celtics 2nd unit came up big against the Kings
Happy New Year, everyone!
The Celtics got 2026 off to a good start with a win over the Sacramento Kings. They’re now 2-1 on this West Coast road trip, with a game against the LA Clippers to come on Saturday.
Let’s dive in
Game 33: Celtics 120 — Kings 106
📊 Key Stats
Boston’s bench kept the three-point shooting respectable. The starters went a combined 5-of-24 from deep, with Brown struggling the most (1-of-9).
Sam Hauser went 5-of-7.
Anfernee Simons chipped in with four treys.
Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman all took one, made one.
The Celtics finished the night with a 41.5% three-point percentage — more than solid. But, it was interesting to see the bench the group to carry that load.
The Kings are 18th in the NBA for three-point defense, allowing teams to shoot 36.3% this season. So, that face that all of Boston’s starting unit struggled with is even more interesting.
If you want to peel another layer off, the Kings are 26th in the NBA for defending non-corner threes — which is where Boston does most of its work — so, it’s clear the starters have got to improve from what we saw last night.
I can’t say enough about Luka Garza’s screening talent. He creates so much separation for his teammates and is consistently working to put guys in scoring positions.
Garza ended last night's game with 19 screen assist points, leading the game by a galactic margin.
He had seven total screen assists. This one stuck out to me:
Garza sets a late exit screen for Sam Hauser, who has cut baseline to provide an outlet in the corner. Garza’s screen completely takes Hauser’s defender out of the play, leaving Hauser free to shoot a barely-contested jumper.
Garza’s screening has been a huge addition to Boston’s second unit since he returned from a spell at the end of the bench.
Hugo Gonzalez put the clamps on DeMar DeRozan. He was matched up with the veteran mid-range assassin for 2:08; only Brown guarded him more, with 3:32 seconds of matchup time.
DeRozan found scoring opportunities against everyone the Celtics threw at him, except for Gonzalez.
He went 2-of-3 against Brown, 4-of-6 against Derrick White and 3-of-4 against Payton Pritchard.
However, Gonzalez held him to 0-of-3 shooting. What’s even more impressive is that when Gonzalez was matched up with DeRozan, the Kings’ offense fell off a cliff.
With Brown guarding DeRozan, the Kings scored 18 points as a team.
With White guarding DeRozan, the Kings scored 15 points as a team
With Pritchard guarding DeRozan, the Kings scored 8 points as a team
With Jordan Walsh guarding DeRozan, the Kings scored 11 points as a team
But with Gonzalez doing his thing, the Kings scored 2 points as a unit. 2. One made bucket. Not only did Gonzalez nullify the King's best scoring weapon, but he also absorbed his gravity like a singularity. Solid work, rook, solid work.
A 32-18 fourth quarter settled the game for Boston, led by Derrick White with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
💫 Star of the Game
Brown was the tip of Boston’s offensive spear last night, as he’s been all season.
His interior game was on point, getting to the rim, attacking space in the mid-range, and drawing fouls.
Brown remains seventh on the MVP ladder, behind Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham.
Still, he’s deserving of his spot in the top 10, based on his production this season.
And while he struggled from the perimeter against Sacramento, he still found ways to get his shots off and give the Celtics a boost on the scoreboard. Brown has been a huge part of Boston’s early-season success, and his ability to adjust on the fly is a big reason for that.
📈 Improved Performer
Hauser has struggled for consistency from deep this season. It felt like he found a turning point when he went 8-of-7 from the perimeter against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 26.
However, he followed that Pacers game up with a 1-of-5 shooting performance against the Portland Trail Blazers and a 2-for-8 outing against the Utah Jazz.
Then, last night, he figured stuff out again and was a key catalyst to the bench’s shot production.
The nature of Hauser’s role comes with a level of inconsistency. You can’t be expected to hit 40%+ on a nightly basis. But, with some more nights like yesterday and the game against the Pacers, his 3PT% will continue to trend away from the slump he endured to begin the season.
⚾ Curveball of the game
Jordan Walsh saw the court for five…yes, five…minutes.
“It’s nothing he’s doing wrong. It’s just that we can go to so many different things,” Mazzulla said. “You saw what Sam (Hauser) was able to do in the first half, and I thought that coming out of halftime and making a change could kind of throw a team off to start the game.”
We can say the same thing about Josh Minott, who has been out of the rotation recently.
In fact, Minott’s exclusion lines up nicely with Garza’s reintroduction.
There are only so many minutes to go around, and competition is fierce. So, from time to time, some of the younger guys may find a more limited role, or not see the court for stretches of games. It sucks, but that’s the reality of the way Boston’s roster is currently structured.
💬 My Take on the Game
The Celtics were far from at their best. Sacramento is in a rough spot right now, and they’re showing few signs that things will get better. However, they’re a disruptive team, especially on defense. So, the Celtics had to get creative with their problem-solving, and they rose to that challenge.
Still, Joe Mazzulla’s team stuck to their game plan, they ran their sets, executed in space and played some (at times) decent defense. That’s all you can ask of a retooling and overperforming roster in what was essentially a trap game on the road.
The bigger test will be to see how the Celtics fare against the Clippers. Ty Lue’s team might not be having a stellar run at the moment, but they have serious scorers, good size and depth on the wings. Boston will need to improve from what we saw against Sacramento, especially if it wants to head back home with a 3-1 record from this road swing.