The Boston Celtics rolled out an unusual starting five during their 114-93 road victory against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. With Jaylen Brown (leg) on the sidelines and Payton Pritchard coming off the bench, Ron Harper Jr. drew his first career start.
Harper didn’t disappoint in his maiden start with the Boston Celtics, as he recorded 11 points, nine rebounds, and three assists on 4-for-8 shooting from the field while guarding Kevin Durant for the most part in 33 minutes of action.
“It’s cool, man. Before tonight, the only time I heard that was in MyCareer on 2k, so it was definitely great to hear your name, your college,” Harper quipped via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation. “All these guys embrace you. They’re really excited for me, so shoutout to them.”
“My name was up there in the matchups, so I knew I was getting the start. I just knew how to be ready,” he continued. “It felt rewarding obviously… And Joe (Mazzulla) makes a heavy emphasis that everybody’s gonna get their shot, so stay ready and be ready, and I felt I did a good job of that tonight.”
Boston Celtics News: Payton Pritchard dishes on bench role in the past two games
Payton Pritchard has been coming off the bench for the Boston Celtics in their past two matches against the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets, and the former Sixth Man of the Year picked up where he left off, scoring 53 points total.
“It benefits our team more,” Pritchard said of coming off the bench on Tuesday. “It puts another ball-handler off the bench. At the end of the day, it’s about, do you play starter minutes? Do you finish games?”
“I don’t really care about starting. If you want me to start, I’ll start. If you want me to come off the bench, it doesn’t matter. It’s about, when you get in, what do you do with your minutes? That’s what I was focused on today,” he reiterated.
