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March 6th will be remembered as the day that Jayson Tatum came back. After 298 days recovering from a devastating Achilles tear, #0 was back to #0.
However, seemingly forgotten on that night was the loss of Nikola Vucevic to a broken finger. After being acquired from the Bulls at the NBA
trade deadline, Boston’s newest big man had played ten games with his new club and was finally finding his footing. His assimilation might not have been as important as working Tatum back into game shape, but certainly his role in the second unit will be a key component to the Celtics’ postseason run.
And then Luka Garza checked in. He’d play 18 minutes against the Mavericks that night and score 10 points (2-of-6 from 3) with three rebounds — all off the offensive glass — and finish a +9, second only to Payton Pritchard (+19) off the bench.
Over the last ten games, he’s been a +49 and averaging just under a solid 10 & 4. He’s been the epitome of the Stay Ready Group this season, seeing his minutes fluctuate from DNP-CDs to single to double digits on a nightly basis, but still bringing the energy regardless of his playing time. His teammates recognize that.
“When the Vooch trade happened, obviously, it was an amazing thing for our team, and he’s a great player,” Garza said on Tuesday afternoon at a court renovation in Hyde Park. “But obviously, guys know, as a team, that that would probably impact my minutes a little bit. And, I was just really surprised at some of the guys coming up to me and really just kind of giving me motivating thoughts and being like, ‘Hey, like, stay ready. We’re going to need you. You’ve done good things for us.’”
With the playoffs just around the corner and Vooch still on the shelf, has Garza done enough to warrant some postseason consideration or is he destined to be a break glass backup big?
