LOS ANGELES — The last time Jordan Walsh was pulled from a game at halftime, it was because of an illness. On Thursday in Sacramento, Walsh was fully healthy and yet played just five minutes and none in the second half.
Coach Joe Mazzulla has shuttled players in and out of his starting wing position. First it was Sam Hauser, then Josh Minott, then Walsh, and now … It’s uncertain what direction the coach will go after his decision to bench Walsh and go with Hauser to start the second half.
The Celtics were better in the second half and pulled away to beat the Kings, 120-106, but Mazzulla refused to call out Walsh despite the second-half benching.
“It’s nothing he’s doing wrong but we can go to so many different things,” Mazzulla said. “I think you saw what Sam was able to do in the first half and coming out of a halftime and making a change can throw a team off to start a game. That’s one of the reasons why we went on a run is [Neemias Queta’s] defense and obviously our offense is different when you have Sam out there on the floor. So it’s taking any advantage we can with the entire roster that we have and trying to win segments of the game and go on the runs and catch the opponent off guard.”
Get Starting Point
Since sitting out the Celtics Dec. 20 win over Indiana with an illness, Walsh has played just 47 minutes over four games, averaging 3.5 points on a total of 10 shots. Walsh’s main responsibility in the starting lineup is defense but his role has been greatly reduced over the past two weeks. Minott, meanwhile, has not played in the past three games.
The natural choice to perhaps inherit Walsh’s minutes is rookie Hugo Gonzalez, whose responsibility has increased over the past few weeks, even playing down the stretch in the loss to Portland. Hauser nailed 5 of 7 3-pointers in the win against Sacramento and Mazzulla has been impressed with his defensive presence.
Hauser started the first two games of the season before being replaced in Game 3 by Gonzalez and then Minott in Game 4. Minott started nine consecutive games before being replaced by Walsh.
The Celtics reserves have dominated their counterparts on this road trip. In the Dec. 30 win at Utah, they combined for 43 points, including 20 from Anfernee Simons, who was a plus-20. The Jazz reserves scored 26. In Sacramento, the second unit teamed for 46 points with Gonzalez netting a plus 20 in his 18 minutes. Meanwhile every Sacramento reserve finished with a minus in its minutes.
Mazzulla has meshed his team into definitive roles and they are flourishing, including Simons, who is not only scoring at a high clip but improving as a defender.
“He’s been great,” Mazzulla said of Simons. “He’s better than I thought he was even going to be. Really from a mentality standpoint, his work ethic. He wants to come in at whatever role helps us impact winning and he’s able to do that. The last few games he’s played that long (six minutes) and he’s really become a solid defender for us. When he’s aggressive on the offensive end it’s another guy that we have.”
Hauser, who has come off the bench in 28 of his 33 appearances, has nailed 16 3-pointers in his past five games.
“Our job is just to come in and bring energy, bring fresh legs,” he said of the bench. “And if you do that, good things usually happen. I don’t know if there’s much else to it than that but it’s been fun. Everybody’s got a role and it’s just trying to star in that. Take Luka (Garza) for example. He just goes and plays his tail off every single night and outworks the other big and that’s a role he embodies.
“Ant comes in and scores the heck out of the rock. I come in and try to knock down shots. Everybody has their specific thing. Hugo’s supposed to come in and bring energy, crowd the other team’s best player. If we all understand that and that’s what makes it fun and easy to go out and know exactly what you’re asked to do.”
Center Zubac back with Clippers
The Clippers welcomed back imposing center Ivica Zubac after he missed five games with an ankle sprain. Zubac was expected to miss multiple weeks with the injury but gives the streaking team a major boost … Kawhi Leonard was named Western Conference Player of the Week and is on a major tear, averaging 39 points in his past six games, including a career-high 55 points against the Pistons. He scored 45 in the Clippers’ home win against the Jazz.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
