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Zeller’s Energy, Physicality Pushes C’s Past Pacers

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BOSTON – Brad Stevens anticipates that the Boston Celtics could face some significant size and physicality when they head into the Playoffs.

As a way to prepare for such a possibility, the coach has decided to let loose his secret weapon.

Tyler Zeller.

Zeller’s playing time over the course of the season has been very inconsistent. Heading into this week he had made just 43 appearances out of a possible 70 games.

His PT, to this point, has been held to a minimum – a career-low 10.4 minutes per game.

However, Stevens has turned to Zeller during each of the last two games to give Boston a frontcourt spark, and the big man has stepped up and delivered on both occasions.

When the Celtics hosted the Washington Wizards Monday night, Zeller came in and played six and a half meaningful minutes. He gave Boston an immense boost on the offensive glass, which helped it hold off the Wizards, 110-102

Wednesday night, Stevens inserted the big man again – this time for 10-plus minutes. Zeller delivered this time with some tenacious defense under the basket, along with three field goal makes and a pair of assists on the offensive end.

“That’s what he does every time he gets out there, no matter how many minutes he plays,” said Isaiah Thomas, who was on the receiving end of one of Zeller’s dimes. “He’s on the offensive glass, he’s knocking down his mid-range shot and he’s defending. We know what he brings to the table, so when his opportunity and chance comes, he always takes advantage of it.”

Having a frontcourt spark off the bench also brings relief to Boston’s top-of-the-rotation bigs, such as Al Horford, Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk.

Horford compared Zeller’s role to that of a backup quarterback in football. The 7-footer delivered off the bench Wednesday night in a way that would’ve made Patriots’ second string QB Jimmy Garoppolo proud.

“It’s huge,” said Horford, who logged 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists during the win over the Pacers. “He’s physical and he’s playing with a lot of confidence. I just have a lot of respect for him because it [must be] hard knowing you can be in there contributing, and he just keeps coming in like a professional, doing his work, staying ready, and he’s getting the opportunity now and he’s showing it.”

Zeller’s presence over the last two games has also displayed Boston’s immense depth. The only issue is that when one player gets an opportunity, another player suffers the consequence of a decreased role.

The Celtics rolled just nine-deep Wednesday night, and, as a result, typical rotation players Jonas Jerebko and Terry Rozier did not have the opportunity to play.

“It’s tough for Brad because he wants to play everybody, but he can’t,” said Thomas. “At the same time, this group of guys has always been ready no matter what. You might not play last game, and then you might be the first guy subbed in the next game, so you’ve got to be a pro and you’ve gotta be ready for your opportunity.”

Fortunately, Rozier and Jerebko are taking an unselfish approach to the situation. They both understand the process of creating a playoff-ready team, and that means that they will sometimes have to sacrifice their reps during certain circumstances.

“It’s not easy from their standpoint, and I respect that,” said Stevens. “It’s hard, but we’re going to need all those guys and we’re going to need them to be playing great.

“Terry went through not playing a couple of games in December and it didn’t affect how he played when he came back. And obviously Jonas is a terrific pro and I don’t think it’ll affect him.”

Stevens said ahead of Wednesday’s game that he would be determining all future rotations on a matchup basis. The size that Washington and Indiana presented prompted the coach to turn to Zeller, whose 7-foot frame can counteract such physicality.

While the second-string rotation may be unpredictable from here on out, what is certain is that whoever steps in is fully capable of delivering a spark, whether it’s Jerebko with his shooting ability and versatility, or Rozier with his speed and tenacity.

Or, in the case of the last two contests, it may be Zeller, who can come in and provide physicality and energy in the frontcourt – both traits that may be of great value once the postseason begins.