BOSTON – Malcolm Brogdon is wasting no time setting the tone as the new leader of Boston’s bench.
What he demands out of himself, he also demands out of his fellow second unit teammates, and that’s to elevate the energy whenever he/they enter the game.
On Sunday night, we saw that energy in action as the Celtics hosted the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and the starting unit set the tone, getting the C’s off to a 19-point first-quarter lead, which Brogdon and the bench maintained and helped turn into a 112-94 win.
Brogdon finished one point shy of Brown for the game-high in scoring with 23 points, and his bench-mates combined for 25 more. The second unit, as a whole, was lights out, shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 56.3 percent from 3-point range, and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
“I want us to believe we're a starting group as well,” Brogdon said of his bench-mates after the game. “When we're in there, we play like starters. We play with that energy, we play with that confidence every night as soon as we step on the floor, and that's what we've been doing for the majority of the season thus far.”
The one time they didn’t maintain the starters’ energy was last Monday night in Chicago, where the C’s coughed up a 19-point first-quarter lead before falling to the Bulls by 18.
In the aftermath, Brogdon made sure to let the second unit know that that type of performance couldn’t happen again. And it hasn’t.
Backup wing Sam Hauser said Brogdon’s message from that night was, “To make sure there’s no drop off, bring energy, play hard, know who you are guarding, know personnel, and know what we're trying to do on both ends of the floor.”
They took that message to heart.
They take all of Brogdon’s directives to heart because he’s earned such respect in the short time that he’s been in Boston’s locker room. And he’s done so by putting his own words into action.
“I think the guys respect me and they know I play both ends of the ball,” said Brogdon, who ranks third on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game. “I think you gotta practice what you preach before you start preaching and they've seen me give effort on both ends and they're willing to listen and work with me.”
Working in a sixth-man role has been quite an adjustment for Brogdon after being the Pacers’ leading scorer in each of the past two seasons, but he’s discovering positives in coming off the bench.
“You get to watch the flow of the game and see what your team is missing or deficient in or needs some helping,” he said. “For me, that's what I'm doing: I’m analyzing when I'm not in the game and sitting on the bench; I'm trying to figure out what the flow is and what we're missing and what can I provide.”
What he has provided thus far for this young bench unit is “stability,” according to Marcus Smart.
“You’ve got a guy who has been doing this, who knows how to play the game, coming in and taking anything, rolling with that leadership role in the second unit to really get them going,” said Boston’s starting point guard. “We have some young guys experience-wise in that second unit, so to have somebody like Malcolm to be able to come in the way he does, it makes it a little easier for them to feel comfortable. And that’s the key.”
Brogdon also makes the game more comfortable for those around him because of the way in which he plays. His ability to drive to the basket and attract help defenders creates open space for the other shooters, and those shooters are capitalizing. Boston’s second unit has shot an NBA-leading 51.5 percent from 3 as a group, which is nearly nine percentage points higher than second-most efficient bench (Dallas at 42.9 percent).
“Our bench is something we’re going to need this year, and they are going to help us win a lot of games,” said Smart. “So to have a guy like Malcolm doing what he’s doing and then the rest of those guys tagging along with him is key.”