Jabari Parker did not have time to earn Brad Stevens’ trust.
There was no practice between the time he signed with the Celtics on Friday and Saturday’s game against the Warriors at 20:30. He took part in a shooting incident on Saturday morning, a new no. 20 jersey issued and dressed for a very important match at TD Garden. No one would be surprised if he only played in low pressure for a few minutes, barely a day after joining the team.
Instead, he played a big part in Boston’s 119-114 victory over TD Garden.
Brad Stevens did not wait to relieve him. He outscored Parker for Jayson Tatum 4:50 in the first quarter. Parker turned the ball over twice in his first minute. But as soon as it was out of his system, he went to bed. He got a victim of an offensive setback to stop a 12-0 Warrior run early and four points in six first-half minutes.
Even if Jaylen Brown was out of the post, the idea of going to Parker seemed unlikely. He has not played or tried a shot since March 15. The former Duke star played just three games for Sacramento all season before being released on March 25.
But even a rusty Parker offered more offensively than Tristan Thompson, Grant Williams or Semi Oeieye offered on Saturday. Then Stevens went back to him.
“We went through the piece at the beginning of the fourth quarter where we had to score,” Stevens said. “He gave us some opportunities there. But in the first half and the second, he played on the baseline and played on his strength. He did many good things. He will pick up our defense as time goes on and we will find out how we can best play on both sides. ”
On the fly, it still came out pretty good. Parker, who was standing in the right corner when Marcus Smart pulled up for a 3-pointer with just under 8 minutes left, and the Celtics a point down, chased Kent Bazemore around to grab the sinking ball and lay it down to set up Boston 97-96.
Stevens put him back with 1:52 left. Parker did not score, but up until that point he had done enough that Draymond Green was forced to protect him to open things up to everyone.
Parker scored seven points in ten minutes of the second half and finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.
Smart was impressed.
“We just told him, ‘Go out and play as hard as you can.’ We work with you in the plays and guide you through them. Do not worry about it, just go play hard. “He did very well,” said Smart. ‘We were definitely ecstatic about the way he came out. He did not really know the system, but only played basketball. Once he becomes more involved in the plays and learning, everything includes even more. For his first time out there he played very well and we are proud of him. ”
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