Celtics "I TOLD HIM, ‘CHERISH THIS, BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE BEST LOCKER ROOMS YOU HAVE.'" The Celtics beat the Grizzlies on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, taking down the

No. 2 team in the Western Conference 119-109 to claim another short-handed victory. Here are the takeaways. 1. Derrick White is on a heater from 3-point range. Over his last 10 games, White

has hit 47 percent of his deep attempts, and since the start of February, he’s averaging 21.8 points, 6.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and just 1.3 turnovers per game. In short, with Malcolm

Brogdon in and out of the lineup and both Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown sidelined for the near future, Derrick White has looked like an All-Star — a deadly 3-point shooter who can collapse

wanted to stay with it,” White said. “[Jayson Tatum] talked to me after a timeout and was like ‘Law of averages,’ so just hearing that and just try to stay with it and stay aggressive, and

just see one go down and go from there.” When the Celtics’ lineup is fully healthy again, White will presumably be back on the bench, but his lineups are starting to compile some absurd

stats. White, Smart, Horford, Tatum and Brown have played more minutes together than any other Celtics lineup, and they have outscored opponents by 13.4 points per 100 possessions. White,

Brown, Tatum, Horford and Robert Williams are the sixth-most used lineup, and they have decimated opponents by 43 points per 100 possessions. Advertisement: This year’s Celtics team has been

excellent essentially no matter who has been in the lineup, but they’ve been particularly good with White. Sunday was no exception. 2. Jayson Tatum had a tough shooting night, finishing

3-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-8 from behind the arc. The biggest issue? Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks, who bothered and harassed him on and off the ball. Brooks put together one of the

most impressive individual defensive performances we’ve seen against Tatum so far this season. And still, Tatum finished +7. Sunday’s game wasn’t his best, but his presence is impactful,

and his teammates are good enough to pick up the slack when he sits — even when the team’s second-, third- and fifth-highest scorers are all sidelined. “Two of the last three games, he’s

done an amazing job of managing the game,” Mazzulla said. “He’s managing the game by continuing to play defense, managing the game by involving himself but not looking to score and making

the right play. Superstars don’t get the credit they deserve when they do that and so, credit to him. And I think that allows our guys to play with confidence and makes our team even harder

to guard.” Advertisement: 3. So how did the Celtics win with Tatum struggling and a number of impactful players out? With offensive rebounding and — once again — a 3-point barrage that the

Grizzlies couldn’t overcome, even though they crushed the Celtics close to the basket. The Grizzlies finished with a 60-34 advantage in the paint. The Celtics outscored the Grizzlies 63-36

from behind the arc and 13-8 in second-chance points. “They were denying JT pretty much the whole game,” White said. “And so just trying to find the next guy, and then he’d make a back cut,

screen, just doing a lot of selfless things for us. And then Al, Rob, Grant [Williams], Payton [Pritchard], Sam [Hauser], a lot of guys came today — and Mike [Muscala] — and were able to

step up and make big shots for us. Eight Celtics players scored in double figures. Hauser finished with 20 points and shot 6-for-11 from deep. Pritchard, White, and Horford all made four

3-pointers. Muscala continued to look like a perfect fit in his second Celtics game, knocking down a pair of important triples as well. “That’s the beauty of this team,” White said. “If you

load up on one guy, we have other people that can make you pay.” Advertisement: 4. Hauser’s slump appears to be over for now. Since the start of February, he is shooting 53.6 percent from

behind the arc, offering spacing and an outlet for drivers that makes the Celtics exponentially more dangerous. With the Celtics’ recent spat of injuries, Hauser has seen a major uptick in

minutes. Is starting part of the reason he has been so good? Mazzulla doesn’t think so, citing the natural ups and downs of the NBA. “And the second piece is, he gives our other guys

confidence because of his ability to move without the basketball, his ability to create crossmatches, his ability to put two on the ball and allow others to play,” Mazzulla said. “So he

brings an intangible dynamic to our offense and he’s continuing to grow on defense.” 5. Pritchard spoke candidly about how he wants an opportunity with more playing time before the trade

deadline, but he has repeatedly made it clear that he does enjoy being in Boston and he’s happy to help the team compete for a championship this year. “I’m a professional at the end of the

day,” Pritchard said. “I show up and I work and any minutes I get, I’m going to play because I love to play basketball. This whole thing about what everybody’s been saying — I love this

city, I love this organization, I love my teammates. This is one of the best. This is what the whole thing was about: Me wanting to play, because that’s what I love to do. That’s all it’s

been about. Advertisement: “But I’m here and I do love it here and I’m committed. I want to help this team any way I can to win a championship and put a banner in, whatever that takes.”

Pritchard is smart to keep his bridges intact in Boston. First and foremost, he has an opportunity to win a ring and then go somewhere else to compete next year. Second, the Celtics have a

recent history of taking care of players they like (ask Terry Rozier about the sign-and-trade that netted him more money). 6. Robert Williams attempted a 3-pointer in the second half with

the shot clock winding down — his first 3-point attempt of the year, and the fourth of his career. Williams appeared to barely graze the rim, but the officials still ruled it a shot-clock

violation despite video replay that showed the ball changing direction. “Hell yeah [it hit the rim],” Williams said. “JT don’t agree, but it hit the rim.” Williams also appeared visibly

upset after Santi Aldama threw the ball off his stomach, trying to keep possession. When asked about it, however, Williams said he wasn’t angry at Aldama. “I was pissed off at myself,”

Williams said. “I’m standing there like a dumbass, waiting on him to throw the ball.” Williams finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds, five of which were offensive. He had a major impact on

the game, but the big takeaway here is how funny he can be postgame. Interview Robert Williams at every opportunity! The Celtics face the Bucks on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. SIGN UP FOR CELTICS

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