The frenzied final 48 hours before Thursday\u2019s 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline posed a challenge for the Celtics as they arrived in Dallas to face Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks.<\/p>\n
Hours before tip-off, the Celtics reportedly traded guard Anfernee Simons to the Bulls for center Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107. Simons was immediately downgraded from available to out due to personal reasons, stripping Boston of its leading bench scorer and leaving a void in the rotation. Luka Garza, finding confidence beyond the arc in Dallas, filled that void.<\/p>\n
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Garza played 20 minutes off the bench in Boston\u2019s 110-100 win<\/a> on Tuesday night, and carved out his domain at the top of the key, rewarding feeds from Payton Pritchard.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s generally where you get most of your shots off the pick-and-pop. It\u2019s always an above-the-break kind of area, so I try to work on that a lot,\u201d Garza told reporters, per CLNS Media<\/a>. \u201cOver time, I\u2019ve grown more and more confident in it, and my teammates trust me. If I get it and get into a good rhythm stepping into the ball, I feel like I\u2019m knocking it down.\u201d<\/p>\n Three times, Garza used the pick-and-pop to create space at the top of the key, and three times he knocked down a 3-pointer from that spot. He finished with 16 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from deep, tying his career high for made threes in a game. It marked Garza\u2019s most in-sync performance from beyond the arc in a Celtics uniform, as he grew into a critical part of the offense throughout the night.<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime you can catch a rhythm and make some shots in a stretch like that where our offense is really going, it\u2019s definitely big time,\u201d Garza told reporters. \u201cSo I know they\u2019re important, especially when we\u2019re playing guys like Gafford who are sitting in a drop. One way you can expose that is by stretching the floor and giving guys more space. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Garza\u2019s four made 3-pointers tied his second-most attempts in a game this season and marked the fifth time in his career he has hit at least three.<\/p>\n Boston\u2019s ability to lean on Garza as a floor spacer \u2014 a role he rarely occupies \u2014 helped offset the loss of Simons in a way opposing defenses wouldn\u2019t typically anticipate. Garza is shooting a career-best 47.6 percent from three on limited volume (1.5 attempts per game), well above his career average of 36.1 percent. Typically, his greatest impact comes on the offensive glass, where he turns teammates\u2019 misses into second-chance opportunities and forces opponents to pay for defensive miscues.<\/p>\n In Dallas, Garza showcased one of the most important aspects of his growth: his versatility.<\/p>\n