{"id":583773,"date":"2026-02-05T09:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T09:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/583773\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T09:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T09:17:21","slug":"joe-mazzulla-trusted-an-unlikely-guard-in-celtics-win-over-rockets-and-it-paid-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/583773\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Mazzulla trusted an unlikely guard in Celtics win over Rockets \u2014 and it paid off"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2014 At the Celtics\u2019 team meeting on Wednesday morning, two-way player Ron Harper Jr.<\/a> saw his name on the whiteboard.<\/p>\n

It quickly dawned on him: for the first time in his four-year NBA career, he was going to start in an NBA basketball game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I was getting a start,\u201d Harper Jr. said, \u201cand I just knew I had to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extended chance came, in part, because Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser were both being sidelined on the second night of a back-to-back. On top of that, Anfernee Simons, who has been one of the Celtics\u2019 primary guards all season, was traded to Chicago earlier in the week. So, a backcourt opportunity emerged that simply hadn\u2019t been there earlier in the season.<\/p>\n

But, the decision to give Harper Jr. the start was also the result of Joe Mazzulla having complete trust in his young guys and two-way players to step up in big moments. Last month, it was fellow two-way player Amari Williams <\/a>who got multiple starts and even crucial minutes in a double-overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

This time, it was Harper.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel just as comfortable starting him as you do anyone else,\u201d said Mazzulla. \u201cBecause you know he\u2019s ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harper Jr. came out of the gates flying. He hit his first three three-pointers of the game, and finished the night with a career-high 11 points.<\/p>\n

But what stood out most to Joe Mazzulla was his immediate tenacity on the glass; he finished the game with a career-best 9 rebounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got off to a great start with two defensive rebounds that he got to start the game,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cThat showed that he was ready to go \u2014 and that stuck out to me more. And then the defense came, and then the shotmaking came, and I thought he had great presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most impressive was his work on the defensive end; for most of the night, Harper Jr. had to chase around one of the greatest scorers in the history of basketball, Kevin Durant.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let him score, man,\u201d Harper Jr. said of his mindset. \u201cJust do everything in my power to just try to deny him the ball, try denying catches, and try to make his life difficult. And I feel like me and the rest of the guys did a great job at that \u2014 feel like we was able to frustrate him a little bit, and it ultimately led to us getting a lot of stops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entering Wednesday night, Harper. had only logged 35 NBA minutes as a Celtic; in the match-up against the Rockets, he nearly eclipsed that, tallying 33 minutes and starting alongside Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, Neemias Queta, and Derrick White.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy,\u201d he said after the 114-93 Celtics\u2019 win. \u201cIn this game, on this team, you never know what you\u2019re going to be asked to do on any given day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Mazzulla, the trust in Harper Jr. stems from a profound trust in the Maine Celtics system, and its synergy with Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts in Maine, and it starts with our staff, and just what those guys are able to do there,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cKeeping Ron sharp, and making sure you know the language and what we\u2019re doing, is important. And then our staff here is keeping them up to speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ron Harper Jr\u2019s path to his first NBA start was a long one<\/p>\n

Ron Harper Jr. might be a new face to some Celtics fans, but he\u2019s intimately familiar with the system in Boston. The Celtics guard \u2014 a former Rutgers star \u2014 has spent the last two training camps with the Celtics, and was also a member of the 2024 Celtics Summer League squad.<\/p>\n

He began last season on the Maine Celtics before signing a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons midseason. And, after that contract wasn\u2019t renewed, he opted to return to Boston for training camp, successfully fighting for a two-way spot with the Celtics, and edging out RJ Luis, Jalen Bridges, Kendall Brown, and Wendell Moore in the process.<\/p>\n

Harper Jr. impressed his teammates and coaches alike at camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can shoot it,\u201d said Derrick White. \u201cThat\u2019s the first thing that stood out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, that familiarity and experience with the Celtics organization is paying off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I know the system; the coverages are like the back of my hand,\u201d Harper Jr. said. \u201cThat was a big part of the process and the decision to be coming back in the summer \u2014 I just knew the team, I knew the coaches, I knew the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Harper Jr. has been one of the G League\u2019s top players, and as such, he\u2019ll represent the Celtics in the Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles later this month. This season, he\u2019s averaged 24.3 points and 3.1 assists per game.<\/p>\n

But, as much success as he\u2019s had with the Maine Celtics, Wednesday night hit different. When Harper Jr. heard his name announced at the Rockets\u2019 Toyota Center, it was undeniably a momentous occassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore tonight, the only time I heard that was in MyCareer on 2k, so it was definitely great to hear your name, your college,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n

Harper\u2019s most memorable moment of the night came when he crashed the glass after a Derrick White three-point miss \u2014 and slammed down a putback dunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, man, I mean, I had a whole runway,\u201d he said. \u201cMy damn eyes lit up when I see them come up off the rim like that. And I was like, \u2018Yeah, I gotta go get this.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the highlight play, he heard from his dad, former NBA star Ron Harper.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad told me I was looking like him out there,\u201d Harper Jr said with a smile. \u201cLet\u2019s tone that down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking advantage of an extended opportunity<\/p>\n

The Celtics guard said it was rewarding to finally get the chance to lace up with the big club for an extended run.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe makes a heavy emphasis that everybody\u2019s gonna get their shot,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, just stay ready and be ready. And, I feel like I did a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role in Boston is vastly different than the one in Maine, where Harper Jr. is the primary offensive option and primarily has the ball in his hands. That doesn\u2019t make it any less rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how I can impact winning, know how I can impact this team,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna be asked to have as high a usage rate as I do in the G [League] \u2014 that\u2019s okay. I\u2019m just out there to make these guys\u2019 lives easier, just be a role player. I know if I get out there and my get out there and get my chance, I\u2019m not gonna come off every ball screen, I\u2019m not gonna shoot a bunch of shots, I\u2019m cool with that, as long as I can help the team win, and as long as we win, I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stints in Toronto and Detroit failed to turn into longer-term opportunities for the former Rutgers star. But, this past year, he made the decision to return to Boston for training camp \u2014 even though there was no guarantee of a contract or any on-court opportunities.<\/p>\n

Standing in the visiting locker room in Houston, on the heels of a career game, the 25-year-old felt like he made the right decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I could excel,\u201d Harper Jr. said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s working out pretty good so far.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 At the Celtics\u2019 team meeting on Wednesday morning, two-way player Ron Harper Jr. saw his name…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,37650,3798,46,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-583773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-boston-celtics-articles","12":"tag-bostonceltics","13":"tag-celtics","14":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116017276264642673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}