You never know when you’re going to play,” Jayson Tatum said. “Game’s not going the way it’s supposed to or we expect. Joe calls your number to come and shut somebody down and give us a spark off the bench,

The Celtics had to sweat out an overtime win over the Clippers on Wednesday, but wouldn't have done it without Jaden Springer and his defensive intensity.

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Perhaps Wednesday night will go down as “The Jaden Springer Game”—his most impactful performance as a Celtic and one that could shape his future in Boston, especially with the NBA trade deadline just two weeks away.

Boston Celtics guard Jaden Springer also received several mentions as a clear way for the extremely expensive defending champions to save money ahead of the stretch run. In a similar vein, several scouts and execs mentioned the Cleveland Cavaliers,

Backup guard Jaden Springer changed the game with his defense in the Celtics' overtime win over the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Despite a host of injuries, Springer was unable to push his way into any meaningful playing time prior to Wednesday night. He had been on the floor for just 72 minutes over 19 games, most of those coming in garbage time.

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One night later, Boston players all but shrugged their shoulders after falling to the Lakers 117-96 on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kristaps Porziņģis, who has been critical of the Celtics after their worst games recently, sounded ready to dump the latest poor result into the nearest trash can and forget about it for good.

Jaylen Brown played through pain in the second half of Wednesday’s Celtics win.

The Celtics will be down two rotation players, so expect C’s coach Joe Mazzulla to dip into his bench. The last time the Celtics were shorthanded like this, Jaden Springer emerged off the bench in an impressive game against the Clippers in Los Angeles. Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman could also see some playing time in the rotation.