Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla on Oshae Brissett debut: ‘He changed the game’
New Celtics big man Oshae Brissett only score two points and played 14 minutes off the bench on Friday night, but the big man made his presence felt in his team debut.
The fifth-year forward showed off his grit and hustle on the court. In the first quarter with Boston trailing by 13 points, he helped the Celtics cut down Miami’s lead from 13 to three in just over two minuets.
Brissett collected three rebounds in his two offensive possessions off the bench. One from a Jaylen Brown missed free throw and the other he gobbled up a Al Horford missed 3-point attempt.
Joe Mazzulla was impressed by the Syracuse alum’s play on the hardwood.
“He didn’t play in Game 1, and he changed the game,” Mazzulla told reporters. “That, to me, is what momentum is all about. He came in, he made a significant impact, and he did his job at a high, high level.
“We have to get to a point where what he did is just as important as what the other guys have done tonight, and he helped us win.”
The Celtics are hoping that Brissett can fill the vacant role of Grant Williams who the team traded to Dallas in a sign-and-trade this summer.
Brissett did not play in the season opener, instead Mazzulla opted with Luke Kornet as the ninth man in the rotation.
“He was supposed to go in to start the second,” Mazzulla said postgame. “But I felt like we needed him earlier and so you just kind of went with him and he did a great job.”
Brissett spent the last three seasons with the Pacers, mainly coming off the bench. He will see more opportunities with the Celtics than he did with Indiana.
“That’s who I am as a player,” Brissett told reporters on Friday. “Every night I’m going to try to do that no matter who we’re playing, no matter what night it is. But we’ve got real stars on this team. So me coming in, just being myself, not trying to do too much, not trying to prove that I can do anything else even though they all know I can.”
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