It's been notoriously hard to break into Doc Rivers' rotation as a rookie or young player since the beginning of the "New Big Three" era.
But the last two nights have shown us that maybe the young guys CAN contribute, they just need the opportunity. E'Twuan Moore was a huge spark with 16 points on 4-for-4 shooting from deep in the Celtics big 91-83 come-from-behind victory over the Magic last night.
Gary Washburn, of the Boston Globe, wrote that Moore's teammates had confidence in him to shoot the ball and that's what he did.
“They always said, ‘keep shooting, we know you can shoot,’ ’’ Moore said. “It’s definitely keeping me ready to play hard. Everyone talking to me, the communication just makes me feel like I can help this team. When the first [shot] went down, it just helped my confidence and when the second one went down, I was like ‘OK this is more like it.’ ’’
Moore also got some high praise from Doc Rivers, this tidbit courtesy of CSNNE's A. Sherrod Blakely.
During training camp, Moore set himself apart as one of the team's best shooters.
How good?
"After Ray [Allen], he was our best shooter," Rivers said.
Avery Bradley dominated Jameer Nelson with on-the-ball defense in the first meeting earlier in the week and now it was Moore's turn with some outside shooting - CSNNE.com
"The other night, we won because of Avery's [Bradley] defense," said coach Doc Rivers. "Tonight, we won because of E'Twaun's defense and E'Twaun's offense. For a rookie in this atmosphere, that was sensational."
A trend of young players stepping to the forefront in this strike-shortened season, who knows? But the Celtics will take it anyway they can get it with so many key pieces out during this stretch.