A weird schedule turned into an opportunity for role players, and Dalano Banton made the most of it

The Celtics walked into Madison Square Garden and benched their top six guys because of a weird and stupid preseason back-to-back (and part of a three-in-four stretch), turning the Monday night game against the Knicks into less of a dress rehearsal between division rivals and more of an audition for Boston’s supporting cast. It’s like Boston’s top six guys were the cast of Friends and the rest of the guys spent Monday night reading for Gunther, Janice, Mike, and Richard. 

Hey, at least NBA players could actually afford that New York apartment. 

(And before you ask: Jayson Tatum is Rachel, Jaylen Brown is Monica, Kristaps Porzingis is Chandler, Jrue Holiday is Joey, Al Horford is Phoebe, and no one is Ross because Ross is the worst TV character of all time and no one on this team deserves that kind of disrespect. So Derrick White can also be Joey … maybe as Dr. Drake Ramoray or something. This analogy has run out of steam.)

With more than $165 million of Celtics players sitting in street clothes, the remaining $16 million or so did what they could against the actual New York Knicks. And they held their own for a lot of the game. 

We know that Payton Pritchard is getting his minutes. He continues to show that when he gets minutes, especially in the right matchups, he’ll be able to impact a game with his energetic play. He’s going to be especially nice to have on those January nights when most guys are kind of coasting. Pritchard is like an anti-coasting serum. 

Beyond that, there are some question marks. We saw Svi Mykhailiuk do good things. We saw some flashes out of Oshae Brissett and Lamar Stevens. But Dalano Banton carpe’d more diems than most on this particular night. 

“His ability to make plays on the offensive end, make the right play, whether it's drive, it has recognition of screening,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters, listing off Banton’s best traits of the night. “Defensively, he's versatile … he does a great job getting deflections, does a great job rebounding out of his area, does a good job crashing. And he really understands the game. I think he's a really smart player.”

One night isn’t going to solidify anything for Banton. He didn’t get a ton of run in the first game and nothing about his effort stood out against Philadelphia. But against the Knicks, with more opportunity to deliver his own offense, Banton responded by slicing through New York’s tough defense for strong finishes at the rim. 

For Banton, it’s the culmination of a lot of unseen work over the summer. 

“I’ve been here probably like eight weeks prior,” Banton said after the game. “As soon as I signed I was straight out here, then into summer league, and then right back with them. So it’s been a constant grind just trying to find the ins-and-outs, trying to figure out how to get these guys going, and when they're not in, trying to look for more and push the pace with the second unit.” 

Banton, a native of Toronto who spent two years in high school in western Massachusetts, is evolving as a player. He’s been a point guard, which is unique for a 6-7 player, so he’s been trying to shift into a more off-ball role to capitalize on his physical gifts. 

“Whether it’s at the guard position or whether it’s not, whether it’s off the ball, I feel like just being tall, being versatile with my length, I can fill a void at many spots,” Banton said on Media Day last week. “Just working on making the right play every time will go a long way for me.” 

His former coach in Toronto, Nick Nurse (who is now Philadelphia’s head coach), says Banton’s biggest issue is consistency, which is not uncommon for young players. Being able to carve out a role with regular minutes will help fix that. But Banton, who shot 1-5 from deep against New York, needs to be a more reliable shooter in order to get the role he needs. But he’s making progress.

“He’s an improved shooter,” Nurse said before Sunday night’s game. “He didn’t have much of a shooting game in college from deep. But he’s getting there. He’s gonna knock down -- you can’t disrespect him anymore either.”

Whether Banton can seize the role he wants in Boston has yet to be seen. But he’s doing the work and he has the right attitude. As is often the case with players like Banton, whose spots in the league are not guaranteed, there is a great appreciation for his current station and opportunity. He appreciates a chance to be a part of something that's probably a bit different than most other stops he could make on this journey. 

“I just feel like I'm just being able to have that Celtic pride, just being able to know that being a Celtic is not something that's given to you,” Banton said. “We should feel honored to be a Celtic and when we walk into that gym, you feel the history, you feel what's been going on in there. You see the banners up there. So you know when you come in, there's a lot of work that's been put in before you and just trying to continue to build that, continue on.”