How Ime Udoka Expects Celtics To Limit Fatigue In Game 6 Of NBA Finals

Win or go home, that’s the story for the Boston Celtics heading into their Game 6 matchup with the Golden State Warriors.

The reason for that? They ran out of gas in Game 5.

After storming back from 12-point deficit in the third quarter of Game 5, the Celtics effectively allowed fatigue to get the best of them in the fourth. They fell back into a stagnant offense and continued to turn the ball over, essentially handing all of the momentum back to the Warriors.

Boston will need to avoid that in Game 6, and head coach Ime Udoka has an idea of how they can do so.

“We don’t expect a lack of production like that again off the bench, so keep the guys in their natural rotation, keep their minutes down, and they will be fresh for the end,” Udoka said, as transcribed by The Athletic’s Jay King.

There’s little doubt that the Celtics will need more out of their bench players in Game 6. Boston’s bench combined for 10 total points in Game 5, with six of those coming at the end of the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

Grant Williams has averaged 4.4 points per game off the bench in these finals, a stark departure from his 10.1 ppg through the first three rounds this postseason. Payton Pritchard is shooting 25% from 3-point range after connecting on 36% of his shots from beyond the arc in the three rounds prior. Derrick White scored just one point in Game 5.

With their season on the line, the Boston Celtics role players will have one more opportunity to show up for their team. Tipoff for Game 6 is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.