Jordan Walsh, Neemias Queta, and the Stay Ready Celtics reveal the secrets to staying ready

BOSTON — The Celtics’ final win of the season, a 93-86 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, was secured by some of the guys who don’t usually play — the Stay Ready Celtics.

With the game tied at 86 with just under two minutes to play, JD Davison drove to the basket and hit a tough go-ahead layup. Then, Jordan Walsh stole the ball and hit a dagger three to give the Celtics a 5-point lead. Charlotte didn’t score the rest of the way.

It’s an annual tradition: season finales are typically closed out by the guys who haven’t played much all year, and in this case, it was two players who have racked up far more minutes in the G League than in Maine who got it done.

Payton Pritchard, who led the way with 34 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds, credited Walsh and Davison for carrying the Celtics over the finish line down the stretch.

“They came through for us and pretty much won us the game,” Pritchard said. “So I was very proud of them.”

It was a particularly momentous occasion for Davison, who signed his first standard NBA contract earlier this weekend. He played one of his best stretches of basketball on Sunday, racking up 9 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 17 minutes off the bench.

A call from Brad Stevens that came on Saturday morning was the ultimate stamp of approval. “That shows his work he’s put in the last three years,” Pritchard said. “Obviously, killed the G League, got MVP, so I think he’s ready for the next step.”

Pritchard has officially graduated from the Stay Ready Group. The season finales are no longer an opportunity to break through; he’s been showing out all year. But not too long ago, the Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner was racking up DNPs, wondering when his next opportunity would come.

Now, it’s a different crop of guys who find themselves in that position: Jordan Walsh, who have averaged 7.5 minutes in 51 games this season; Neemias Queta, who has averaged 13.7 minutes across 61 games; Xavier Tillman, who’s appeared in just 33 games and played 7 minutes a night.

Here’s how they’re dealing with it.

Jordan Walsh is focused on boosting team morale

At 20 years old, Jordan Walsh is the still the youngest player on the Celtics. Walsh had one of his best showings of the year in the season finale; along with the dagger three-pointer, he tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals in 21 minutes.

Walsh told CelticsBlog last month that his focus on the bench is keeping the spirit high and encouraging his teammates.

“Just adding fuel to the fire — never taking anything away,” Walsh said. “Whatever way I do that, I do it, whether it’s cheering every possession when something happens, whether it’s telling guys what I’m seeing, just dap them up and tell them keep shooting when they have a shot.”

Walsh spent a few games with the Maine Celtics this season — even asking to join the G League affiliate on an offday in December — but he’s mostly been in Boston with the parent club.

And, he’s made sure to bring an unwavering spirit to each and every game.

“Anything that can boost the morale of the team, that’s what I try to do,” Walsh said.

Xavier Tillman is breaking down the game to his teammates from the sidelines

Tillman has dealt with a knee injury that required injections last month and has limited his ability to be as impactful as he would’ve liked. And, in part as a result of his injuries, the 26-year-old has found himself to be one of the team’s most sparingly used players.

Still, before games, Tillman said he makes sure to go through drills as hard as he possibly can. And, even if he hasn’t played in days, he stays warm on the sidelines.

But, during games, he’s locked into the mental side of things.

“My mind is more so on, how can I remind my guys the tendencies of the other team?” Tillman said.

So, Tillman watches carefully from the sidelines, studying opposing players’ habits and relaying what he’s observing to his teammates, with the perspective that what he’s seeing from the sidelines could aid the Celtics’ chances — not necessarily with the mindset that he’s on the brink of checking in.

“If you always think like that, you shift away from being a helper,” Tillman said. “I like to shift my focus on helping everybody else out, and if I get called, I get called.”

Neemias Queta simulates game situations from the bench

When Queta is on the sidelines, he puts himself in the shoes of the players on the floor, and simulates how he would go through the same actions and motions.

“What would I have done in that possession? [I’m] seeing what my teammates are doing, and just trying to understand from them how good they are in certain situations.”

At the same time, even if he’s not likely to play Queta goes through all the physical habits he maintains in order to be ready to play — stretching during timeouts, getting on the bike, using heat pads.

“I’m a creature of habit, so I just try and do those things, just to keep myself going, even if I’m not getting in there,” Queta said. “Just to have the peace of mind, just have my conscience clear, and whenever I’m out there, knowing I’m gonna be on my A-game.”

Luke Kornet, a former Stay Ready crew member, passes the ultimate wisdom to the younger players

Kornet, like Pritchard, has officially graduated from the Stay Ready crew, having averaged 18.5 minutes in 72 games this season. He’s poised to become a key playoff contributor for the Celtics, and finished the year with the NBA’s third-best net rating.

But, at 30 years old, Kornet has dealt with his fair share of DNPs, both in Boston and elsewhere. Through those fluctuating opportunities, he’s maintained a level head.

“It’s just a lot of peace to come to life of accepting the position that you’re in and then just doing the best with that, versus trying to fight it and wanting to be in a different one,” Kornet said on Sunday. “You can spend a lot of time worrying about things that you can’t really control. But when you just take the opportunity that you have and do the best with that, you can have days like today where a lot of guys came in and were able to contribute.”

Craig Luschenant, the Celtics director of player development, brought Kornet in earlier this year to chat with the current Stay Ready guys. It ended up being a long-winded visit (Kornet joked that as we in the media know, he enjoys rambling).

The message for the young guys was to focus on their love for basketball, enjoy one another, capitalize on the opportunities to get better — but live in the present rather than wish for a different outcome.

“You can have peace about knowing that you did your job well, just as you did the day before, the day after,” Kornet said.

The Stay Ready Celtics might not get much of an on-court opportunity in the playoffs.

But, they’ll nonetheless find a way to be impactful — even if they never check in.