On Saturday night, the Celtics had a historic first half in what might have been the best offensive showing of Mazzulla Ball. Per NBC Sports Boston’s Dick Lipe, their 82 points at halftime against the Hawks — 52 in the second quarter alone — was their highest total since thrashing Golden State two years ago.

The weekend win hits a little different though because what this roster of previously back-of-the-bench players and products of patient in-house player development has defied expectations.

It’s a testament to how every player has taken absolute advantage of their opportunity and more so, how head coach Joe Mazzulla has built a system for everybody to thrive in and motivated them to do so. He’s tinkered with the starting lineups, shuttling between experience and youthful energy and offensive punch and defensive flexibility, and now halfway through this “gap year,” Mazzulla seems to have settled on his rotations…until the next time he throws another curve ball.

Jaylen Brown – Derrick White – Payton Pritchard695 minutes, 119.9 offensive rating, 112.9 defensive rating

Halfway through the season last year, Brown and White were also part of Boston’s Big Three with obviously Jayson Tatum in the place of Pritchard. That trio combined for 1591 points on 45.9% shooting (36.2% from 3) in 648 minutes. PP has joined the starting lineup and Brown, White, and Pritchard have been arguably better with 1726 points at 48.9% from the field and 36.8% from behind the arc in 695 minutes.

As a perimeter trio, their offensive efficiency (119.9) is on par with some of the league’s other offensive engines that have the benefit of an efficient big man like Houston’s Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith, and Amen Thompson (120.9 offensive rating) and Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert (120.6).

With Brown and Pritchard becoming two of the most elite mid-range jump shooters in the NBA and White not skipping a beat with a higher usage rate and level of responsibility on the ball, they’ve become the engine of one of the most efficient offenses in not just random half in mid-January, but NBA all-time history.

Neemias Queta – Jordan Walsh354 minutes, 121.3 offensive rating, 108.4 defensive rating

If he was a higher profile player, there would be a case to be made that Queta is one of the NBA’s Most Improved Players. Instead, he’s been the underrated backbone of this surprising season and one of Boston’s most impactful players after being their biggest question mark heading into training camp. He’s second (behind Hugo Gonzalez, more on that later) in on/off defensive efficiency (107.5 on vs. 116.1 off) and in total steals plus blocks (behind White because of course).

And while Walsh had his day in the sun as a starter, he remains one of Mazzulla’s trump cards as an individual defender/disruptor. His hit list is long and littered with future Hall-of-Famers:

• James Harden: two games, 4-of-9, one turnover
• Donovan Mitchell: one game, 2-of-8, two turnovers
• Cade Cunningham: two games, 3-of-10, four turnovers
• Scottie Barnes: two games, 1-of-3, one turnover
• CJ McCollum: three games, 2-of-8, two turnovers
• Tyrese Maxey: one game, 1-of-9, zero turnovers
• Austin Reaves: one game, 0-of-3, zero turnovers

Walsh has also become better-than-reliable three-point shooter at 43.5%, too. Queta isn’t exactly the shooter that Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were, but he’s got magnets for hands, can finish with both of them, and has sneaky athleticism off both feet.

Luka Garza – Sam Hauser – Anfernee Simons206 minutes, 122.0 offensive rating, 113.8 defensive rating

Traditionally, a drive-and-kick point guard was a shooter’s best friend; draw enough attention off the bounce and they could get free for an open shot. That still applies to a certain extent, but in today’s defensive switching schemes of the NBA, it’s less effective. Instead, Mazzulla has replaced look-over-here-while-I-do-something-over-there with just brute force, offensive line blocking to get his shooters shots.

In the Celtics resounding offensive explosion in Atlanta on Saturday, Garza recorded six screen assists, one apiece to threes from Hauser and Simons. Both sharpshooters are hovering around 40% three-point shooting on the season after they suffered spells in November and December respectively. All three have also become respectable defenders.

The Hugo Gonzalez Coefficient552 minutes, +192

Somehow, Mazzulla has figured just how much of the rookie to titrate into the mix. Back in December, Gonzalez played the entire second half of a comeback win against the visiting Heat and finished a +22. Last week in Miami, he played just over thirteen minutes, but his stretch between the third and fourth quarters ultimately made the difference in another resurgent run. His four points and three rebounds average is what you’d expect from a 19-year-old rookie; the hustle and momentum-shifting plays are something else.

It would be criminal not to mention Baylor Scheierman, too. The sometimes starter and sometimes DNP-CD is best friends with Gonzalez and you have to wonder if the one thing they have in common is finding ways to play winning basketball. Like Gonzalez, Scheierman is a utility man — a connector that makes shots when he has to (42.6% from 3) and defends his butt off. In 440 minutes, he’s a +65 and someone you can comfortably rely on in his sophomore season.

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