Celtics 130, Wizards 104
Q. First career start. How do you feel?
JUSTIN CHAMPAGINE: I feel good. A little bit nervous at first. I put in a lot of work to get here, so just tried to trust myself and my coaches, my teammates trusted me. It felt good.
Q. How did it feel getting the tough defensive assignments like against Jayson Tatum?
JUSTIN CHAMPAGINE: That's tough, obviously. He's one of the better players in the league if not one of the best players in the league. I had to take my little lumps today. He scored a lot. Just go back and watch the film and just see what I can be better, kind of pick from the game and always try to constantly get better. But it felt good to get out there and compete for sure.
Q. You're being put in such a hard situation at the end of the season where you're being called on and this team really needs you, but like you said, you have to go up against guys like Jayson Tatum. How do you mentally prepare for that task, and then what do you do to break down film when you go through it?
JUSTIN CHAMPAGINE: I had no clue I was going to start today until I got to the game. But just pretty much a lot of just mental notes to myself like you've got this, like trust yourself, trust your work, trust the stuff that they've been telling you, coaches, teammates. Also like before the game I was on the iPad trying to watch some of the stuff that they do.
It's just being mentally tough. I feel like basketball is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical, so just trying to keep that in mind and go out there and just do what they need me to do.
Q. I asked Coach this, just about young guys having a chip on their shoulder, wanting to prove their worth. Being on a two-way contract do you feel like that's the case?
JUSTIN CHAMPAGINE: Oh, yeah, 100 percent. I've always been that way since I was a kid, since I was eight years old maybe. I've always felt I had something to prove. I've always been doubted out, counted out, and whatever it may be. Just for me when I get my opportunity to go out there, I'm going to show every time that I know I belong.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports