Tyler Zeller is Back in the Rotation

The Boston Celtics‘ front court has gone through an unprecedented amount of changes this year. On opening night, it was Tyler Zeller and David Lee who were starting. Within just a few months, it appeared as though both of them were out of the rotation. The team appears to have settled into a starting rotation that features Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson but that has not stopped Stevens from giving Kelly Olynyk a few opportunities to be on the starting unit.

The Celtics’ front court has been so cluttered that potential D League MVP Jordan Mickey has received no significant and meaningful playing time in the big leagues. The Celtics’ rotation was constantly changing with unreliable minutes for almost any bench player. Then, the Celtics started to settle. They established the staring rotation and Jonas Jerebko and Olynyk were the only bigs getting consistent minutes off the bench.

The consistent rotation appeared to be helping the Celtics and while that allowed them to climb the eastern conference standings (currently tied for third) it did not stop Stevens from trying to get more out of his young prospects. Simply put, Zeller was out of the rotation. Forget about significant minutes, Zeller could not even see the floor in garbage time.

Seeing Zeller disappear out of the rotation was disappointing but made sense. It was disappointing based on how great he was last year but made sense because of how ineffective he was this year. Zeller was truly one of the brightest spots of last year’s team and before Isaiah Thomas joined them at the trade deadline there was a case to be made that he was the best player on the team.

He had a deadly mid range shot by any standard, shooting 60% between 10-16 feet and he was just as reliable at the rim. Zeller was an unselfish big who was a willing passer and could be trusted to hit the open shots that his teammates created for him. The biggest problem was his defense. Zeller lacked the strength to be a true presence in the paint and an elite rebounder.

Then, when this season came around, all the things that made Zeller a key player took a side role to the unbearable defensive liability he was becoming. Zeller was arguably the worst rebounding and defending big on the Celtics and with so many other options, Stevens had Zeller warm the bench for an extended period of time. Of course, it also didn’t help that Zeller was no where near as effective on the offensive end as he was last year. Zeller regressed in every phase of the game and his play was not on par with the rest of the bigs on the team.

Then, something clicked. For whatever reason, Stevens decided that Zeller had too much potential and was too young to not be given another shot. He started getting limited minutes but important minutes. Stevens was finding a way to use Zeller and it appeared as though Zeller was becoming a legitimate option off the bench once again.

As the games went on it was becoming more and more clear that Zeller’s new role was not a fluke. Zeller is still far off from what his percentages were last year but that is more of a reflection of the start of his season than his recent surge. Even with the disastrous start, Zeller has brought his shooting percentage to just under 50%. Zeller’s mid range game can be as good as it gets on the Celtics and he has started doing all the other things that will keep him in the lineup.

The Celtics continued to flourish with Zeller back in the rotation and then came one of their biggest games of the season against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that absolutely humiliated the Celtics on the inside in their last playoff series. It’s hard to imagine a player who was out of the rotation just a month ago playing having his most significant game in one of the most important games of the year, but thats exactly what happened.

Zeller more than doubled his average minutes per game being on the court for 20 minutes against the Cavavaliers. They were also some of the most productive minutes he has played in a long time. Zeller finished with 16 points on an incredible 80% shooting and collected four rebounds. Stevens gave Zeller a great opportunity to prove his value tot his team and he did not disappoint. It’s hard to imagine Stevens reducing Zeller’s role after he was a crucial reason why they managed to steal a victory from Cleveland.

Of course, there were still problems. Zeller gave up two easy rebounds down the stretch that almost put the game out of reach. Zeller is one of just two 7 footers on the Celtics and if he was to start getting 20+ minutes on the regular he will need to have a bigger impact on the defensive end. The Celtics have enough strong defenders around Zeller to make up for his shortcomings but he could make all the difference if he can develop into a formidable defender.

Next: The Boston Celtics are Contenders and Pretenders

The Celtics’ rotation is finally settling and Zeller will remain the biggest question mark. It is becoming clear that Zeller should expect to have some sort of a role the rest of the way but it remains uncertain as to how significant it will be. There’s a good chance that Zeller will have to deal with inconsistent minutes as Stevens has to balance the most cluttered front court in the NBA but Zeller once again having positive contributions is great news for who was one of the brightest young prospects on the Celtics a season ago.