Boston Celtics Are Not Equipped for Front Court Injuries

Injuries to Horford and Jerebko exposed Boston’s front court in a terrible way

The Boston Celtics have been dealing with injuries for the majority of the season, but they have done a decent job of winning despite them. The Celtics have done a solid job of solidifying the depth of their back court, and the emergence of Jaylen Brown is the biggest reason why the Celtics were able to overcome Avery Bradley‘s extended absence.

When a front court player goes down, it is not as easy on the Celtics. With Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier and Brown, the Celtics still have options with Bradley out of the lineup. With Al Horford going down, the Celtics quickly learned how awful their front court depth is. Jonas Jerebko is far from an intimidating presence in the paint, Tyler Zeller continues to be useless on both ends, and Kelly Olynyk‘s inconsistent impact is not enough.

The Celtics have learned what they need to do with their lineup when a guard goes down, but unless Jordan Mickey comes out of nowhere and starts to have an impact, they are going to run into a lot of problems with front court injuries. The Celtics are already undersized to begin with, and taking out Horford leaves them completely exposed, especial when more depth is taking out with Jerebko.

The Celtics have now lost two straight games with Horford sidelined, and the front court was an issue in both of them. With both Horford and Jerebko out against the Clippers, the Celtics had their roster exposed in a way that hasn’t been seen yet this season.

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Against one of the most daunting front courts in the NBA, the Celtics were forced to employ three and four guard lineups on a regular basis, and it really was only a matter of time before the Clippers figured out how to dominate that. Add in that Young and Rozier were featured in many different lineups of this sort, and it is no surprise that Isaiah Thomas was not pleased with what the team was able to do against the Clippers.

The Celtics have embraced small ball and have been extremely successful with it. They know that they can sustain three guard lineups, but that is only because they have incredible versatility in Smart and Brown. As soon as the Celtics went to other guards in those kinds of lineups, the complete lack of a front court was exploited in the worst way this season. Once the Celtics get past Brown and Smart, no other second unit guard has the defensive versatility needed to sustain small ball lineups.

While a lot is being said about Stevens employing this four guard strategy for the first time of the season, the issue is that he did not have much more of a choice. The Celtics simply do not have capable bodies on their second unit front court, and he knew that something else would have to be attempted against the Clippers.

No, the timing is not great to have these four guard lineups against the Clippers, but having Zeller and Mickey play more minutes would not have made the difference. The Celtics can feel confident that they can make up for guard injuries with the way they played with Bradley, but losing Horford is the most damaging injury to the sustainability of their lineup. The Celtics have known all season that their front court depth would not be good enough in this situation, so he took a chance with back court depth he had more confidence in.

On both ends, the Celtics fall apart without capable front court players, and Johnson and Olynyk cannot carry a team by themselves. The Celtics know that their second unit front court players will be exposed and abused against any decent NBA talent, and Stevens took a chance with something different. Now, the Celtics realize that even with their great guard versatility, they simply do not have the personnel to overcome significant injuries to their front court.

The Celtics can feel good about what they have when they are healthy. The rebounding is not going to improve, but both Horford and Johnson are strong on the defensive end, and their ability and willingness to keep the ball moving on offense is essential. Other than Olynyk, the Celtics do not have a single front court player that can come close to the defensive or offensive impact of those starters, and losing one of them leaves them with a hole that they will not be able to overcome.

Taking out Jerebko took the issues to new levels. The Celtics can only push the versatility of their guards so far, and it was made abundantly clear that missing two front court players is far beyond what they can overcome, especially against a front court as strong as the Clippers.

The good news is that Horford is expected back against the Warriors, and Jerebko was only out due to being ill, which should not be long term. The Celtics will be getting their front court back at full strength and that should allow them to get back on track. Unfortunately, they now realize how much trouble they will be in if one of their key front court players goes down.

Next: Consistency is the Key for Olynyk

The Celtics already knew they needed to address their front court, and their overseas assets prove that they are working on improving that problem. Unfortunately, there really is nothing more they can do this season to help that depth with the players currently on their roster, making it absolutely vital that their front court stays in tact if they want to go on a playoff run.

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