Three Summer Leaguers That Could Start for the Boston Celtics
Zizic could easily be the most important player to watch in the summer league. It is not because he is more talented than Brown or Fultz, because he is not. The reason Zizic is going to be so important is that there is an open spot in the starting rotation just waiting for him.
Even if the Celtics brought Amir Johnson back, the playoffs made it abundantly clear that Horford needs another front court partner to start with, and Zizic is by far and away the best candidate that is currently on the team.
Not only is that spot right for the taking for Zizic, he also brings the one thing that Horford does not, rebounding. The Celtics have always emphasized versatility, passing and shooting in their bigs, but when you have someone that does all of that as well as Horford, it may be time to sacrifice a bit of that model to get a player in that can be dominant on the boards.
It will be interesting to see what Stevens tries to do with Zizic’s offensive game. I mean, no one would have thought that Johnson would even be attempting three pointers, and he managed to hit over 40 percent of the wide open looks he took.
Zizic is still a raw player who needs to prove that he can comfortably be a part of this offense, while bringing at least some rim protection. That being said, if the Celtics bring in no outside help, dominating the boards in a way that the Celtics feel will translate to the NBA could be all Zizic needs to be a starter.
There is no denying that both Brown and Fultz are significantly more talented than Zizic, but Zizic is the most likely to be the opening day starter.
There has been a lot of hype around Zizic after his season overseas. Right out of the draft he was looked at an an NBA ready rebounder, and he made it clear that he wanted to play as a rookie.
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Zizic had to be patient, but this offseason could feature a complete overhaul of the front court, and if it all works out, the Celtics could get everything they need from their bigs, and everything that was missing last season, with Zizic playing next to Horford.