Shane Larkin Embodies the Boston Celtics Bench

Shane Larkin embodies everything the Boston Celtics bench stands for

Shane Larkin came off the bench to rescue the Boston Celtics again, shooting a perfect six-of-six from the field to help the Celtics keep pace with the Denver Nuggets in a 124-118 victory.

The offense he provides is very typical of a Celtics bench player. When he’s hot, he’s hot. When he’s not, we call for his head. That’s how it works in Boston. Larkin’s next-man-up heroics have him on everybody’s good side for now, but what happens if Larkin goes cold? Will he get the Marcus Smart treatment?

The injury to Marcus Morris has opened up plenty of minutes for other bench players to step up. The Celtics got quality minutes out of Semi Ojeleye (career high 28 minutes played), Daniel Theis, and Larkin against the Nuggets, who were collectively +4 on the court together in the fourth quarter, although it’s worth noting that lineups with just Theis and Larkin were +10 together over the course of the game.

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Larkin’s efficient shooting would make him a welcome player on any team’s bench, but it’s his decisiveness that makes him such a great fit for Boston. Think about how many times Marcus Smart has been forced to toss up deep three-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock on a stagnant possession. Or, think about how many times the Celtics have ran out the shot clock because they made the extra-extra-extra-extra pass with nobody electing to take the open shot. These are typical problems of a young team, but creating offense happens to be one of Larkin’s strengths. As a 25 year old, he’s yet another player we look at and wonder why he plays the game like a 10-year veteran.

Here’s the challenge that Larkin will soon face: he’s set up to be the next scapegoat. I don’t like to point fingers, but I’m guilty of blaming Morris for a loss or two after watching him try a little to hard to force isolation plays when his shot isn’t falling.

Larkin, like Morris, is crafty enough to create space to shoot with spins and jab steps. And, just like Morris, sometimes he’ll shoot even when he creates no space at all. It’s fine when he goes perfect from the field, but it has yet to be seen if he can impact the game in ways other than scoring.

Next: Celtics No Longer Being Just Catiois With Morris

In six games where Larkin has played at least 15 minutes, he has a total of 15 assists in roughly 110 minutes. If I did math correctly (50/50 chance), that’s 2.7 assists for every 20 minutes Larkin has played. That’s not terrible, but he might need to pass at a better rate if Smart has a rough game without Morris to defer to.