Boston Celtics Bench Needs to Get to the Line More

The Boston Celtics need their bench to get to the free throw line more

The Boston Celtics have seen enough from their second unit this season to understand their limitations on offense. There is not much shooting that they can trust, and they have a whole bunch of players that like to shoot the three.

They have instigators they can trust in Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier, and Marcus Morris is the one player that can manufacture points. Beyond that, the rest of the second unit needs the offense to be created for them, and the extent of their responsibility is providing reliability on open shots.

The unfortunate reality is that the Celtics do not have the kind of shooters they can always trust, even if the ball movement is generating open looks. Morris has bailed them out on multiple occasions, but you cannot rely on that spark on a regular basis.

The Celtics bench is not built in a way that can avoid bad slumps, and they will inevitably go on the kind of scoring droughts that makes them susceptible to runs. The second unit simply does not have the offensive talent to expect to hit even the open shots, so they need to make things even easier.

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The Celtics are going to remain heavily reliant on the three point shot, but the closer the second unit gets to the rim the better off they are. In fact, the only way you can get some sense of reliability with them would be if they would get to the line more, because they simply are not doing that.

The Celtics understands the limitations of that second unit, and the only way they can get an additional boost for the second unit on a consistent basis is by getting to the free throw line more. The free throw line will not be the key to getting a great boost from the second unit, and it could make a difference in mitigating the scoring droughts that allow lesser teams to get back into games.

The Celtics have some of their highest volume shooters coming off the bench. Morris, Smart and Rozier are three of the seven most prominent shooters on the roster, meaning they are getting more than enough opportunities to create a lot of offense.

Despite their high volume shooting for second unit players, none of these guys are really getting to the line a lot. Jayson Tatum is a good measuring stick for them, because he averages 3.5 free throw attempts per game to go with his 9.6 field goal attempts per game.

Tatum is actually a player the Celtics could still see at the rim more often with a more aggressive approach, and he is taking the second most free throw attempts per game on the team. Morris and Smart both take more shot attempts per game than Tatum, and yet they take just 2.4 free throw attempts per game.

By no means does Tatum spend a lot of time at the free throw line, and yet players spending more time with the ball in their hands, who are also much less reliable on the outside, are taking one less attempt per game. Then there is Rozier, who takes one less shot attempt per game than Tatum, while taking 2.3 fewer free throw attempts per game.

Smart, Rozier and Morris will always try and do damage with their outside shooting, but when you take into account how much more time they spend with the ball in their hands than Tatum, it is time they started getting easier points by getting to the line.

Rozier has great athleticism that makes him a great threat while driving. Smart has plenty of strength to fight on the inside and finish through contact. Morris is already so aggressive every time he touches the ball, the one way he can make things easier is by getting the the line.

With how much the Celtics spend behind the three point line, it is not that surprising to see so many players with low free throw attempts per game. For the starters, they can manage with the shooting they have. The second unit, on the other hand, does not have the shooting to be sustainable without getting those extra points.

Especially with Smart injured, the second unit wants to have as many different ways to score on top of their three point shooting, because we have seen time and time again that we cannot trust the second unit shooting, even if the offense is functioning well. Without Smart, they will not have the trusted shooting and will not function quite as well.

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There are a lot of different ways the Celtics want to improve this season, and finding easier offense is one of those ways. The Celtics know that three point shooting is the key to their top offensive potential, but getting to the free throw line is the easiest way to make sure they are giving their defense what it needs to get the win.