Abdel Nader is not the answer off the bench for the Boston Celtics

The Celtics need to look for other bench options in the backcourt in lieu of Abdel Nader.

While the Boston Celtics have been going through one of their most injury-riddled stretches in the Brad Stevens era over the last few weeks, there is no need for the team to be trotting out players that would not even have seen court time during the abomination that was 2013-14.

Essentially, Celtics fans have been force-fed too much Naderade as of late.

With guards Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown all missing time with ailments, shooting guard Abdel Nader has received the big league opportunity he has long been waiting for. It has been difficult for Celtics fans to watch.

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In a loss to the Pelicans on Sunday, Nader managed to miss four consecutive foul shots – in one trip to the free throw line. On Tuesday night, Nader entered the game for fan favorite Jayson Tatum with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter, received by a TD Garden crowd that wasn’t sure whether to cheer with sarcasm or boo with discontent.

With no time to spare, he made his mark on the game, missing a layup on his first offensive possession. Two minutes later, Nader pumped some optimism into the crowd by rebounding a Paul George miss. The optimism quickly evaporated as Nader found himself trapped by two Thunder defenders on the wing 30 feet from the basket. He then lost his composure and picked up his dribble before pivoting and flinging the ball towards the baseline and out of bounds.

Two possessions later, Nader bricked a three-pointer, a theme of the evening as he fared 1-of-7 from the field and missed all but one of his four three-point attempts. One minute after that, with Oklahoma City riding a 9-1 run that would give them a 23-13 lead late in the first, Nader was forced to help onto George on defense in transition, an adventure in itself.

Rough night for Nader. 1-7, just dribbled through a shot clock violation.
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) March 21, 2018

George caught the ball on the right side of midcourt with Nader being the only Celtic in his path. Standing at the high block outside of the restricted area, the logical move for Nader would be to set up to take the charge with George barreling into the lane with the ball. If that is Smart on defense, he is positioning himself to absorb the contact and George is getting saddled with an offensive foul.

Nader, however, thought he could channel his inner Rudy Gobert and challenge George’s shot in the lane. With that, the 6’9″ George’s eyes lit up with excitement. He reached into his bag of tricks and pulled off a right-to-left eurostep on the out-of-place Nader, drawing the foul on Nader as he uselessly reached for the ball while finishing the left-handed scoop shot for the and-one.

Nader’s defensive ineffectiveness was broadcasted yet again in the beginning of the second quarter. After missing a pair of floaters, Nader was caught out of position when rotating to help on a driving Jerami Grant, handing the Thunder another and-one.

Grant caught the ball in the corner with Nader rotating over from the block to stop his ability to penetrate. Grant put the ball in his left hand and proceeded to drive baseline. If this is Smart playing defense, he is setting up to take the charge with zero hesitation. Nader, however, found himself stuck in limbo. He attempted to set himself up to draw the offensive foul, but by then the discreetly rapid Grant already had a step on him.

Oh boy Nader.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) March 18, 2018

Thus, Grant ran right over the moving Nader as if he were a high school linebacker attempting to tackle Marshawn Lynch, taking the ball to the rack for the and-one while Nader lay in a heap on the floor after committing the foul.

Many, including myself, were high on Nader coming out of college. He was one of the most improved college players in 2015-16 while playing for Iowa State, upping his scoring average from 5.8 points per night in 2014-15 to 12.9 while improving his three-point percentage from 21.7 percent to 37.1 percent on four three-point attempts per game.

In Summer League over the past two years, Nader balled out. In July 2016, we wrote about how he was the most impressive rookie in Summer League over Brown, and he showed out yet again this past summer after winning G League Rookie of the Year in Maine last season. The hype on Nader was so high he was even talking about getting time at the power forward position on the NBA level.

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This year, however, Nader has performed below the expectations set by the Celtics brass when he inked a four-year, $6 million deal with the team last July. He is shooting just 34.5 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from inside the three-point arc and 21.1 percent inside the paint this season.

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