Boston Celtics: Semi Ojeleye’s valuable role

Semi Ojeleye gives the Celtics much-needed versatility of defense

In Tuesday night’s win, Semi Ojeleye logged the fourth most minutes of any Boston Celtics on the floor that night. Even prior to the return of Marcus Smart, many did not expect the second round pick from SMU to see such significant time on the floor.

Tuesday night, Ojeleye logged an impressive 31 minutes. His stat line was only five points on three shots, seven rebounds, and four fouls. His performance was not great on paper but his versatility on defense allowed the Celtics to hold the Bucks to 87 points. This has been the narrative for Ojeleye this season. Intensity of pure production.

For Ojeleye, it’s all about the intangibles. He knows his role. Not once during the regular and postseason has he attempted more than 10 shots in a single game. He has the prototypical mold of a modern NBA 3-and-D of player.

Not only can he switch onto smaller and bigger players, but Ojeleye can run the floor and help the Celtics push the pace in transition. His offensive prowess is still in rookie form but improving.

More from Hardwood Houdini

• Boston Celtics’ two-way contract decision will be made after training camp
• Proposed trade sends Boston Celtics playoff killer to the Cs from rival
• ‘Face of Germany’s stunning run’ in FIBA World Cup not the only ex-Boston Celtics player to win gold
• Proposed Boston Celtics trade target pitched for reunion with fired coach
• Battle For Banner 18: Will Boston Celtics battle historical foe in 2024 Finals?

After the All-Star break, he shot an impressive 43.75 percent from beyond the arc. He can somewhat open up driving lanes for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to probe the interior, while Greg Monroe and Aron Baynes would normally clog them.

Prior to his start, the Celtics were putting Al Horford on Giannis Antetokounmpo to start with. This experiment wasn’t working. Prior to Tuesday night’s victory, Giannis was averaging 27.5 points on 62.5 percent shooting.

In Tuesday night’s game, Giannis was kept to only 16 points on 50 percent shooting. Six of his points came from the foul line. With Ojeleye, the Celtics were able to switch every matchup and able to avoid Baynes being left on an island. Ojeleye gave the Celtics what they needed and even though offensively the Celtics struggled, they held the Bucks to only 87 points, their lowest scoring game since February 9th.

Moving forward, the Celtics need to stay with Ojeleye. Maybe 31 minutes per game is excessive, but his defensive versatility helped the Celtics a lot more compared to clunkier players like Baynes. The Celtics also have no real rim protector, a problem when facing such an athletic team like Milwaukee.

Next: Boston Celtics defense has their versatility back

The Celtics do have wing versatility, both offensive and defensive. They should look to capitalize off of this versatility. The Celtics already have an extremely dynamic lineup with the long and athletic combination of Brown and Tatum, so why not add another versatile defender to the mix. Look for Stevens to increase the minutes of Ojeleye while phasing out the minutes of Baynes.