Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

Boston Celtics front court is cluttered and unsettled

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 20: Marcus Morris #13, Semi Ojeleye and Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics celebrate after a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden on March 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 20: Marcus Morris #13, Semi Ojeleye and Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics celebrate after a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden on March 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Boston Celtics have all kinds of options, but have very little established in their front court

The Boston Celtics will be going into next season as the closest they have been to a finished product since they brought in Brad Stevens. They have the top end talent they need to win, and know they have a roster whose championship window is fully upon us.

That being said, there are still a lot of question marks. The Celtics can feel great about their top end talent and their depth, but they need to figure out how to make everything come together.

The Celtics have always embraced versatility, and that gives them a lot of flexibility. The Celtics have a lot of pieces that they know will be moving around, but the front court is too much of a mess right now.

At the top, it is quite unsettled, and at the bottom it is absolutely cluttered. The Celtics are changing how you think about a front court with all their wings, but we still do not know who things are going to work out.

More from Hardwood Houdini

Right now, Al Horford is certain and trusted, and they desperately need that. Horford is their anchor, and he is the only thing that brings some sort of continuity and stability to their front court.

After him, however, there everything is unsettled on the starting unit. The Celtics are expected to have three wings in Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. All of them will be expected to play in the front court beside Horford, but we really do not know who will be the best fit.

Tatum has the size and the length to be the best physical matchup, but he is the least developed and could have some troubles defending the better bigs in the NBA. Brown is a lot more undersized, while having the adequate strength to not be pushed around. Then you have Hayward, and right now it is too hard to tell how he will do, because he has not dealt with those kind of defenisve assignments with the Celtics.

What we do know is that all three of them will have to spend time defending bigs in the front court, but they need to figure out who will be the most effective. The Celtics need to make sure they have stability in their starting unit, even if they will be switching all the time.

No one will take on any responsibility by themselves, but the Celtics need to know who they should be looking to when size is a problem, and which of those three wings will be better off in what situations in the front court.

It may take time, but all three of them are going to have to play their part to make sure Horford gets the help he needs against opposing bigs.

The biggest problem is that there will be times when the Celtics need more size and versatility. The Celtics will have to go to their bench to try and make sure these wings cannot be attacked too much, but that bench is in total shambles right now.

Daniel Theis should be the first option, but it is hard to trust him with such a short time in the league. Aron Baynes may not even be brought back, and Marcus Morris will need to do more on defense than offense if he wants a role.

Beyond them, the clutter gets even more troubling with Guerschon Yabusele and Semi Ojeleye. Keep in mind, Ojeleye was a crucial part of defending Giannis Antetokounmpo, and there is no doubt that Stevens can use him to help make up for those wings in the front court.

Right now the Celtics have all kinds of front court options, but none of them can be trusted, and there is not room for many of them.

Hopefully one of the young options will be ale to emerge. Nothing should be changing in the starting unit, but the Celtics need to know that they can get the size they need at the times they need it.

Right now, the Celtics have a lot of different pieces, but none of them are established. Their wings do not have to worry about losing their role, but the defensive responsibility could be difficult to figure out.

The important thing is going to be having the options off the bench they can trust while the wings figure things out. The talent is there with the wings, so they know they should figure out how each of them need to be used in time.

Next: Boston Celtics have assets to move up in the draft

While figuring things out, however, there are four or five legitimate options right now, and if just one of them is able to really separate himself and be a legitimate threat off the bench, the front court should be just fine next season. Right now, however, the clutter is very real and it is hard to predict which options will end up working out.

Home/Celtics News