Analyzing Enes Kanter’s Impact on the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have looked to Enes Kanter as the main backup center to give a spark to the offense off the bench. Unfortunately, Kanter’s limitations on defense frustrates many fans to no end, yet others believe his offensive prowess overshadows his defensive limitations.

So far this season, in 18.3 minutes per game, Kanter is averaging 9.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 offensive rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 57.6% from the field. From strictly a counting stats point of view, the big man’s production is off the charts for the amount of time he’s playing in a crowded Boston Celtics front-court.

If he were to play 36 minutes a game, those stats would extrapolate to 17.9 points, 16.9 rebounds, 6.2 offensive rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. Kanter hasn’t been able to start on championship caliber teams previously due to his defensive struggles, something that has been noticed by Boston Celtics fans.

However, among centers, Kanter’s defensive real plus/minus (RPM), a stat that measures the player’s average impact on a team’s defense per 100 possessions, is 1.21, good enough for 15th best at his position. That’s ahead of centers such as Jarrett Allen, Hassan Whiteside, and Brook Lopez, while just behind Andre Drummond and Tristan Thompson.

On the offensive side of the ball, his offensive real plus/minus is 1.33, the 5th best in the league for big men. That’s ahead of centers such as Deandre Ayton, Steven Adams, and Joel Embiid, while behind superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Nikola Jokic.

When they’re added together, Kanter’s total RPM is 2.54, the 6th best among centers in the NBA. For comparison, Daniel Theis and Robert Williams have RPMs of 1.00 and -1.46, respectively. The player with the best RPM on the team is Jayson Tatum, who has an RPM of 4.52 due to his great play on both sides of the ball.

Now, let’s dig a little deeper. On the offensive side of the ball, the offensive rating for the Celtics increases by almost six points – from 110.8 to 116.5 – when Kanter is on the floor. As for the opposing team, when the Turkish big man checks into the game, they score 3 less points per 100 possessions than when he’s off the court – from 106.4 to 103.0.

We’ve seen Enes struggle on defense in all stops of his NBA career, so why is this different? Let’s take an example lineup of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kanter. That lineup outscores opponents by 18.5 points per 100 possessions when they’re on the court.

Not only can Kanter contribute immensely on the offensive end, but his defense is covered up by three great wing defenders in Smart, Tatum and Brown. Therefore, these lineups are the most successful when the 3rd overall pick is on the court.

So, the automatic thought is to think about his struggles in the pick and roll, and how he can be exploited in a good offensive system – and that’s all true. But for now, it’s working, and the numbers are there to back it up. Enes Kanter is a valuable asset to the Boston Celtics, and he should be treated as such.

Brad Stevens, you can play Kanter.