Boston Celtics: taking a look at Tacko Fall’s impressive rookie season in the G-League

Though the NBA’s regular season is still on hiatus, that does not mean we cannot reminisce on games and players who logged minutes during the days the league was still active. Today, we take a look at the impressive stint Boston Celtics rookie Tacko Fall had with the team’s G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Despite there being no more NBA games “until further notice” due to the Coronavirus outbreak, “Tacko Tuesday” still lives on — a day in which we celebrate the Boston Celtics’ 7-5 messiah Tacko Fall.

Since coming into the league as an un-drafted free agent back in June, the Senegalese supergiant has managed to make his way into the media outlets, as well as our hearts, with seemingly every single passing day.

Signed to a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics, Fall was eligible to suit up for the shamrocks for a total of 45 games, while honing his skills with the team’s G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, when not on the C’s active roster.

Prior to the suspension of the 2019-20 season, the rookie center managed to see NBA action on six separate occasions, where he averaged 3.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and .3 blocks in just four minutes per game.

Sure, just by looking at these stats it’s hard to see the potential Fall could bring to Boston in the future. However, it is his performance in the G-League that inspires hope for the UCF product.

In 29 appearances with the Red Claws, Tacko Fall proved to be an absolute menace on both ends of the floor. Averaging 12.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks a game on 75 percent shooting, Fall helped lead the team to a record of 28-14 (fourth best in the league) while helping them rank tenth in offensive rating (115.4) and seventh in defensive rating (110.7).

Prior to the season’s suspension on March 11th, Fall nearly recorded his first career triple-double in the pros, putting up 16 points, 14 rebounds and nine blocks on a perfect 100 percent shooting from the field.

Now, I get it, Fall is a raw prospect who has a capped offensive game and has shown a propensity to struggle against quicker assignments when on defense — believe me, we’ve known this for a while. However, we would be remiss if we did not highlight his impressive play in the G-League going against other individuals doing exactly what he’s doing: trying to improve their overall game to, hopefully, one day make it as a consistent contributor in the NBA.

Fall was all over the league leaderboards throughout the 2019-20 season, as he ranked fifth in rebounds per game, fourth in blocks per game and third in field goal percentage.

Do we anticipate the center to produce at this high of a level — outside of per-36 minutes conversions — if and/ or when he gets a chance to be a consistent resident on the Boston Celtics’ main roster? No; at least, not as things currently stand. However, for an un-drafted player, Tacko Fall’s production in the G-League was, at worst, entertaining and, at best, impressive during the 2019-20 season.