Boston Celtics: 3 C’s that underwhelmed during the 2019-20 season

Enes Kanter

Now, after blowing up my co-editor’s spot in the previous slide it’s time to man up and blow up my own. Since being drafted out of Kentucky back in 2011, I’ve been a huge fan of Enes Kanter‘s. From his stupendous rebounding skills to his mesmerizing footwork/ post moves, the Turkish talent — in my opinion — proved to be one of the most underrated big men the league had to offer.

Despite this fact, however, he has never managed to become a consistent starter in a team’s rotation. Granted, in regard to many of his former employers, Kanter was tasked with splitting time with already established front court players at the same position — Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Serge Ibaka, etc — which, for the most part, probably had a huge effect on playing time/ his role.

For his career, per 36 minutes, Kanter holds career averages of 19.1 points and 12.6 rebounds on 54 percent shooting from the field.

So, naturally, when it was announced that the Boston Celtics inked the 6-10 big to a very team friendly two-year, $10 million contract, one word sprung to mind: steal. With the depleted front court rotation that we talked about in the last slide, it seemed like the writing was on the wall for Kanter to finally get his shot as a mainstay in a team’s starting rotation at the five.

With his experience, skill set and the media attention he garnered upon signing, it appeared to be a no-brainer the 27 year old would be named the Celtics’ starting center upon opening day, right?

Wrong!

Playing in 51 of a potential 64 outings, Kanter started just six games, as he lost the gig by the end of the preseason to third year center Daniel Theis. Averaging 17.5 minutes per game he is putting up some of his lowest numbers since year two, registering 8.2 points and 7.7 rebounds on 57 percent shooting from the field.

His struggles on the defensive side of the ball — though slightly improved — are still cause for concern while his efficiency on offense has been up and down seemingly all season. Sure, he has still proven to be a sound rebounder — ranks 17th in offensive rebounds per game despite averaging significantly less minutes than everyone else in the top-20 — but to say he’s been an underwhelming contributor for the Celtics throughout the 2019-20 season (based on preseason expectations specifically) would be an extreme understatement.