Boston Celtics: 2 players that need more playing time in 2020-21
By Mark Nilon
Tremont Waters, PG
The first player we believe should be bestowed more playing time next season is 22-year-old point guard Tremont Waters. All season long we’ve discussed how the Boston Celtics should seriously look into upgrading the talent at their backup point guard position.
And, while there have been names dropped here and there for potential replacements for their current option, Brad Wanamaker, it’s quite possible that they already have his replacement on the roster in Waters.
Seeing action in only 10 games in 2019-20, the rookie guard did manage to show glimpses of what could be with such limited opportunities, specifically during their November 25th outing against the Sacramento Kings.
Logging 20 minutes on the night, Waters put up a solid stat line of seven points, three assists, two boards, a whopping two blocks (he’s just 5-10) & a steal to go along with a box +/- of +20 and a 103-102 Boston Celtics victory.
When given significant minutes, the young talent has shown capable of producing at a high level. This has been made evident — though a small sample size — in the NBA as well as while suiting up for the Celtics’ G-League affiliate the Maine Red Claws.
In 36 games played in the Developmental League, Waters has averaged 18 points, seven assists and three rebounds and has helped guide the team to a record of 28-14, good for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Had it not been for his underwhelming stature (5-10, 175 pounds) it’s quite a realistic possibility we would have seen the LSU product selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft rather than at pick number 51.
Through two seasons at the collegiate level (2017-19), the point guard averaged an impressive 15.6 points, 5.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game and attained honors such as First-Team All-SEC and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
With Wanamaker’s impending free agency, it appears the stars are aligning quite nicely for Waters to get a legitimate shot at taking on the role of primary backup one guard for Boston in 2020-21.
Obviously, in short spurts of action he’s shown he can play. Bestowing him more minutes would allow us fans, as well as the coaching staff to attain a better understanding of what they have in Waters moving forward.