Boston Celtics: 2 realistic results of final 8 regular season-games in Orlando

Realistic result No. 1: The rookies get more minutes

It’s no secret that fans have been underwhelmed by the production of this year’s rookie class for the Boston Celtics.

Coming into the season, the hype was overbearing in regard to the team’s first-year talents.

Romeo Langford, despite being another wing in the rotation, was considered by many publications as somewhat of a steal selection based on where he was picked.

Carsen Edwards, the 33rd pick in the draft, had us here at HH clamoring about the prospect of him being a perfect offensive spark-plug off the bench for the Cs, and his summer league performances certainly seemed to back up our hopes.

Tacko Fall, the 7-5 supergiant was nabbed as an undrafted free agent, giving the team a raw talent to mold and, potentially, turn into a quality contributor at some point down the line.

Yup, the excitement surrounding this crop of young ballers was certainly grand. However, the results throughout the regular season were anything but.

By the time of the league’s suspension, the most productive rookie from this year’s lot was 6-6 power forward Grant Williams. Though his impact was truly greater than what his per game stats would suggest — 3.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and half a block per game — the fact that Williams has unequivocally been the best rookie thus far is a bit concerning.

However, there is still a chance for the rest of the rooks to show signs of hope and promise during this final eight-game stretch in Orlando.

With reports surfacing that the league is pondering on the idea of adding additional roster spots during the Disney World bubble play, it’s very likely that we will see a majority of these aforementioned players in Orlando.

Being that the team already has a guaranteed spot in the postseason, perhaps it would be wise of Brad Stevens to throw some extra minutes at his rookies to gauge their value even further at the NBA level and what they may be able to provide for the team moving forward.

We’re not saying they should give Edwards, Waters, and Tacko 18+ minutes, however getting more than their 7.3 minutes per game averages they get combined is a reasonable goal to be met, especially in garbage time situations.

This could also be a good time to roll out Langford in more lineups as a one-guard, the position we believe he could be best suited at moving forward.

More time for the rookies would equal more rest for the team’s starting lineup that, obviously, will be relied on heavily once the postseason commences. Yes, they’ve already had significant time off, but easing them back slowly is easily the most desirable approach for any team, especially one that likely will see a deep run like the Boston Celtics.

In turn, giving the youngsters more playing time could be a win-win for all players involved.