Boston Celtics: Could circumstances of NBA season resumption benefit rookies?
This postseason will be different, but that could actually stand to benefit the Boston Celtics rookie class.
Although we know that the Boston Celtics will be returning to the hardwood at the end of July–possibly the 30th as opposed to the 31st–we don’t know exactly the end product will look like with the NBA now venturing into uncharted waters.
Roster flexibility will be key as the league aims to finish the season during an ongoing pandemic. That could mean two-way players Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall could be seated court-side at Disney’s Wide World of Sports…or even playing in regular season games.
What could also happen is a positive coronavirus test, which would surely have wide reaching consequences for any given roster. If an established player ventures out of the bubble and contracts the virus for some wacky reason–because as Jared Dudley said, “every team has a Rodman”–rookies could be called upon to step in and contribute earlier in their career trajectory than one would have thought.
On a followup question, Jared Dudley says he believes most players would be responsible and not leave the bubble. But: "every team got a Rodman, he just doesn’t have green and blue hair," https://t.co/08MGoR4Jvp
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) May 20, 2020
Expect Romeo Langford to be needed if any of the C’s main wings goes down for any reason. Grant Williams could sniff more floor time if the three players ahead of him on the depth chart (Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter, Robert Williams) come down with COVID-19 or have an injury flare back up.
Perhaps the G-League trio of Carsen Edwards, Waters and Fall could make the JV-to-Varsity type jump to minutes in the postseason. If anything, they are better equipped to play in front of no fans playing in front of so few in the NBA’s developmental league. Remember, Edwards, Fall and Waters all played in mid-sized arenas in college before playing in arenas similar to Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex with the Red Claws.
Langford has underwhelmed so far, but with the entire league seemingly unprepared for playoffs compared to where things stood in March, he could get hot in truncated training camp and put it together on the big stage. Williams has hopefully picked up some pointers from his superstar housemate during quarantine, Kemba Walker.
Every team is going to have its issues, whether it be health or just a struggle to adjust to the new normal. If the rookies stay ready, they may be able to rewrite the narrative that Danny Ainge screwed up during the 2019 NBA Draft.
Next. 3 C's that can be replaced in the draft. dark