Boston Celtics: B/R says a lacking interior presence is C’s biggest concern

Despite their current 1-0 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, Bleacher Report believes the interior presence on the Boston Celtics may be their Achilles heel.

The Boston Celtics have come into the postseason as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and roster one of the most menacing cores in the entire association. With the likes of All-Stars Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum, arguable All-Star snub Jaylen Brown, former All-Star Gordon Hayward, and Swiss Army man Marcus Smart it’s easy to see why their status is of such great magnitude.

Now, despite the injury to Hayward, we here at the Houdini believe the Cs have as good a chance as anyone to compete for an NBA championship by the end of this year’s campaign. Bleacher Report, on the other hand, sees this feat as somewhat unrealistic due to one major reason: interior presence.

"In his second game back from a major leg injury, Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic dropped 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists on Boston. Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Celtics two days later.This isn’t a bubble-only concern, though. Back in December, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid erupted for 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in a six-point victory.The Celtics are deservedly favorites in the first round given both their standout performance in Orlando and the Sixers’ injury troubles. However, it would behoove them to find a solution down low for later rounds, where skilled big men like Adebayo, Marc Gasol, and Anthony Davis may await.The deeper Boston ventures into the postseason, the less realistic it will become to expect Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker to score 75-plus points per game."

All season long we’ve been stressing the fact that the Boston Celtics should strongly consider improving their interior presence, specifically the center position. From hypothetical trade scenarios to free-agent targets, we have pulled out all the stops on how Danny Ainge could possibly address this concern that, frankly, is warranted.

That said, we do not believe this to be the “biggest concern” for the team at the moment. For us at the Houdini, it is finding a way to effectively replace Hayward in the starting lineup that keeps us on edge.

No doubt the performance at the center position will have a massive influence on how far this team will go in the postseason but, as writer Mandela Namaste even pointed out, Boston ranked fifth-best in center net rating this year.

What do you think? Do you agree with B/R’s choosing of Boston’s interior presence as their biggest concern?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.