Though the 2019-20 rookie class may not have shined as bright as some expected, NBC Sports sees the youngsters on the Boston Celtics having big impacts in 2020-21.
With the recent news circulating stating that All-Star point guard Kemba Walker is expected to miss the first month of action for the Boston Celtics, it has seemed as though dark clouds have managed to formulate over the franchise heading into 2020-21.
However, though this may not be the happy-go-lucky start to the season that we’ve experienced over the last two years, this is not to say all hope is lost for the team — not by a long shot!
In such a gloomy year like 2020, it is imperative for us to always look for the silver lining in things that manage to spring upon us.
In response to the Walker update, we at the Houdini compiled a list of 3 players who could stand to benefit from the point guard’s absence, adding a reletively positive spin to an unfortunate situation.
NBC Sports took positivity to a whole ‘nother level, as they turned their attention onto the reletively underwhelming bunch of second and third-year players — as well as incoming rookies — and went about breaking down which ones could have the biggest impact on the team heading into this year’s campaign.
Atop of the list we found the likes of Grant Williams who, by all accounts, was Boston’s most productive rookie last season. Writer Chris Forsberg’s reasoning for why he believes the 22-year-old has the best shot to be the most impactful youngster this upcoming season read as follows:
"Some of Boston’s best minutes inside the bubble came with Williams on the floor and there were a lot of positives for him to build off — not the least of which was shooting 58.8 percent beyond the 3-point arc (10 of 17 overall).Might Williams elevate to a starting role, playing more power forward in traditional two-big lineups? Williams has the versatility to switch onto perimeter players and having a more traditional center alongside would limit the amount of times he’s giving up size against big 5s.Still, his offensive game must develop or teams will simply challenge him to hit shots and put more attention on Tatum and Brown. An encouraging stat: The Celtics were 21-5 in the 26 regular-season games in which Williams played at least 17 minutes."
The entirety of the rankings for the Boston Celtics younglings went as follows:
- Grant Williams
- Romeo Langford
- Robert Williams III
- Payton Pritchard
- Aaron Nesmith
- Tremont Waters
- Carsen Edwards
- Javonte Green
- Tacko Fall
The article would go on to rave about both of Boston’s rookies, stating Pritchard “made a quality first impression on the court after arriving in town” and that “the threat of shooting could be enough to earn Nesmith a rotation role.”
Despite some first-year struggles from last year’s class, this year’s crop of youngsters could prove to be quite effective given the circumstances and, for some, with more experience now under their belts.