Boston Celtics: 2 Cs who could outperform expectations in 2020-21

Player who could outperform expectations No. 1) Tristan Thompson

I’m going to be frank with you folks, when the Boston Celtics landed Tristan Thompson this offseason to a 2-year, $19 million deal I was not a happy camper.

Initially, I was taking into account his immensely capped offensive game and his old-school big man nature and perceiving it as a negative — after all, the team was rumored to likely be landing the likes of “new-school” center Myles Turner for quite some time and, honestly, I had developed a specific mindset.

However, as the days have come and gone I’ve developed somewhat of a newfound love for the signing of TT to this specific squad. While my original points are still correct about his offense and his 90’s style of play, what the 29-year-old does provide could be of great use to this team during the year, and could wind up having a much greater impact than a majority of fans are expecting.

In regard to scoring, Thompson is not one to stray outside of the paint and knock down jumpers. That said, with his inclination to stay under the rim, he has become one of the best offensive rebounders in the entire association, as he placed second in offensive rebounds per game last season and fourth in total offensive boards grabbed.

His presence could wind up being so impactful for this team that he could be slotted into the C’s starting unit at the five, sliding Daniel Theis up to the four — his natural position –, which would allow Boston to run a four out, one in system which, of course, if all the craze nowadays.

The ninth-year veteran’s presence within this rotation allows for a few different variations of lineups and also implements a championship-caliber mindset into a rotation void of any such experience.

Be it in his numbers or his impact, Tristan Thompson could very easily prove to be invaluable for the Boston Celtics this year.