After about two months of action, the Boston Celtics find themselves struggling quite a bit.
Through 26 games played, the Cs boast a measly just north of a .500 record at 14-13 and have been losers in 10 of their last 16 outings, five of which came against teams with losing records.
Now, as they find themselves slipping in the league’s power rankings by the day, fans are beginning to wonder what can be done to try and save this sinking season.
We here at the Houdini, however, have gone the route of not just looking at what can be done but, rather, what could have been done to prevent this lowly play altogether.
Could different draft decisions have led to better play by the Boston Celtics?
Looking back on the offseason, there are certainly quite a few regrets the Boston Celtics must be feeling right about now, including signing Jeff Teague and not landing Myles Turner in the rumored Gordon Hayward – Indiana Pacers botched deal.
This past draft is also another sore spot for us here at HH when thinking about the decisions made by Danny Ainge and co.
While we are ecstatic with how 26th overall pick Payton Pritchard has played to start the year, the team’s lone lottery selection in Aaron Nesmith has been nothing short of a disappointment thus far.
Granted, many did expect the young wing to struggle at first, being he missed the majority of his sophomore season at Vanderbilt due to injury, but his production is so clearly sub-par in comparison to others from this past draft, many of whom were found taken after he was at 14th overall.
While we haven’t given up on Nesmith’s future prospects in this league, based on the current needs for the Cs we can confidently say that there are several other players that may have been better options for the team to take
Today, we present to you 3 players the Cs likely regret not drafting:
Player Boston Celtics regret not drafting No. 1) Precious Achiuwa
Make no mistake about it, we’re well aware of the fact that Miami Heat rookie Precious Achiuwa is a player that’s still developing as the days go by and who still has a way to go before he can log substantial minutes in a rotation.
That said, with Boston’s need for big man help and, more specifically, a legitimate power forward, being patient with the Memphis product seems more enticing to us than being so with a player at a position they’re stacked with talent at.
On the year, Achiuwa is posting 6.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and just over a half-block per game on 57 percent shooting from the floor.
What’s more impressive, however, are the numbers he managed to put up while serving as a starter back in early January, where he posted averages of 13.5 points and12 boards on 69 percent shooting from the field.
He has already shown solid defensive versatility thanks to his size (6-8 with a 7-2 wingspan), IQ, & stellar athleticism, and looks to have the making of being a solid frontcourt piece in this league for years to come.