The Boston Celtics have not lived up to what fans hoped they’d be so far this season. A lot of that has to do with injuries and COVID, but Boston has clearly struggled beyond those issues as well.
At 14-14, the Celtics are at a crossroads. C’s fans were hopeful this year was going to bring great things once Boston reached an 8-3 mark in mid-January, but things have gone downhill since then. The team has struggled with consistency on both ends of the court, and they’ve won just six of their last 17 games.
Granted, the Celtics have rarely been at full strength this season. They started the year without Kemba Walker, have gone stretches without either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, and have had key bench players such as Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams miss time. Now, Marcus Smart is out for at least a few more weeks thanks to a calf injury, and Daniel Theis has missed the last couple of games as well.
Still, it seems pretty clear that this team isn’t going to be a true contender in the Eastern Conference unless there are some changes to the roster. General Manager Danny Ainge agrees, and he accepts the responsibility for the state of Boston’s current roster.
“We’re not playing with the passion that we need. I think that’s on the players, and the players on the team are on me,” Ainge said in a recent interview. “There are things I could have done better, but I’m not going to mention names. I’ll take this responsibility. This is a team that was put together by me, and we’re not playing with enough consistency and urgency, and it’s my job to look to see what we can do to improve the team, but that’s always much harder than improving from within.”
Making changes just for the sake of shaking things up isn’t always a smart move, though. Adding the right pieces and addressing the Celtics’ deficiencies need to be the priority for any roster moves.
Luckily, there seem to be several options available before the March 25th trade deadline who could bolster this Boston lineup, and they still have a $28.5M trade exception from the sign-and-trade with Gordon Hayward and the Charlotte Hornets to use.
Here’s a look at the three types of additions the Celtics need to seek in order to make a meaningful impact on the roster for the remainder of this season.
1) A consistent 3rd scoring option
Boston has a true dynamic duo with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The two young stars are each averaging just under 26 points a game, and both are enjoying All-Star caliber seasons.
Beyond those two, the Celtics have struggled to find a consistent third scoring option this season.
Since returning to the lineup, Kemba Walker has tried his best to be that third scorer. After a solid start in January, the 30-year-old point guard has struggled mightily with consistency, sometimes scoring 20-plus points while other times failing to even eclipse double-digits. He’s currently only averaging 16.4 points per game, the lowest average since his rookie season in Charlotte in 2011-12.
Marcus Smart was proving to be an efficient and valuable asset to Boston’s offense in mid-to-late January, averaging 16.8 points in a 5-game stretch from January 20-27. Then, Smart suffered a calf strain on January 30th against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he’s still expected to be out for a few more weeks. Even once he’s back, Smart shouldn’t be counted on to consistently be a major scoring threat for this team. He’s better when he can dish out assists, focus on defense, and contribute as a fourth or fifth scoring option.
No, the Celtics need a legitimate third scoring option in a big way.
You don’t need a “Big Three” to have success in the NBA, but having someone who can alleviate the pressure from Tatum and Brown on an occasional basis wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. Kemba Walker would ideally do that, but he hasn’t proven to be a reliable option as he comes back from his offseason procedure.
If that means trading Walker to find someone to do what he can’t, then so be it.
Whether it’s someone like a JJ Redick, a Julius Randle, or a Terrence Ross, Boston needs to look into finding another scorer. If they want to keep Walker and add a fourth legitimate scoring option, even better.
There’s a way the Celtics could kill two birds with one stone, too. They not only need more scoring outside of Tatum and Brown, but they also could use better post play. That’s why the second option Boston needs to look for is…
2) An actual scoring threat in the post
The frontcourt in Beantown has been underwhelming, to say the least.
The offseason acquisition of veteran forward Tristan Thompson has been disappointing, and Daniel Theis has shown flashes of his potential but ultimately isn’t a dynamic scoring option at the five.
Outside of those two, the only true big man who plays for the Celtics is Robert Williams, but he only averages 15 minutes a game. Though Time Lord is efficient, he still only contributes about six points a game off the bench.
Boston needs better post players. It’s time to look for someone to address that need via trade.
As I mentioned on the previous page, someone like Julius Randle could be an intriguing option for the Celtics. The 6-8, 250 lbs. forward is having a career year with the New York Knicks, putting up 23.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists for the ever-struggling Knicks.
There are also options like Myles Turner at Indiana (13.2 PPG), Nikola Vucevic in Orlando (23.4 PPG), or maybe even someone like Blake Griffin at Detroit (12.3 PPG).
The Boston Celtics’ post players don’t scare opposing defenses at all. Aside from Theis being able to hit a few threes, Boston doesn’t have much in the way of scoring from their true big men. If they can change that, they will add another dimension to their offense.
Boston Celtics need #3: Veteran shooting
If the Celtics aren’t interested in adding a big name or a bonafide scorer to insert into the starting lineup, Boston could do with adding some experience to their bench.
Right now, there are only two players on the C’s bench who had more than three years of experience in the NBA prior to this season. Jeff Teague (13th season) and Semi Ojeleye (4th season) are really the only two veterans on Boston’s bench, and Ojeleye is still just 26 years old. The majority of the team’s bench players are under 24 years of age.
Overall, Boston is one of the youngest teams in the NBA, with an average age of just over 25 years and an average experience of just 3.6 years in the league according to Hispanos NBA. Only Minnesota, Charlotte, Memphis, and Detroit are younger right now.
Most of the options I listed above would add some much-needed experience to this roster, and someone like JJ Redick especially would bring an older presence to Boston’s bench.
Regardless, the Boston Celtics should look into adding someone to the roster who has played in the NBA for more than four or five seasons and is still able to contribute at a high level, too.
With their roster already so young, a battle-tested vet who can shoot with high efficiency is exactly what this team needs.