The first half of the 2020-21 season has now concluded for the Boston Celtics. Record-wise it is easy to look at the team’s campaign and conclude that it has been a disappointing run in 2020-21 after three Eastern Conference finals appearances in the last four years.
That said if you told the Houdini that Boston would be sitting behind the Milwaukee Bucks (owners of the east’s best record the last two seasons), the Brooklyn Nets (owners of perhaps the league’s second-best duo coming into 2020-21, now owners of the best big 3 in basketball) and the Philadelphia 76ers (who acquired front office ace Daryl Morey and former Boston Celtics championship coach Doc Rivers in the offseason) at the half-way mark of the season…I’d say there are stranger things happening in this world–such as a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic that is keeping fans out of arenas to even see these games unfold.
19-17 is not where Cs fans want the team to be, though, and there were several winnable games that slipped through the cracks (January contests against the Lakers and Spurs come to mind). Danny Ainge arguably didn’t do enough to fortify this roster coming into the season, and many felt that the free-agent signings of Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague have underwhelmed.
The bench has underwhelmed as well. Currently ranked 18th in the association in points per game, there has been a collective malaise dragging down the second unit.
It hasn’t been all bad, though. In fact, there have been shining stars on the second unit just as there have been disappointments.
Today, Hardwood Houdini takes a look at the studs and duds of the Cs second unit: