Slowly but surely, the Boston Celtics look like they’re finding their stride as we enter the final 22 game stretch during the 2020-21 regular-season schedule.
Though perhaps a .500 record was not something fans expected at this point in the season, the Cs are now winners of two straight, one of which being a recent blow-out victory over the sixth-seeded Charlotte Hornets.
However, to say the team is anywhere near the status in which they wish to be would be a complete farce.
Viewed as a legitimate championship contender coming into the season and even being bestowed with the fourth-best Vegas odds to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy come year’s end, boasting a 25-25 record and being holders of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference standings is certainly not where Danny Ainge and co. saw this season going 50 games in.
The Boston Celtics should consider making alterations to their starting lineup
This past trade deadline, many fans were hoping the front office for the Boston Celtics would look to acquire some much-needed upgrades in the talent department to help bolster their rotation, specifically in the starting lineup.
While the shamrocks did wind up making some moves, they were not necessarily the needle movers many believed were needed to get their season back on track.
Now, with the deadline past, Boston must look internally to find solutions to their production problems if they wish to rise the rankings and enter the postseason with momentum on their side.
Though there are likely a few ways for the team to ignite a spark, we at HH believe potentially inserting two fresh faces into the starting rotation could aid in their quest to get back on track:
Boston Celtics player No. 1) Luke Kornet
Perhaps viewed as an afterthought acquisition from this year’s NBA trade deadline, Luke Kornet has quickly become an intriguing part of this newly altered Boston Celtics rotation.
Brought in by the 3-team trade that sent Daniel Theis to the Chicago Bulls, the 7-2 big man finds himself logging 14 minutes per game through his first five outings with the franchise.
With these minutes, Kornet is posting 4.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, one assist, and just shy of a block on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 33 percent shooting from the field.
Right out of the gate, the 25-year-old saw himself dropping a combined18 points on 64 percent shooting from the field and 57 percent shooting from deep during his first two outings in green and white.
Though his numbers have of course dropped from this point on, his effectiveness whilst on the court still seems to present itself, even if his shots aren’t falling.
Brad Stevens clearly appreciates his efforts on both sides of the ball and has also shown an affinity to play bigger lineups this season, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that we believe the idea of inserting the floor-spacing Kornet into the starting lineup at the four could be considered at some point moving forward.
For his career, the Vanderbilt product has played in a total of 120 games, with 33 of them seeing him in a team’s starting rotation. In this role, his specific numbers improve quite drastically, as he finds himself averaging 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks on 43 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep.
Just for fun, when delving a bit deeper one would see that, for his career, April has always been his best month overall, posting 9.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 blocks on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 41 percent shooting from deep.
Add this to the fact that Jayson Tatum is currently the team’s starting power forward — a position he can excel at but is best suited at small forward — and you see an intriguing case for why the Boston Celtics could try inserting Kornet into the frontcourt alongside Robert Williams and, with this, look to run a bigger version of their four out, one in lineup.
Boston Celtics player No. 2) Evan Fournier
As we already touched upon, the Boston Celtics were one of the most heavily talked about teams heading into the March 25th trade deadline and found themselves linked to big-time names including the then-Orlando frontcourt duo in Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.
In the end, the front office did wind up striking a deal with the Magic, not for one of their bigs but, rather, their sharpshooter, Evan Fournier.
Though perhaps not the move fans had hoped for, the 28-year-old was still a solid grab for the shamrocks, especially considering the fact that the only two assets of real worth lost in the deal were two future second-round picks.
When coming to the Cs, Fournier was finding himself having arguably his best season as a pro. Through 26 games played, the wing was posting 19.7 points, 3.7 assists, and a steal per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep.
Adding the scoring wing to the struggling C’s lineup seemed like a solid idea, as some were under the impression that he could be something of a replacement for the scoring punch that Gordon Hayward provided just a season ago.
Though Fournier’s tenure with Boston may have gotten off to a historically bad start, going 0-10 shooting for zero points, as the days have progressed, soo too has his production.
Through four games played, the ninth-year veteran finds himself posting 11.5 points, 1.8 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and just shy of a block per game on 42 percent shooting from the floor and 48 percent shooting from downtown.
As time goes by and Fournier gets more comfortable within his new team’s scheme and with their playstyle, we at the Houdini believe his level of play could very easily go back to what it was during his first-half stint with the Magic.
Frankly, should this appear to be the case, we believe that it may be worth thrusting him into the starting lineup, where the man simply has always managed to play better.
A starting lineup consisting of Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Fournier, Jayson Tatum, and Robert Williams would emulate something similar to that of last year’s lineup with four legitimate scoring threats with a sound defensive at the pivot.
In turn, Marcus Smart would head to the bench to help lead the team’s underwhelming unit while also serving as that much-needed spark plug to come in off the pine.
With the team’s obvious struggles this season, something certainly needs to change within the rotation.
Perhaps putting Fournier into the first five would help boost the wing’s confidence while also adding yet another scoring threat to strike fear in opposing teams right off the bat.