There are 3 things holding the Boston Celtics back from legitimate championship contention
The Boston Celtics came into the 2020-21 campaign with the fourth-best chances of taking home the Larry O’Brien trophy come year’s end, according to Vegas oddsmakers.
Through 50 games played, however, they find themselves boasting a measly .500 record of 25-25, and are 6-8 since the All-Star break.
The eighth-seeded Cs have endured various problems and hiccups along the way which, in turn, have prevented them from being considered legitimate championship viers to this point.
Today, we present to you the 3 biggest factors that we believe are holding Boston back from being considered contenders:
(**SCHEDULED PRIOR TO TUESDAY’S GAME**)
Factor holding Boston Celtics back No. 1) Bench scoring
Last season, one of the biggest problems pertaining to the Boston Celtics was that they were a tremendously top-heavy team and, sadly, this aspect of their rotation has managed to roll right along into 2020-21.
Ultimately, star power does bode well when it comes to vying for top-tier status in this league, but, unless you have a LeBron James in tow, it takes an entire team effort in order for an organization to be viewed as a legitimate contender.
Unfortunately, Boston’s depth behind their top five is rather concerning and, in turn, will certainly spell trouble for the team down the line if they can’t figure things out, especially in the scoring department.
On the year so far, the team’s bench ranks in as the fourth-worst scoring unit in the entire league and ranks just 20th in offensive rating.
Though the Celtics did manage to bring in the nearly 20 point-per-game scorer in Evan Fournier at this year’s deadline, even he has fallen victim to their lackluster second-unit production, as his scoring average has dropped by more than eight points — though perhaps this is just a learning curve as he gets familiar with Brad Stevens’ scheme.
While we do see solid potential with the team’s new acquisitions in the French sharpshooter and potentially even Luke Kornet, should things remain the same, so too should their lowly league status.
Factor holding Boston Celtics back No. 2) Lacking free throws
With the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker, one wouldn’t expect points to be a hard thing to come by for the Boston Celtics.
That said, to date the team finds themselves ranking middle of the pack in points per game ( rank 15th with 112.4) and, while there are many ways in which they could go about trying to improve in this area — such as swaying away from constant isolation sets — an easy method of pursuing improvements in scoring is to try and get their money’s worth at the free-throw line.
On the season, the Cs rank just 23rd in attempts at the charity stripe and, to make matters worse, convert on just 76 percent of said attempts, slotting them in at 22nd overall.
Their main offensive focal points in Tatum, Brown, Walker, and Smart are all players who traditionally love to drive and finish closer to the hoop, so seeing the team ranked so low in regard to initiating contact is somewhat surprising.
Upping their average of being ranked 15th in opponent fouls would certainly help their scoring efforts for, not only would it scare off teams from playing aggressive defense and, in turn, make it easier to buy a bucket, but should their opposition fall into foul trouble it would only stand to increase their opportunities to pick up cheap points at the free-throw line.
Factor holding Boston Celtics back No. 3) Overall health
The Boston Celtics have been one of the hardest-hit teams this season in regard to the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
In fact, they’ve been THE hardest-hit team.
From guys like Jayson Tatum and Romeo Langford to, more recently, their trade deadline acquisition, Evan Fournier, entering Tuesday night’s exhibition against the Philadelphia 76ers the team’s players have spent a combined 131 days in COVID protocols (according to Fansure).
To put into perspective just how badly they’ve been affected, the second team on this list is the Dallas Mavericks who have a total of 111 player days missed due to protocols, which is still nearly three full weeks behind the likes of the shamrocks.
On top of this, their star guard Kemba Walker came into the season rehabbing from an offseason procedure on his left knee, forcing him to miss nearly the first month of action and, frankly, has yet to really look like his old self.
Marcus Smart, the lifeblood of the Boston Celtics, is recently coming off of a scary-looking left calf strain that sidelined him for a little over a month.
Most recently, star Jaylen Brown, though he’s managed to play through the pain, has been dealing with a nagging knee injury.
Health as a whole has been a major problem for the Cs all season. Should they not find a way to overcome this devastating reality of the sport and the era in which we’re living in, things will continue to remain as underwhelming as they’ve been.