Boston Celtics: 3 bench players to turn season in right direction
Winners of three straight, the Boston Celtics may be beginning to right the ship just at the right time. Currently sitting in seventh in the Eastern Conference standings at 28-26, the Cs still have 18 games to move up and prepare for playoff basketball.
This quick turnaround has been cemented by the team’s best win of the season, a comeback victory in Denver over the streaking Nuggets.
Trailing by 15 in the third quarter, Boston rattled off a 31-3 run, winning the game by a final score of 105-87.
A huge part of that comeback was the bench. When Nuggets MVP-candidate, Nikola Jokic, went off the court, the Denver backup unit was outmuscled and outmatched by Boston’s reserves.
Everyone on the Boston bench had positive plus/minuses, while backup guard, P.J. Dozier, finished with a -30 in only 17 minutes of action.
The bench for the Boston Celtics has improved drastically since the deadline
Although the bench for the Boston Celtics has been a major talking point for the greater part of this season, it has recently become a solid unit. A good bench is necessary for the Celtics to have any chance come playoff time.
Previously, they have been able to rely on their reserves to defend relatively well, but not to create points for themselves and others. This puts more pressure on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to run the offense and bench units, something that has the potential to backfire.
With a passable offensive bench, the Cs can make the next step as a team, limiting their most noticeable weakness all season.
Three players, in particular, have stood out over the past few weeks, leading Boston to three straight wins.
Boston Celtics bench player 1) Tristan Thompson
Although Tristan Thompson was being shipped out of Boston in almost every trade scenario a few weeks ago, the big man has given the second unit ample amounts of energy in limited minutes. The stats don’t look amazing, but by transitioning to the bench and backing up Robert Williams, Thompson’s skill set is utilized perfectly.
On offense, he provides a reliable attempt at the basket if everything else breaks down. Coach Brad Stevens doesn’t want to go to Thompson in the post over and over again, but he can create and make his own shot at a reasonable rate.
On the year, he’s 51-102 (50 percent) on shots 4-14 feet away from the rim, ranking in the 76th percentile for big men in the league.
By coming off the bench, Thompson can be used in short bursts to stay fresher throughout the game, crashing the glass at every opportunity he can. That has been his best asset for Boston — grabbing offensive rebounds — as he has a 13.7 percent offensive rebound rate on the year, ranking in the 91st percentile for bigs.
It makes much more sense to keep the lob threat in Timelord as the starting center to play off the playmaking of Tatum and Kemba Walker. TT thrives in more isolated situations, as he is much better at creating his own shot than the aforementioned Williams.
In his first three games in almost a month, Thompson has been the most active Celtic on the floor, grabbing every loose ball and contesting every shot he can.
That kind of energy is present because of the way the coaching staff has learned to use him. Therefore, Tristan Thompson has helped right the ship for the Boston Celtics