Boston Celtics: 3 Cs with most to prove during final month of season

During this final month of action, 3 Boston Celtics players have a ton still to prove

After a disappointing first half of the 2020-21 campaign, the Boston Celtics look to be turning things around in half number two, as they are now holding an overall record of 31-26, are slotted into the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed, and are in the midst of a six-game winning streak.

Leading the charge, of course, are the likes of the team’s All-Star wing duo in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who, during the month of April alone, are posting combined per-game averages of 54.1 points and 15.3 rebounds while both are shooting north of 50 percent from the field and around 45 percent from long range.

Outside of these ballers, however, there have been quite a few other contributors who have aided in the C’s successes of late.

Running alongside the Jays is the seemingly healthy Kemba Walker who, over the last five outings, has averaged 18 points, 6.4 rebounds, and six assists on 42 percent shooting from the floor.

Marcus Smart, the Swiss Army man himself, has also been a huge contributor over their strong April, posting 14.6 points, 6.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from deep.

Most recently, the team’s newest addition in Jabari Parker has shown he, too, can be a solid contributor off the pine, as he managed to go for 11 points and four boards on an impressive 83 percent shooting from the floor in just 16 minutes of action.

However, now, as we embark on the final stretch of the regular season and head into the playoffs, more players on the roster must prove their worth should they wish to be viewed as a worthy asset come the first round and onward.

To us at the Houdini, 3 players, in specific, have the most to prove during this stretch run:

Boston Celtics player No. 1) Evan Fournier

The whole perception of the March 25th trade deadline was that the Boston Celtics simply settled for the likes of Evan Fournier instead of taking a chance at swinging for the fences on players such as his own Orlando Magic teammates, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.

However, upon his arrival, Danny Ainge has stressed that the 28-year-old wing was a player they highly coveted and that he is someone viewed, not just as a rental for the rest of the season but, rather, a long-term contributor within the rotation.

"“When we acquire Evan, we don’t acquire him with the idea that he’s going to be with us for just this year,” Ainge said. “We acquired him with the idea that he could potentially be here for a long time, like all the players that we acquire.” “This opportunity was unique,” he continued. “And to add a player of his caliber. We’ve talked often about shooting with size. Here’s a 6-7 kid that is a good shooter, can playmake, can handle the ball. Just another creator for us. And a very consistent player.”"

While on paper, a nearly 20 point-per-game scorer added to this roster seems like a solid idea. The problem, however, is he’s only managed to play in a total of four games since joining to team back in late March due to health and safety protocols, and they were highly inconsistent — one game, he would shoot 0-10 for zero points while during another he dropped 23.

Now listen, we get that with coming to a new team there’s bound to be a learning curve, which is why we certainly excuse Fournier for the inconsistency right off the bat. Unfortunately, with him being out for seven games and counting, he has not yet been able to build any chemistry with his teammates or stronger comfortability within the system.

This could wind up being a problem come the postseason if such necessities for being on a winning team are not established and Brad Stevens tries to thrust him into the key role that they had in place for him upon his arrival.

Further hindered by the signing of Jabari Parker, once he returns, it’s imperative that Evan Fournier does his best to fully understand the team’s scheme as well as how to best work alongside their core.