Boston Celtics: 2 surprise Cs that could see bigger postseason roles

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Aaron Nesmith

Though the first few months of his NBA career did not get off to a great start — averages 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds thus far into the season —, as of late it appears Aaron Nesmith has taken a turn for the better, producing at rates many believed he was capable of when being selected 14th overall in this past draft.

Since getting an increased role over the last few outings, the wing has found himself putting up impressive all-around averages of 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and a block per game on 68 percent shooting from the floor and 67 percent shooting from deep.

His hustle has been absolutely contagious, while the shooting stroke that earned him the label of “best shooter in the 2020 draft class” has been on full display, as he’s been converting on attempts both in open space and in contested moving sets while also finding himself working with little room to roam when getting the ball and has even had specific plays called his way where, of course, he’s converted on.

Like our argument for Parker in the previous slide, Nesmith’s skill set could be of great use for the Boston Celtics during the postseason, for their bench rotation only has managed to average 30.8 per game, ranking them third-worst in the entire league.

Unlike Parker, however, the 21-year-old fits more of a mold of the traditional wing player, thus making him a potential replacement for both the Jays and even Marcus Smart and, in turn, buying them some extra time to grab some extra rest on the pine.

Seemingly finding his stride late in the season, should he be able to keep up this level of play, or perhaps even just similar to it, there should be no reason why Brad Stevens shouldn’t use it to his advantage come playoff time.