Boston Celtics: B/R tabs Tristan Thompson as C’s starter to replace

The countdown clock to the end of the Boston Celtics season may be on hold after a filled TD Garden with more fans than has been allowed in over 14 months proved to be a catalyst to a comeback in a pivotal Game 3 victory.

That said, it could also accelerate tomorrow if the Brooklyn Nets could correct their course from Friday’s loss and send the series back to the Barclays center up 3-1.

Hardwood Houdini has always seen this series as a tough matchup for the Cs, who have struggled to maintain any sort of consistency in a 36-36 season that required an additional NBA Play-in victory to even qualify for the postseason. Even with Friday’s heroics, looking at the future and believing players who just contributed to a win could benefit the team if moved is not a radical thought.

Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes took to the task of finding one player in all 30 NBA franchises’ starting lineups to replace, and one of the aforementioned Game 3 studs, Tristan Thompson, was listed as the weakest link:

"It seems unlikely the Boston Celtics view Tristan Thompson as the presumptive starting center next year, which makes this replacement suggestion easy.Whether Boston decides Robert Williams III is ready for consistent starting duties, goes crawling back to Daniel Theis in free agency (not the worst idea) or seeks another upgrade on the market, Thompson should return to backup status in 2021-22.The Celtics’ offense took a hit when Thompson was on the floor this past season. And though the veteran big man might be more reliable in his defensive positioning than Williams, he trails Time Lord in rebound, assist and block rate. A bit more seasoning, and Williams should blow past Thompson in virtually every area of production."

Despite the 19 points and 13 rebounds Thompson contributed in Game 3, he has been seen as replaceable all season. Thompson was moved in another recent B/R mock trade piece to the Charlotte Hornets, and has long been seen as expendable by HH.

That said, we’ll gladly renege this statement if the tide continues to turn and the Boston Celtics take Game 4 to knot the series even.

Only time will tell, and Thompson’s recent comments about feeling uneasiness with TD Garden fans may cause a rift between the city and the player…especially since one existed due to every Cleveland Cavaliers Eastern Conference title run included a series victory over the Boston Celtics.

His spot in one of the top historical franchises ever needs to be justified and anything short of a series win against Brooklyn probably doesn’t ensure his future in Boston by any stretch.