Boston Celtics: Stat-line predictions for C’s 2021-22 rotation

Statistical projections for Boston Celtics reserves

The bench unit for the Boston Celtics has long been one of the worst in the NBA.

If Evan Fournier re-signs, that could change things as well as the rest of free agency and trade periods. However, right now it is largely comprised of players with less than three years under their belt.

What can we expect from them?

"Aaron Nesmith statistical projections: 11 points, three rebounds, and one assist per game on 45 percent shooting from the floor, 39 percent shooting from deep, and 79 percent shooting from the line"

If you couldn’t tell, Aaron Nesmith is a player I believe has the talent to be a legit contributor in this league.

He was touted as the best shooter in the 2020 draft, and at first it didn’t seem to be true.

Yet in his final 20 games of the season, his production skyrocketed as he averaged 6.2 pointsper game on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 42 percent shooting from deep.

He was looking as advertised, and with what looks like a short bench again, I expect his production to rise exponentially. He has the hustle, the heart, and now the game — expect a lot from Nesmith this year.

"Payton Pritchard statistical projections: eight points, two rebounds, and three assists per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor, 40 percent shooting from deep, and 86 percent shooting from the line"

Payton Pritchard, going into year two, is older than superstar Jayson Tatum, who is going into year five.

He was a high impact rookie and I expect him to still be high impact relative to minutes. However, as with most four-year college players, his ceiling most likely isn’t too far off from where he was at last year.

I would expect a slight minutes bump, but I’m sure he will be a similar player to the production he gave the team last year.

"Romeo Langford statistical projections: seven points, three rebounds, and one assist per gamer on 38 percent shooting from the floor, 32 percent shooting from deep, and 77 percent shooting from the line"

This is a make or break year for Langford.

His career has largely been disappointing up to this point. Never healthy and when he does play he’s giving virtually nothing but some defense.

He did show improvement late last season, even dropping a career-high 17 points in the playoffs. If he can ride that wave, he can be a solid offensive contributor as a slasher and his defensive impact is always a plus.

"Grant Williams statistical projections: five points, three rebounds, and two assists per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor, 36 percent shooting from deep, and 65 percent shooting from the line"

You pretty much always know what your going to get from Williams — a good corner shooter, versatile defender, good offensive-rebounder, but only in limited minutes.

His ceiling seems pretty set as a contributing seventh or eighth man, good small-ball five who can be used in a multitude of situations. Grant Williams gets a lot of hate for his bone-headed mistakes, but he’s a young guy who has room to grow.

"Tristan Thompson statistical projections: six points and five rebounds per game on 55 percent from the floor"

The only reason I list Thompson last is because I doubt he’s on the roster at the start of next season, depending on the immediate health of Robert Williams.

Thompson is a reliable guy, but as of right now he is the third-best big on the roster.

I’m sure he will not be ecstatic with fringe minutes, he’s too good for that. Unless he accepts that role of 15 or so minutes-per-game, I doubt he starts the season in green.

While you may be thinking there’s no way the rotational 10 players puts up a combined 127 points per game, your right. They will probably not do it even once. However health is never guaranteed in this league, and it usually shapes out where your top-10 averages around 125-135 points-per-game.

This list is obviously just base predictions, and is likely not the roster we will see heading into the season, but it’s always fun to speculate.