Boston Celtics: 4 ways the Cs can be a top-3 seed again

Way for Boston Celtics to reclaim top-3 seed No. 3) A bench leader emerges

One issue that was prominent all of last season was that the Boston Celtics barely ever got consistent production off the pine. Instead, those lineups, unfortunately, became more known for blowing leads, which isn’t a great look.

This is where the Dennis Schröder addition comes in and why it was so important in changing the outlook of the C’s upcoming campaign.

Without him, it’s shades of last season where the bench was going to rely on multiple young and inexperienced players to step up which just isn’t likely, or reasonable.

With Schröder, though, the Celtics now have someone who, just two seasons ago, averaged 18.9 points per game and finished second in the running for Sixth Man of the Yea (frankly, he should have won.

So the obvious choice for bench leader would be the newly acquired point guard.

But I think there’s also a chance that, depending on who starts and who comes off the bench, either Robert Williams or Al Horford could emerge as the leader.

On one hand, Horford could be a defensive anchor and veteran presence in general for the young, inexperienced bench.

On the other hand, if the bench lineup runs small, Williams could serve as one of the best backline defenders and rim protectors in the entire NBA, which, ultimately would have him serve as such an anchor defensively that he steps up and becomes the leader of the bench unit.

Whichever way it unfolds, it’s nice that the Boston Celtics have multiple routes to go down, unlike recent iterations of the bench lineups.