On Thursday afternoon, Shams Charania reported that Boston Celtics starting point guard Marcus Smart would be suspended for Friday’s preseason finale against the Miami Heat for breaking a team rule. With this being the last tune-up game for the C’s before the regular-season opener against the Knicks on Wednesday, this is a relatively important game to miss.
Ideally, coach Ime Udoka would like this game as a dress rehearsal, with all their main rotational pieces available to play. Unfortunately, with the suspension of Smart, the nose injury that guard Payton Pritchard suffered against Orlando, along with both Al Horford and Jaylen Brown being placed on the COVID-19 list, the Celtics will be considerably short-handed.
For a team that was plagued by COVID-19 and injuries alike last year, this is not the best start to the new season. However, this presents an opportunity for many players to either get more playing time or make the final roster.
2 Boston Celtics will benefit from the extra playing time on Friday
As Smart is a primary ball-handler, coach Udoka will get to take a look at potential other ball-handlers to lead the offense off the bench. With that being said, let’s look at the two players who have a chance to seize the opportunity
Boston Celtics’ player #1: Dennis Schröder
After failing to draw his expected free-agent market, Dennis Schröder decided to sign with Boston on a one-year “prove-it” deal. He is expected to come off the bench in a sixth-man role, acting as a player who can both create instant offense and find open shooters when necessary. Last season, he averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists on 43.7% shooting in a starting role for the Lakers.
This season, he will likely take a back seat to other Celtics contributors, such as Jayson Tatum, Brown, and Smart. However, the importance of his role cannot be understated, as one of the largest struggles for Boston throughout the last half-decade has been their young, inexperienced bench failing to compete with the opposition. With Schröder perhaps teaming up with former teammate Al Horford on the second unit, Boston could have one of the deepest rotations in the league.
As for Friday’s game, he will likely get much more of a chance to run with the starting lineup, giving both Boston Celtics fans and coach Udoka an idea of what type of a fit he will be next to guys such as JT. Can both Schröder and Tatum, two ball-centric players, operate on the same floor together? Dennis has been in situations before where he has had to play off the ball more frequently, offering it up to superstars such as LeBron James and Chris Paul.
With Smart unable to play, this is the former Laker’s opportunity to prove that he can play both on and off the ball despite his shooting struggles from beyond the arch throughout his career.