It was his first offseason in charge, so you need to forgive Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens for not putting the most well-balanced roster to first-year head coach Ime Udoka.
There are clear weaknesses through the season’s first 10 games, in which the Cs have gone 4-6 after their most recent heartbreaker to the Dallas Mavericks at the buzzer courtesy of a Luka Doncic step-back 3-point rainbow.
But these aren’t difficult to fix. With Robert Williams solidly proving he is the answer in the middle and the ‘Jays’ back to doing Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum things, instead, these 3 player archetypes–not currently on the roster–need to be targeted:
The Boston Celtics need a backup rim-running, alley-oop finishing big man
So far, Ime Udoka has gone with two big lineups featuring Robert Williams, Al Horford, and Grant Williams, but has been by and large hesitant to deploy Enes Kanter and Bruno Fernando.
Horford may be best back up the Time Lord and the Cs reverting back to having Jayson Tatum at the 4, but if that’s not in the cards, another player with the bounce and athleticism at the rim that Robert Williams does.
Someone like Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets would be a player worth watching as the season progresses.
Charlotte has dropped their last four games after a 5-2 start. They have a ton of talent, but they’ve been unable execute late in games. Things could get ugly as their next five are against the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards.
If the Hornets start making moves, the Cs need to target Richards.