There have been many glaring issues within the rotation for the Boston Celtics during this underwhelming 2021-22 campaign. None, however, have been more jarring than Ime Udoka’s fixation on the double-big lineup.
Of course, I am making reference to the disaster of a duo that has been Al Horford and Robert Williams at the four and five, respectively.
Considering how this is a pace and space league and this duo prohibits our ability to do either well enough to compete and complement the jays, today we present to you 3 reasons why the C’s must look to ditch the dual big lineup:
Reason No. 1) Strengthening the bench
On paper, everyone and their mother thought the Boston Celtics would be a much deeper team this year, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Unfortunately, the reality could not be any more disappointing as the shamrocks find themselves ranked 28th in the league in second-unit scoring.
Coach Udoka’s decision to play double big lineups and two point guard lineups have not helped, as it leaves the Boston Celtics void of much of a bench with the exception of, say Josh Richardson.
Right now, it seems Udoka criminally underutilizes his bench, as most nights he rarely goes 10 men deep.
Moving Al Horford to the bench and promoting Grant Williams to the starting lineup could do the trick.
The veteran big would bring a steady calmness of leadership to the second unit as well as another double-digit scorer and even a primary play-maker, all things this bench desperately lacks.
Grant Williams went from a laughing stock on the roster to having one of the highest stocks for the C’s, as the third-year pro has seen a meteoric rise in his shooting percentages, hovering very close to that elusive 50/40/90 threshold with splits of 48 percent shooting from the field, 42 percent shooting from deep, and 88 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Robert Williams needs to play inside with a big who can space the floor — this is where Grant enters the equation as he’s been our most effective and efficient shooter this season.
Also, with a 6-8 frame, he can guard against ones all the way to fours and has tremendous defensive versatility. We can also play faster with Grant and, with athletes the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Robert Williams, this team is meant to play fast.
As things currently stand, the Boston Celtics rank 23rd in pace. This small tweak in the starting five can elevate both space and pace for the C’s and deepen our bench.