Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from C’s dominating win over the 76ers

Boston Celtics Takeaway No.3) Aaron Nesmith could earn rotation minutes

While Ime Udoka had stuck to an eight-man rotation against Denver and Atlanta, he was forced to reach deeper into the bench on Tuesday night.

Without Robert Williams and Marcus Smart, Udoka leaned on Aaron Nesmith off the bench and the former Vanderbilt sharpshooter did not disappoint.

In addition to posting a career-high 18 points, Nesmith also logged 23 minutes of action, the most he has seen in a game since December 18th against the Knicks.

In those 23 minutes, Nesmith impressed at both ends of the floor, providing the Boston Celtics with solid defensive energy down the stretch.

Coach Udoka seemed impressed with Nesmith’s play:

"“It was great to see him come in early and make an impact. I thought he was good defensively and made some plays on offense.”"

It has been anything but smooth sailing for the 6-5 forward since being drafted 14th overall in 2020.

This was the first time in recent memory that Nesmith was able to post an efficient stat line and produce at both ends of the hardwood — perhaps he truly was one of the bigger winners of this year’s trade deadline.

With both Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart presumably out on Wednesday, Nesmith could be a candidate for extended playing time.

The absence of two of Boston’s usual starting five leaves the C’s with just eleven available players coming off the first half of the back-to-back with travel. Rather than waste a 10-day contract before the break, it seems likely that the Celtics will play short-staffed on Wednesday.

135-87 is a shocking final score considering they entered the game as just two-point favorites.

For the Boston Celtics, they hope to build off the franchise record 25 3-point makes as they get ready for a 7:30 PM tip-off against Detriot.