Boston Celtics: 2 surprise players who could be left out of playoff rotation

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Aaron Nesmith

2021-22 was viewed by many as the year former lottery selection, Aaron Nesmith, would piece it all together and serve as the high-end contributor the Boston Celtics thought they were getting when they snagged him in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, things have yet to pan out this way for the sophomore wing, as he’s seemingly regressed on the floor and, in turn, has headed in the wrong direction in virtually every statistical category from his rookie campaign.

Through 45 games played, Nesmith finds himself boasting averages of 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds on just 36.6 percent shooting from the floor and an even worse 24 percent shooting from deep in just 10.5 minutes a night.

Now, don’t get us wrong, this is not us saying that, if given a bit more time to develop, he can’t prove himself to be a tremendous contributor to this team off the pine–after all, coming into the association he was viewed by many as one of the top offensive prospects in his class, which is something that the C’s could certainly use.

That said, being that there are only 13 games remaining on the season, it’s hard to believe that, during this short span that has gotten even shorter for him with the news that he’ll be out a few more games due to an ankle injury, Aaron Nesmith will be able to showcase enough on the hardwood to convince Udoka to include him in the team’s pivotal postseason rotation.