Boston Celtics: 2 C’s who shouldn’t see extended minutes against Brooklyn

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Aaron Nesmith

We have tried for so long to convince ourselves that, sooner or later, Aaron Nesmith will wind up finding his groove and start playing himself into a highly valuable contributor for this championship-hopeful Boston Celtics team.

To this point, unfortunately, such a situation has yet to become a reality, as the wing’s sophomore campaign has managed to play out even worse than his freshman one.

Now sure, there have been spurts throughout the year where Nesmith has impressed to some degree, be it by showing glimpses of the shooting stroke that made him a lottery selection in the first place or by means of some hustle plays involving dives for loose balls and saving possessions from going out of bounds.

As we already stated, however, these have only come periodically during the year.

More often than not, we’ve witnessed the 22-year-old miss wide-open shots from both distance and long-range, foul unconditionally, and receive DNP’s be it due to injuries or a simple coach’s decision.

Now, being that he’s really the only familiar wing option on the roster other than the team’s two stars in Tatum and Brown, at least when it comes to the depth chart Nesmith will be viewed as the primary backup at this position.

However, fans should hope that the Jays will not need to take long breathers or get into foul trouble throughout the series for, if they do, that just increases the likelihood of the second-year pro receiving ample precious postseason minutes.

Against a team like Brooklyn with their dynamic duo of Durant and Irving, fans should hope to see the C’s main rotation players out on the floor for the entirety of the time, which, in turn, would give everyone a sense of confidence.

Even if it means rolling out three-guard lineups with Smart, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard or trying out Grant Williams at the three, Ime Udoka should want to use Nesmith as little as possible during this postseason run.