Boston Celtics: 3 adjustments C’s must make in order to win Game 2

Boston Celtics adjustment No. 2) If Aaron Nesmith plays, get him looks early

After seeing no more than a combined eight minutes played in the postseason leading up to Game 1, due to the absences of both Marcus Smart and Al Horford, Ime Udoka called upon his second-year wing, Aaron Nesmith, to see some action against the Miami Heat and, though there were mixed reviews about his performance, we at the Houdini actually think he played rather well, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Sure, he did commit three avoidable fouls in just over 11 minutes of playing time, but he also provided some captivating hustle and energy, while registering one board, one steal, and three impressive blocks along the way.

Unfortunately, on the offensive side of the ball, he failed to capitalize on all three of his attempts from the field and even looked a bit hesitant to take shots despite seeing some clean looks from time to time.

Now, while on the surface this is a poor look for someone who was once viewed as the best shooter coming out of his respective draft class back in 2020, frankly we believe that in this game particularly, Udoka could have done a better job of trying to get him involved a bit earlier on offense, rather than waiting until the momentum shifted in the third to set him up for scoring opportunities (didn’t attempt a shot until the 1:44 mark).

At just 22-years-old and only in his second season, Nesmith is still quite a young player in this league and, when it comes to such individuals, confidence is often something that needs to be slowly built up in order for them to find their rhythm.

By the time he took his first shot of the contest, the C’s were desperate for a bucket, as they were down 87-76 after letting up such a depleting run from the Heat, while he himself had already committed two avoidable fouls and coughed up a turnover.

There were numerous times during the first half where they should have tried to set him up for catch-and-shoot attempts to try and get his confidence up and shooting stroke going, for Boston saw several double-digit leads during this stretch and, in turn, the stakes were nowhere near as high as they were in the second half, so there would have been far less pressure on Nesmith, which is always a good scenario to be in for struggling young players.

Had he been put into such situations early on, perhaps his confidence on offense would have been much higher down the stretch when they needed shot-makers the most and, in turn, he could have been a much more useful contributor on this end of the floor.

Though it’s not a guarantee that we’ll see him logging as many minutes in Game 2 as he did in Game 1, we believe his energy and drive alone warrants him some playing time moving forward and, should he enter the game on the earlier side like he did Tuesday night, it may be wise of the Celtics to try and get some drive-and-kicks going where Aaron Nesmith is the receiver.