The further removed we get from the Celtics’ agonizing loss, the more the reality starts to set in that maybe this team just wasn’t quite good enough. And unfortunately, a lot of that stems from the center position, and Boston’s lack of options in the frontcourt.
Neemias Queta battled but proved to be too one-dimensional and undisciplined, as he badly struggled to stay out of foul trouble. Nikola Vucevic played his way out of the rotation and was hemorrhaging points on defense. And Luka Garza clearly never fully earned the trust of the coaching staff.
They got abused, but it was easy to chalk it up to facing Joel Embiid, who came alive and looked like his former-MVP self, but after watching the start of round two, it appears this may have been more of a Celtics problem than an Embiid problem.
The Knicks were able to dominate Game 1, largely by attacking Joel and putting tread on his tires while running successful offense through Karl-Anthony Towns, who carved up Philly for 17 points and 6 assists in just 20 minutes as New York dominated the game.
In the other conference semifinal on Monday night, we saw one team, the Spurs, completely anchored by their generational big man, Victor Wembanyama, who didn’t even play well by his standards, but certainly made his impact felt with 11 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 12 blocks.
Celtics need an improved front line to compete next season
Somehow, that wasn’t even enough, as the Timberwolves were able to find the necessary offense, while containing Wemby and the Spurs on the other end, led by their big-man trio of Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid.
And that size will be on display in the other Eastern Conference matchup as well. The Pistons will lean on Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, while the Cavaliers counter with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
This isn’t exactly the NBA of the past with Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and other giant centers running the league, but it’s clear that the days of “small ball” are over, and the Celtics have a major deficiency in the middle. They’ve covered up some issues with a strong regular season system and Jayson Tatum doing a lot of the big man duties, but it’s clear that the losses of Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis caught up with them.
The Celtics have plenty of options this summer, and they should be able to address some roster issues, with the center position likely taking top priority. They need to go all-in on an All-Star, but it’s clear that they need substantial upgrades at the position to compete deep into the playoffs going forward.
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