The Boston Celtics have developed a bad habit of letting their offense stagnate late in close games, and it's led to some unnecessary close losses. Tuesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers was the latest example, with Anfernee Simons sitting on the bench while the crunch-time offense fell flat. Getting Simons on the floor in these moments would seem to be the obvious solution to fixing this problem.
Much of Joe Mazzulla's fourth quarter substitutions have prioritized defense first, but that approach isn't holding up when the scoring dries up. Benching Simons in favor of defensive matchups makes sense in theory, but what it's ultimately done is stripped Boston of enough dynamic shot creators in moments where they need them the most.
In multiple recent fourth quarters, the Celtics have failed to produce enough in their halfcourt sets, and that's exactly where Anfernee could help. Boston's fourth quarter offensive rating has dropped significantly in the games where Simons isn't getting on the floor as much. Over the course of the last five games, the Celtics are averaging just 21.4 points in the final frame, which is among the bottom third in the association during that stretch.
Simons has to be on the floor in close 4th quarters
Simons has simply been too efficient an offensive player this season for him to remain on the bench in these scenarios. He's shooting 40.9% from three-point range while getting 7.3 attempts up per game. Mazzulla's decision-making in these tight game scenarios is likely at least partially rooted in minimizing turnovers, but he's missing out on maximizing his roster's potential. The Celtics are struggling to get in a proper rhythm or generate enough spacing late in games without Simons' creation abilities.
Boston has the personnel to close these teams out, they just aren't putting the right combinations on the floor when it matters most. Simons' ball handling and shot creation space is the floor and allows for that much more driving opportunities for Jaylen Brown or others. We know that it's not simply about scoring, it's about giving the offense more variety and unpredictability in these crucial moments.
The Celtics are 5-7 despite massive offseason roster turnover and being down their best player. Despite this, they're going to be able to get in the win column even more often if they can make this one simple fix. Anfernee Simons has been one of this team's most valuable pieces off the bench, and getting him on the floor in these crucial stretches will go a long way.