Coming into the season, the Celtics roster didn’t make a lot of sense on paper, with most of the issues stemming from their lack of reliable size in the frontcourt. Surprisingly, two of the more proven big men, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Chris Boucher, couldn’t even crack the rotation and were dealt at the deadline.
But the team has gotten great play from Neemia Queta and Luka Garza, which has more than made up for it. They took it a step further, trading for Nikola Vucevic, which has given them a very solid three-headed monster. It’s far from perfect, but the center position hasn’t been a liability for Boston and, if anything, has become a neutral, or even a strength.
However, in the Vooch trade, the Cs traded away their sixth man, Anfernee Simons, who was really the only guard on the bench getting big minutes. Now, as the playoffs approach and the roster falls into place, it’s fair to wonder, as Bill Simmons did on his most recent podcast, if the Celtics are a guard short.
They’ve got a great starting point guard in Derrick White, and an elite backup in Payton Pritchard, and that’s about it. The only other true guard on the roster is Max Shulga, a second-round rookie who hasn’t played any meaningful NBA minutes and won’t factor into the playoff rotation.
Celtics’ wing depth can make up for lack of guards
On paper, that seems like a massive issue, and Simmons lamented that idea when talking about the team’s ability to compete for a title, but is it really that big of a deal? A lot of conventional team-building wisdom has gone out the window in recent years, and nobody has leaned into positionless basketball more than Brad Stevens.
So, while they only have two guards, they have plenty of players who can fill those roles. Most notably, Boston has two elite wings who can easily play the role of point guards and shooting guards on any possession in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. They’re not guards, but they play enough like them to pick up that slack.
They also have a sort of point forward in Baylor Scheierman, who can run offense in spurts. One of White or Pritchard is almost always going to be on the floor, and at least one other player with the skills to handle the ball, deal with ball-pressure, and run the offense will be on the floor.
The Celtics have had opportunities to add a veteran guard, and opted not to, and it’s hard not to trust Stevens’ track record at this point. Would it be nice to have another guard just in case? Sure. But at the end of the day, you want the ball in the hands of White, Pritchard, and the Jays as much as possible, and those are the guys you’re going to ride to the bitter end.