Celtics Preseason Preview 12/15
The Celtics begin their season tomorrow in an exhibition game against the 76ers. While I'm not one to get too high or too low based on a few games that don't mean anything, there are a few players I am interested in seeing who have potential to be rotation players for this upcoming season. It probably matters much more what they have been doing in practice than these two preseason games, but it's fun to watch rookies and new acquisitions for the first time in green, as well as seeing how our young role players developed.
When everyone is healthy I expect the Celtics starting five to be Kemba, Smart, Jaylen, Tatum, and Thompson. The guys who I know will be getting consistent minutes off the bench will be Teague, Theis, and Grant. Last year, Stevens usually ran a 10 man rotation. This means there will be two spots that will be up for grabs when Boston is fully healthy. The Celtics will not be fully healthy to start the season, this means some of these players will have an extended tryout to earn some minutes. Kemba and Romeo probably won't be ready for the first game of the season, and Thompson may still nursing a hamstring injury when the season begins. During Kemba's absence I think Pritchard and Waters have a shot to play some serious minutes to start the season. The reason I didn't mention Carson Edwards, is because I believe he will be the odd man out of this trio, due to his less than stellar defense and his inconsistent shooting. The more productive and better fit of either Pritchard or Waters may have a decent chance to earn minutes throughout the season.
I ultimately believe Romeo will be in the Celtics' every day rotation, alongside Teague in our second unit backcourt. I really liked what I saw out of him this past season, and it is too bad the we will wait until he recovers from wrist surgery before we can see his growth from last year to this year.
Assuming Romeo takes one of the 10 rotation spots, that leaves one spot. The last spot looks to be someone who fits into the backup wing/forward role. I think there are really two guys who are fighting for this spot, with maybe an outside chance for a third. This spot looks to be a battle between Nesmith and Semi, with a slim chance of being Javonte Green. I think this depends on a few things. With Nesmith being a rookie and having a shortened camp and preseason will he be ready to take on the load of an every day rotation player on a contending team? Is Nesmith competent enough defensively to not be exposed at this level? These are questions that we might be able to get some sense of an answer to during these two preseason games. Semi is a guy who is a versatile defender who provides some extra toughness, but if he hasn't taken even a small leap offensively I would much rather see what you have in Nesmith. Lastly, a somewhat perfect storm needs to occur for Green to earn these minutes. The situation would look like Semi looking like he has shown no improvement offensively, Nesmith looking like he doesn't belong at the NBA level yet on the defensive end of the court, and Green looking like he has made improvements on both sides of the ball. This is an unlikely case, but I'm not talking massive leaps out of him, just noticeable growth.
With Thompson possibly being out to start the season, it will be pretty easy for Timelord to slide back into that back-up center role for the first few games. The reason I bring up Robert Williams' name is that what happens to the center rotation when Theis, Thompson, and Rob are all healthy? Williams III is definitely good enough to be at least a back-up center on almost every team in the NBA, but he still is prone to making mistakes. He has an incredibly high ceiling as a rim runner and rim protector, in the same mold of Deandre Jordan. Williams at times has looked incredible at times, but also has looked a little lost as well. Theis is a free agent after this year, Thompson only signed a two-year deal and will be turning 30 this upcoming season. Timelord is young, only 23-years-old, and has team option after this season and then will become a restricted free agent. I think Williams is good enough where he might force Brad's hand and run a three center rotation, or even attempt to run Theis and Timelord on the court as the same for short spurts against certain matchups.
To sum this up I will be watching Pritchard, Tremont, Semi, Nesmith, and Timelord intently to see who looks to be the best fits for the Celtics this upcoming season. With Kemba, Thompson, Romeo all being out, Theis being questionable and Smart, Jaylen, and Tatum probably not playing more than 20 minutes. It will be a great opportunity for those I have mentioned to make their final push for consistent playing time.
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