So, that was a crappy Monday.
Less than 24 hours after the Celtics lost Kyrie for the forseeable future to a bum knee, the team added Marcus Smart (uncleaer Thumb Injury), and Daniel Theis (Torn meniscus) to a team that has already lost Jaylen Brown to a concussion, and Al Horford to an undisclosed sickness.
The good news? Outside of Theis who is done for the year, the team should get the rest of these guys back (though the jury is still out on Marcus Smart). The bad news? Obviously at least for the next week or so the team is going to be down 3 to 4 of their best rotation players which is not ideal for the 4th youngest team in the NBA. In fact, as it stands today the Celtics only have 11 healthy bodies, and six of them are rookies (Nader, Ojeleye, Allen, Tatum, Yabusele, Bird). With a 7 game lead on the Indiana Pacers, we’re still a long way from the 2nd seed actually being in jepoardy and with Brown and Horford both expected to be back by at least the end of the week, the Celtics should still win enough to keep themselves locked into that spot. The more pressing question, and one that the Celtics are going to need to find out very soon is how exactly are they going to make up for not having Daniel Theis. I know, 5.3ppg, 4.3rpg don’t necessairly scream out “irreplaceable,” but those familar with Theis understand the value he brought as versatile defender who forced opponents shot 2% worse than their average, an underrated passer who had a great understanding of NBA spacing and where his teammates were, and overall was just a person who played super, super hard. The Celtics flew Yabusele back from a G-league stint which signaled to a lot of people that maybe he would get the bulk of the challenge, and shoot, knowing Brad, maybe he will and flourish in that role. But personally, I think the player who’s going to be tasked with replicating what Daniel Theis is none other than Semi Ojeleye.
Has Ojeleye shown he can actually do this?
Yes and no. Ojeleye has come in with an NBA ready body and it’s very apparent that defensivley he’s comfortable switching anything and has the lateral quickness and sheer strength to handle virtually any player in the league:
This type of versatility is invalueable and its been promising that he already came in the league able to defend at this level.
On the flip side, Ojeleye struggles at just about everything else on the floor. He isn’t a strong rebounder, not someone you can rely on for rim protection, and then there’s the issue with the offense.
Before the season, I wrote a preview on Ojeleye with the message being pretty clear: Ojeleye can stretch the floor and defend, but don’t ask him to do anything more. The defensive side has been just about as good as advertised, but man can he not shoot the ball. And believe me, i’ve tried to find potential splits within the season that could give us hope, but Ojeleye is a 28.7% three point shooter who has been shooting 20% since the year changed. Furthermore, in the event that he attacks a closeout, he has had trouble finishing posting a mere 40% from the rim. That’s not great, and for a player that only has a 6'10 wingspan and average lift of one foot it’s downright concerning on his future as a finisher. And the cherry on top is his feel of the game is still very questionable and there’s a lot of times where he looks he’s reacting without reading the floor, (though in his defense that’s common for rookies).
So you’re saying the Celtics are in big trouble, right?
Well, not necessairly. For one, Ojeleye is not going to be the sole person responsible for picking up their game. He’ll most likely get a majority of Theis’ minutes and will be expected to feel some of that role, but there’s also going to be a more clear role for Greg Monroe who in his last 5 games has shot 64.7% from the field and has been a strong rebounder while showing flahes as a strong passer. Theoretically, there’s a world where the Ojeleye-Monroe pairing could have better synergy than the Theis-Monroe pairing. With more clarity for both of them and (specifically for Ojeleye) a consistent role could bring better play. Ojeleye’s ability to defend anyone and stretch the floor with Monroe’s passing, rebounding, and interior scoring might be enough to get by without Theis.
On the flip side, Stevens also made mention of Ojeleye getting more time at the 5 like he did in summer league. This could be a slivler lining because Ojeleye’s best game in the summer league was when he played the five. He was able to defend in the post effectively and burned the opposing center who had no interest at defending someone at the three point line.
With Theis/Baynes/Horford it wasn’t really worth trying in the beginning of the year and the addition of Monroe made it even less unlikely. But now with the frontcourt down two of its main pieces, Ojeleye will finally have a chance to play the role he showed the most promise in.
So you’re really saying that we won’t get any of the Dancing Bear?
No, Stevens is creative and for all of Yabu’s flaws as a basketball player he’s supremley confident and plays hard. At this point in time i’d have more faith in him hitting a three than Ojeleye. On top of that his play just generally brings a buzz to his teammates and the fans. It’s just very unclear how much of a role he would actually have and its been pretty telling that they’ve been sending him to the G-league with guys like Kadeem Allen and not Semi Ojeleye. The team still sees him as a project so though he’ll be there and may even get some loose minutes, his role will be more of an insurance policy.
This is not an ideal position for the Celtics at all, but it’s not doomsday scenario by any means. Irving, Brown, and Horford will be back and there’s still no inclination that Smart will miss the rest of the season, so for now the situation is more of a temporary and mostly harmless rough patch. With that in mind, this could give some of the young Celtics opportunites that they would have never had. Larkin will have a larger role, Rozier can continue to show why he should be a starter, and Nader will get another opportunity to show he can be a 3 and D wing. This regular season has been one of the craziest roller coasters ever, but if all goes well, the team can at least go into the playoffs as healthy as possible. That is the only goal.
