What NBA analysts say about recent Celtics fights

After losing two straight games to the last two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics were able to leave the schneid on Tuesday night, beating the Nuggets 112-99. However, they still lost more than they won last month.

Boston is 6-10 in its last 16 games, giving the Celtics a 14-13 record this season. The Celtics’ struggles have been one of the main storylines in the NBA given their hopes to enter the season and last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

NBA reporters and analysts have been observing and assessing issues with the Celtics lately, which began around the time Jayson Tatum missed five games due to COVID-19.

“I know Brad Stevens acknowledges Jayson Tatum is in trouble, but he’s actually played it for more minutes since he came back from COVID,” Windhorst said. “It’s because they don’t have any depth. Marcus Smart is out. They found no way to replace Gordon Hayward. They had other injuries. Kemba Walker does not play back to back due to injuries. Walker’s replacement Jeff Teague shot the ball so poorly that it was taken out of the rotation.

Athletic’s John Hollinger came to an assessment similar to Windhorst’s. Looking at the numbers, Hollinger noted that the Celtics outscore their opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions in which Tatum and Jaylen Brown are on the field together.

There is a noticeable difference when only one of Brown or Tatum is off the field. The Celtics are outscored by one point per 100 possessions when Brown is off the field. It’s even worse for the Celtics without Tatum. They are outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions when Tatum is not on the ground. Boston’s offensive rating also goes from 114.9 points per 100 possessions with Tatum on the field to 107.3 points per 100 possessions with Tatum off the field.

“Zoom out on the big picture,” Hollinger wrote. “Boston’s support distribution problem basically boils down to two things, both of which can be fixed: Kemba Walker is not Kemba Walker, at least not yet. The bench is bad.

Hollinger questioned some of the Celtics’ past decisions that have led to this point, such as signing Tristan Thompson to a two-year, $ 19 million contract and apparently challenging the Pacers in a signing and trade for Gordon Hayward. .

“What’s left now is horrible villainy,” Hollinger wrote of the Celtics bench. “Boston’s two veteran free agents, Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague, were both overwhelming. Auxiliary forwards Grant Williams and Semi Ojeleye are feather birds as strong, helpful defenders in small doses whose harsh offensive limits are exposed fairly quickly in larger roles. Lottery pick Aaron Nesmith was supposed to provide a 3-point weapon to grab and rip, but he turned out to be not ready to say the least. The first round delay Payton Pritchard was the only reserve to deliver a satisfying rotation caliber game.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated has accused Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge of the current state of the roster.

“‘Trader Danny'” made some big deals in his nearly two decades with Boston, perhaps no bigger than the Brooklyn heist in 2013 that brought the capital project that eventually landed in Brown. and Tatum, ”Mannix wrote. “But in recent years, Ainge has talked about more trades than he executed. The Celtics threw the tires on Kawhi Leonard. They were heavily involved in talks with New Orleans for Anthony Davis. Armed with young players and Brooklyn picks, Boston seemed to be in the mix for everybody.

“But they never pulled the trigger.”

All three have come to the same conclusion as to what the Celtics need to do: act for someone, anyone.

“The Celtics really need a body,” Windhorst said. “Not only do they need their stars to play better, they need a little depth. It almost comes back to wondering if this team, which almost never seeks to make mid-season moves, will be doing a mid-season trade to build that depth and try to reassure Jayson Tatum.

Luckily for Boston, he has things in the asset closet if he wants to make a trade. The Celtics have five players who were all selected in the first round of the last three NBA drafts. While they no longer hold anyone’s first-round picks, they still have all of theirs for the foreseeable future. The Celtics also have negotiable contracts in Thompson and Daniel Theis to facilitate a move.

Their biggest asset is arguably the $ 28.5 million trade exception they acquired from the Hornets for Hayward. The exception allows the Celtics to essentially acquire anyone earning $ 28.5 million or less this season, which is anything but 31 players in the league. Their only problem is that they spend about $ 19.5 million under the tax apron, which they cannot go over.

Hollinger threw out some potential names for the Celtics. He thinks Thunder goalie George Hill, Kings center Nemanja Bjelica, Bulls forward Thaddeus Young or even former Celtic Al Horford would all be good additions for Boston.

“They must do Something,” Hollinger wrote. “For some teams, mid-season exchanges are optional; on this Boston team, it seems mandatory. The supporting cast just isn’t good enough, and “playing louder” is probably a relatively minor part of the solution. “

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston has pitched other names that the Celtics could acquire except trade. Forsberg took a look at bigger names like Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Magic center Nikola Vucevic, Magic forward Aaron Gordon and Pistons forward Jerami Grant for the best players the Celtics should target at. the exception.

“Barnes ticks all the boxes for Boston,” Forsberg wrote of Barnes, who he believes should be the Celtics’ No.1 target. “He’s a size (6-8), he’s got the shot (38.8% out of 3 this season), he’s got defensive versatility and he knows what it’s like to be a third or fourth option in a championship team.

If the Celtics want to make a trade, they just have a little over a month to do so. The NBA trade deadline is March 25. They are also awaiting the return of Marcus Smart, absent since January 30 due to a calf strain.

Fortunately for Boston, its top rivals in the Eastern Conference haven’t done much to get ahead in the standings. Wednesday afternoon, the Celtics hold the fourth seed in the conference and are only 3.5 games away from first place.