The Celtics play with one big most of the time that Theis is on the court but Kanter tends to be on the court more often with another big such as Ojeleye. I have been skeptical of the one big line up but the Celtics for the most part seem to be making this work, at least when Theis is that one big.
I wouldn’t call Ojeleye (and Grant Williams) bigs, but I admit that it’s better than calling them wings. What about ’swings’?
I also understand your skepticism about one-big lineups, especially since Theis is not a very big big. Also noteworthy is their tendency to finish halves with an ultra-small lineup with Grant as the ‘5’. Tatum has really upped his game on the defensive end, and now whoever’s guarding him has got to deal with him off the dribble; and Brown/Hayward/Tatum have upped their game on the defensive glass.
I don't understand why they feel Theis is the guy for the one big role and Kanter more often out there with a second big. Or why they feel that they need to limit Kanter to 20 min or so if he is playing well and not getting into foul trouble. They don't seem to want Theis and Kanter on the court at the same time so I guess that limits minutes some.
These are good questions. Here’s what I see:
To your first question: putting Semi out there with Enes gives you better paint protection. Semi is not a shot-blocker, but he does lots of those little things like bumping the roll-man, poking at the ball, getting in front of the driver, and deflections. Kanter makes up for Grant and Semi’s deficiencies on the defensive board. Theis has been really good at paint-protection on his own.
To your third question: Kanter/Theis lineups won’t be giving you enough challenges at the 3-pt line. Ojeleye has the footspeed to do that. From the beginning of Brad Stevens’ tenure in Boston, guarding out to the arc has been a priority.
I still have questions about how far we can go based on our bigs even with Kanter playing well and improving. We can put two bigs out against second units but there is not enough skill in our bigs to match up against first units. For example, Kanter might be fine as the second big alongside a Horford type skilled big (like Horford and Baynes). With our current roster, we can't afford to have two bigs out there as our main unit, we give up too much skill so we trade skill for size.
Boston’s strength is: a ballhandler, three wings, and whatever Marcus Smart is. The predictable refrain of trade proposals to dump one or two of these core guys for a more or less skilled big will continue, of course, but the Celtics appear to like what they’re getting from their smaller team - and the results so far back that up.
Topic: Enes Kanter deserves some love (Read 15111 times)