I genuinely think that everyone, including the Celtic fans, underestimate the Cs depth.
We still have three legitimate 20 ppg scorers (two of them all-stars) on this team with a defensive all-NBA player and several quality rotation bigs. On top of that, we've got several youngsters eager to prove they belong that can contribute in meaningful ways in Grant Williams and Romeo Langford. For all the flack he gets around here, Brad Wanamaker is a capable shot creator with good defensive versatility.
The top end talent is very good. One All-NBA guy, another All-Star caliber wing, and a couple of veterans who are borderline All-Star talents.
After that you have a borderline starter (Theis) who looks very good in certain matchups and overwhelmed in others.
Then you have a very good sixth man who is more than good enough to be a starter -- Smart.
Beyond those six guys, is there anybody on the roster who would definitely crack the rotation on other good teams?
Wanamaker is a guy I prefer to see out there for 10-15 minutes. He's fine, but in a must-win game he's the kind of guy I would expect to get benched. He's a 9th or 10th man.
Kanter is great at killing mediocre bench players. He is not a guy you want to lean on at all in a playoff series. Far too easy to exploit. He's a deeply flawed player who ideally should be getting minutes during the regular season to help the team eat up crappy opponents and then get benched in the playoffs.
Semi is what he is, which is a third string caliber 3/4. He has his moments and if he plays in a lineup with plenty of scoring his limitations don't stand out too much. He really isn't a guy you want to lean on for many minutes or any kind of offensive creation. He has no court vision, can't handle against pressure, and his shot comes and goes.
Grant has more skill and upside than Semi but has very similar limitations right now, except that he's a much more reluctant and inconsistent shooter. I wanted to love Grant from the beginning. He's a smart player who keeps the ball moving and hustles. He's really good at staying in front of people. He's just too small for a guy whose skillset suggests he should be playing the 4/5. He's too easy for big men to score over and he can't take advantage of his size except against smaller guards. Grant needs to become a deadeye shooter in order to have a larger role than he does now.
Ideally I wouldnt' want either Grant or Semi in the rotation in a must win game.
Javonte Green has similar limitations to Grant and Semi. Physically he overlaps more with where Smart is likely to play defensively. I think if he gets time the opponent is going to help way off him and dare him to shoot. That will cause problems for the offense.
Timelord looks awesome at times and lost at other times. He's go the physical talent to be an above average starter one day. Right now he's trick or treat. Just as likely to make a great highlight play as he is to make a dumb mistake that lets the opponent get an easy 2-3 points. Not a guy you can afford to give a significant role in a tight playoff game.
Romeo is as raw as they come. You don't want to have to play raw rookies who are perpetually injured and have barely seen the floor in an important playoff game.
Carsen has yet to look like an NBA player.
Waters is redundant with Wanamaker but has higher upside. Still, not enough NBA level seasoning to trust.
Poirier has yet to have a single stretch of five minutes where he looks like he belongs at the NBA level.