Welcome to Boston Chris Cenac Jr!

[Goldstar88]

Chris Cenac Jr. has been productive and efficient by finishing plays and knocking down jumpers. The 6'11" size, athleticism at the rim and shotmaking create a perceived easy fit and high floor. He's hitting fallaways from the post and rhythm threes.

The lack of defensive playmaking and passing just make it tougher to picture pathways to upside. Scouts may start to question how strongly he'll impact games if he's not shooting well, he wrote.

Cenac is big, standing at 6-foot-11 and 240 pounds. Wasserman compared him to Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets, which could be a nice fit as he can shoot the basketball and make plays at the rim.

Highlights:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MIy8QOqEezw&pp=ygUSY2hyaXMgY2VuYWMganIgbWl4&ra=m

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GW1uRaA4YoQ&pp=ygUOY2hyaXMgY2VuYWMganI%3D&ra=m

[perks-a-beast]

Not a great feeling about this one. Im getting JaJuan Johnson vibes.

I would have preferred Thomas or Vessar. Hopefully Im wrong.

[Celtics2021]

Not a great feeling about this one. Im getting JaJuan Johnson vibes.

I would have preferred Thomas or Vessar. Hopefully Im wrong.

Definitely a possible outcome, although Cenac is much younger than JJJ was when we drafted him.   

[Who]

Not a great feeling about this one. Im getting JaJuan Johnson vibes.

I would have preferred Thomas or Vessar. Hopefully Im wrong.

That was the name I was trying to remember. I could only recall JJJ - not what the initials stood for.

[jambr380]

I know he?s not all that impressive now, but he?s got a high ceiling and he was projected to go quite a bit higher.

Sure he could flame out, but I like the idea of going for a high potential player here. Saw a number of Houston fans calling this a steal. He?ll have time to improve

[A Future of Stevens]

All tools. High upside.

Good rebounder, and good shooting mechanics (and touch.)

At 27, good pick. I predict he won't play a ton the first year, but playing under a winning system will help him alot (as it did this year at Houston.)

[Atzar]

If our player development is what I believe it is, then I love this pick. 

[Phantom255x]

I watched his highlight video and in it he did not miss a shot. HOF bound is my declaration

 

[DefenseWinsChamps]

All tools. High upside.

Good rebounder, and good shooting mechanics (and touch.)

At 27, good pick. I predict he won't play a ton the first year, but playing under a winning system will help him alot (as it did this year at Houston.)

This. I'm unreasonably excited to watch him and Amari in summer league, possibly even on the court together.

Edit: Draft Braden Smith with #40, sheerly for their development in summer league and the g-league.

[Celtics2021]

Sam Vecenie of the Athletic has a very detailed, and in my opinion, fair, write-up.  He was rated 25th overall, and in his 5th tier of players.  Every player from his top 5 tiers was drafted in the first round, as were 28 of his top 30, so Vecenie seemed to have a very similar take as NBA scouting staffs. 

Here is a link to the profile of Cenac that hopefully works.  It is a very long read so I did not want to copy and paste.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/nba-draft-guide-2026/player/chris-cenac-jr.-houston-big/?source=user_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share

[Goldstar88]

I know he?s not all that impressive now, but he?s got a high ceiling and he was projected to go quite a bit higher.

Sure he could flame out, but I like the idea of going for a high potential player here. Saw a number of Houston fans calling this a steal. He?ll have time to improve

I agree. Most of the mocks I saw had him going in the 20-25 range.

[ozgod]

I watched his highlight video and in it he did not miss a shot. HOF bound is my declaration

 

I would love it if someone made a highlight tape that included missed shots, just to mix it up a bit 

[smicker16]

Who knows how he will turn out but I do appreciate going for someone who likely has a low floor but potentially higher ceiling.  He looks smooth and has a decent shooting stroke. Consistency seems to be a big thing and finding his way to consistently impact the game. 

[Ilikesports17]

Read everything I can get my hands on wrt Cenac and Im not sure what to think. Hes a bit of a confusing player.

Hes 6'11" with a 7'5" wingspan. His athletic numbers at the combine were phenomenal. Off the charts in lane agility and pretty solid vertical numbers. However, some scouting reports describe him as more fluid than bursty as an athlete.

He shoots a lot of jumpers and his jumper looks pretty decent but his percentages are really horrible. He seems to struggle to read the game.

With his length, size and lateral quickness he should have been an absolute monster defensively but most scouting reports suggest he has not been all that great. Specifically his rim protection was horrible. Some thought he didnt block a ton of shots because Houston already center that played that role. But when Cenac played without another center next to him, opponents like tripled their rim attempts. Not good. All that said his impact stats on defense were phenomenal. Maybe thats just a function of playing on Houston.

Also he basically never gets to the rim. Like 2/3 of his shots are jumpers of some kind. Some scouting reports attributed this to him liking jumpers, some to him just always being out of position.

He does seem to have high character and a good work ethic. Those things combined with excellent physical tools and a non-broken jumper are potentially exciting.

[Csfan1984]

Excellent pick. Can see him being our best big by the end of the season just have to force Joe to play him. As rookie he is going to make mistakes but have to stick with it.