Boston Celtics

Two Problems Holding the Boston Celtics Back

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:45 p.m. ET

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Jan 10, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) grabs a rebound in front of Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk (41) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors won 114-106. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics were able to successfully bounce back after a brutal loss to the Toronto Raptors, as Isaiah Thomas once gain took over the fourth quarter in order to defeat the Washington Wizards. That being said, another loss to one of the top teams in the league continues to bring up questions about how seriously the Celtics can contend.

The Celtics have proven that they are more than capable of beating playoff teams. Multiple wins against the Hornets, the Grizzlies, this victory against the Wizards, and many more, have made it clear that the Celtics are clearly the third best team in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are clearly improved from last season, particularly on the offensive end. Their defense has not quite lived up the the hype, but they have the talent and the personal to be confident on that end. The Celtics are becoming one of the most balanced teams in the NBA, and with expectations rising, they need to take that next step and start winning games against the truly elite teams in the NBA.

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The good news is that Brad Stevens has seen his teams improve throughout the season each year he ha spent with the team. With so much youth and a lineup that has seen every single player get hurt (except for Jonas Jerebko), the Celtics know that they are not as good as they should be by the end of the season.

There are the two areas where the Celtics are struggling the most this season, and will become the main focus in taking that next step to becoming one of the true contenders in the NBA.

Rebounding

The most documented and discussed issue on the Celtics, rebounding continues to be the biggest thing holding them back on the court. The Celtics do not have a single big that is even an average rebounder. Their front court is having career lows across the board, and none of them were particularly impressive to begin with.

Avery Bradley is the lone player that has stepped up in rebounding, but no guard in the NBA is capable of fixing Boston’s rebounding problem. Having a two guard lead the team in rebounding is a glaring issue, and it needs to be addressed across the board.

The numbers speak for themselves in this respect. They have the third fewest rebounds per game with 41.1, they have the third worst differential at -4.3. They are giving up the fifth worst offensive rebounding percentage to opponents. It all comes together to give them the second worst rebounding rate in the NBA, behind a top lottery team in the Mavericks.

The Celtics do not have a single player averaging double digit rebounding, and their bigs barely break 10 rebounds per 36 minutes. The Celtics do not have the athletes in the front court that can use their athleticism to get on the boards, they do not box out well and even on free throw attempts, they continually allow opponents to generate more opportunities.

The Celtics are killing themselves on the defensive end by giving up all the second chance opportunities. They are putting more strain on their defense and by being so inept in such a crucial area of the game, they are making things far too easy on their opponent.

This rebounding problem is not going away for the Celtics. Even if they go out and make a trade, these issues could be deeper than that. At this point, the best course of action may be finding as many ways as possible to make up for the rebounding, which is unfortunate considering how much harder that will make the game on them.

Dec 30, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) soars past Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson (8) for a dunk during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Consistency

One other issue that was highlighted in the loss to the Raptors is consistency in a game. The Celtics are streaky on the offensive end, and that has lead to a lot of blown leads. It is hard to believe any lead is safe with the Celtics, and it all started in the first game of the season when the second unit almost blew a game against the worst team in the league, the Nets.

The Celtics still have not figured out what they need to do in order to assert their will and put teams away. Other than a true blowout against the Magic, the Celtics continually find themselves giving up double digit leads.

The second unit was highlighted in that first game of the season, and they are certainly part of the problem. The second unit is vastly improved. When Marcus Smart is leading the way and Gerald Green is having an impact on the offensive end, they have given the team a great edge. That being said, there is too much youth and inconsistency on that unit to rely on them. Jaylen Brown has had flashes of greatness, but is clearly not ready to contribute on a consistent basis, and his minutes reflect it. Terry Rozier has also been up and down. Injuries have allowed him to get expeirnce running the second unit, but still has a lot of work to do on the offensive end. He is still not good enough of a shooter, and is no where near the distributor that Smart is.

Add in a down season for Kelly Olynyk and crazy up and down play from Green and it is no surprise that the second unit has contributed to many blown leads this year. That being said, the second unit is not the only problem.

The Celtics are one of the most improved shooting teams in the league, but they still hurt themselves by missing far too many easy shots. Their ball movements leads to all the open opportunities they need, and missing those opportunities is always a part of the blown leads.

The Celtics currently have the seventh best offensive efficiency in the league, and that is something to get incredibly excited about. That being said, outside of Thomas and Bradley, the Celtics do not have shooters that they can trust on a consistent basis.

Given the way the Celtics move the ball, they should be able to shoot the ball at a higher rate. Add on that the are the third most prolific three point shooting team in the league, and it is no surprise that their cold streaks lead to a lot of blown leads.

The Celtics have benefitted from having so many close games. It has made them one of the strongest teams in the fourth quarter, going them valuable experience in the kind of situations that will be more important come playoff time. That being said, it is time they learned how to hold and build on the double digit leads that they get in a lot of games.

Solution

The issue of rebounding is not something that will ever be fixed completely. Going out and trading for someone like Noel is the easiest way to fix the issue, but even that may not be enough. The Celtics have gone past disastrous on the boards, and anything short of one of the truly elite rebounders in the league may not solve this issue.

For the Celtics, they need to focus the offensive rebounding. The Celtics can afford to be losing the rebounding battle on a consistent basis. They cannot afford to keep giving opponents this many second chance opportunities. The Celtics need every player on their front court to step up and contribute in order to fix this issue. The Celtics have weak rebounding bigs that need to, at the very least, get back to their career averages.

The Celtics will never be winning games because of their own offensive rebounds. That being said, there needs to be an added emphasis on giving up offensive rebounds. They need to focus more on boxing out and the less athletic bigs need to take a note from Sullinger, and find other ways to use their body and frame to keep teams off the offensive glass.

As painful as it will be, there is no real solution to the rebounding problem in sight. The Celtics will certainly work towards it but with the season around the mid point, the Celtics have made it clear that they do not have rebounders that are capable or making up for these discrepancies. Right now, these bigs need at least get back to their career averages, and that alone could make the problem much less glaring.

The issues of consistency are something that should naturally work themselves out. The incredibly young second unit will only get more experience. Their injuries will put more strain on them, but it will put them in a stronger position once they are at full strength. The Celtics’ second unit is growing into one of the best in the league and it should be the fastest growing the rest of the way.

The shooting issues may not improve as much, but the Celtics offense has been getting better and better throughout the season. Once they establish better continuity and chemistry and with that their offense will continue to grow into one of the best in the league.

The unfortunate reality is that the Celtics have issues that are likely to continue throughout the rest of the season. The good news is that they are now at a point where they can identify these problems and focus on improving them the old fashioned way, without any huge lineup changes or massive trades. Brad Stevens has earned trust and patience, and there is no reason to doubt that he will continue to work towards making up for these problems that have held them back.