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The Boston Celtics wanted to become a better offensive team at the end of last season when they traded Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis. Smart, Boston’s longtime former captain, was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal while Porzingis arrived from Washington. With the Latvian in the lineup, Joe Mazzulla moved the veteran Al Horford to the bench.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens did not just stop with the Smart-for-Porzingis move. He also sent Sixth Man of the Year winner Malcolm Brogdon and big man Rob Williams to Portland for Jrue Holiday. With Holiday and Porzingis joining Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Derrick White as starters, Boston’s first five became the best in the NBA.
The series of trades, however, has made the bench the Boston Celtics’ most glaring problem. It might become the Achilles heel that will bust the team’s championship hopes.
NBA legend Charles Barkley, who now covers games for TNT, suggested that moving Kristaps Porzingis to the bench is the solution to the problem.
Barkley’s comments were ripped on X (formerly Twitter):
“What the actual f**k”
Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday’s additions helped the Boston Celtics’ starting unit own the best net rating in the NBA with 11.4. The OKC Thunder is a distant second with 7.6, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are third with 7.0. The quintet’s offensive rating is off the charts, averaging 122.6 per game.
While the Celtics’ first five have been overwhelming opponents on offense, the bench has become almost a laughingstock. Boston’s non-starters average 28.5 PPG, which is 23rd in the NBA. The Detroit Pistons, which has a 9-52 record, have a bench that puts up 39.8 PPG for sixth in the league.
Before the trade deadline, Brad Stevens’ deals didn’t have anything to do with the offense. He added Jaden Springer from the Philadelphia 76ers and Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies. The two have limited offensive games but are expected to boost Boston’s defense.
The Celtics will not likely bench Kristaps Porzingis
Despite the bench having issues scoring the basket, the Boston Celtics are unlikely to move Kristaps Porzings to the second unit. Boston has a 49-13 record, the best in the NBA, because of its enviable starting unit. Benching Porzingis will change the chemistry and rhythm of how they have been playing for nearly the entire season.
Joe Mazzulla could perhaps stagger some of his starters’ minutes with the bench. That may help boost the second-stringers’ production. Mazzulla will have to think of other ways to help the starters, but benching Porzingis is unlikely the route he will be taking.
The Celtics may not have achieved the heights they’ve reached this season without Kristaps Porzingis as the starter. Deviating away from that at this stage in the season will probably be a gamble no one in Boston will take.
Guess the Lakers players!
