Celtics Players Who Need to Step Up Entering December
The Boston Celtics are working to distance themselves from their sluggish start to the 2021-22 NBA season.
Before Wednesday's 123-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, they were 8-3 over their previous 11 games, a stretch highlighted by triumphs over the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. The defense has tightened up, and while there are myriad offensive issues remaining, the Shamrocks have seen some encouraging signs at that end.
They could yet emerge as a power in the Eastern Conference, but they need the following three players to perk up first.
Aaron Nesmith
1 of 3
There's a chicken-or-the-egg debate to be had with 2020 lottery pick Aaron Nesmith and his seemingly stalled development.
Is his lack of floor time a result of his frigid shooting (6-of-32 from range entering Wednesday), or is the puny playing time preventing him from getting in a groove?
The truth is that the answer doesn't matter. Nesmith can't shoot right now, and the Celtics have decided that means he can't play. He is down to just 9.1 minutes a night, and he has only topped 12 minutes twice all season.
It's in Boston's best interest for this to change. It has an obvious and significant need for three-point shooting, and Nesmith is supposed to be a lights-out sniper. If he finds his groove, he would immediately make life easier on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown by pulling away defensive attention from them. In Nesmith's current form, though, he might not even get a mention on the opposition's scouting report.
Marcus Smart
2 of 3
Marcus Smart makes things happen. It just isn't always easy to spot on the stat sheet.
Whether it's blanketing an opponent on defense, sacrificing his body for a timely charge or speaking up when he deems it necessary, his presence is usually felt regardless of whether his production shows it. To that end, he has the team's best net differential, as the Celtics have fared 21.4 points better per 100 possessions with him than without, per NBA.com.
With all of that said, though, Smart has rarely been less threatening on the offensive end. He might ace the little things, but this offense can only be so good when its lead guard is averaging 10.5 points on 38.2/28.4/75.6 shooting.
He has been a double-digit scorer before, including each of the past two seasons. He has posted a league-average three-point percentage. He has only once averaged fewer free throws per 36 minutes. Asking more of him offensively shouldn't be asking too much. Given the impact he is making with almost no discernible offensive punch, he might raise Boston's ceiling by several stories if he can make more of his offensive opportunities.
Jayson Tatum
3 of 3
There are several ways to explain Boston's recent run of success, but this might be the most obvious: Jayson Tatum is looking more like Jayson Tatum again.
He debuted this season by scoring 20 points on 30 shots and set the stage for an uncharacteristically sloppy start. Through 14 contests, the typically efficient scorer was down to 38.6 percent shooting overall with a 31.6 three-point percentage.
But in his four outings prior to Wednesday—three of them Boston victories by a combined 46 points—he's back to being unstoppable. He scored 30-plus points in all four and shot at least 50 percent from the field in three of them. Over that mini-stretch, he was up to 33.5 points on 50.0/38.1/89.7 shooting.
If the Celtics hope to factor in the Eastern Conference race, they need Tatum at his best. A four-game surge doesn't mean he's back to that level, but sustaining it over an entire month would make everyone forget about his quiet start.
