It’s a luxury. The Boston Celtics have nine games left in their regular-season schedule—nine almost meaningless games. A couple more wins are needed to secure the best record in the league. And there’s always value in experimenting with rotations, combinations, and different offensive and defensive looks. But for the most part, we fans sit at home twiddling our thumbs.
We’re waiting for games to matter again.
While waiting, it’s hard to find legitimate things to focus on. Two straight losses to the Atlanta Hawks don’t really tell us much — even if injuries hobbled Quin Snyder’s team. The biggest lesson I learned from those two games was that Joe Mazzulla wants to see how Kristaps Porzingis looks when the Celtics switch 1-through-5.
“It was good reps for us,” Mazzulla said. “We went to that on purpose. It was an opportunity to practice stuff that we’re gonna need to get to. We haven’t done a lot of 1-5 switching with KP on the floor. I thought it was a good opportunity to get reps on that and get it on film.”
So, where does that leave us? What do we have to focus on right now?
I’m not about to start diving into potential playoff opponents. Too much can change over a nine-game span, and I think it is disingenuous to try to break down the failings of a team that’s clearly in coast mode.
So, today, I’m taking a look through a telescope and talking about the potential fit of a draft prospect. Mainly because I don’t know where else, or what else to look at. At least not at 10 am on a Saturday, with a raging toothache, waiting for a dentist appointment — such is the plight of doing Brazilian JiuJitsu as a hobby — teeth are often broken or damaged.
Entering the Zach Edey discussion
I don’t know what it is, but the Celtics can never seem to have too many big men. This season, they have four on the primary roster and another in the G-League, potentially waiting to fill the final roster spot. Yet, when you look at the latest mock drafts, and listen to some of the analysts on the airwaves, Zach Edey is the name being far too early linked with the Celtics at the end of the first round.
In his recent mock draft, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report had Edey falling to the Celtics with the 30th pick.
“With the national spotlight on college basketball, the debate over Zach Edey's NBA fit has gotten louder,” Wasserman wrote. “He continues to dominate in the postseason with a skill set that's deemed outdated for today's NBA. But the improved footwork, mobility and conditioning have helped pump new optimism into the possibility that he can move with pro bigs and slide adequately enough when pulled away from the basket.”
Edey is a throwback big man. His post-scoring skills are unquestionable, and his shot-blocking ability is legitimate. And his 7’4’’ size fits right into Boston’s remit for having serious height and length protecting the rim. Porzingis is 7’2’’. Luke Kornet is 7’2’’. Neemias Queta is 7’0’’.
However, not everybody is sold on Edey’s ability to translate his game to the pros.
“People are talking about Edey going in the first round and I’m asking myself if we’re really talking about a situational big man in the first round?” an NBA scout told HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. “Is he going to be a starter? No. Is he going to be a backup every night? Probably not. He’s Boban Marjanovic in my opinion.”
While others think he could be a genuine backup big if given the time to develop.
“Edey might become the back-to-back Player of the Year,” An executive told Scotto in the same article. “He’s huge and can score down low, but we don’t play that way. He’s someone that I think can be able to step outside eventually because he shoots free throws well. If he gets switched out on the perimeter, however, he won’t be able to stop anyone.”
How would Edey fit?
The Celtics are a top-five team for posting up this season, averaging 7.2 post-ups per game. Jayson Tatum and Porzingis are the usual candidates to work out of the post, while Brown has also worked out of the mid-post on occasion. The problem is that Boston is 27th in the league for attempts at the rim, taking just 26.9 per game.
There’s no doubt that Mazzulla would find ways to feed Edey in the post and utilize his footwork to get easy looks at the rim. The problem is that the Celtics’s offense isn’t built around non-stop rim pressure. As such, Edey would need to learn to survive on the perimeter — much in the same way as Luke Kornet has over the past two seasons.
Look at this clip. This is the sort of offensive possession that Edey would need to become comfortable in, should he find himself on the Celtics ahead of next season. He sets an away screen before flipping his screen and becoming the second screener in a stagger action. As soon as the ball-handler has penetrated off the stagger, Edey rolls into the paint, ducks into a post-up and calls for the ball. From there, it’s a simple hook shot to complete the possession.
