Before Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics had not lost by double-digits since Dec. 11. Joe Mazzulla did not overreact after his team fell to the Atlanta Hawks 117-106.
“Just a bad day at the office,” Mazzulla said.
That was probably the appropriate response to a rare lopsided defeat, but the front office might have found the Celtics’ performance more informative. Without starting center Neemias Queta, who missed the game with an illness, the frontcourt showed its vulnerability.
Mazzulla started Amari Williams, who is on a two-way contract, but he missed a pair of layups during his opening stint. After playing 11 minutes in the first half, Williams was replaced by Luka Garza in the starting lineup to begin the third quarter and did not appear again until the game was essentially over. Williams checked back in with the Celtics trailing 114-96 with 4:39 left. Despite Queta’s absence, Mazzulla did not feel compelled to use Xavier Tillman or Chris Boucher at all. After Mazzulla decided to steer away from Williams, the Celtics went to a small lineup without a traditional center. The frontcourt included Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and Hugo González instead. Though that group infused the Celtics with energy, Mazzulla thought it left something to be desired on the offensive end of the court. He brought Garza back in to begin the fourth quarter.
“It was decent defensively,” Mazzulla said of the small lineup. “Kind of got (the deficit) to 11 (points) maybe at the end of the quarter, but on the offensive end, we weren’t generating great advantages. And Luka is obviously a great screener, and he’s played well for us, and so I thought, OK, we got it back to 11, which we were running some stuff that we hadn’t ran in a while, because we haven’t played the small lineup since maybe (the) beginning of December or somewhere around there. So it’s really just get back (some of the starters), let’s get back to some of our play calls there and be able to execute. But that group did a good job trying to get us back into it.”
The Celtics weren’t down two or three centers. All it took was one absence to force Mazzulla into scrambling. With Queta and Garza missing one game each recently, the last week has provided more proof that the Boston front office needs to target another big man. Even if the Celtics can’t acquire a bona fide starter like Ivica Zubac, they need to add depth at the position. They can’t enter the playoffs one injury or illness away from bad choices.
Williams has shown moments of promise during his recent chances to play. He made some key plays on both ends of the court during a double-overtime win against the Brooklyn Nets. An intriguing combination of size, court vision and mobility gives him significant upside. The Celtics have liked how much he has improved since they drafted him in June.
“Just the ability to retain information and tactics and the things that we’re asking him to execute, whether it was in the G League or whether it was in practice or the stay-ready games,” Mazzulla said Wednesday before falling to the Hawks. “And then I think just he continues to get better. His rebounding, his defensive positioning, his ability to screen. So I think just kind of chipping away at the reps that we need him to be able to execute regardless of (situation).”
Still, at this stage of his career, Williams hasn’t realized all of that potential. If the Celtics need to count on him during a playoff series, they would be in a difficult spot. And, based on how Mazzulla has handled the frontcourt lately, they wouldn’t have many other options if either Queta or Garza needs to miss time during the postseason.
Tillman and Boucher have been so far out of the rotation that they need binoculars just to see it. In January, Tillman has played seven combined minutes. He has played in four games since the start of December, while Boucher has not appeared in a game since Nov. 23. Part of Tillman’s minimal role might be that the coaches know what they have in him, whereas Mazzulla needs to evaluate what Williams can provide. Still, the Celtics have not acted at all like they consider Tillman or Boucher part of the plan this season. When Garza fell out of the rotation earlier this season, Josh Minott and Jordan Walsh played most of the backup center minutes out of position.
The Celtics’ small lineups have been productive during parts of the season, but their success has seemed wobbly. Take Minott’s time at center as an example. Boston owns a strong net rating of plus-6.4 during his minutes at the position, according to Cleaning the Glass, but that has come based partly on unsustainable shooting numbers. With Minott at center, the Celtics have shot 67.7 percent on long midrange attempts (the league average is 41.8 percent) and 43.6 percent on 3-point attempts (the league average is 36.1 percent). The shooting inferno has helped them mask serious deficiencies in other areas, including on the glass. That’s probably a major reason why Minott dropped out of the rotation even before a recent sprained ankle caused him to miss 11 consecutive games. Over the first 47 games, the Celtics have given up an ugly 121.9 points per 100 possessions without either Queta or Garza on the court.
The Celtics have other options at small-ball center, including González and Walsh, but how comfortable would they feel breaking out that type of lineup during a physical playoff series? They could use at least one more veteran big man that Mazzulla would feel confident putting on the floor. He hasn’t shown that type of confidence in Tillman or Boucher lately. Mazzulla went with the rookie Williams down the stretch against the Nets after Queta and Garza each fouled out.
Even Garza will enter the postseason with questions about how he will hold up defensively. Though he has performed consistently well for the Celtics, dominating the offensive glass, his limitations moving laterally could matter more once the playoffs arrive. What would happen if he can’t handle a specific matchup or if a team has success targeting him relentlessly? Who would Mazzulla call on to replace Garza? And how badly would the Celtics deteriorate if Queta, who has been a critical piece for them all season, suffers an injury at the wrong time?
Even if the injured Jayson Tatum isn’t promised to return this season, the Celtics are good enough to invest in the current team. They entered Thursday tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with a net rating of plus-6.9, which paints them as a legitimate contender. Though they will also have other considerations at the trade deadline, including financial ones, pursuing another center should be a top priority. Brad Stevens could dangle Anfernee Simons’ contract and draft consideration for a top target or set his sights lower for a clear backup center that wouldn’t cost as much. Either way, the Celtics shouldn’t feel comfortable with their current frontcourt. Though it hasn’t held them back much so far, it is a potential issue down the road. They should bolster it before it becomes a problem.