Celtics' Bench Underperforms, Adding Pressure to Starters
On the Bleav in Celtics podcast, Boston Celtics reporter Gary Washburn said he would give the team’s bench a C- grade this season. “There are much deeper teams with more specialized players, but I thought this team would have a better bench. I thought it would be a B to B- bench,” said Washburn.
On the episode, Washburn brings up Sam Hauser and Al Horford as the lone bright spots in the bench rotation this year. He says Payton Pritchard has been a concern due to his home-road splits. Pritchard averages 8.5 points per game on 49.2 percent from the field at home while only averaging 4 points on 26.2 percent shooting on the road.
“He is good at home, and he is poor away, and you can’t have that,” said Washburn. “You can’t have Payton shooting 40 percent from three at home and 20 percent from three on the road.”
The Celtics are in first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to a 10-0 record at the TD Garden and are an 11-point favorite against the Cavaliers on Tuesday according to BetOnline. Boston has plenty of time to turn their bench woes around, but they will want to get everything ironed out before the playoffs. It is essential to have at least a solid eight-man rotation going into the postseason, and they may need to swing a trade to solidify the bench before the deadline.
Kilty Cleary grew up in Buffalo, NY and is now based in Los Angeles, California. He is a Media and Marketing Professional with over 17 years of experience, and covers all sports while bringing a unique mix of creativity to his work.