Celtics Need More Help to Become Contenders

The Celtics will tip off tonight against a Wizards team that is no stranger to Boston. Last time these teams squared off, John Wall and Jae Crowder got into a post game scuffle that resulted in the two teams needing a police presence. Tonight the C’s hope a win will be in their future.

Boston is coming off of two difficult losses to teams below .500. It wasn’t without a lack of effort from the Celtics either. Isaiah Thomas scored 41 in an overtime loss to Portland. Isaiah has been pouring it on as of late, further boosting his case for an underdog MVP. Every game he is raising his points per game average, and it doesn’t seem like he will be slowing down. One of the reasons he has been putting up some unbelievable numbers is the fact that he doesn’t have much help.

Horford has helped, but unfortunately he is no All-Star caliber power forward. The rest of the starting five are also lacking in offensive capabilities. Crowder can put up points when he has to, and has definitely stepped up his three point percentage compared to last year. However he is still unable to crack 15 PPG. In fact, no other Celtic is averaging even 20 PPG, leaving Isaiah handling the heavy load. Let’s look at some other successful teams in the NBA this year.

The two top teams in each conference, the Warriors and Cavaliers, both have three players averaging greater than 20 PPG. There are teams that only have one above average scorer, but there’s more at play. Teams like the Rockets and Spurs both only have one player averaging above 20 PPG, but several players close to that number. Not to mention Harden is playing at an MVP level and the Spurs have one of the best coaches of all time. That may have an effect, who knows?

If the Celtics want to become contenders and become truly competitive in the East, they need their role players to become key players. Horford, who was their biggest off season acquisition, needs to become more involved. Crowder needs to become more aggressive instead of settling for catch and shoot threes. Lastly, Bradley needs to stay healthy. He is one of the best on ball defenders in the entire league, and he has greatly improved his shooting since last year. He is Boston’s number two scorer already, and if healthy, can make the Celtics a threat in the East.