How Semi Ojeleye saved the Celtics' season

BOSTON -- There were plenty of Game 7 Celtics heroes to go around Saturday night at the TD Garden. Terry Rozier and Al Horford set playoff career-highs with 26 points. Jayson Tatum became just the second rookie in franchise history to score 20 points in a Game 7.

Yet, the name that kept popping up throughout postgame press conferences after the C’s 112-95 win over the Bucks was a rookie who finished with just five points and five rebounds: Semi Ojeleye.

Brad Stevens turned to the 23-year-old second-round pick as a starter in Game 5 of the series as he attempted to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo and a Bucks offense that had wreaked havoc against the C’s over the first four games. After limiting the All-Star to just 16 points in Game 5, Ojeleye arguably did better in Game 7, holding his ground against the Greek Freak with the Celtics season on the line.

Antetokounmpo may have been the best player in the series on paper but he didn’t look like it on Saturday night. He shot under 50 percent from the field (7-of-17) for the first time all series and turned the ball over a game-high four times. Antetokounmpo’s 22 points were a pedestrian outing as the Celtics played smart, disciplined defense on the big man, particularly in transition (zero fast break points for Milwaukee) and it all started with Ojeleye.

“Sometimes they may not call it fastbreak points when Giannis comes with five guys already back there, but he still goes through you all,” Stevens explained. "That feels like a fast break point if he is coming from 50 feet. We just tried to do our best, I thought the team effort on him was outstanding. Led by Semi — I thought he was unbelievable in his three games defensively against Giannis — and I thought that everybody was just a little bit better than they had been against him and made him earn everything.”



The insertion of Ojeleye allowed the rest of the lineup to simply return to their normal roles, which made this group the top defensive team in the league during the regular season. Horford turned back into a defensive quarterback, instead of worrying about locating Antetokounmpo every time down the floor. Double teams on the All-Star were no longer necessary. Switching became an appealing option yet again as Ojeleye could handle virtually all five positions, as opposed to a big like Aron Baynes. Individually, the C’s could simply focus on slowing down their own men, which kept the high-powered Bucks offense from wreaking havoc consistently.

“Semi is probably the guy that we need to be talking about, because defensively, we're not able to do all the things we were able to do without Semi,” Horford explained. “I felt like he changed the series for us. A lot of the credit goes to him. He did an unbelievable job on Giannis. It's just a lot of credit for him because he stayed ready. He didn't always play a lot all year and when we needed him most, he stepped up. Like I said, we don't win the series without him.”

Ojeleye’s impact was as drastic as Horford indicated when you look at the individual numbers. Antetokounmpo’s field goal percentage dropped from 62 percent over the first four games of the series to 50 percent over the final three contests with Ojeleye as his primary defender. His 23 points per game averages over Games 5-7 (a five-point drop off from Games 1-4) made Milwaukee’s offense looked mortal again despite the sensational shooting of Khris Middleton.

“If you look at any of the numbers, or just watch, I mean it’s pretty clear that he’s our best guy guarding Giannis,” Stevens explained. “It doesn’t mean at the end of the day that you can keep him from getting every shot. But as far as getting to the basket, keeping a guy in front, making him take as tough (shots) as possible, he’s done a pretty good job at that.”

With the Bucks’ supporting case shrinking in the limelight of the Game 7 (outside of 22 points from Eric Bledsoe) Milwaukee’s best chance of pulling off the Garden upset disappeared (Antetokounmpo taking over), thanks to Ojeleye.

Ojeleye’s impact carried over the offensive end as well, even though the numbers don’t show it. With Horford freed from Greek Freak duty, he was able to put together the best offensive performance of his postseason career (26 points on 13-of-17 shooting).

“That’s why I said with Semi, to me, changed the series. And the job that he did was unbelievable,” Horford said. “Giannis is such a great player and his ability to take the challenge to be able to hold his own, gave me extra energy on the offensive end. and I really needed it. A lot of credit goes to him. I ‘m just proud of him because he really all year has been working really hard, he’s probably the hardest worker on our team. And he just stayed with it. And he definitely got rewarded, I feel like.”

The challenges will keep coming at Ojeleye in the next round as he deals with the likes of Ben Simmons and Dario Saric amid a deep and versatile Sixers frontcourt. While the undermanned Celtics may be underdogs entering that series, Ojeleye’s defensive presence gives them a chance to slow down a Philadelphia squad that has lost just once since the middle of March.

More importantly for the big picture, the C’s have Ojeleye under contract for the next three years for roughly $5 million in total salary. Role pieces like that are hard to find and they don’t come cheap either. As this group gets healthy and develops into a contender over the next couple seasons, Stevens has found a defensive game changer he can count on and one this group will be able to afford.