Backcourt depth was probably at the bottom of the list of concerns for Danny Ainge as he constructed his roster for the 2018-19 season.
A healthy Kyrie Irving was set to take his rightful place at starting point guard alongside an emerging Jaylen Brown at shooting guard. Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier provided an exciting mix of defensive toughness and timely shooting that gave Boston arguably the deepest backcourt in the Eastern Conference on paper. Rounding out the group was none other than Brad Wanamaker, another Euroleague transplant that would take the slot previously filled by Shane Larkin as an energy/depth guy at the end of the bench.
The Celtics had their eye on Wanamaker for a couple years, according to a source,
but it wasn’t until this summer that they decided to pull the trigger and offer him a guaranteed deal, a move that ended the tenure of Larkin in Boston. The 5-foot-11 Larkin had been a key part of Boston’s 55-win team in 2017-18 as a speedy defensive sparkplug who helped carry the C’s with his streaky shooting to a couple of regular-season wins when injuries piled up in the backcourt.
Larkin’s size became more of a liability during the postseason though as he was a frequent target of mismatches against taller wings such as Khris Middleton and J.J. Redick. With all the switching that occurs during the postseason, Larkin’s minutes were seemingly played with a target on his back and he had trouble holding his own in mismatches. He eventually hurt his shoulder in the Sixers series and wasn’t able to recover in time to contribute to the East Finals. Surprisingly, Larkin got no guaranteed money offers in the NBA and headed back overseas to play in Turkey for this year.
On paper, Wanamaker was supposed to take over his role as a depth piece/energy guy but he really hasn’t been afforded the opportunity over the first 20 games of the season. His size (6-foot-5) helps the C’s with their switching defensively but it’s been evident from the preseason that the 29-year-old doesn’t have the foot speed to handle speedy NBA point guards. And he doesn’t provide a skillset that’s an upgrade over other guards on the roster. For a team that has been trying to find itself through 20 games, Brad Stevens has turned to youngsters like Robert Williams and Semi Ojeleye more for brief energy stints over Wanamaker.
The 13th man on the roster is normally not a cause for concern for a title contender, but after seeing another speedy guard (JJ Barea) join a long list of players (Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, Trey Burke) who have had their way against Boston’s defensive backcourt (20 points, 8 assists on Saturday), the lack of a smaller defensive-minded option is starting to become one of a long list of issues for this group. A closer look at the roster makes it easier to understand why.
Smart is a terrific defender but he’s never been a guy who can slow down a smaller, speedy player. Irving’s defensive engagement comes and goes but he’s never going to be counted on a plus defender in that department either. From a speed standpoint, Rozier is the guy that C’s need to match up with the quicker guards and he just hasn’t been up to the task over 20 games.
Exhibit A was Saturday night in Dallas when a 34-year-old point guard got pretty much whatever he wanted against Rozier for much of the second half. A look at Barea’s highlight reel for the night shows Rozier in the crosshairs for most of the 17 minutes he was in the game.
JJ Barea drops 20 PTS and hands out 8 AST off the bench to help the @dallasmavs beat BOS! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/xqfI5E1LBn
— NBA (@NBA) November 25, 2018