The Celtics' bench has a glaring weakness that isn't going away

There is no player more important to the Celtics’ offense than Kemba Walker. That much was already clear before the C’s dropped an ugly 99-94 game to the worst defense in the league on Monday night in Washington. The loss shouldn’t mean much in the big picture. The C’s other stars were due for an off night and it arrived at the same time for everyone as no one in the starting five shot better than 40 percent from the field. With three games in four nights, a dud like this is bound to happen here and there, and the C’s have done a nice job of ensuring they are isolated incidents all year long (no losing streak has gone beyond two games).

However, as the Celtics inch further into a brutal January schedule, the importance of their reserves is beginning to gain weight. Brad Stevens has expertly navigated the largely inexperienced group over the first 30 games of the year but it will be in the C’s long-term interest if he can avoid playing his core players 35-plus minutes a night in this part of the calendar, particularly when so many contests are piling up in a hurry.

Striking a balance between winning and giving bench guys opportunities is important but after a strong start to the season by the second unit, we are starting to see some regression on the offensive end. The hierarchy within that group has taken shape with Marcus Smart as a clear cut sixth man when everyone is healthy and Enes Kanter locking up 20 minutes per game at backup center. The same goes for Brad Wanamaker at the other backup guard spot but his play along with a few others are starting to show some holes.

The biggest problem emerging within the group of bench regulars though? A lack of outside shooting, which was on display yet again in the C’s loss to the Wizards Monday. The Celtics shot a dismal 21.6 percent from 3-point range as a team (worst output of the year) but the bench was just as big of an issue on that front as the starters, going a combined 1-of-9 from deep.

While an off night from the starters is not a big deal given their success all year long, the same can’t be said for the bench when it comes to perimeter since bad nights have become the norm. Boston’s bench ranks dead last in 3-point shooting accuracy on the year, knocking down an ugly 28.1 percent of their attempts from downtown. That’s a far cry from the other top 12 teams in the NBA, all of which rank in the top half of the league in that department.

So where are Boston’s biggest issues within its reserves? Let’s take a look at the personnel to figure out if any meaningful improvement can be expected to address the issue.

Brad Wanamaker: After a strong start to the year (he was 50/40/90 at one point in November), the second-year guard has fallen back to earth in a hurry. He’s shooting just 32 percent on the year now from downtown and just 22 percent in his last 15 games. He doesn’t take many from deep (1.5 per game) but he’s not knocking them down consistently anymore, which has limited his value from an offensive standpoint.

Carsen Edwards: The rookie guard saw his first meaningful action on Monday night since spending some time with the Red Claws over the past few weeks. He missed both shots in a six-minute stint before getting a DNP in the second half. He’s now shooting a disappointing 31 percent from downtown and has been a liability on both ends of the floor most nights.

Enes Kanter: He’s still not taking 3s. Just 0.1 attempts per game.

Romeo Langford: The swingman has been a nice surprise contributor in the past few weeks. He was a DNP due to illness in Washington but his outside shooting is one area that hasn’t translated just yet. He’s knocked down just 22 percent of his 3-point attempts (2-of-9) in nine games. Despite a revamped jumpshot, it’s probably not expected to be a strength just yet.

Javonte Green: A great contributor as a 15th man but also an ugly 3-point shooter (21.4 percent), something that has persisted through his pro career overseas.

Semi Ojeleye: The surprise leader from 3-point range for Boston’s bench (37 percent) is still fighting with Grant Williams for minutes on most nights. Ojeleye is pretty much a one-trick pony on offense (60 percent of his shot attempts are 3) and his career track record (31 percent career from 3) doesn’t make this something Stevens can count on just yet.

Grant Williams: He was the only bench player to hit a 3 on Monday night and is shooting 40 percent from deep (8-of-20) since snapping out of his 0-of-24 funk to start the year. That’s obviously a positive regression to the mean but for now, he is still a 17 percent 3-point shooter.

Tremont Waters: The two-way guard scored a career-high eight points off the bench for Boston against the Wizards but 3-point shooting (2-of-11) was never his strength at the college level. He will bring playmaking when he plays but no reliable outside shooting.

With Smart’s own 3-point shooting trending down (31 percent) a lack of reliable spacing options off the bench is set to become a problem for this group, especially when the starters have rough games themselves. It’s evident now that some guys were playing over their heads a little bit earlier in the year (Wanamaker) while others (Edwards, Langford) can’t be counted on as good floor spacers just yet.

The Celtics are obviously at a great place in the standings still at 25-9 but if they are going to make a move for some help at the trade deadline, adding a shooter sooner rather than later would help make Stevens’ life a lot easier. He could use more depth from a scoring standpoint to put together a rotation every night that doesn’t lean too heavily on his starting core. Boston has the assets to make something happen and avoid nights like we saw Monday when the head coach had nowhere to turn for a scoring boost against a subpar defense like Washington. With the clock running out for internal improvement, we will explore some potential targets (such as Davis Bertans) at BSJ this week.