A look at the highs and lows across the Celtics roster after the month of January and the first half of February in our All-Star Break edition of the Celtics player power rankings.
Not ranked due to injury:
Rob Williams (Has not played since December )
16. Tacko Fall (Previous: 14): The 7-foot-6 center has only played twice with the C’s over the last month and a half but continues to post encouraging numbers for the Red Claws. He’s shooting 73 percent from the field and has 12 double-doubles in 22 games thus far in Maine, posting 12 points and 10 rebounds per game.
15. Tremont Waters (Previous: 15): The second-round pick was named to the Midseason All-NBA G-League team after he averaging 19.1 points, 7.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.4 steals for the Maine Red Claws in the first half of the year. He saw a couple stints for the Celtics in January/February due to injuries but struggled with shooting (25 percent) in those four contests.
14. Vincent Poirier (Previous: 13): The Frenchman returned from a broken pinky in January but his chances of regular playing time this year have seemingly come and gone. He’s played in just seven games over the last month, a low number considering how shorthanded Boston has been due to injuries at times. With Rob Williams expected to return by the start of March, Poirier may be closer to not dressing for games soon on 13-man active player than getting any regular rotation minutes.
13. Carsen Edwards (Previous: 12): The 21-year-old has played 33 games for the Celtics this season but has seen just 30 minutes of action (in six games) since the start of 2020 as the C’s have emphasized getting him reps in Maine after he fell out of the rotation in Boston. The scoring returns (23.3 ppg) in Maine have been much more promising but the 3-point struggles (30 percent) have remained consistent despite the added volume. Internally, the C’s still really like Edwards but it’s going to be a very big next few months of development for him if he wants to keep his roster spot next year amid a very crowded depth chart.
12. Javonte Green (Previous: 12): The rookie has been a nice surprise all year long as a 15th man that can contribute but his offensive limitations have shown a bit more of late. He has scored just one point in his last 34 minutes of action and has played in just four of the last nine C’s games as the team has gotten healthy on the wing. There will be spot duty here and there for him going forward for teams with speedy wings off the bench that may be too quick for Semi Ojeleye or Brad Wanamaker to cover but he’s not in the regular rotation anymore with Boston’s full complement of players in the lineup. From a defensive standpoint, the emergence of Langford as a heady off-ball defender has also given Stevens an alternative to him off the bench
11. Romeo Langford (Previous: 9): Playing time is always a volatile commodity for a rookie under Brad Stevens and we’ve seen that firsthand with Langford over the past two months. After being buried on the bench for weeks despite injuries popping up, Langford delivered his best two games as a Celtic against the Magic and Hawks earlier this month, showing the defense and scoring touch that made him a lottery prospect for this group. The strong play earned him a chance at minutes against tougher competition like the Thunder and Magic but good health along with struggles against veteran opponents sent Langford back to the bench against the Clippers even with Jaylen Brown sidelined. The odds are that Langford sees more time in Maine than Boston over the remainder of the season if this team stays healthy but he showed enough on the defensive end in those two games to get Celtics fans excited for his potential with a healthy year or two of development.
10. Semi Ojeleye (Previous: 11): The good news for Ojeleye? He’s just five games short of matching his total games played for last season (56) and has shot a career-high 35 percent from 3-point range in the process. Getting to the league average mark for a 25-year-old who is a 32.7 percent career shooter from downtown is no small feat, particularly when it’s the most needed skill for him on this team. Ojeleye’s turnovers are way down as well this year (a sign of role acceptance of him not trying to do too much) but the improved play of others in the rotation (Langford, Williams) will still cause his minutes to be squeezed moving forward. The Celtics will turn to him off the bench for his strength and versatility but the on/off numbers with him on the court (worst net rating on team in last month), which should turn him into a specialist for the rest of the year.
9. Grant Williams (Previous: 10): The rookie big man is still only scoring 5.0 ppg over his last 15 contests but his efficiency has reached a different level for much of 2020. He’s knocking down 53.8 percent of his shots overall and 50 percent of his attempts from 3-point range, giving the C’s the type of perimeter range they envisioned after drafting him at No. 22. Remarkably, his 3-point shooting average for the year is all the way up to 28.6 percent after his 0-of-25 start to the year from deep. With 15 minutes of more of action in eight of his last nine games, he’s looking more and more like the preferred option at backup power forward for Brad Stevens over Semi Ojeleye in most matchups. The Ojeleye/Williams frontline will continue to get looks at smaller lineups but Williams’ offensive versatility puts him ahead in that pecking order when it comes to rim protection/rebounding.
8. Brad Wanamaker (Previous: 7): A dreadful shooting slump for much of January has faded away for the reserve guard in the midst of the C’s hot stretch. The 30-year-old has knocked down 3s in seven of his last nine games, giving him 40 percent shooting overall from downtown in his last 15 games. That accuracy combined with some high marksmanship and surprise volume at the free throw line (91.7 percent on 1.8 attempts per game) has given the senior citizen a continued meaningful role for this group. The front office was able to pass on paying high asking prices at the trade deadline for potential bench shooters since they weren’t even sure those players would be much of an upgrade on Wanamaker. Whether or not his production can translate over to the postseason remains to be seen but he’s done enough for now to feel confident about staying in the rotation for the remainder of the regular season.
7. Enes Kanter (Previous: 5): A hip injury cost Kanter five games last month and is clearly affecting his production in February. He’s managed to crack the double-digit mark in points and rebounds just once in six games as he battles mobility issues with the hip healing. He’s still incredibly efficient when he manages to find shot opportunities (58.6 percent on the year) but the Celtics are going to need to hope a week’s worth of rest for his bruised hip is enough to get him moving closer to full strength again. Otherwise, Kanter’s defensive limitations become even more glaring, which makes him close to unplayable against any team that has shooting on the floor at all five positions (like the Rockets had this past week).
6. Marcus Smart (Previous: NR - injured): This is a debatable spot for the guard who has found himself as the odd man out in closing lineups of late when the C’s have their full contingent of healthy players. His 3-point shooting has been on an upward trajectory as he’s averaging 7.6 3-point attempts per game over his last 15 contests, the third-highest mark on the roster over that stretch, knocking down a stellar 39.4 percent of those. However, he’s still just shooting a lackluster 41.3 percent from the field in that span while seeing a noticeable uptick in his turnovers (2.4 per game). The fact that he’s capable of turning into 30-point performances like we saw against the Clippers on Thursday night is crucial but he still looks to be sixth in the crunch-time pecking order for this team at the moment.
5. Daniel Theis (Previous: 7): The starting center has the second-best net rating on the roster over the last 15 games (+13.8) among the regulars and a look at his numbers makes it easy to see why. He’s started to make the transition from situational starting center to a full-time minutes load, averaging over 25 minutes per game since mid-January. Over that stretch, he’s shooting a scorching hot 61.8 percent from the field, 36 percent from downtown and has scored in double digits during nine of his past 13 games. With his offensive rebounding (2.4 per game) and shot-blocking (1.2 per game) reaching a higher level, Theis has turned into one of the best bargain centers in the league since the start of 2020 and a guy that Brad Stevens is quite comfortable having on the floor during crunch time.
4. Jaylen Brown (Previous: 3): The swingman was hobbled by ankle and calf injuries in the past couple weeks but he still has stood out as one of the best scoring wings inside the 3-point arc in the NBA. Brown is shooting over 60 percent from 2-point range since mid-January and that’s the type of numbers you shouldn’t see from an elite scoring center in the paint, not a 6-foot-7 guard/forward. Brown’s outside shooting has seen a little bit of a dip lately (33 percent from 3-point line, 68 percent from FT line) and his turnovers have ticked up as well (2.9 turnovers per game) but the positive offensive production still heavily outweighs any of these dips in the past month. Brown may not be an All-Star but he continues to play at that level in 2020.
3. Gordon Hayward (Previous: 4): Durability has been a concern for Hayward throughout his tenure as a Celtic but those worries have faded in the new calendar year. No Celtic has played more minutes in 2020 overall, with the 29-year-old swingman getting just one game to rest in the midst of Boston’s busiest stretch of the year. Hayward’s play has flourished as others have bounced in and out of the lineup due to injuries in the past month as he has averaging 18.6 ppg on 46/41/90 splits. He’s leading the team in rebounds (8.0) over the past 15 games as well and ranks third in assists (4.1), giving Brad Stevens and the Celtics coaching staff the versatile forward they thought they were signing back in 2017. The scoring numbers are not as impressive (18.6 ppg) as his All-Star teammates but his efficiency has been as good as anyone on the roster as of late.
2. Kemba Walker (Previous: 1): A sore knee has limited Walker in the past few games (shooting under 40 percent for five straight games) but he still has been the primary catalyst for the C’s offense despite those recent woes. He’s leading the team in free throw attempts (5.7), assists (5.0) and is still shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point range despite taking 8.3 3-point attempts per game over the last month. Walker has also given up willingly a percentage of his scoring load to Tatum in the midst of his hot streak (taking only 17 attempts per game despite injuries to other scorers) and that combined with improved shot selection has led to a career-high true shooting percentage for the All-Star.
1. Jayson Tatum (Previous: 2): Tatum has not just been the best Celtic in 2020 thus far but it’s hard to find 15 players across the league that have had a better start to the new calendar year. In the midst of setting new career-highs and consistency records for himself with scoring streaks, the third-year forward is averaging 25.9 ppg on 48/43 shooting splits since mid-January. The Celtics offense is 14 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor in 2020 and that’s easily the most drastic split on the C’s roster during that stretch. Factor in some of the defensive player of his career with career-highs in rebounds, steals and blocks and the C’s are seeing a star turn by the 21-year-old forward faster than most anticipated.