Boston Backup Bruisers: The Frontcourt Support Behind Al Horford
Al Horford stands alone as the face of the Boston Celtics big men. When the postseason comes around, it's the rest of the frontcourt you will be talking about.
The unsung heroes of the Boston Celtics stay behind the scenes. Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko have been filling in for injuries and taking on heavy defensive roles amid a Celtics push for the championship.
The term anomaly is not thrown around loosely, but there isn't a better word when it comes to describing this year's Celtics.
Many NBA fans scratched their heads when they decided to hold off on making a move before the trade deadline, especially when they had one of the best trade chips at the time. When the Celtics require a bigger defensive presence down low, why not make a move?
Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge clearly see the current team as playoff-ready … which they rightfully should. What the Celtics frontcourt lacks in size, they make up for in aggression. Olynyk, Johnson and Jerebko are not going to be stuffing the stat sheet every night.
However, they will annoy, foul, contest and do just about everything they can to keep their matchup from scoring. Sometimes, it pays off. Sometimes it doesn't. A lot of times they foul out. Looking at you, Olynyk.
Regardless, adapting the enforcer attitude keeps one of the worst rebounding teams in the discussion for top defense.
In a vacuum, the Celtics are primarily in competition with three teams–the Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors. It just so happens that these teams lead in their season series against Boston.
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The one thing that keeps the Celtics from solidifying themselves as the top dog is an easily solvable problem, rebounding. On the flip side, this weakness will be exploited by opponents. This is where the rest of the frontcourt not named Al Horford will play a decisive role.
Toronto Raptors
The Celtics have lost to Toronto three times this season, twice before Toronto acquired Serge Ibaka. The argument can be made, however, that Boston was missing Avery Bradley, arguably the second-most important Celtic on both sides of the ball.
Either way, neither team has played the same team that they could be facing in the playoffs.
If DeMar DeRozan scores 40 or more points in each game of the playoffs, Raptors win. Not much you can do about that.
Seeing how that is unlikely to happen against a team you play at least four times in a row, it will come down to the play of Celtics frontcourt, mainly shutting down Jonas Valanciunas and Ibaka.
The Raptors' frontcourt is talented, but lacks depth, game and playoff experience compared to Olynyk, Jerebko and Johnson. Boston has a great chance of winning each series if two of these three can score at least 10 points a game.
This includes series against both Toronto and Washington, teams that favor a true center.
Washington Wizards
Olynyk, Johnson and Jerebko are all versatile bigs that are more than capable of contributing on offense. They just need to hit their jump shots. The Celtics may escape with a win against the Raptors and their improved defense, but the Wizards play a more physical style.
This includes Markieff Morris, a stretch 4 that offers great spacing and a consistent defensive presence. Keeping him from contributing on offense will be exactly what the Boston frontcourt needs to do to help close out the Wizards.
He is going to get shots off because of his high release, but it takes time for him to get a shot up. Enough time that closing out and contesting every shot can make a difference.
In the three matchups prior to this point, the Wizards are up in the series 2-1, with all three games played prior to the Bojan Bogdanovic trade.
With the final regular-season game between the two coming up on March 20, that will be a much better indication on how the two will square up before postseason play. As of right now, I would still take Boston in seven games, even in spite of the Wizards' very hot streak.
Both backcourts are going to be doing most of the heavy lifting in a series that will come down to rebounds. Once again, the Boston frontcourt being the deciding factor that will able to wear down Washington.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are built a little different. While they lead the regular season series 2-1, they have really not been able to prove why they can beat Boston in the postseason. Every game has been within four points and come down to the last few minutes.
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If Boston is able to knock off the defending champions, you can guarantee it was because Kelly Olynyk helped Kevin Love readjust his shoulder again or because the frontcourt was able to out-rebound the Cavaliers, a task that will not be easily done, but is more than possible.
The Celtics have yet to win the rebound battle against Cleveland. On the bright side, the one time Boston secured more than 40 rebounds, they won by four. Not to mention that compared to all teams LeBron James has played this season, his seventh-lowest plus/minus is versus Boston.
Granted, it is still plus-3.8 over the three contests, but Boston is still one of the teams James tends to struggle against. A sub-stellar performance in the playoffs from LeBron James and the Celtics can absolutely send them home.
All in all, the Celtics are more than capable of taking home the championship. Simple as that. Truth be told, when it comes down to it, what else matters?
If the Boston frontcourt can put an emphasis on rebounding, defense and second-chance points in the playoffs, don't be surprised to see the Celtics make their first Finals appearance in six years.
