Boston Celtics: Frontcourt Situation Not So Clear Cut

The Boston Celtics have plenty of big men. Too many, it would seem, for them all to play meaningful minutes.

With the regular season now just a week away, we’re beginning to see that there are more shades of “Parquet Pride” gray to this situation.

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Coach Brad Stevens has said that he envisions playing four bigs on a nightly basis more often than not. With six such players (David Lee, Amir Johnson, Tyler Zeller, Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger and Jonas Jerebko) currently on the roster, the most basic subtraction tells us that two of them will be sitting more than playing.

Take a closer look though and the equation suddenly appears less simple.

We all know about Sullinger’s endless issues with being in shape and in good condition. But after a summer of cryptic tweets and Instagram posts pertaining to rigorous workouts and reports of an “intervention” on the part of his family and John Lucas in an effort to bring the fourth-year man from Ohio State into the light, he still looks overweight, out of shape and slower than he should be.

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So cross him off the list.

Then there’s Lee, who is by far the most accomplished member of the group as well as its senior member. Given the massive cut in playing time Lee took with last year’s Golden State Warriors along with the fact that he’s in the final year of his contract, it makes plenty of sense to assume that Lee will put up big numbers in a regular role this year.

But what if it doesn’t pan out that way? Lee is now 32 and played in just 49 games last season thanks to back and hamstring ailments that contributed to his taking such a big hit in minutes. He’s played nearly 26,000 minutes in his career playoffs included. It would be foolish to completely dismiss the possibility that he’s breaking down.

And what about Olynyk? This feels like a really big year for him after two seasons that have featured more disappointment than progress. But Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog noted on Wednesday that this year’s Sports Illustrated NBA Preview quoted an anonymous scout as calling Olynyk “one of those guys I just haven’t seen improve.” The scout also said that Olynyk “hasn’t taken it to the next level” and “could be out some minutes.”

Oct 19, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk (41) shoots the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Between a maddening hesitance to pull the trigger when wide open and regular disappearances for extended stretches, Olynyk, referred to as ‘awkward’ by his own teammates, needs to step up and get more consistent. Whether or not the aforementioned scout’s take that Olynyk has not improved is common across the league, it’s fairly clear that he has the skills and talent to be much better and far more dependable than he’s shown.

Where does this leave us? Well, we won’t truly know until the season starts. Maybe Jerebko, who feels most like the odd man out among the Celtics’ bevy of bigs, gets more of a chance to make an impact. Maybe Johnson, who has looked very good — particularly playing with Isaiah Thomas — over the course of training camp and the preseason, starts and plays the most minutes of anyone in the group. Maybe Sullinger winds up playing a bigger role and the team is required to depend on him further (pray this doesn’t happen).

Or maybe Lee stays healthy, Olynyk shows some marked improvement in his third season and the Celtics succeed on the strength of being able to send waves of big men with different skill sets at their more shallow opponents.

So keep an eye on the Celtics’ front court. There could well be more there than meets the eye.

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