Boston Celtics: The short-term impact Aron Baynes’ injury

The Boston Celtics will likley be without Aron Baynes for the next handful of games. Here’s the impact his absence will have in the short-term.

The Boston Celtics had their fair share of injuries last year. This season, that trend has continued with an Aron Baynes suffering a hamstring injury three games into the season. Anytime a player goes down with an injury, a team will still suffer — whether it’s a star player, a role player or even a depth piece.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens does not know the exact timetable for Baynes’ injury, noting that hamstring injuries are scary. Things get even trickier when dealing with bigger athletes, but on a positive note, he’s currently listed as day-to-day.

In three games, Baynes has averaged 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. He played in a total of 81 games last year, the most on the team. Standing at 6’10” and 260 pounds, Baynes is one of the more physical bigs in the NBA. With this loss, Boston will be short in the frontcourt for the time being.

The newly drafted Robert Williams is the only other listed center on the team. The rookie has yet to log an NBA minute, despite being active Saturday before Baynes went down. That means players like Daniel Theis and Guerschon Yabusele will need to step up.

It’s likely this injury pushes the team to rely more on small-ball lineups until he can return. That’s less than ideal timing assuming he’s out for the next handful of games, since these are the opponents on the docket:

• Orlando Magic (Nikola Vucevic)
• Oklahoma City Thunder (Steven Adams)
• Detroit Pistons, twice (Andre Drummond)

When the Celtics go up against teams with bigger centers, they have historically started Baynes and move Al Horford to the power forward position. Vucevic is one of the bigger centers in the league and arguably one of the more underrated players. In his last game, he put together 27 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and two steals.

The Magic are one of the deeper backcourt teams in the NBA. They have players like Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon, Mohamed Bamba and Vucevic. That could become an issue for Boston in Monday night’s game.

The Thunder have a really good player in Adams. Matching up against him is no easy task, no matter who the player is. He might not be the most athletic or have a shooter’s touch, but what he does have is size and strength. Adams may be the strongest player in the NBA.

When the Celtics play against the Thunder, they’ll be wishing they had Baynes down in the post. Out of the next handful of games, OKC is the one team the Celtics won’t have to worry about when it comes to an abundance of big men. Horford should be able to hold his own until Adams heads to the bench.

The heart and soul of the Pistons, however, comes from the two big men down low. Blake Griffin and Drummond are one of the best frontcourt duos in the NBA. Both of them are super athletic, can play physical and affect the games in so many ways.

Drummond is a rebound monster and a good defender. Everyone knows what Griffin is capable of. The All-Star loves to live above the rim and put together a full stat line. Boston will match up against Detroit twice to end the month — something that is less than ideal if they’ll be without Baynes for both of those games.

The next handful of games is not going to be easy for the Celtics. They will be going up against teams with skilled, bigger centers. There’s no timetable for Aron Baynes’ return, but it will hurt the team if it’s for an extended period of time.