Boston Celtics: Can Semi Ojeleye be a part of the solution?

With four straight losses late in the year for the Boston Celtics, time is running out for the team to make season-saving changes. Do they roll with the guys they’ve had in the rotation, or look further down the bench to Semi Ojeleye?

It’s been no secret this season that the relationship between Terry Rozier and the Boston Celtics has not been mutually beneficial. There is a solid argument that the team is in fact better without him, and that it needs not look to the buyout/free agency market, but rather to its contributors on the fringe of the rotation for replacements.

The easy answer to this is Brad Wanamaker, for the sole reason that he and Rozier play the same position on the depth chart. Wanamaker has played reasonably well in the minutes he’s been allocated, so it could do Boston some good sliding more minutes his way. However, a more impactful player could be already be on the team’s roster.

Enter Semi Ojeleye. He checks all the necessary boxes: (some) playoff experience, size, speed, high motor, high defensive IQ, readiness to accept difficult matchups, a burgeoning outside jumper and ridiculously huge muscles.

His biggest knock is the Boston Celtics’ biggest strength (at least in theory): his offensive bag of tricks is a shallow one. With that being said, is this really that much of a problem when he plays alongside the likes of Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, not to mention the rest of Boston’s talented roster?

Not only should he be getting more minutes with the bench unit, Ojeleye could have the biggest impact of any Celtic if plugged into the starting lineup.

This wouldn’t be his first time out there with the starters either. Last postseason, after Giannis Antetokounmpo took every Celtic’s lunch money within a five-foot radius, head coach Brad Stevens plugged Ojeleye in to take the brunt of that matchup.

Of course, Ojeleye didn’t stop the Greek Freak by any measure, but he sure did help make life difficult for him. He and Horford teamed up to slow him down, and with physicality and toughness, Boston slid past the Milwaukee Bucks by the skin of its teeth.

There is only one Antetokounmpo in this league, but each elite team in the Eastern Conference has a highly talented, highly versatile stretch-4 that can not be covered by a conventional big.

The Toronto Raptors‘ Pascal Siakam torched the Celtics in their most recent matchup, and will require nearly the same amount of defensive attention on the wing as teammate Kawhi Leonard come playoff time.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a perennial matchup problem for every team, but Ojeleye has the ability to cover Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler relatively comfortably on any switch Philly throws at Boston.

With Ojeleye’s rather low offensive ceiling, his minutes will always be limited. Why not play the entirety of his time on the floor with the starters, who will benefit from his gritty defense and in turn, will take almost all of the offensive pressure off him?

If Semi slides into the starting rotation, effectively pushing Marcus Morris out, that just adds another scoring weapon to Boston’s bench. Morris’ spot-up shooting has been huge for the Celtics this season, but the well has run dry as of late. He’s shot 5-for-25 from deep since the All-Star break, and the numbers were trending down before that too.

Play Morris next to a playmaker like Gordon Hayward against second unit competition, and both their numbers could go way up. A ripple effect could likely occur with the other bench pieces; Jaylen Brown has more space to work with, and can bully any undersized guard that dares to defend him in the paint, while Rozier, with another weapon on his unit, may think twice about trying to strap the team on his back and take long 2s mid-shot clock after dribbling around.

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There are no easy solutions to the problems the Celtics have run into. With the time running out to right this ship, Brad Stevens has to get creative with what he has, but he also has to be able to depend on it.

Semi Ojeleye can be depended on, and he’s already proved that on the bigger stages. He can help add more toughness to a talented Celtics team that has been getting pushed around all year without disrupting the flow of any of his teammates.

The whole starting lineup would benefit from Ojeleye’s defensive presence, who very well could emerge as an elite stopper with more exposure. Morris, a career bench player, could rediscover his efficiency with the second unit. With everything to lose and the foundation of the season crumbling, Boston visiting the Ojeleye factory could set in motion a team-saving run.