Boston Celtics: Semi Ojeleye seized his opportunity in a huge way for the C’s

The Boston Celtics needed anyone they could scrounge together for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Semi Ojeleye stepped up in a huge way.

Following the unwritten rule in sports, the next man up needs to seize the opportunities that are presented to him. Semi Ojeleye did exactly that when Boston Celtics entered Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a very thin depth chart after playing against the Brooklyn Nets just one night prior.

Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker all didn’t make the trip to Cleveland with the team. As of now, Hayward is on a day-to-day basis with a contused knee, while Brown is being reevaluated next week for a hamstring strain he sustained in the Cs’ game against the Nets the night before. And as we know, Walker is on a load management plan until further notice.

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It’s also worth mentioning that Romeo Langford became sick during the game and was unable to play during the second half of the game. This is the same day Jayson Tatum returned to the Celtics after missing a game because of an illness.

With three starters out of the lineup, the Celtics were going to need at least one more player to keep things rolling on the offensive end with Tatum. That one player ended up being Ojeleye, which was not too surprising to his Celtics teammates when he stepped up in a huge way for the team. Ojeleye had a career game and finished with 22 points, six rebounds, and two assists in the game.

As Ojeleye has been mostly known for his defensive tenacity throughout his career, he made himself a huge part of the Celtics’ offensive game plan last night. He was able to carve a role for himself by taking advantage of the extra minutes that went his way because of all the injuries.

Ojeleye impressively shot  8-of-11 from the floor and connected on5-of-8 3-point shot attempts.

Now in his third season, Ojeleye showed the entire NBA that he is a true professional and can provide his team with whatever is asked of him. Up until Wednesday where he logged in over 30 minutes and 22 points, Ojeleye was only averaging under 3 points in 13.9 minutes per game. It’s a true credit to his hard work and dedication to being a member of the Boston Celtics.

"“We know Semi can do that on a daily basis for us. In practice and every day he’s getting his shots up… It’s just all about his opportunity, tonight he got his opportunity and he took advantage of it” – Marcus Smart during postgame, per Josue Pavon of CLNS Media"

Seeing this kind of performance out of Ojeleye is a promising sign for the Celtics and their ongoing issues in regards to bench scoring and the production of the secondary units. Ojeleye’s production as of late should serve as a confidence boost, not only for himself, but also for the team as they are trying to regain health to some of their main players.

Ojeleye is also proving that he could improve the production of the bench and second units, which currently ranks in the bottom of the league. The powerhouse that is Ojeleye is showing that when given the time necessary to establish himself in a game, he can be an effective weapon for the Boston Celtics moving forward.

As the regular season is nearing an end and team’s are preparing for the playoffs, Ojeleye could provide the Boston Celtics with valiant efforts on both ends of the court down the stretch of the season and throughout the course of a game.