Boston Celtics: Tremont Waters could see more playing time in Boston

The Boston Celtics could utilize Tremont Waters down the stretch of the regular season as the team heads into the playoffs.

Considering Tremont Waters playing on a two-way contract this season, he hasn’t seen the most action in the NBA thus far. But Waters always seems prepared and ready to go whenever he gets recalled to join the Boston Celtics for a game or two.

In a game where Kemba Walker was ruled out, and Marcus Smart and Brad Wanamaker were forced into the starting lineup, the C’s needed another guard to run the second unit and perform well doing so. Waters has proved to be capable of doing that this year both for the Boston Celtics and in the G-League with the Maine Red Claws this season.

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Waters played a career-high 16 minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. In what was just his 10th game of the season with the Celtics, he finished the contest with five points, two rebounds, and two assists in the victory. Despite only having two assists in the game, Waters showed to be a facilitator and displayed great awareness and confidence with the ball in his hands.

It became noticeable when Waters was in the game that the team felt comfortable running their offense through him. Even Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics’ leading scorer, passed the ball to Waters after multiple rebounds, rather than just taking it up the court himself (which he usually does). Tatum wanted Waters to try to execute a play for the team. It shows the confidence and trust that the Celtics already have in their young rookie.

What has been most noticeable about Waters is his instinctual skills. His first move is to always drive to the basket, which is a great quality to have in your point guard. Rather than overcompensating and rushing himself into taking a bad shot, he’ll drive to the hoop for an easy layup or will kick the ball back out to the perimeter to one of his shooters.

In the G-League, where he sees his most action, Waters is averaging 19.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and an impressive 2.1 steals per game for the Red Claws this season. In doing so, Waters was named a starter for the G-League All-Star team. He is by far the most exciting and promising rookie of the Celtics’ four draftees this season.

It’s worth mentioning that upon being drafted 51st overall by the Boston Celtics in this past year’s NBA Draft, Waters was named First-Team All-SEC and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 with LSU.

Waters has been able to polish his game and excel at an accelerated rate in the G-League faster than he would have been able to in the NBA. It has also allowed the Boston Celtics to preserve the 45 days his two-way contract allows him to play in Boston. Considering the plethora of injuries the Celtics are dealing with as of late, Waters has proved he is deserving of earning and producing quality minutes down the stretch.

When you consider playoff seeding, every game matters from here on out. With that being said, Waters could see more playing time for the Boston Celtics as the team looks to regain health, and with the NBA’s regular season nearing its close, Waters should be an important player for the Celtics leading into the playoffs.