Who ESPN Thinks Could Be Celtics’ ‘Potential Surprise Player’ In NBA Restart Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/07/who-espn-thinks-could-be-celtics-potential-surprise-player-in-nba-restart/

by **dboss** Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:41 pm

https://nesn.com/2020/07/who-espn-thinks-could-be-celtics-potential-surprise-player-in-nba-restart/

ESPN named one player from all 22 teams that could be a surprise, and for the Boston Celtics, the network chose rookie Grant Williams. Here’s the reasoning from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps: “It isn’t often that a rookie can be labeled a cerebral player, and yet the description fits Williams perfectly. An undersized power forward, Williams quickly earned the trust of Celtics coach Brad Stevens by showing a knack for knowing where to be and when to be there when he got chances to play. And, after famously opening his career by missing his first 25 3-point attempts, Williams shot 21-for-60 (35%) from deep after that. Williams should be an important reserve for the Celtics as they try to make it back to the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade.” Indeed, Stevens clearly trusted Williams in a number of roles, even trotting him out as the Celtics’ tallest player on occasion. He certainly figures to be one of Boston’s first players off the bench, and his success could be key for a C’s team that has had its frontcourt depth questioned.

My notes

Several guys come to mind. Both Williams guys as well as Romeo Langford. Semi has playoff experience.

Statistics in a snapshot can show different things. For example the author points out how Grants's 3 point shooting improved from his 0-25 start. That is a fact. But is it a trend? He was pretty horrible over his last 10 games going 1-15 from deep or 6.7%.

This is the reason why the 8 upcoming games are very important for the Celtics. The playoff rotation is likely to be shortened. I think Romeo may get some minutes because he is a wing and GH will be departing for a while. Grant will be competing with Semi for rotation minutes at PF. Rob Williams will be competing with Kanter for rotation minutes at center. Also game to game we can expect to see different guys rotate into the game depending on matchups. The bottom line is that the entire team needs to be ready to contribute. After the 8 game restart is completed I may take a crack at who the surprise player will be.