Boston Celtics – Ride the Starters

The Boston Celtics are on the opposite end of the depth spectrum as the Miami Heat. As much as the Boston-faithful may rave when bringing up the likes of Grant Williams, Brad Wanamaker, or Romeo Langford, it is difficult to expect those guys to show up and play big minutes on the biggest stage, especially since two are rookies, and Wanamaker is essentially in his first meaningful season.

That’s not always horrible though. Besides, benches get cut down immensely when the playoffs roll around, and Boston may have the most complete starting lineup of the bench.

Kemba Walker, and Jayson Tatum both made the all star team this year, and up until Tatum’s outstanding takeover in February, there was a real debate between who was having the better year between him and Jaylen Brown.

Then you have Gordon Hayward, who despite being on a negative value contract, has still made an all star appearance in 2017, and is playing his best basketball in a Celtic uniform.

To put things into perspective, the Boston Celtics average 113 points per game, and the four of them combine for 82.5 of those points. If you compare that to the collection of the Miami Heat, who average 112.2 points per game; their top four scorers only combine for 68.5 points.

The other three Celtics likely to take up the majority of their playoff minutes are Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis, and Enes Kanter.

Boston will be forced to lean heavily on their top four, but most importantly Jayson Tatum, who since February 1 is averaging 29.2 points per game.

The collection of their top four doesn’t possess a ton of playoff experience, but they may have just enough experience, and a generous amount of talent to take the crown of the East.