The Boston Celtics have looked great this season. But are they the same team now as the one we’ll see once the NBA playoffs roll around?
The answer probably is no, if we’re to believe Chris Mannix’s recent report that the C’s “definitely” will use the $8.4 million Disabled Player Exception the NBA granted them after Gordon Hayward got injured.
And while there’s been virtually no indication as to who the Celtics could target with the extra money, one potentially intriguing name has entered the discussion: Andrew Bogut. The Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday waived the veteran center, who they acquired in September.
Would Bogut generate as much fan excitement as, say, someone like free agent guard Monta Ellis would? Probably not.
But the 33-year-old Aussie might be a better fit, and the Celtics did show interest in him during the offseason.
The Celtics currently rank 11th in the NBA in team rebounding, averaging 44.5 boards per game. But don’t let the ranking full you; when push comes to shove, the C’s struggle to rebound against teams with imposing frontcourts. Furthermore, Boston’s strong rebounding numbers are a bit misleading, as the team was rebounding everything in sight at the start of the season, but have regressed to the norm since.
Bogut essentially would give Boston an insurance policy in the event center Aron Baynes suffers an injury, or gets into foul trouble in a game where he must defend a dominating center. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Bogut has appeared in 24 games this year for L.A., averaging 1.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
After averaging at least 20 minutes per game in the first 12 years of his career, Bogut has been on the floor for just nine minutes per game this season.
