Losing Al Horford to the Philadelphia 76ers left the Boston Celtics with some major holes to fill in their frontcourt.
The Celtics wasted no time bringing in reinforcements, adding Enes Kanter, French center Vincent Poirier and re-signing Daniel Theis. Poirier is the unknown commodity of the three, playing last for the Euroleague’s Baskonia. However one Celtic is familiar with the 6-foot-11 big man.
Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe spoke with Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele who has known Poirier for 10 years, facing each other numerous times in their home country of France. Yabusele believes the 25-year-old really can help the C’s.
“He got stronger,” Yabusele said, per The Boston Globe. “He has better hands. His confidence is different. He sets the screen and rolls fast to the rim, he has the capability to grab rebounds, and is a good shot blocker. He’s able to finish at the rim strong and all the little things we can use. He played this season in Euroleague and he was playing really good, too. So I know he’s more mature, more prepared, and definitely better. So I really think he can help the team.”
Boston’s addition of Kanter provides plenty of help on the offensive side of the ball, but still left room for improvement in the area of interior defense. The acquisition of Poirier should help with that, and clearly Yabusele can attest. The 23-year-old knows Poirier’s toughness and ability to score at the rim will help the Celtics, too.
“The way he finishes at the rim sometimes, the way he’s strong with the ball, it’s really something that not all the big men have,” Yabusele told Himmelsbach. “To be able to be really tough with the ball and finish strong and go to the line and make the free throws, it’s a plus.”
