The Boston Celtics look good to start the 2019-2020 NBA Season but if you were to pick one area of weakness on this team, it would be their big men unit. How is this team going to defend guys like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo? The problem is the Celtics have one center who can hold up. They just don’t use him. Dear, Brad. Please start, Enes Kanter.
Enes Kanter has always been known as a horrible defender. In OKC, they called him “can’t play Kanter” because he was so bad on the defensive end. People make fun of Karl-Anthony Towns by calling Karl-Anthony Kanter. If you needed any more evidence that Brad Stevens is a fantastic coach, look no further than Kanter’s defensive improvement in Boston.
The Celtics just played the 76ers. Embiid has been the bogeyman in Boston. Kanter did as good of a job as anyone has.
VIA: Chris Forsberg
Enes Kanter defensively vs. Joel Embiid last night: 12 pts, 4-11 FG (36.4%), 1 TO
All other Embiid defenders: 21 points, 7-9 (77.8%), 1 TO
Want to hear something crazier? Kanter doesn’t start. Kanter is playing an average of 16.3 minutes per game. It doesn’t make any sense. Instead, Stevens rolls with Daniel Theis. Don’t get me wrong, I like Theis. I think he’s great for the offense. However, in these kind of matchups, Theis can’t be on the floor when Embiid is.
Kanter is proving to be so valuable, but we’re not seeing him enough. Kanter is a world class rebounder. He might be the best offensive rebounder in the sport. Kanter is one of few bigs in the league that you can throw the ball to down low and let him eat. Kanter has an offensive skill set very few bigs have. The Celtics are barely using him.
The Celtics are a team that has so much potential. They have one weak spot but it doesn’t have to be. Please start Enes Kanter. Please.
