2020-21 Roster Breakdown: The Wings

Now that the Boston Celtics have officially begun the preseason, it’s time that we break down the roster and provide an idea of what the team’s depth chart will look like heading into the 2020-21 campaign.

Rather than classifying the players with the traditional 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 positional tags, we are taking a page out of coach Brad Stevens’ book by placing each athlete into one of the following three roles:

Two days ago, we tipped off our roster breakdown series with Boston’s ball handlers. Today, we present their perimeter mates – the wings.

Wings are commonly the most versatile players on the floor and are relied upon to take on a heavy scoring load. Defensively, they’ll often be tasked with suppressing elite scorers on opposing teams. Depending on their skill set, they may also be tasked with taking on ball-handling duties, or they may slide into the frontcourt to take on a big man role.

The C’s have loaded up with six versatile wings this season, five of whom are returning members. Here’s a closer look at the depth they have to offer at the position.

Jayson Tatum emerged last season as a superstar, as he became the driving force behind Boston’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. At age 22, he earned his first All-Star selection and All-NBA nod, all while averaging 23.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He also stood out as one of the best long-range shooters in the NBA, making 40.3 percent of his 3-pointers, including 40.4 percent on pull-up threes, which was the league-leading mark among players who attempted at least 200 such shots.

After making such a substantial leap last season, Tatum will look to fine-tune his game even more during Year 4. One area where we may see him improve this season is in his ability to make plays for others. He began to do so more often during the 2020 postseason when he dished out 5.0 assists per game, including a career-high 11 helpers during his most recent playoff game. With those numbers on the rise, we could very well see Tatum add a few triple-doubles to his resume this season, especially after the departure of Gordon Hayward, who served as one of the team’s primary facilitators. And Celtics fans can get used to seeing such impressive numbers, because after signing a long-term extension with the Celtics last month, Tatum will be producing them here in Boston for many years to come.

Tatum won’t be the only player taking on more of a playmaking role in light of Hayward’s departure, as his All-Star-caliber wing-mate Jaylen Brown will likely be doing the same.
Brown also took a major jump last season, putting together an impressive stat line of 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. What doesn’t show up in those numbers, however, is how much better of a defender and ball-handler Brown became last season, which thrust him into the conversation as one of the most versatile two-way wings in the league.

This year, the Celtics may count on Brown to step into an even bigger role, considering both Hayward’s absence and the likelihood that Kemba Walker will take some games off to help manage his lingering left knee soreness.

Brown and Tatum will be relied upon more than ever to help create plays for others and for themselves, which is a lot of pressure to place on two sub-25-year-olds. However, Brown embraces the idea of becoming one of the main leaders of this Celtics team both on and off the court and, as he likes to say, “Hone the pressure; it makes diamonds.”

Returning to Boston for his fourth season, Semi Ojeleye will look to expand upon his role as a reliable 3-and-D wing.

Ojeleye last season continued to provide the Celtics with excellent perimeter defense, but really made a jump in the shooting department. He shot a career-high 37.8 percent from 3-point range, including a 41.4 percent clip during Boston’s eight seeding games inside the NBA bubble.

As one of the most tireless workers on the Celtics’ roster, Ojeleye hopes that the long hours he’s spent in the gym will allow him to step into a larger role this season, after the departure of Hayward, who served as a mentor to him over the last three years.

“Obviously there’s a spot where he filled as a big-time player,” Ojeleye said just ahead of the 2020-21 season. “I just have to keep this same mindset that’s got me this far and continue to take me to wherever I’m gonna go.”

It will be a while before Celtics fans see Romeo Langford hit the court again, as the second-year wing continues to rehab from September wrist surgery. However, when he does return, he could provide a major boost for Boston on both ends of the court just as he did throughout parts of his rookie season.

Despite not being able to use his shooting hand over the last three months, Langford has used this rehabilitation period to his advantage. He claims that it has allowed him to focus on strengthening his off-hand ball-handling and finishing skills, which could help turn him into a more versatile scorer when he returns, hopefully midway through the season.

“I think we go into the season looking at it from the standpoint that Romeo will be an addition midseason to our team,” Stevens said of the 21-year-old Indiana University product. “We’re doing everything we can to keep him working, from the weights, to different film and video, to solely working on his left hand.”

Javonte Green’s playing time was limited during his first NBA season, but he never failed to impress whenever he made an appearance. The 27-year-old former international journeyman may have claimed the title as the most athletic player on Boston’s roster, which he proved through a plethora of high-flying dunks and offensive rebounds.

On the occasions when he did earn significant playing time, Green showed that he could be an electrifying scorer. For example, during the Celtics’ final seeding game inside the bubble, he earned a spot start and delivered 23 points during 34 minutes of action.

Interestingly, Green was also called upon to start Tuesday’s preseason opener in Philadelphia, indicating that Boston’s coaching staff could be open to more experimentation with the sophomore wing this coming season.

Needing to add a shooter via this year’s NBA Draft, the Celtics couldn’t have come away with a better option than Aaron Nesmith, whom they selected with the 14th overall pick. The Vanderbilt product was one of the premier long-distance threats in all of college basketball last season, shooting an absurd 52.2 percent from deep on 8.2 attempts through 14 games before his sophomore season was cut short due to a foot injury.

Nesmith’s excellent 3-point efficiency also allowed him to be one of the top scorers in the nation, finishing fifth overall with a mark of 23.0 points per game. “You don’t have to teach him to shoot,” C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said shortly after drafting Nesmith. “He can come in the gym and out-shoot most of our guys right this second.”

Such a skill should allow Nesmith to find the court plenty this coming season, whenever the C’s are in need of a scoring burst off the bench.

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