SQ14 #48 Celtics: State of the Center

Remember the story of the six blind men who were allowed to touch an elephant and then give their description thereof?  One said it was like a wall, one said a pillar, one a rope, and, well you get the idea.  I suspect you would get a similar diversity if you posed a state of the center position to Celtics’ fans.  About the only thing fans would agree on is that the team is not “set” at the center position.  No All-Star rim protector with established backup and third string “comer” in development.  But things are not all bad, let me tell you why.

Vitor Faverani started, and showed some nice skills and a feisty attitude toward offenders coming into “his” paint.  Then he quickly tailed off into the obscurity of lost rotations, fouls from out of position, and a step or two slow in recognition and reaction.  Banished to the bench to absorb by observation, a month later D&B shipped him up to Maine to get some work and see if the pro game had begun to slow down for him.  About the time he started to show improvement he came up lame with a knee that just wouldn’t get better.  A month later, surgery and out for the season.  Still, he showed those nice skills and staked a claim to the paint--so maybe he comes back healed, hungry, and hopping mad.

Tyler Zeller came in as Danny cashed in his Pierce-trade TPE just before its expiration date in July.  He also got a first round pick and the dubious asset Marcus Thornton for helping Cleveland clear space to build LeBron‘s latest hand-picked super-team.  Near the trade deadline last year he “got” Joel Anthony and a first (or more likely two seconds) and a second round pick for two gunslingers Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks (who both have had trouble getting another NBA contract this summer).  Two centers and three or four picks for a TPE and two castoffs?  How does the man do it?  He must be a magician, or con man

Let’s get Anthony out of the way first (if only it was that easy!)  Lo and behold Joel exercised his $3.8M players option--surprise, surprise (in Gomer Pyle voice).  So instead of a third string up-and-comer development player, we are stuck with a 32-year-old journeyman who is likely cashing his last NBA paychecks.  The question I’ve been holding for a Quick Hits post is “Could Anthony get a vet min contract if Danny Ainge bought out his current contract (for maybe 3.2 - vetmin ?)  The Celtics could really use the $3.8M cap space and the roster slot.  I suppose the good news is that Anthony is just one injury away from moving from the Inactive List to a DNP-CD at the end of the bench.

Now for the better news, Tyler, by most accounts is the best of the Zeller brothers.  He had a nice rookie season and with a dedicated off-season had added much-needed bulk for a second season continuation.  Then Zeller went down for an emergency appendectomy during training camp.  Cleveland took the perpetually rehabbing Andrew Bynum off of Philly’s hands, Varejo came back from his injury, Zeller lost all his added bulk and conditioning, and Tyler hardly got back on the court until near the end of the season.  By them Bynum had been declared persona non grata, Varejo had gotten injured again, and Tyler had his chance.  He had a string of nice games as the season wound down and then came LeBron-gate.  While much has been made of Zeller’s drop in stats his second season, I think Ainge got a real diamond in the rough.  He’s not the flying rim-protector many are calling for but he does play good one-on-one defense and is highly mobile allowing him to run on offense and position himself on defense to take charges from driving opponents.  So he does protect the rim, he just does it from the ground.  I think he is going to be a really pleasant surprise, and our starting center.

Which brings me back to Vitor Faverani as the backup.  I am very disappointed with his decision to rehab in Europe, especially since communication and understanding the Celtics offensive and defensive systems were major impediments to his performance last year.  I also was a little stunned by his statement that he hoped to be at 90% when he came in to camp.  The reading I did on meniscus repair suggested that the patient should be walking in two weeks and back to normal activities in 4-6 weeks.  Now professional basketball is hardly “normal activities” and his injury was supposedly in a difficult place, but wouldn’t you expect that nearly seven months after surgery, he would hope to be at more than 90%?  And that’s just tossing out the DWI which probably didn’t occur coming back from a hard workout.  I really, really hope I am completely wrong in my misgivings.

A final note.  With 96 front court minutes to be split between Sullinger, Olynyk, Bass, Zeller, and Faverani, I think I would pencil in 30 apiece for Sully, Kelly, and Zelly.  That suggests Olynyk will be playing 12-18 minutes at center.  If Kelly adds strength during the off-season, which I think should have been his highest priority, then he’s going to fare much better in his one-on-one match-ups against opposing post players.  He won’t be soaring to block shots at the rim but he has already shown the smarts to set up for charges--he’s just been a little slow to get in position.  On offense he’ll take opposing big men outside and open the lane for Sullinger to operate down low and drivers to slash to the basket. 

I think our center corps will be quite serviceable.  My question would be will Bass get the remaining minutes at PF or will Faverani get them at center.

Only 16 days until the start of training camp.[Discuss on CG Forums!]