C’s depth amps up competition
Players not taking it easy with short preseason
By the end of last season, earning a spot in the Celtics rotation was a little different.
The combination of injuries and Brad Stevens’ nightly search for something that would work opened the door of opportunity. Aaron Nesmith, after drifting in and out of relevance, grabbed his chance in May, averaging 8.3 points and shooting 43.5% from 3-point range over the last eight games of the regular season.
But when the Celtics opened the preseason schedule against the Orlando on Monday night, the coach and conditions had changed. Stevens, now in charge of personnel, had stocked his wings with veteran talent, like Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder and stretch big Juancho Hernangomez.
Despite his young promise, Nesmith has quite the climb ahead to regain last season’s finishing status.
“It’s been fun competing. We play the game to compete, play the game to win, so being able to play with these guys every single day and play at a high level, it’s been a lot of fun,” said Nesmith. “In terms of the minutes question, you know, just being ready whenever my name is called. You just go out there and do the job that I’ve been doing throughout training camp so far.
“It’s just exciting, you know, beginning of year two. I’ve been looking forward to it since last year ended, like I said previously, so just kind of looking at it like any other game and just excited to get started.”
Hernangomez got an early chance to show something against the Magic, starting alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams.
Reasoning that the coaching staff is already well-acquainted with Al Horford — who may be competing with Richardson for that fifth starting spot — Hernangomez is a floor-spacing big man who is expected to be an intriguing fit.
“Him as well as some other guys that could play in that position,” coach Ime Udoka said of the early process in training camp. “We kind of know what we have as far as Al. He’s been great in training camp and great overall. And we want to look at some different combinations. Juancho’s a guy that fits into that role with some of the younger wings we have as well as Grant Williams. So as I mentioned the other day, we’ll tinker with some lineups and look at different combinations.”
Hernangomez doesn’t sound particularly worried about how his role becomes defined.
“The roles and all this stuff will come through the games, what the coach wants and what is best for the team,” said Hernangomez. “I know the player who I am. I try to adapt to the team, try to keep knowing each other, trying to know the players and what the coach expects me to do. Try to help the team to get the wins.
“I think one of the best things we’ve got is the versatility. We’ve got a lot of players who can play different positions, and all of the positions are interchangeable, so everybody has to be ready to do more things, try to focus on versatility.”
Asked about how he fits into that concept, the Spaniard shrugged.
“I am a basketball player, try to be ready for an situation and just play basketball,” he said.