Count Paul Pierce among those who doesn't think the Celtics' mix is quite right.
In an interview with Boston.com, the longtime captain says he's watching the team every night — sometimes alongside KG. Like many members of Celtics Nation, he thinks the team's personnel needs to change.
"Right now, they're a team that is just missing something," he told BDC's Tom Westerholm. "Yeah, they have two All-Stars, I think they have great coaching, I think they have good leadership, they just don't have the depth, I believe."
The Celtics' bench has struggled all season long, especially against good teams. On Tuesday, for example, Utah's bench outscored Boston's 45-21, and that was the difference in the game. Boston starters outscored Utah's starters by 16 points.
While Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson are current fixtures in the starting lineup, it's apparent the Celtics need a more dynamic presence at the forward spot. Theis didn't score a single point in 26 minutes Wednesday against Cleveland. The Celtics dropped the game 117-110, their sixth loss of the season to a team with a losing record.
Danny Ainge echoed Pierce's sentiments in a recent interview with MassLive, saying he's "not sure" the team's current group of players are a "perfect fit."
There's a possibility the Celtics could add at next week's trade deadline. They've been linked to rising Hawks star John Collins, who's averaging 17.9 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game this season. But the price for soon-to-be restricted free agent is "steep," according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Collins turned down an extension worth $90 million last winter.
More likely, the Celtics could target Kings forward Harrison Barnes, especially since Sacramento has lost seven of its last 11 games, and is falling further out of the playoff race. It's long past time for Ainge to add at least one talented veteran reinforcement: Semi Ojeleye should not be playing significant minutes on a contending team.
Following the dispiriting loss to Cleveland, Kendrick Perkins also called for changes to be made, blasting Boston's "entitlement."
As a Celtics legend, Pierce surely holds strong feelings about the current state of affairs as well. But he's held off on contacting young All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. He wants to afford them the same room he was given.
"I never want to put pressure on these guys to live up to what past Celtics have done," Pierce said. "But they know that I'm watching from afar. I'm constantly commenting on them, and they all have my phone numbers too, so if they ever want to reach out and talk about anything, I'm always open lines."
Perhaps it's time for Tatum and Brown to open up that communication.
