Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter has been playing well in the last couple of games, dropping another phenomenal stat line in the team's 140-105 romp of the New Orleans Pelicans at the TD Garden on Saturday.
Kanter tallied a double-double of 22 points and 19 boards in just 23 minutes — becoming the first player since Paul Silas to record at least 22 points and 18 boards in less than 24 minutes.
Apart from his proficiency scoring the basketball down at the low block, the 27-year-old Turkish center is also a formidable rebounder, often tallying double-digit boards in limited minutes. The Celtics big, who corralled seven offensive rebounds on Saturday, has been criticized in the past for allegedly missing his shots on purpose to pad up his numbers. He denied those claims shortly after the match.
Enes Kanter on his habit of missing shots, rebounding them and putting them back in: “They all think that I do that on purpose to pad my stats. But it’s not true.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) January 12, 2020
Enes Kanter does not possess supreme athleticism like some of the players playing his position, but he remains as one of the best glass eaters around due to his great timing and positioning. The 6-foot-10 slotman has also been labeled as a defensive liability in the past, but seems to be doing just fine under Celtics head coach Brad Stevens in his first year in Boston.
In just 18.3 minutes off the bench, Kanter has been tallying 9.1 points and 8.6 rebounds on 57.6 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from three. His interior presence has been vital for the Celtics, allowing the second unit to not miss a beat when the starters take a breather.
The Celtics, meanwhile, are currently third in the Eastern Conference with a 26-11 record.
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