The Boston Celtics basically lost their entire frontcourt this offseason, as they traded away Aron Baynes and saw Al Horford and Marcus Morris walk via free agency.
What was once a prominent strength of the team has now become one of its biggest question marks, and while the Celtics did add some pieces this summer, their frontcourt is clearly not as good as it was going into last year.
Boston's biggest interior addition was Enes Kanter, who bounced around between the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers before arriving in Beantown last month.
The C's also re-signed Daniel Theis, signed French big man Vincent Poirier, drafted Grant Williams and signed undrafted center Tacko Fall, but Kanter was clearly the main move.
Kanter will almost certainly be the Celtics' starting center, with Theis and second-year big Robert Williams likely serving as his primary backups. Both Theis and Williams are known for their defensive chops, but Kanter is, well, not.
The 27-year-old is a terrific rebounder, a really good post scorer and a good free-throw shooter, so he will be just fine in Boston's offense. No, he can't spread the floor like Horford (or even Baynes), but he is elite at crashing the offensive glass and has the bulk and the strength to muscle his way inside for easy buckets.
So, offensively, Kanter isn't an issue. It's on the defensive end where he could become a problem.
The thing with Kanter is that he is not a bad post defender, so he can bang with the Joel Embiids of the world. We shouldn't downplay that, as Embiid plays in the Celtics' division, and Boston defended him better than any other team in the league over the last couple of years due to the veteran savvy of Horford and the rugged strength of Baynes. So, guys like Embiid won't as big a deal.
But it's big men like Horford (who now plays alongside of Embiid in Philadelphia), Karl-Anthony Towns and Nikola Jokic who will pose significant trouble for Kanter, as they all have the ability to step out and regularly can 3s and put the ball on the floor and get to the rim.
More importantly, centers of that ilk are all deadly pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop threats, which is where Kanter labors. With Kemba Walker not exactly being the greatest defender in the world, Boston's pick-and-roll defense could be a bit iffy next season.
Of course, the C's still have plenty of other good defensive players on the roster. Marcus Smart is a First-Team All-Defensive player. Jayson Tatum is a disruptive force due to his length. Jaylen Brown is an athletic, hard-nosed guy. The sky seems to be the limit for Robert Williams.
But Kanter? He is unquestionably one of the biggest defensive liabilities in the league, and while he will bring a whole lot to the table as an offensive force and rebounder and will be able to go blow-for-blow with bigs like Embiid and DeAndre Jordan down low, his lack of athleticism and footspeed will allow opposing offense to take advantage of him in high screen-and-rolls all day.
As a result, the Celtics will probably have to put a cap on Kanter's minutes in most situations, and there will be some instances where Brad Stevens may not be able to play him much at all.
That being said, Kanter will still bring a brand of toughness and physicality to the table that Boston desperately needed after losing Horford, Baynes and Morris, and he will also provide the C's with the rebounder they sorely desired.
Overall, Kanter was a great signing for the Celtics. It's a cheap one-year deal with a player option for a second year, so you really can't go wrong. But that doesn't change the fact that Kanter will mostly be hit-or-miss with little middle ground in most matchups.
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