The Boston Celtics are the deepest team in the NBA according to a recent analysis by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes. Unlike many such analyses, however, Hughes focuses more on the quality of the depth over the sheer number of playable options on the roster.
The Celtics clock in just ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies. Both teams have seven qualified players per the B/R analysts’ box plus/minus-oriented rubric.
“In the end, the tiebreaker went to Boston because its excluded contributors were just better than Memphis,” Hughes writes. “The Celtics got seven entries without Robert Williams III, Marcus Smart and Grant Williams making their list.”
Who made their list? Jayson Tatum, Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Derrick White, Luke Kornet, Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser did.
Whatever it is, the Celtics need to identify and solve the root cause(s) before it derails their designs on getting back to the 2023 NBA Finals. https://t.co/iFutGU0aDS
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) March 9, 2023
You’ll have to read the article for the finer-grained details, but Hughes makes a solid case.
Ultimately, it rests on the fact, as he puts it, that Boston “is a no-questions-asked contender because it can throw up to 10 players onto the floor knowing each will add more than they subtract.”
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