With two days remaining in the NBA season, the playoffs are almost here. The Boston Celtics currently have a 54-26 record and occupy the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston would clinch the two seed if they win one of the last two games of the season. Should they do this, they would match up with the No. 7 seed in round one.
Heading into the playoffs, Boston has been riding positive momentum ever since Jayson Tatum returned from his ruptured Achilles. Every time the playoffs arrive, teams have to make tough decisions on who will be in the team's rotation when the games begin. For Boston, Nikola Vucevic could be someone they take a look at.
Boston Has Big Decision to Make on Vucevic
After being acquired by the Celtics from the Chicago Bulls at the trade deadline, Vucevic quickly entered the lineup. He played in 10 full games for Boston, but early in his 11th game, Vucevic was sidelined with a broken finger. During his absence, Luka Garza returned to the lineup and gave Boston good minutes when he was on the floor.
Vucevic would make his return almost a month later and would rejoin the Celtics rotation for the next three games. While Vucevic has had moments during his tenure in Boston, he hasn't been as consistent as fans would hope. With Boston, Vucevic is averaging 9.4 points on 42.4 percent shooting from the field and 31.3 percent from 3-point range, while adding 6.8 rebounds.
Taking a look at Garza's numbers this season, he is averaging 7.7 points on 58.3 percent shooting and 44.1 percent from beyond the arc, while adding 3.9 rebounds a game. Determining who will be the backup center behind Neemias Queta come playoff time will be interesting, as they each fill different roles than the other.
Offensively, Vucevic has been less efficient than Garza, while also having higher volume. On the rebounding side, Garza can keep a possession alive with his hustle on the offensive glass, but Vucevic has looked better as a defensive rebounder. Finally, when it comes to playing defense itself, neither will consistently shine, but Garza has looked slightly better this season than Vucevic has.
When making a case for who the best option for the backup big is, Garza will raise the floor of the team's success, but he could have nights where his hustle isn't enough to help the team out. Vucevic, on the other hand, while giving the team a lower floor, raises the team's ceiling, given his overall offensive skillset being better than Garza's and his defensive rebounding capabilities.
If Vucevic can give Boston consistent minutes, he'll likely get the spot over Garza. Should Vucevic continue to play inconsistently, though, Boston should turn to Garza in the playoffs as soon as needed.