BOSTON -- When it comes to being a second-round pick, making the roster is a victory in itself.
But it became clear early on that Boston’s Semi Ojeleye could be more than just an end-of-the-bench backup.
He could be someone that can contribute to winning, which is rare for a second-round pick in their first season.
Even more unusual is a second-round pick doing it with a squad that ranks among the best in the NBA.
As a rookie, Ojeleye appeared in 73 games which trailed just Dillon Brooks among games played by second-round rookies last year.
But what made Ojeleye stand apart from the rest was the fact that he not only saw action during the playoffs, but was in the starting lineup at times during Boston’s hard-fought, seven game series with the Milwaukee Bucks.
His play and preparation earned him playing time last season.
Boston Celtics
So what does the 6-foot-6 forward need to do in order to get playing time this season?
ATTACK THE RIM
As a second-rounder on a really talented team, Ojeleye was consumed with doing whatever it was they needed from him, knowing he wouldn’t be on the floor much. There were few times that Ojeleye looked to beat defenders off the dribble. Expect a more aggressive Ojeleye this season, especially considering that was a big part of his success this summer with Boston’s summer league team. He’s not all of a sudden going to morph into Kyrie Irving when it comes to finishing at the rim, but looking for that shot a bit more than last season will be a step in the right direction for both him and the Celtics.
DEFEND AT A HIGH LEVEL
Ojeleye’s ability to hold his own defensively against players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Carmelo Anthony was instrumental in him getting on the floor last season. For the season, Ojeleye had a defensive rating of 103.8 but that didn’t tell the story of what he meant to the Celtics defense. One of Ojeleye’s early tests came at Milwaukee on Oct. 26 of last year. Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting. But the Celtics emerged with a 96-89 win in part because of Ojeleye’s defense on the Greek Freak who missed three of the four shot attempts while defended by Ojeleye, in the fourth quarter.
DON’T SETTLE ON 3S
Ojeleye was one of the easier Celtics players to defend last season because everyone knew when he was on the floor that if he wasn’t behind the 3-point line, he probably wasn’t going to shoot. Ojeleye took 188 shots from the field last season. According to NBA.com/stats, 125 of them, or 66.5 percent, were 3-pointers which he basically split with 62 from the corner and 63 being above-the-break 3s. Ojeleye might want to stick with the corner 3-ball considering he shot 37.1 percent from there, while connecting on just 27.0 percent of his above-the-break 3’s.
STAY READY
When you look at players who benefited most from Gordon Hayward’s injury, Ojeleye has to be on that list. His ability to defend multiple frontcourt positions and be a solid switch-out defender on guards, was an important aspect of Boston’s defense being as good as it was last year. Although Ojeleye wound up playing in 73 regular seasons and later earned a couple starts in the playoffs, at no point did he do well enough to establish a steady spot in the team’s playing rotation. Short of that, there was uncertainty as far as whether he would play, pretty much every game of the season. But to his credit, he was ready to contribute whenever his number was called. He’ll need to take a similar approach to this season.